ANCIENT NAVIGATORS: FERDINAND MAGELLAN ( 1480-1521)

A Portuguese nobleman, Ferdinand Magellan belonged to the romantic era of sea exploration characterized by Columbus and Vasco a Gama.

History books tell of his navigational prowess, ambition and courage in battle, describing his circumnavigation of the world as “the greatest”

single human achievement on the seas.

 In 1519 Magellan, under Spanish patronage, led an expedition of five ships to seek a westward passage to the Moluccas Islands. He discovered the Strait of Magellan (at the southern tip of South America) and gave the name "Pacific" to the Pacific Ocean based on its supposed calmness.

It was also a brutal three-year voyage that cost Magellan four ships 237 crew, and his own life. On route he killed several of his captains for mutiny and burned the villages of natives refusing to be Christianized.

His own down fall came in the Philippines while attacking a village that had failed to provide him with provisions.

Strait of Magellan: Discovery by Europeans

The Strait of Magellan (also called the Straits of Magellan ) is a navigable sea route immediately south of mainland South America and north of Tierra del Fuego. The strait is the most important natural passage between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, but it is considered a difficult route to navigate because of the unpredictable winds and currents and the narrowness of the passage.

Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese sailor in the service of Charles I of Spain, became the first European to navigate the strait in 1520 during his global circumnavigation voyage.

On March 22, 1518, the expedition was organized in Valladolid, naming Magellan captain general of the fleet and governor of all the lands discovered, and establishing the privileges of Magellan and his business associate Ruy Falero. The fleet would become known as the "Armada de las Molucas" or "Fleet of the Moluccas". The expeditionary fleet of 5 ships set sail from Sanlúcar de Barrameda on September 20, 1519.

The five ships included La Trinidad (100 to 110 barrels) under the command of Magellan; La San Antonio (120 barrels) under the command of Juan de Cartageña; La Concepción (90 barrels) under the command of Gaspar de Quezada (Juan Sebastián Elcano served as boatswain); La Victoria (85 barrels) under the command of Luis de Mendoza; and La Santiago, under command of Juan Rodríguez Serrano.

Magellan's ships entered the strait on November 1, 1520, All Saints' Day, and it was initially called Estrecho de Todos los Santos (Strait of All Saints). Magellan's chronicler, Antonio Pigafetta, called it the Patagonian Strait, and others Victoria Strait, commemorating the first ship entering it.] Within seven years it was being called Estrecho de Magallanes in honor of Magellan. The Spanish Empire and the Captaincy General of Chile used it as the southern boundary of their territory. The first Spanish colony was established in 1584 by Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa, who founded Nombre de Jesús and Rey Don Felipe on the northern shore of the strait. These towns suffered severe food shortages, and when the English navigator Sir Thomas Cavendish landed at the site of Rey Don Felipe in 1587, he found only ruins of the settlement. He renamed the place Port Famine. Other early explorers included Francis Drake. The strait was first carefully explored and thoroughly charted by Phillip Parker King, who commanded the British survey vessel HMS Adventure, and in consort with HMS Beagle spent five years surveying the complex coasts around the strait. This survey was presented at a meeting of the Royal Geographical Society in 1831.

ANCIENT NAVIGATORS: FERDINAND MAGELLAN ( 1480-1521)

A Portuguese nobleman, Ferdinand Magellan belonged to the romantic era of sea exploration characterized by Columbus and Vasco a Gama.

History books tell of his navigational prowess, ambition and courage in battle, describing his circumnavigation of the world as “the greatest”

single human achievement on the seas.

 In 1519 Magellan, under Spanish patronage, led an expedition of five ships to seek a westward passage to the Moluccas Islands. He discovered the Strait of Magellan (at the southern tip of South America) and gave the name "Pacific" to the Pacific Ocean based on its supposed calmness.

It was also a brutal three-year voyage that cost Magellan four ships 237 crew, and his own life. On route he killed several of his captains for mutiny and burned the villages of natives refusing to be Christianized.

His own down fall came in the Philippines while attacking a village that had failed to provide him with provisions.