10 Interesting Facts About Magellan’s Journey
In 1519, an expedition of 5 ships led by Magellan set sail from the port of Sanlucar de Barrameda (Spain) and set off to look for a western route to the Spice Islands (Moluccas, near New Guinea), since the route around Africa and across the Indian Ocean is completely controlled by the Portuguese. Access to the Spice Islands gave great benefits, because cloves, nutmeg and other spices cost indecently a lot of money in Europe.
Let’s dive into the interesting stories of this voyage.
1. We have received a complete estimate of preparations for the expedition. It cost 8,751,125 maravedis. In relative terms, this is the equivalent of the annual wages of 1,458 construction workers. To understand the technological complexity and high cost, we can say that it’s like going into space nowadays.
2. Magellan had a companion, Ruy Faleiro. He was an astronomer and cartographer. It was he who theoretically substantiated the possibility of travel and determined the main points of the future route. But during the voyage it turned out that Rui was mistaken in all his calculations. He remained on the shore, as the horoscope foreshadowed problems for him. According to another version, he went crazy.
3. Strictly speaking, geographers then had little idea of the boundaries of South America. In particular, no one knew where the continent ended. Then it was believed that the strait to the Pacific Ocean is located in the area of modern Buenos Aires. The fact is that La Plata Bay (near the capital of Argentina) really juts out into the continent. Magellan found this out and was upset. He had to sail an additional 2,000 kilometers south to go around South America and into the Pacific Ocean.
4. Many captains and sailors were unhappy with Magellan. First of all, because he was Portuguese and hid the sailing route. In those days, the Spaniards and the Portuguese were very hostile because of the struggle of these countries for colonies. The conditions in which the expedition members had to live were difficult too. As a result, during the first wintering there was a conspiracy, there were boardings and battles on the decks.
5. Once in the Pacific Ocean, the flotilla traveled 17 thousand km. to the first stop. It took 3 months and 20 days. Without fresh food and water. They ate mice, sawdust and leather elements of gear. And they were also lucky: for all the time they did not get into a storm. Therefore, the ocean was called the Pacific.
6. The first land on the way of the expedition was the island of Guam, and then Magellan discovered the Philippines. Quite civilized people lived on one of the islands. They even wanted to collect trade duty from the expedition.
7. Magellan himself died in the Philippines, fighting with the natives. Then failure befell almost the entire remaining command staff. Former native allies killed many officers during a gala dinner. But the remaining members of the expedition still reached the Spice Islands. Business was done, but the question arose of how to get back. Then in the squadron there were 2 ships out of 5.
8. Juan Sebastian Elcano took command of the «Victoria» and decided to sail west, through India, bypassing Africa. Another ship took the already known route across the Pacific Ocean, but nothing came of it. It was Elcano who eventually brought the ship with the cargo to his native lands. Scurvy and hunger raged during the campaign, out of the 60 crew members of the ship, only 18 made it home. Elcano himself was saved by quince jam, which he ate during the voyage.
9. Formally, it was Elcano, as the last leader of the expedition, who made the first trip around the world. Therefore, historians insisted on calling this campaign the Magellan-Elcano expedition. In general, Magellan had a slave-servant Enrique from Sumatra. He left the campaign after the death of his master. Therefore, it is likely that this guy became the first person in history to circumnavigate the globe.
10. The commercial voyage of Magellan (and it was just commercial, no one thought to circumnavigate the world) was considered successful. One ship brought a cargo of spices, which not only paid off the gigantic costs, but also brought a profit of 500 ducats (2.25 kg of gold). But in the end, the route laid by the expedition did not become popular. It was too difficult and dangerous for regular sailings.
