Ferdinand Magellan

Ferdinand's Expedition:

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Above: The Route Ferdinand Magellan Took On His Expedition To The 'Spice Islands'
In the year 1519, Ferdinand hired 237 men and five ships and sailed west in search of the “Spice Islands”. On his expedition to the “Spice Islands”, Ferdinand sailed from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. Ferdinand was the first man in history to achieve this feat. On the same expedition, Ferdinand commanded the first fleet to cross the Pacific Ocean. Ferdinand is known to have named the Pacific Ocean, the name Pacific means calm and peaceful. As the voyage progresses Ferdinand began to encounter some problems, word had got out that Ferdinand was Portuguese of origin. Several of the Spanish captains didn’t trust Ferdinand and were said to have plotted to murder Ferdinand. The news spread quickly and chaos began to breakout among the crew. Some ruthless members of the crew attempted to murder Ferdinand, despite failing these cold-hearted men were executed. Ferdinand and his crew sailed past South Africa and along the South American coast. In March 1920, Ferdinand and his crew established a settlement in what we now know as Argentina. They named it Puerto San Julian. In February 1521, they ships reached the equator. On the expedition to discover an alternate route to the “Spice Islands”, Ferdinand had many casualties, of the 237 men who set sail from Spain only 18 returned home. On top of this only 1 of the 5 ships made it back in one piece. It was documented that many crew members were killed in battle, died of diseases or were marooned due to various circumstances. Some crew members attempted mutiny and were executed.

Upon Reaching The Spice Islands:

When at last the two remaining ships arrived at the “Spice Islands” they harvested all the cloves and cinnamon they could carry and set sail back to Spain. One of the ships attempted to take a quicker alternate route back to Spain, while the other went back the way they came. The alternate route failed as they ship was captured and the valuable spices stolen from the Spanish’s grasp. In September 1522, 1 ship, 18 crew and 26 tons of spices arrived back in Spain. Ferdinand had never intended to circumnavigate the world; his aim was to discover a safe passage to the “Spice Islands”. It was only after Ferdinand’s death that the replacement commander Juan Sebastián de Elcano decided to sail west, which unintentionally completed the circumnavigation of the Earth.

Ferdinand's Death:

Ferdinand never made it back to Spain. Along with most of his crew his was killed during the expedition. In March 1521, Ferdinand and his crew docked in the Philippines where they encountered a native tribe based on Cebu Island. Their leader Rajah Humabon persuaded Ferdinand and his crew to assist them in attacking their enemy tribe, led by Datu Lapu-Lapu. Ferdinand and his crew along with Rajah Humabon’s tribe ventured to Mactan Island to confront Datu Lapu-Lapu’s tribe. The Battle of Mactan commenced on the 21st of April, 1521. Even with the assistance of Ferdinand and his crew Rajah Humabon’s tribe was massively outnumbered. Ferdinand was killed by members of Datu Lapu-Lapu’s tribe. It is documented that Ferdinand was struck with a bamboo spear to the head. After realising they were ridiculously outnumbered, Ferdinand’s crew retreated early on in the battle. Although lives were lost during the battle, many of Ferdinand’s crew got back to the ships safely.

Above: Video Showing The Route Ferdinand Magellan Took On His Expedition To The "Spice Islands"