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Changing Allegiance

The document discusses Ferdinand Magellan's historic voyage in the early 1500s to reach the Spice Islands by sailing west, becoming the first person to circumnavigate the globe. It describes Magellan convincing the King of Spain to fund his expedition, the grueling conditions onboard the ships during the nearly three year journey around the world, Magellan's discovery of the passage around the southern tip of South America, and how only one ship with 18 survivors made it back to Spain, completing the first global circumnavigation under a new commander after Magellan was killed in the Philippines.

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Fabiano Joey
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24 views

Changing Allegiance

The document discusses Ferdinand Magellan's historic voyage in the early 1500s to reach the Spice Islands by sailing west, becoming the first person to circumnavigate the globe. It describes Magellan convincing the King of Spain to fund his expedition, the grueling conditions onboard the ships during the nearly three year journey around the world, Magellan's discovery of the passage around the southern tip of South America, and how only one ship with 18 survivors made it back to Spain, completing the first global circumnavigation under a new commander after Magellan was killed in the Philippines.

Uploaded by

Fabiano Joey
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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In 1512, he and a group of mariners headed to the legendary Spice Islands, also called the

Maluku Islands or the Moluccas, in Southeast Asia — islands that are home to the nutmeg
tree and above all the clove tree. On the European markets, these precious exotic flavor
enhancers were worth their weight in gold. Magellan's share in the sale of the spices after
the crew's return home secured his livelihood, but it also awakened the desire for more.
Changing allegiance
After a quarrel with the Portuguese king, Ferdinand Magellan in 1517 changed his allegiance
over to Spain, to King Charles I, the future Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire.
Bartolome de Las Casas, a Spanish theologian and writer of the time, described Magellan as
small and rather unassuming — but exceptionally charismatic. "When it came down to it, he
was a brilliant salesman and self-promoter who was able to inspire people with his ideas and
great goals," German historian Christian Jostmann told DW, adding it was no surprise that
Magellan managed to convince the Spanish king to shell out the money for a trip to the
Moluccas.
Magellan could not sail around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa because
the route was blocked by the Portuguese. To avoid Portuguese territories altogether,
Magellan vowed to find a western sea route to the Moluccas. Since Columbus' sea journey,
about 500 ships had tried in vain to find a passage through the American land mass.
Magellan's Moluccan Armada of five completely overhauled ships equipped with cannons
left Seville on August 10, 1519 — headed for Sanlucar de Barrameda on the Atlantic coast.
The fleet with its crew of 240 set sail again from there about a month later.
'Life in a wooden tub'
Magellan aimed to become rich, found colonies for Spain and convert the natives, all
while keeping in mind the prospect of social advancement, said Jostmann. In his
book Magellan or The First Circumnavigation of the Earth, the historian vividly describes
what Magellan and his companions experienced on this first travel around the world,
including stormy and calm seas, hunger, thirst, diseases, mutinies and deadly conflicts with
indigenous peoples.
It was far from a seafaring idyll, Jostmann said. "About 50 men lived for months in a
wooden tub measuring about 150 square meters with no sanitary facilities, no kitchen, no
privacy." The food was modest, there was hardly any medical care, and then there was
always the insecurity of this being a suicide mission, he added.
The fleet sailed to the Canary Islands, then along the African coast to Sierra Leone. At the
narrowest point, it crossed the Atlantic Ocean and reached the South American continent
along the area that today is Rio de Janeiro. The journey continued along the South
American east coast, with the men constantly on the lookout for the hypothetical passage to
the west. It was all very tedious, and the fleet stopped en route in the winter months. The
supply situation was increasingly difficult and the mood on board the ships soured, leading
to a mutiny.
Sea passage to the west
Magellan, however, proved to be tenacious. On October 21, 1520, he discovered a cape. His
fleet sailed between the southern tip of the South American continent and the island of
Tierra del Fuego, into a labyrinth of waterways, losing one ship on the way while another
ship took advantage of the confusion and fled back to Spain. But Magellan had found the
longed-for passage in these storm-battered waters. It took the decimated armada six weeks
to reach the Pacific Ocean.
From the southeast of the Pacific Ocean, they continued in a northwesterly arc for three and
a half months without once encountering inhabited islands. Hunger, thirst and illness
claimed 19 lives before the crews found fresh provisions on one of the Mariana Islands — a
tragedy because unwittingly, Magellan's ships had passed by many islands that could have
provided him and his crew with fresh water and food.
Finally, the three remaining ships and their 150-strong crew landed in the Philippines on
March 21, 1521 as the first Europeans there ever. It was Magellan's final destination. He
planned to take possession of these rich islands for Spain, with an eye on a possible
governorship. "When he arrived in the Philippines, he pulled off such a crazy show that
large numbers of natives converted to Christianity and capitulated to Spain," according to
Jostmann. Others were not swayed, and when Magellan tried to conquer a village in April
1521, he was killed by spears and a poison arrows. Lacking sufficient sailors for three ships,
two vessels quickly fled after the crews sank the third.
Completing the circumnavigation
Under the command of Juan Sebastian Elcano, the two ships sailed to the Spice Islands,
where they finally took the long-desired cargo on board. Elcano chose the route around the
Cape of Good Hope for the return trip.
In the end, almost three years after setting sail for the Moluccas, only one of the five ships
returned home, with Captain Elcano completing Magellan's involuntary and unplanned
circumnavigation of the world.
On September 6, 1522, the Victoria reached the Spanish port of Sanlucar de Barrameda.
About 20 sailors survived the first historically documented circumnavigation of the world.
Since the middle of the 16th century, the western passage has been named Strait of
Magellan after Ferdinand Magellan.
In the 19th century, many intellectuals celebrated Magellan as a hero and genius, a view
that's outdated now with our perspective on colonialism, said Christian Jostmann. You have
to admire the explorer's ambition, tenacity and sheer will power, he added, but for the
historian, that's not a reason to celebrate him.

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