Fernand Magellan and the first round-the-world trip

In the first quarter of the XVI century. Europeans learned about the hitherto unexplored part of the coast of South America and the existence of a narrow strait, later called Magellan. Brave navigators for the first time crossed the Pacific Ocean, proved that the Earth is round, and the World Ocean is a single whole. This expedition was headed by Fernand Magellan, whose biography was studied by many researchers, but the information that historians have is controversial and of great interest for several centuries.

The place and exact date of birth of the famous Portuguese and Spanish navigators are the subject of discussions. Historians call two settlements in which he could have been born: Porto and Sabrosa. Fernand Magellan was born in 1840 in a wealthy but noble noble family. As a page, he was part of the retinue of Queen Leonora of Avis. Perhaps it was the queen of Portugal that helped the young man enter the seafaring school. The naval service of the future pioneer began with participation in the eastern expedition (1505) as a supernumerary warrior.

There are information about expeditions that were equipped to study the Indian Ocean, to which the young Magellan was sent. Fernand served in different places. He was not tall, but physically strong and confident, he showed himself to be a brave warrior in sea battles and was awarded the title of captain. In 1513, he returned briefly to Portugal, and the following year he went to Morocco, where he was injured in the leg, after which he limped for the rest of his life. Immediately after the end of hostilities, he was accused of secretly selling part of the military extraction to the opposing side. Outraged, Fernand Magellan went on his own to Portugal to justify himself, but caused this anger by the wrath of King Manuel I, and after his retirement he was denied an increase in the pension. In response to a request to allocate a ship to search for new sea routes, the Portuguese king also refused.

Fernand Magellan moved to Spain, where he after a long bargaining succeeded in convincing the need and profitability of the expedition of the more accommodating Spanish king. The main purpose of the trip was not geographical discoveries, and the Moluccas Islands - a source of spices - "gold" of the XVI century. The explorer planned to get to the islands in a short way from America. His calculations, having maps of the coasts of the South American continent and reports of seafarers who visited those regions, he did not build from scratch. A flotilla of five ships loaded with guns, other weapons, as well as various goods for trade, set sail on September 20, 1519. Incredible tests fell to the share of 256 people participating in a round-the-world regatta under the leadership of Magellan. On September 6, 1522, only one worn-out ship called "Victoria" with a haggard crew of 18 people moored to the Spanish shore. On board the ship, there was no longer any man, thanks to the tenacity, strength and courage of which the world's first round-the-world voyage was accomplished. Navigator and pioneer Fernand Magellan personally did not complete the round-the-world trip, glorifying him to the whole world, because he intervened in internecine strife of the aborigines and died April 27, 1521 in a skirmish near the island of Mactan.