Who was the first explorer to circumnavigate the globe and cross the Pacific Ocean?
Ferdinand Magellan did it on his famous voyage in search of a westward route to the
Moluccas (now Melaka). This is one of the greatest Portuguese explorers to ever sail the
ocean. Ferdinand Magellan was born in about 1480 in Sabrosa of a noble family, and he
spent his years as a court page. He ran errands and helped out with general chores but he
was still looking for something more. He wanted to see the world and find out what there
was to explore. In 1506 he went to the East Indies, participating in many military and
exploratory expeditions in Malacca and the Moluccas, know as the Spice Islands, and by
1510 he had been promoted to the rank of captain. He returned to Portugal in 1512 and in
1513 was stationed in Morocco, where he got wounds that maimed him for life. He requested
an increase in his royal allowance but was rejected by Emanuel, king of Portugal, who
didn't agree with Magellan's plan to find a westward route to the Moluccas. This made
Magellan renounce his Portuguese nationality. In 1517 he offered his services to the king
of Spain, Charles I (later Holy Roman Emperor Charles V). With his good salesmanship
skills, Magellan convinced Charles to fund the expedition to find a westward route to the
Moluccas. If Magellan could reach the Moluccas from the West, Spain's wealth would surpass
all other countries. On September 20,1519 Magellan started his great journey to the
Moluccas from Sanlucar de Barrameda with five ships. In November of that year he reached
South America. In February 1520 he explored the Rio de la Plata estuary, and on March 31,
1520 his fleet put in to port at San Julian. His fleet remained there for six months
because of disease and complications. One ship was wrecked causing a mutiny. After the
mutiny had been settled, Magellan sailed the passage to the Pacific Ocean named after him,
the Strait of Magellan, losing another ship by desertion, en route. After 38 days and
traveling 330 miles, on November 28, 1520, his three great ships sailed into the ocean,
which Magellan named "Pacific" because it was so calm. He reached the Marianas,
or Ladrone, Islands on March 6, 1521, and ten days later he discovered the Philippines. He
landed on the island of Cebu on April 7. There he made an alliance with the ruler of the
island and agreed to help him attack the neighboring natives on the island of Mactan.
Magellan was killed on April 27, 1521 during the Mactan expedition. What happens to the
crew now that their leader is dead? A young Spanish navigator named Juan Sebastian del
Cano takes over. Meanwhile two ships escaped and the other one was burned. The last ship,
Victoria, was commanded by del Cano through the Cape of Good Hope route to Seville on
September 6,1522. Although Magellan did not live to make the journey home he did
circumnavigate the globe by passing the easternmost point he had visited on an earlier
voyage. The cargo of spices brought back to Spain on the Victoria alone paid for the
expenses of the Expedition. The passage through the Strait of Magellan was too long and
difficult to be a practical trade route from Europe to the Moluccas, however, and Spain
sold her interests there to Portugal. The voyage laid a foundation for trade in the
Pacific between the New World and the East. Though Spain did not recognize the importance
of the Philippines immediately, before the end of the century, Manila became the greatest
Spanish trading center in the East. Ferdinand Magellan proved to the world and all those
who rejected his ideas that one could circumnavigate the world. His discoveries and
passages opened new doors to a larger world. He will always be remembered as the first man
who sailed around the world.
