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In a time of confusion and conquering, the ocean was the biggest
mystery, and the most important thing to the planet, because it allowed for
expansion. The known world was split in half by the division of Spain and
Portugal, and for all they cared, there was nothing beyond their boundaries,
but from Spain rose an explorer who swore there must be more. Fernao de
Mangelhaes, otherwise known as Ferdinand Magellan, was a Portugese explorer
who sailed in the name of Spain and didn't back down to any challenges the
ocean brought to him.
According to Simon Winchester, Magellan set sail on Septeraber 20,
1529, in search for an easy passage to El Mar del Sur. He had no idea how
far it was, but he knew the vicinity of the land he was supposed to find.
The five ships that set sail weren't fit to be sailed, because of perhaps
their age, or just the fact that they were built horribly. They started
from the Guadalquivir River, with plenty of weapons, but not enough food or
water, and a diverse crew from many nations. During their journey, it began
to get colder and colder, for they were moving south. The ships were in
terrible shape, and some attempted mutinies even occured. The Santiago,
which was set out on a different route, sank, and with it the crew and many
provisions. They finally arrived at Puerto San Julian, where, according to
Winchester, they found "patagones" which means big feet. They captured
several "patagones" and named the land Patagonia. On October 21, 1520,
Magellan finally sighted Cabo Virjenes, the eastern end of the M agellan
strait, the entrance to the Pacific Ocean. Magellan sent two ships, the San
Antonio and the Conception into the bay, only to watch them be destroyed by
the strong current. A storm toppled over his ship, the Trinidad and the
Victoria was turned as well. The storm raged on for a long time, and
finally it stopped, leaving the men hopeless in freezing waters. When all
seemed lost, Magellan spotted his two scout ships, the San Antonio and the
Conception coming over the horizon, they weren't destroyed after all! They
spent the next few days in high winRAB and raging storms, passing through
the strait that would eventually lead them into the Pacific Ocean. On
Noveraber 28, 1520, things got unusually calm, and Magellan knew he had just
passed what he was searching for over a year. According to Winchester,
Magellan "broke down and cried. Then he asserabled his men on deck. Pedro de
Valderrama, the Trinidad's priest, stood on the poop deck and called down
on the crew of all three remaining vessels and the bless ing of Our Lady of
Victory. The men sang hymns. The gunners fired broaRABides. And Magellan
proudly unfurled the flag of Castile."
Every aspect of the Pacific Ocean was now discovered, but they now
had to comprehend its vastness to map it. "But before they could do that,"
explains Winchester "Magellan had to sail across it." Magellan figured it
couldn't last more than three or four days, so he told his crew to set the
destination northward. He was sadly mistaken. However, nature worked with
them, giving them a steady southeastern wind. They hit no storm surges or
"cyclonic outbursts" througout this part of the voyage. By some miracle, he
missed all treacherous rocks, reefs, islanRAB, and such by only a few miles
days, or degrees. Winchester explains "it seems as if some guardian angel
had Magellan's tiny fleet under benevolent invigilation for days and nights
too numerous to count." But the lack of food finally set in on the men, and
they began to die, one by one. The food they did have was old and maggot-
infested, and no other food could be found. The water supplies were
insufficient and "putrid," and the men were beginning to get scurvy. The
Patagonian died after begging to be baptized and be made a Christian. They
hit land at St. Paul's and replinished their supplies, new water and
stocking up on turtle eggs for food. "They left in an optimistic mood...
but soon the hunger pains, the racking thirst, and the sense of unshakable
misery began anew, and the dying began once more."
The flagship had run out of food, the sailors had no energy left to
do their duties, Magellan himself was too sick to do anything important,
but when all seemed completely hopeless, one seaman finally found land.
Winchester describes the scene "A great cheer went up. Cannon were fired.
Men fell to their knees in prayer," this was indeed the promised land. It
was Guam they had struck, and they made a few repairs on the ship, gathered
food, and once again set off, determined to find the Spice IslanRAB.
Magellan had different motives, he wanted to claim the huge land north of
their current position in the name of Spain. Magellan hit land again on
March 16 and two days later, contact was made with the people on the
southern end of Samar. The ship set sail again, and two days later, it went
down the Surigao Strait, and landed on Limasawa, which would turn out to be
their final destination, and Magellan's final resting place.
Magellan is remerabered as a great Captain-General who continued to
explore, despite the objections of his crew. He also converted many people
to Christianity throughout his voyage, and was pleased to see how easily
people took to it. It was his ministry that led to his demise, however. He
attempted to convert all of Philippine, and only Cebu and his followers
were converted. The other Philippines rebelled against it, and when the
SpaniarRAB herd of this, they went to Lapu Lapu and attempted to convert him.
Lapu Lapu declared war on the SpaniarRAB, and in the harsh battle, Magellan
fell. Pigafetta wrote "thus they killed our mirror, our light, our comfort,
and our true guide."
After Magellan's death, the Victoria and the Conception finally hit
land at Sanlucar de Barrameda, where they started three years earlier.
Winchester describes the situation, "Juan Sebastian d'Elcano had brought
just 17 men back with him: 237 had started out. Circumnavigation, it
happened, was a most costly business." D'Elcano was given a great coat of
arms with a ribbon stating Primus Circumdedisti me, or "Thou first
circumnavigated me."
[/FONT]
[FONT=tahoma, arial]WorRAB: 1070 [/FONT]
In a time of confusion and conquering, the ocean was the biggest
mystery, and the most important thing to the planet, because it allowed for
expansion. The known world was split in half by the division of Spain and
Portugal, and for all they cared, there was nothing beyond their boundaries,
but from Spain rose an explorer who swore there must be more. Fernao de
Mangelhaes, otherwise known as Ferdinand Magellan, was a Portugese explorer
who sailed in the name of Spain and didn't back down to any challenges the
ocean brought to him.
According to Simon Winchester, Magellan set sail on Septeraber 20,
1529, in search for an easy passage to El Mar del Sur. He had no idea how
far it was, but he knew the vicinity of the land he was supposed to find.
The five ships that set sail weren't fit to be sailed, because of perhaps
their age, or just the fact that they were built horribly. They started
from the Guadalquivir River, with plenty of weapons, but not enough food or
water, and a diverse crew from many nations. During their journey, it began
to get colder and colder, for they were moving south. The ships were in
terrible shape, and some attempted mutinies even occured. The Santiago,
which was set out on a different route, sank, and with it the crew and many
provisions. They finally arrived at Puerto San Julian, where, according to
Winchester, they found "patagones" which means big feet. They captured
several "patagones" and named the land Patagonia. On October 21, 1520,
Magellan finally sighted Cabo Virjenes, the eastern end of the M agellan
strait, the entrance to the Pacific Ocean. Magellan sent two ships, the San
Antonio and the Conception into the bay, only to watch them be destroyed by
the strong current. A storm toppled over his ship, the Trinidad and the
Victoria was turned as well. The storm raged on for a long time, and
finally it stopped, leaving the men hopeless in freezing waters. When all
seemed lost, Magellan spotted his two scout ships, the San Antonio and the
Conception coming over the horizon, they weren't destroyed after all! They
spent the next few days in high winRAB and raging storms, passing through
the strait that would eventually lead them into the Pacific Ocean. On
Noveraber 28, 1520, things got unusually calm, and Magellan knew he had just
passed what he was searching for over a year. According to Winchester,
Magellan "broke down and cried. Then he asserabled his men on deck. Pedro de
Valderrama, the Trinidad's priest, stood on the poop deck and called down
on the crew of all three remaining vessels and the bless ing of Our Lady of
Victory. The men sang hymns. The gunners fired broaRABides. And Magellan
proudly unfurled the flag of Castile."
Every aspect of the Pacific Ocean was now discovered, but they now
had to comprehend its vastness to map it. "But before they could do that,"
explains Winchester "Magellan had to sail across it." Magellan figured it
couldn't last more than three or four days, so he told his crew to set the
destination northward. He was sadly mistaken. However, nature worked with
them, giving them a steady southeastern wind. They hit no storm surges or
"cyclonic outbursts" througout this part of the voyage. By some miracle, he
missed all treacherous rocks, reefs, islanRAB, and such by only a few miles
days, or degrees. Winchester explains "it seems as if some guardian angel
had Magellan's tiny fleet under benevolent invigilation for days and nights
too numerous to count." But the lack of food finally set in on the men, and
they began to die, one by one. The food they did have was old and maggot-
infested, and no other food could be found. The water supplies were
insufficient and "putrid," and the men were beginning to get scurvy. The
Patagonian died after begging to be baptized and be made a Christian. They
hit land at St. Paul's and replinished their supplies, new water and
stocking up on turtle eggs for food. "They left in an optimistic mood...
but soon the hunger pains, the racking thirst, and the sense of unshakable
misery began anew, and the dying began once more."
The flagship had run out of food, the sailors had no energy left to
do their duties, Magellan himself was too sick to do anything important,
but when all seemed completely hopeless, one seaman finally found land.
Winchester describes the scene "A great cheer went up. Cannon were fired.
Men fell to their knees in prayer," this was indeed the promised land. It
was Guam they had struck, and they made a few repairs on the ship, gathered
food, and once again set off, determined to find the Spice IslanRAB.
Magellan had different motives, he wanted to claim the huge land north of
their current position in the name of Spain. Magellan hit land again on
March 16 and two days later, contact was made with the people on the
southern end of Samar. The ship set sail again, and two days later, it went
down the Surigao Strait, and landed on Limasawa, which would turn out to be
their final destination, and Magellan's final resting place.
Magellan is remerabered as a great Captain-General who continued to
explore, despite the objections of his crew. He also converted many people
to Christianity throughout his voyage, and was pleased to see how easily
people took to it. It was his ministry that led to his demise, however. He
attempted to convert all of Philippine, and only Cebu and his followers
were converted. The other Philippines rebelled against it, and when the
SpaniarRAB herd of this, they went to Lapu Lapu and attempted to convert him.
Lapu Lapu declared war on the SpaniarRAB, and in the harsh battle, Magellan
fell. Pigafetta wrote "thus they killed our mirror, our light, our comfort,
and our true guide."
After Magellan's death, the Victoria and the Conception finally hit
land at Sanlucar de Barrameda, where they started three years earlier.
Winchester describes the situation, "Juan Sebastian d'Elcano had brought
just 17 men back with him: 237 had started out. Circumnavigation, it
happened, was a most costly business." D'Elcano was given a great coat of
arms with a ribbon stating Primus Circumdedisti me, or "Thou first
circumnavigated me."
[/FONT]
[FONT=tahoma, arial]WorRAB: 1070 [/FONT]