Elvin

8.4

Ferdinand Magellan
English Homework
-Research

life

Ferdinand Magellan was born in

Oporto, Portugal, in 1480. His
parents were members of the
Portuguese nobility, and the
young Magellan found himself
in
the service of royalty at an
early age. He was only twelve when he began serving
the queen of Portugal as a page, a position of
employment for youths in royal courts. As a young
member of Queen Leonora's School of Pages in Lisbon
(the Portuguese capital) Magellan was encouraged to
learn subjects that would aid him greatly later, such as
cartography (mapmaking), astronomy, and celestial
navigation (learning how to steer a ship based on the
positions of the stars).
Magellan joined the Portuguese service to sail with the fleet in
1505. He went to East Africa and later was at the battle of Diu,
in which the Portuguese destroyed the Egyptian fleet's
dominance in the Arabian Sea. He went twice to Malacca,
located in present-day Malaysia, and participated in that port's
conquest (the act of conquering) by the Portuguese. It is
possible that he also went on a mission to explore the Moluccas
(islands in Indonesia, then called the Spice Islands). Trading in
spices brought great wealth to European nations at this time,
and there was much competition among them to claim
territories that were rich in spices, especially in Southeast Asia,
called the East Indies. The Moluccas were the original source of
some of the world's most valuable spices at that time, including
cloves and nutmeg.

-Exploration
Magellan's expedition of 15191522 became the first
expedition to sail from the Atlantic Ocean into the Pacific Ocean
(then named "peaceful sea" by Magellan; the passage being
made via the Strait of Magellan), and the first to cross the
Pacific. His expedition completed the first circumnavigation of
the Earth. Magellan did not complete the entire voyage, as he
was killed during the Battle of Mactan in the Philippines. (For
background see Exploration of the Pacific.)
-Routes

The route Magellan took was pretty straightforward. He went

along the coast of Europe down to around Africa then cut across
the Atlantic. Next he went around the tip South America. When
he reached the Pacific he named it Pacific which means
peaceful. He went up and across until he reached the Spice
Islands(he died), but his crew kept sailing on. They had two
ships left and took one towards Africa and up around until they
reached Spain. The other ship was going to try to get back by
retracing the route they had done to get there, and if that didn't

work they would try to start a settlement by Panama. The crew

that went back to America had to turn around and go back to
the Spice Islands when half of the crew died. Magellan and his
crew went to many islands, and reloaded on one of them. The
island they reloaded on was Ladrone Island. They reloaded
there since Magellan had predicted the voyage to be much
shorter, and they needed some more food before heading to
the Phillipenes. Magellan's crew made a good choice to keep
going because they made world history.

-Discovery
Magellan made many little discoveries but also one big one;
you can sail around the world. Magellan also discovered a

strait. The strait is now called the strait of Magellan. Magellan

didn't discover that you could sail around the world, but he had
the idea, and his crew proved it. That also gave proof that the
world is round. He didn't discover the Pacific Ocean, but he was
the one who named it. He also discovered a western sea
passage to the Moluccas(Spice rich islands). Magellan and his
crew made discoveries that changed the world.
-Contribution

to expansion of one explorer

Magellan's successful expedition during the Age of Discovery

opened up of the whole globe to European exploration and
colonization. During the centuries that followed, European
colonizers would remold the world, spreading Christianity while
often abusing indigenous peoples and exploiting colonial
populations. Yet Magellan's discovery helped establish the
notion that all the peoples of the earth share one globe and a
common humanity.
Following Magellan's voyage later navigators would explore the
vast reaches of the Pacific Ocean, the Arctic and Antarctic
regions, as well as search the Atlantic seaboard for the elusive
Northwest Passage that would enable maritime trade to the
Indies without the arduous detour through the Straits of
Magellan. As a result of the Age of Discovery European
maritime powers, notably Spain, Portugal, France, Great Britain,
and the Netherlands would come to colonize newly discovered
lands around the globe. Driven largely by the promise of
wealth, colonial powers were often ruthless in relations with
indigenous peoples, yet also spread Christianity, humanitarian
values, and Western traditions of law and government
throughout the world. Magellan's voyage inaugurated a new
understanding of the world as the finite domicile of humanity
and led to greater recognition of the world's peoples as a global
human family.