Magellan and the first circumnavigation of the world. What did Magellan discover? Magellan's discoveries. Magellan's Expedition

After Balboa discovered the South Sea, the Spaniards became very suspicious of the appearance of Portuguese ships in Caribbean waters. Spanish authorities on the island. Hispaniola (Haiti) at the end of 1512 received an order from King Ferdinand to “monitor the non-existent strait” and seize any ship. The first casualty of this order was the Portuguese captain Isteván Frois in 1512, hunting for slaves off the northern shores South America. His caravel required repairs, and he decided to approach the shores of Hispaniola. Here he was immediately captured and thrown into prison with his entire team.

Another caravel accompanying Froish, under the command of Joao Lizboa, already familiar to us, managed to disappear and safely reach Madeira; then, apparently without fear, he entered the Spanish port of Cadiz, where he sold his cargo of brazil wood. In the port or in Madeira, as they now say, he was interviewed by a “correspondent” of a small newspaper published in Augsburg.

Lizboa told the “journalist” that somewhere in South America there was a long strait through which one could pass to the “East Indies.” A note about this discovery, published no later than 1514, reported, without mentioning the names of the ships, about a voyage “to the Plate River.” Historians of discoveries today believe that I. Froisch and J. Lizboa reached approximately 35° south. sh., entered the La Plata Bay, but were not fully explored - its length is 320 km - and therefore mistaken for a strait. We can, therefore, say that they discovered the coast of South America from 26° 15" S to 35° S for more than 1.5 thousand km. T, decided to send a flotilla of three ships to search for the strait. He appointed Juan Diaz Solis as its commander, who became the main pilot of Castile in 1512 (after Amerigo Vespucci). Solis sailed no earlier than October 8, 1515, but it is not known where he touched the South American continent, and, moving along the Brazilian coast deviating to the southwest, at 35 ° S. w. reached the new "Fresh Sea". He then rounded a minor protrusion (Montevideo) and traveled west for about 200 km, probably convinced that he had found a passage to the Eastern Ocean. But he opened the mouths of two

big rivers

- Parana and Uruguay.

Solis landed on shore in mid-February 1516 and was killed there by Indians. Two ships of his flotilla returned to Spain in September of the same year. Later, Magellan named the common mouth of the two rivers Rio de Solis (from the mid-16th century - La Plata). Magellan's project and the composition of his expedition IN a poor Portuguese nobleman took part in the conquest of India and Malacca from 1505 to 1511 Ferdinand Magellan - that’s what they call him; His real name is Magalhães. He was born around 1480 in Portugal, in 1509 and 1511. on Portuguese ships reached Malacca, and according to S. Morison, even the “Spice Islands” (Ambon Island). In 1512 - 1515 he fought in North Africa where he was wounded. Returning to his homeland, he asked the king for a promotion, but was refused. Insulted, Magellan left for Spain and entered into company with a Portuguese astronomer. Rui Faleiro , who claimed that he had found a way to accurately determine geographical longitudes

After a long bargaining with the royal advisers, who negotiated for themselves a substantial share of the expected income, and after concessions from the Portuguese, an agreement was concluded with them: Charles I undertook to equip five ships and supply the expedition with supplies for two years. Before sailing, Faleiro abandoned the enterprise, and Magellan, undoubtedly the soul of the whole affair, became the sole leader of the expedition. He raised the admiral's flag on the Trinidad (100 tons). The Spaniards were appointed captains of the remaining ships: “San Antonio” (120 tons) - Juan Cartagena , who also received the powers of the royal controller of the expedition; "Concepcion" (90 t) - Gaspar Quesada ;"Victoria" (85 t) - Luis Mendoza and “Santiago” (75 t) - Juan Serrano. The staff of the entire flotilla numbered 293 people, there were another 26 freelance crew members on board, among them a young Italian Antonio Pigafetta, future historian of the expedition. Since he was neither a sailor nor a geographer, a very important primary source is the entries in the ship's logs that Francisco Albo, the assistant navigator, kept on the Trinidad. First

circumnavigation An international team set off: in addition to the Portuguese and Spaniards, it included representatives of more than 10 nationalities..

Cartagena was released, the rebels captured the Victoria, Concepción and San Antonio, arrested Mishkita, and Quezada mortally wounded an assistant loyal to Magellan. They pointed their guns at the Trinidad and demanded that Magellan come to them for negotiations. Opposite the admiral's two ships were three rebel ones, preparing for battle. But the rebels did not trust their sailors, and on one ship they even disarmed them. Under dire circumstances, Magellan showed calm determination. He sent his faithful alguacil (police officer)

Gonzalo Gomez Espinosa

with several sailors on the Victoria - invite her captain for negotiations on the admiral's ship. He refused, then Alguacil thrust a dagger into his throat, and one sailor finished him off. Magellan's brother-in-law, the Portuguese Duarte Barbosa, immediately took possession of the Victoria and was appointed her captain. Now the rebels had only two ships, and to prevent them from deserting, the prudent admiral, as mentioned above, took up a convenient position in advance at the exit of the bay. The San Antonio tried to break into the ocean, but the sailors, after a salvo from the Trinidad, tied up the officers and surrendered. The same thing happened at Concepción. Magellan dealt harshly with the rebel captains: he ordered Quesada's head to be cut off, Mendoza's corpse to be quartered, Cartagena to be landed on the deserted shore along with the conspirator-priest, but he spared the rest of the rebels. At the beginning of May, the admiral sent Serrano to the south on the Santiago for reconnaissance, but on May 3 the ship crashed on the rocks near the river. Santa Cruz (at 50° S) and its crew barely managed to escape (one sailor died). On August 24, the flotilla left San Julian Bay and reached the mouth of Santa Cruz, where it remained until mid-October, waiting for the onset of spring. On October 18, the flotilla moved south along the Patagonian coast, which forms in this area (between 50 and 52° S) the wide bay of Bahia Grande. Before going to sea, Magellan told the captains that he would look for a passage to the South Sea and turn east if he did not find a strait to 75 south. sh., i.e. he himself doubted the existence of the “Patagonian Strait”, but wanted to continue the enterprise until the last opportunity. A bay or strait leading to the west was found on October 21, 1520, beyond 52° S. sh., after Magellan discovered the previously unknown Atlantic coast South America for about 3.5 thousand km (between 34 and 52° S).

Having rounded Cape Dev (Cabo Virgenes), the admiral sent two ships forward to find out whether there was access to the open sea in the west. At night a storm arose that lasted two days. The sent ships were in danger of death, but at the most difficult moment they noticed a narrow strait, rushed forward and found themselves in a relatively wide bay; They continued along it and saw another strait, behind which a new, wider bay opened.

Young Charles I, King of Spain (later Emperor Charles V), grandson of Ferdinand and Isabella

Artist: Bernard van Orley

"Trinidad" and "Victoria" entered the southwest channel, stood at anchor there waiting for four days and returned back to join two other ships, but only "Concepcion" was there: in the southeast she reached a dead end - in Inutil Bay - and turned back. San Antonio hit another dead end; on the way back, not finding the flotilla in place, the officers wounded and shackled Mishkita and at the end of March 1521 returned to Spain. The deserters accused Magellan of treason to justify themselves, and they were believed: Mishkita was arrested, Magellan’s family was deprived of government benefits. His wife and two children soon died in poverty. But the admiral did not know under what circumstances the San Antonio disappeared. He believed that the ship was lost, since Mishkita was his trusted friend. Following along northern shore the greatly narrowed Patagonian Strait (as Magellan called it), he rounded the very. southern point South American continent - Cape Froward (on the Brunswick Peninsula, 53 ° 54 "S) and for another five days (November 23–28) he led three ships to the northwest as if along the bottom mountain gorge High mountains (the southern end of the Patagonian Cordillera) and the bare shores seemed deserted, but in the south haze was visible during the day, and at night the lights of fires were visible. And Magellan called this southern land, the size of which he did not know, “Land of Fire” (Tierra del Fuego). According to another version, he called

southern country “Land of Smokes” (hearths) - Tierra de los Humos (as shown on the Spanish map of 1529) But Charles I renamed it “Land of Fires” on the grounds that “there is no smoke without fire.” Main Cordillera. From Fr. Mocha (38 ° 30 "S) the ships turned to the northwest, and on December 21, being at 30 ° S and 80 ° W, - to the west-northwest.

It cannot, of course, be said that during his 15-day voyage north from the Strait, Magellan discovered the coast of South America over 1500 km, but he at least proved that in the latitude range from 53°15" to 38°30" S . w. the western coast of the continent has an almost meridional direction.

“...We... plunged into the vastness Pacific Sea. For three months and twenty days we were completely deprived of fresh food. We ate crackers, but they were no longer crackers, but cracker dust mixed with worms... It smelled strongly of rat urine. We drank yellow water that had been rotting for many days. We also ate cowhide covering the yards... We soaked them in sea water for four to five days, after which we placed them on hot coals for a few minutes and ate them. We often ate sawdust.

Rats were sold for half a ducat apiece, but even for that price it was impossible to get them” (Pigafetta). Almost everyone suffered from scurvy; 19 people died, including a Brazilian and a Patagonian "giant". Fortunately, the weather was good all the time: that is why Magellan called the ocean Pacific. It was probably during their passage across the Pacific Ocean in the southern hemisphere that Magellan's satellites noticed two star systems that were later named the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. “The south pole is not as stellar as the north,” writes Pigafetta, “clusters are visible here large number

Crossing the Pacific Ocean, Magellan's flotilla covered at least 17 thousand km, most of them in the waters of Southern Polynesia and Micronesia, where countless small islands are scattered. It is amazing that during this entire time the sailors encountered only “two deserted islands, on which they found only birds and trees.” According to Albo's records, the first (San Pablo), discovered on January 24, 1521, is located at 16° 15", and the second (Tivurones, i.e. "Sharks", February 4) - at 10° 40" S. w. Magellan and Albo determined latitude very accurately for that time, but since the correct calculation of longitude in the 16th century. Needless to say, it is impossible to confidently identify these islands with any islands on our maps. It is most likely that San Pablo is one of the northeastern islands of the Tuamotu archipelago, Tivurones is one of southern islands Line (Central Polynesia).

During this segment, Magellan made the first measurement of the sea depths, which can be classified as “scientific”. He was unable to reach the bottom with the help of six connected lines of several hundred fathoms and came to the conclusion that he had discovered the deepest part of the ocean.

Historians are puzzled why Magellan crossed the equator and went beyond 10° N. w. - He knew that the Moluccas are located at the equator. But that’s where the South Sea lies, already known to the Spaniards. Perhaps Magellan wanted to make sure whether it was really part of the newly discovered ocean. On March 6, 1521, two inhabited islands finally appeared in the west (Guam and Rota, the southernmost of the Mariana group). Dozens of boats with balance beams came out to meet the strangers. They sailed using triangular “Latin” sails made from palm leaves. Guam (13°30" N) has inhabitants who are dark-skinned, well-built people, naked,

Women wore loincloths, "a narrow strip of paper-thin bark."

On March 15, 1521, having traveled about another 2 thousand km to the west, the sailors saw mountains rising from the sea - it was about. Samar is an East Asian group of islands later called the Philippines. Magellan looked in vain for a place to anchor - the rocky coast of the island did not offer a single chance. The ships moved a little south, to the island of Siargao near the southern tip of the island. Samar (at 10 ° 45 "N) and spent the night there. The length of the path traveled by Magellan from South America to the Philippines turned out to be many times greater than the distance that was shown on the maps of that time between the New World and Japan. In fact, Magellan proved that between America and tropical Asia lies a gigantic expanse of water, much wider than the Atlantic Ocean. The discovery of the passage from the Atlantic Ocean to the South Sea and Magellan's voyage through this sea made a real revolution in geography. It turned out that most of the surface of the globe is not occupied by land. and the ocean, and the existence of a single World Ocean was proven.

Out of caution, Magellan moved from Siargao to desert island Homonkhon, The waters to the west of it have become famous in our time: on October 24–26, 1944, the American naval forces defeated the Japanese fleet here; As a result, the Americans occupied all the Philippine islands except Fr. Luzon. lying south of the big island. Samar to stock up on water and give people a rest. Residents of the neighboring island delivered fruits, coconuts and palm wine to the Spaniards. They reported that “there are many islands in this region.” Magellan named the archipelago San Lazaro. The Spaniards saw gold earrings and bracelets, cotton fabrics embroidered with silk, and edged weapons decorated with gold from the local elder. A week later, the flotilla moved southwest and stopped at about. Limasawa (10°N, 125°E, south of Leyte Island). A boat approached the Trinidad. And when the Malayan Enrique, Magellan's slave, called out to the rowers on his native language, they understood him immediately. A couple of hours later, two large boats full of people arrived with the local ruler, and Enrique freely explained himself to them. It became clear to Magellan that he was in that part of the Old World where the Malay language was widespread, that is, not far from the “Spice Islands” or among them.

The ruler of the island gave Magellan pilots who accompanied the ships to the major trading port of Cebu. In Albo's journal and in Pigafetta, new island names appear for Europeans - Leyte, Bohol, Cebu, etc. Western European historians call this the discovery of the Philippines, although they had long been visited by Asian sailors, and Magellan and his companions saw Chinese goods there, such as porcelain dishes In Cebu they met the order of the real “civilized” world. The Raja (ruler) began by demanding that they pay a fee. Magellan refused to pay, but offered him friendship and military assistance, if he recognizes himself as a vassal of the Spanish king. The ruler of Cebu accepted the offer and a week later he was even baptized along with his family and several hundred subjects. Soon, according to Pigafetta, “all the inhabitants of this island and some from other islands” were baptized. On about. Cebu, he talked with several Arab merchants, who gave him information about other islands of the archipelago. As a result, for the first time, names such as Luzon, Mindanao and Sulu entered into geographical use with minor distortions.

As the patron of new Christians, Magellan intervened in the internecine war of the rulers of the island of Mactan, located opposite the city of Cebu. On the night of April 27, 1521, he went there with 60 people in boats, but because of the reefs they could not get close to the shore. Magellan, leaving crossbowmen and musketeers in the boats, waded to the island with 50 people. There, near the village, three detachments were waiting for them and attacked. The boats began firing at them, but arrows and even musket bullets at such a distance could not penetrate the wooden shields of the attackers. Magellan ordered the village to be set on fire. This enraged the Mactanians, and they began to shower the strangers with arrows and stones and throw spears at them. “... Our people, with the exception of six or eight people who remained with the captain, immediately fled... Having recognized the captain, many people attacked him... but still he continued to hold firm. Trying to pull out his sword, he only drew it halfway, as he was wounded in the arm... One [of the attackers] wounded him in the left leg... The captain fell face down, and then they pelted him... with spears and began to strike him with cutlasses, until they destroyed... our light, our joy... He kept turning back to see if we had all managed to get into the boats” (Pigafetta). In addition to Magellan, eight Spaniards and four allied islanders died. There were many wounded among the sailors. The old saying was confirmed: “God gave the Portuguese a very small country to live in, but the whole world to die.”

After the death of Magellan, D. Barbosa and X. Serrano were elected captains of the flotilla.

The newly baptized ruler of Cebu, having learned that the ships were about to leave, invited his allies to a farewell feast. 24 sailors, including Barbosa and Serrano, accepted the invitation and went ashore, but two - G. Espinosa and the Concepción pilot, Portuguese Joao Lopes Carvalho - returned, suspecting evil. Hearing screams and cries on the shore, they ordered the ships to come closer to the shore and fire their guns at the city. At this time, the Spaniards saw Serrano wounded, wearing only his shirt; he shouted to stop shooting, otherwise he would be killed and that all his comrades were killed, except for the Malay translator Enrique. He begged to be ransomed, but Corvalho forbade the boat to approach the shore. “...And he did this with the goal,” writes Pigafetta, “so that they alone would remain masters of the ships. And despite the fact that Juan Serrano, crying, begged him not to raise the sails so quickly, as they would kill him... we immediately left.” Immediately, Carvalho was declared the head of the expedition, and Espinosa was elected captain of the Victoria. There were 115 people left on the ships, many of them sick. It was difficult to manage three ships with such a crew, so the dilapidated Concepcion was burned in the strait between the islands of Cebu and Bohol.

"Victoria" and "Trinidad", leaving the strait, passed an island "where the people are black, like in Ethiopia" (the first reference to the Philippine Negritos); The Spaniards named this island Negros. In Mindanao, they first heard about the large island located to the northwest.

Pigafetta made productive use of the Victoria's month-long stay - he spent almost the entire month of July as a guest of the Sultan of Brunei and collected the first reliable information about Fr.

Kalimantan: “This island is so large that it would take three months to circumnavigate it in a prau” (Malayan ship). On September 7, the Spaniards set sail along the northwestern coast of Kalimantan During this detour, Pigafetta saw a rocky peak and dubbed it “Mount St. Peter” - this is Kinabalu (4101 m), highest point Malay Archipelago. and, having reached its northern end, stood for almost a month and a half at small island stocking up on food and firewood. They managed to capture a junk with a Malay sailor who knew the way to the Moluccas. Carvalho was soon removed “for failure to comply with royal decrees” and Espinosa was elected admiral. The former assistant navigator on the Concepción, a Basque, became the captain of the Victoria. Juan Sevastian Elcano

, otherwise - del Cano. On October 26, in the Sulawesi Sea, the ships weathered the first storm after leaving the Strait of Magellan. On November 8, a Malay sailor led the ships to the spice market on the island. Tidore, off the western coast of Halmahera, the largest of the Moluccas Islands.

Here the Spaniards bought spices cheaply - cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves. The Trinidad needed repairs, and it was decided that upon completion, Espinosa would go east to the Gulf of Panama, and Elcano would take the Victoria to her homeland by the western route around the Cape of Good Hope.

December "Victoria" with a crew of 60 people, including 13 Malays captured on the islands of Indonesia, moved from Tidore to the south. At the end of January 1522, a Malay pilot led the ship to about. Timor. On February 13, the Spaniards lost sight of him and headed for the Cape of Good Hope, spending three times more time wandering among the Malay Islands than crossing the Pacific Ocean. Elcano deliberately stayed away from the usual path of Portuguese ships, meeting with which threatened the Spaniards with prison and, perhaps, execution. In the southern part of the Indian Ocean, sailors saw only one island (at 37 ° 50 "S, Amsterdam). This happened on March 18. On May 20, Victoria rounded the Cape of Good Hope., Elcano proved that the “Southern” continent does not reach 40° S. w. During the passage through the unknown sea expanses of the Indian Ocean, the ship's crew was reduced to 35 people, including four Malays. On the Cape Verde Islands, owned by Portugal, where a stop was made to replenish supplies of fresh water and food, it turned out that the sailors “lost” one day, going around the land from the west; For this “loss”, all surviving members of the Victoria crew were subjected to humiliating punishment - public repentance: from a church point of view, such “negligence” led to incorrect observance of fasts. This fact is a vivid illustration of the ignorance of the clergy, who refused to even suggest the possibility of a natural explanation interesting fact“loss” of the day, which first appeared during the circumnavigation of Magellan and his companions. here, near Santiago, 12 more Spaniards and one Malay fell behind, arrested on suspicion of having reached the Moluccas by the eastern route. On September 6, 1522, the Victoria, having lost another sailor on the way, reached the mouth of the Guadalquivir, completing the first circumnavigation in history in 1081 days.

Of Magellan's five ships, only one circumnavigated Earth, and of its crew of 265 people, only 18 returned home (there were three Malays on board). 13 sailors arrested on Santngu arrived home later, released by the Portuguese at the request of Charles I. But Victoria brought so many spices that their sale more than covered the costs of the expedition, and Spain received the “right of first discovery” to the Mariana and Philippine Islands and laid claim to the Moluccas.

Magellan, with his circumnavigation of the world, proved that the greatest expanse of water stretches between America and Asia, and established the existence of a single World Ocean. Magellan put an end to the debate about the shape of our planet forever by providing practical evidence of its spherical shape. Thanks to him, scientists finally had the opportunity to establish the true size of the Earth not speculatively, but on the basis of irrefutable data.

The repair of the Trinidad took more than three months, and she sailed from Tidore under the command of Espinosa (navigator Leone Pancaldo) with a crew of 53 people and an almost 50-ton cargo of spices only on April 6, 1522. Having rounded the northern end of the island. Halmahera, Espinosa immediately headed east, towards Panama. However, contrary winds soon forced him to turn north. In early May, he discovered the Sonsorol Islands (at 5° N, in the extreme west of the Caroline chain), and between 12 and 20° N. w. - 14 other islands from the Mariana group. From one of them, most likely from Fr. Agrikhan (at 19° N), a native was taken on board. Fighting easterly winds, stormy weather and cold, Espinosa reached 43° N on June 11. w. Now we can only guess how far to the east the ship moved - probably the Spaniards were between 150 and 160° east. d. A 12-day storm, bad food and weakness forced the sailors to turn back. By this time, more than half of the team had died from hunger and scurvy. On the way back on August 22, Espinosa discovered several more northern Mariana Islands, including Maug at 20° N. sh., and returned to the Moluccas around October 20, 1522. The sailor who deserted from Maug Gonzalo Vigo later went by boat to Fr. Guam with the help of the indigenous people. Having become acquainted in this way with almost all the significant islands between Maug and Guam, he completed the discovery of the Mariana chain, which stretches more than 800 km.

Meanwhile, in mid-May 1522, a Portuguese military flotilla approached the Moluccas Antonio Brito. Carrying out the task of taking possession of the archipelago and preventing the violation of the Portuguese monopoly, he built a fort on the island. Ternate. Having received news at the end of October that a European ship was near the Moluccas, Brito sent three ships with orders to capture it, and they brought the Trinidad to Ternate, which had 22 people. Britu seized the cargo and took away the nautical instruments, charts and, no doubt, the ship's log. This explains the Portuguese’s awareness of the path of Magellan’s expedition, his death and subsequent events, and Brito received additional information by interrogating “with passion” the sailors he captured. After a four-year imprisonment, only four of the Trinidad crew survived and in 1526 returned to Spain, including Gonzalo Espinosa, also completing a circumnavigation.

Web design © Andrey Ansimov, 2008 - 2014

On September 20, 1519, the flotilla left the port of San Lucar at the mouth of the Guadalquivir. When crossing the ocean, Magellan developed a good signaling system; the different types of ships of his flotilla were never separated. Disagreements between him and the Spanish captains began very soon: beyond the Canary Islands, Cartagena demanded that the commander consult with him regarding any change of course. Magellan calmly and proudly replied: “Your duty is to follow my flag during the day and my lantern at night.”

A few days later, Cartagena raised the issue again. Then Magellan, who, despite his small stature, was distinguished by great physical strength, grabbed him by the collar and ordered him to be kept in custody on the Victoria, and appointed his relative, the “supernumerary” sailor Alvar Mishpita, as captain of the San Antonio.

On September 26, the flotilla approached the Canary Islands, and on November 29 reached the coast of Brazil near 8° S. sh., December 13 - Guanabara Bay, and December 26 - La Plata. The expedition's navigators were the best at that time: while determining latitudes, they made adjustments to the map of the already known part of the continent. Thus, Cape Cabo Frio, by their definition, is not located at 25° south. sh., and at 23° S. w. - their error was less than 2 km from its true position. Not trusting the reports of Solis's satellites, Magellan explored both low-lying banks of La Plata for about a month; Continuing the discovery of the flat territory of Pampa, begun by Lizboa and Solis, he sent the Santiago up the Paraná, and, of course, did not find a passage to the South Sea. Further on stretched an unknown, sparsely populated land. And Magellan, fearing to miss the entrance to the elusive strait, on February 2, 1520, ordered to weigh anchor and move as close to the coast as possible only during the day, and stop in the evening. While anchored on February 13 in the large bay of Bahia Blanca he discovered, the flotilla withstood a terrifying thunderstorm, during which the lights of St. Elmo appeared on the masts of the ships. On February 24, Magellan discovered another large bay - San Matias, rounded the Valdez Peninsula he had identified and took refuge for the night in a small harbor, which he named Puerto San Matias (Golfo Nuevo Bay on our maps, at 43° S latitude) . To the south, near the mouth of the river. Chubut, on February 27, the flotilla came across a huge concentration of penguins and southern elephant seals. To replenish food supplies, Magellan sent a boat to the shore, but an unexpected squall threw the ships into the open sea. The sailors who remained on the shore, in order not to die from the cold, covered themselves with the bodies of killed animals. Having collected the “procurers,” Magellan moved south, pursued by storms, explored another bay, San Jorge, and spent six stormy days in a narrow bay (the estuary of the Rio Deseado River, near 48° S). On March 31, when the approach of winter became noticeable, he decided to spend the winter in San Julian Bay (at 49° S). Four ships entered the bay, and the Trinidad stood at anchor at the entrance to it. The Spanish officers wanted to force Magellan to “follow the royal instructions”: turn to the Cape of Good Hope and take the eastern route to the Moluccas. That same night a riot began. Cartagena was released, the rebels captured the Victoria, Concepcion and San Antonio, arrested Mishkita, and Quesada mortally wounded an assistant loyal to Magellan. They aimed their guns at the Trinidad and demanded that Magellan come to them for negotiations. Opposite the admiral's two ships were three rebel ones, preparing for battle. But the rebels did not trust their sailors, and on one ship they even disarmed them.

Under dire circumstances, Magellan showed calm determination. He sent his loyal alguacil (police officer) Gonzalo Gomez Espinosa with several sailors to the Victoria to invite its captain for negotiations on the admiral's ship. He refused, then Alguacil thrust a dagger into his throat, and one sailor finished him off. Magellan's brother-in-law, the Portuguese Duarte Barbosa, immediately took possession of the Victoria and was appointed her captain. Now the rebels had only two ships, and to prevent them from deserting, the prudent admiral, as mentioned above, took up a convenient position in advance at the exit of the bay. The San Antonio tried to break into the ocean, but the sailors, after a salvo from the Trinidad, tied up the officers and surrendered. The same thing happened at Concepción. Magellan dealt harshly with the rebel captains: he ordered Quesads' head to be cut off, Mendoza's corpse to be quartered, and Cartagena to be landed on the deserted shore along with the conspirator-priest, but spared the rest of the rebels.

At the beginning of May, the admiral sent Serrano to the south on the Santiago for reconnaissance, but on May 3 the ship crashed on the rocks near the river. Santa Cruz (at 50° S) and its crew barely managed to escape (one sailor died). Magellan transferred Serrano as captain to the Concepción. Very tall Indians approached the wintering site. They were called Patagonians (in Spanish, “patagon” means big-footed), and their country has since been called Patagonia. Pigafetta exaggeratedly described the Patagonians as real giants. On August 24, the flotilla left San Julian Bay and reached the mouth of Santa Cruz, where it remained until mid-October, waiting for the onset of spring. On October 18, the flotilla moved south along the Patagonian coast, which forms in this area (between 50 and 52° S) the wide bay of Bahia Grande. Before going to sea, Magellan told the captains that he would look for a passage to the South Sea and turn east if he did not find a strait to 75 south. sh., i.e. he himself doubted the existence of the “Patagonian Strait”, but wanted to continue the enterprise until the last opportunity. A bay or strait leading to the west was found on October 21, 1520, beyond 52° S. latitude, after Magellan discovered the previously unknown Atlantic coast of South America for about 3.5 thousand km (between 34 and 52° S).

Having rounded Cape Dev (Cabo Virgenes), the admiral sent two ships forward to find out whether there was access to the open sea in the west. At night a storm arose that lasted two days. The sent ships were in danger of death, but at the most difficult moment they noticed a narrow strait, rushed there and found themselves in a relatively wide bay; They continued along it and saw another strait, behind which a new, wider bay opened.

Then the captains of both ships - Mishkita and Serrano - decided to return and report to Magellan that, apparently, they had found a passage leading to the South Sea. “...We saw these two ships approaching us in full sail with flags fluttering in the wind. Coming closer to us... they began to fire their guns and noisily greet us.” However, it was still far from entering the South Sea: Magellan walked south through narrow straits for several days until he saw two channels near the island. Dawson: one to the southeast, the other to the southwest. He sent the San Antonio and Concepcion to the southeast, and a boat to the southwest. The sailors returned “three days later with the news that they had seen the cape and the open sea.” The admiral shed tears of joy and named this cape Desired.

"Trinidad" and "Victoria" entered the southwest channel, stood at anchor there waiting for four days and returned back to join two other ships, but only the "Concepcion" was there: in the southeast it reached a dead end - in Inutil Bay - and turned back. San Antonio hit another dead end; on the way back, not finding the flotilla in place, the officers wounded and shackled Mishkita and at the end of March 1521 returned to Spain. The deserters accused Magellan of treason to justify themselves, and they were believed: Mishkita was arrested, Magellan’s family was deprived of government benefits. His wife and two children soon died in poverty. But the admiral did not know under what circumstances the San Antonio disappeared. He believed that the ship was lost, since Mishkita was his trusted friend. Following along the northern shore of the greatly narrowed Patagonian Strait (as Magellan called it), he rounded the southernmost point of the South American continent - Cape Froward (on the Brunswick Peninsula, 53 ° 54 "S) and another five days (23 - November 28) led three ships to the northwest, as if along the bottom of a mountain gorge. The high mountains (the southern end of the Patagonian Cordillera) and the bare shores seemed to be deserted, but in the south haze was visible during the day, and the lights of fires were visible at night. And Magellan called this southern land, the size of which he did not know, “Land of Fire” (Tierra del Fuego). On our maps it is inaccurately called Tierra del Fuego 38 days after Magellan found the Atlantic entrance to the strait, which actually connects. two oceans, he passed Cape “Zhelanny” (now Pilar) at the Pacific outlet of the Strait of Magellan (about 550 km).

Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego, Strait of Magellan

Magellan raised the admiral's flag on the hundred-ton ship Trinidad. The captains of the remaining ships were the Spaniards - the royal controller of the expedition Juan Cartagena ("San Antonio", 120 tons), Gaspar Quesada ("Concepcion", 90 tons), Luis Mendoza ("Victoria", 85 tons) and Juan Serrano ("Sant -Iago", 75 t). The crew of the entire flotilla consisted of 319 people of more than 10 nationalities, and among the 26 freelance participants was the Italian Antonio Pigafetta, thanks to whom (and also to the assistant navigator Francisco Albo) this expedition became part of the history of navigation.

The flotilla left the port of San Lucar on September 20, 1519. And already in the first weeks of the voyage, problems began caused by the ambitions of the Spanish captains. The royal controller of the Cartagena expedition demanded that the admiral coordinate with him any change in the course of the flotilla. Magellan's reaction was brief and expressive: “Your duty is to follow my flag during the day and my lantern at night.” When, a few days later, Cartagena began to “emerge” again, Magellan grabbed him by the collar and put him under arrest on the Victoria, and appointed his relative Alvara di Meschitu as captain of the San Antonio.

Having passed at the end of September Canary Islands On November 29, the flotilla reached the coast of Brazil, on December 13 - Guanabara Bay, and on December 26 - La Plata, the mouth of the Parana River. Thanks to the high qualifications of the expedition's navigators, clarifications were made to the values of previously determined latitudes, and therefore corrections were made to the contours of the known part of the continent. Magellan, after exploring the shores of La Plata for more than a month, sent the ship “Sant Iago” up the Parana, which was designated as the desired strait on Magellan’s secret map. Over the course of two weeks of careful searching, Magellan became convinced that this was not the case.

Fearing to miss the entrance to the elusive strait and therefore not succumbing to the temptation to explore and capture the unknown lands opening up to travelers, on February 2, 1520, Magellan ordered to weigh anchor. The flotilla was supposed to move along the coast in the immediate vicinity in the light of day, and stop at dusk. During such a stop in the Bay of Bahia Blanca, a terrible thunderstorm broke out, but the seasoned sailors were plunged into mystical horror not by thunder and almost continuous lightning, but by the unprecedented spectacle of a mysterious glow on the masts of ships. Later, this phenomenon, called “St. Elmo’s Fire,” would be perceived by superstitious sailors as a bad omen.

At the end of February, Magellan discovered the large Gulf of San Matias and the Valdez Peninsula. To the south, near the mouth of the Chubut River, sailors discovered many penguins and unprecedented animals - huge seals with trunks, which made them look like elephants. That’s what they were called – southern elephant seals – and they turned out to be very useful for replenishing food supplies. It was cold - the winter of the southern hemisphere was approaching, and the sailors, determined to sail in tropical conditions, did not have winter clothing. At the end of March, when winter began to assert itself more and more insistently, Magellan decided to spend the winter in San Julian Bay and ordered a reduction in the diet for this.

Realizing that this would cause discontent among the people, and given the poorly concealed hostility of the Spanish captains, Magellan prudently anchored his Trinidad at the entrance to the bay where the other four ships were located. The Spanish officers, who all this time were quietly gloating over the admiral's disappointment, counting on his voluntary refusal to continue sailing and not wanting to stay here for the winter, demanded that Magellan turn to the Cape of Good Hope and go to the Moluccas by the eastern route. Magellan categorically refused.

On the night of April 1, a riot broke out. The rebels liberated Cartagena, captured the Victoria, Concepción and San Antonio, arrested Mishkita and killed his assistant, loyal to Magellan. As follows from “Essays...” by I.P. and V.I. Magidovich, the rebels pointed their guns at the Trinidad and demanded that Magellan come to them for negotiations. Opposite the admiral's two ships were three rebel ones, preparing for battle. But the rebels did not trust their sailors, and on one ship they even disarmed them.

Under dire circumstances, Magellan showed calm determination. He sent his loyal alguacil (police officer) Gonzalo Gomez Espinosa with several sailors to the Victoria to invite its captain for negotiations on the admiral's ship. He refused, then Alguacil thrust a dagger into his throat, and one sailor finished him off. Magellan's brother-in-law, the Portuguese Duarto Barbosa, immediately took possession of the Victoria and was appointed her captain. Now the rebels had only two ships, and to prevent them from deserting, the prudent admiral, as mentioned above, took up a convenient position in advance at the exit of the bay. The San Antonio tried to break into the ocean, but the sailors, after a salvo from the Trinidad, tied up the officers and surrendered. The same thing happened at Concepción. Magellan dealt harshly with the rebel captains: he ordered Quesada's head to be cut off, Mendoza's corpse to be quartered, Cartagena to be landed on the deserted shore along with the conspirator-priest, but he spared the rest of the rebels.

At the beginning of May, the ship "Sant Iago" crashed on the rocks, but the crew, with the exception of one sailor, managed to escape. Magellan transferred Serrano as captain to the Concepción. The flotilla remained at the wintering site until August 24, and then left San Julian Bay and moved to the mouth of the Santa Cruz River, to remain there until the onset of spring. During the winter, the international crew had the opportunity to meet the natives. These were Indians with beautiful faces and slender figures, very tall. The sailors were especially struck by their long legs, which is why they were called Patagonians (from the Spanish “patagon” - long-legged). To some sailors (perhaps, especially to the short admiral), the Patagonians seemed like real giants - this is how the chronicler of the expedition, Pigafetta, described them. With his light hand, their entire country has since been called Patagonia.

When spring finally breathed in the air, the admiral ordered the anchors to be raised, and on October 18 the flotilla headed south along the Patagonian coast. Before going to sea, Magellan told the captains that he intended to continue searching for the strait leading to the South Sea, but in case of failure he was ready to turn the ships to the east. At the same time, he indicated the search limit for the strait - 75 degrees south latitude. But luck was close - the strait leading to the west was found on October 21, 1520 at 52 degrees. To find it, Magellan’s ships had to travel from 34 to 52 degrees south latitude and along the way discover the previously unknown Atlantic coast of South America for about 3.5 thousand kilometers.

At first it was not completely clear whether it was a strait or just a long and deep bay. To clarify this, the admiral, rounding Cape Virgenes, sent forward two ships - the San Antonio and the Concepcion, commanded by Mishquita and Serrano. During reconnaissance, the captains of both ships decided that the passage had been found, and reported this to Magellan. However, everything turned out to be not so simple. With further movement, the supposed strait was divided into several branches, and it was necessary to find the one that led to the South Sea. However, it was still far from reaching the South Sea: Magellan walked south through narrow straits for several days until he saw two channels turning to the southeast and southwest. He sent the Concepcion and San Antonio to the southeast, and to the southwest a boat with sailors, who three days later reported that they had seen the cape and the open sea. The admiral called this cape Desired...

The southeast-bound Concepción and San Antonio became separated en route, each vessel becoming deadlocked. But if the “Concepcion” turned back and went to join the “Trinidad” and “Victoria”, then on the “San Antonio”, which missed the flotilla on the way back, officer Isteván Gomiz mutinied. Captain Mishkita, who tried to pacify the riot, was wounded and shackled. Gomiž declared himself captain, and the deserters moved east to return to Spain at the end of March 1521. There, in order to justify themselves, they accused Magellan of treason. The authorities believed the slander, Mishkita was arrested, and Magellan’s family was deprived of government benefits.

The admiral, not knowing the reasons for the disappearance of the San Antonio, decided that the ship was lost. The remaining flotilla, following along the northern shore of the narrow Patagonian Strait, rounded the southernmost point of the South American continent, Cape Froward, and from November 23 to 28 moved northwest. The high mountains and deserted rocky shores seemed deserted, but at night the lights of fires were visible on the southern side of the strait. This gave Magellan the basis to give these shores the name “Tierra del Fuego” - “ Tierra del Fuego" A little over a month after discovering the Atlantic entrance to the strait connecting two oceans, the flotilla passed Cape Desired (Pilar) at the Pacific outlet. This sea corridor, which is 550 km long, is now known as the Strait of Magellan.

From the book Encyclopedic Dictionary (N-O) author Brockhaus F.A.

From the book Encyclopedic Dictionary (P) author Brockhaus F.A.

From the book Encyclopedic Dictionary (M) author Brockhaus F.A.

Strait of Magellan The Strait of Magellan separates the mainland of South America from the Tierra del Fuego islands. East part of it (320 km), starting between capes De Las Virgenes and Catherine Point, consists of three bays connected by two straits (Narrows), its shores are deserted and flat,

From the book 100 great geographical discoveries author Balandin Rudolf Konstantinovich

STRAIT NAMED AFTER THE PIRATE (Drake Passage) Geographical discoveries of the Renaissance were made by people who seemed to be in a state of hypnotic trance. Not only is swimming through Atlantic Ocean was a most dangerous undertaking. Arriving at New World,

From the book Unknown, Rejected or Hidden author Tsareva Irina Borisovna

PATAGONIA AND TERRITORY TIER When Magellan's ships were wintering in the Bay of San Julian, one day an unusually tall figure of a man dressed in skins appeared on a hill. His face was painted red, his eyes were circled with yellow circles, and two red hearts adorned him.

From the book Big Soviet Encyclopedia(MA) of the author TSB

From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (OG) by the author TSB

From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (PA) by the author TSB

From the book 100 Great Wonders of Nature by Wagner Bertil

From the book Encyclopedic Dictionary of Catchwords and Expressions author Serov Vadim Vasilievich

From the book The Complete Encyclopedia of Our Misconceptions author

From the book The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Our Misconceptions [with illustrations] author Mazurkevich Sergei Alexandrovich

Patagonia (Argentina) Argentina is the second largest country in South America after Brazil. Most of it is occupied by the pampa - a free high-grass steppe, similar to the Ukrainian or Canadian one. But south of the Rio Colorado River, a peculiar thing begins, unlike anything in the world.

From the book The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Our Misconceptions [with transparent pictures] author Mazurkevich Sergei Alexandrovich

Gehenna fiery Initially - the name of the valley of Hinnom (Hinnom) near Jerusalem, where the ancient Jews sacrificed children to the pagan gods Baal and As-tarte, putting them to fire (Old Testament, Fourth Book of Kings, Chapter 23, Art. 10). Serves synonymous with hellish torment and

From the author's book

Patagonia The southern part of South America has long been called Patagonia. This name comes from the word “Patagonians”, i.e. paw-footed. This is exactly what Ferdinand Magellan called the natives when he met them on the southern, rather deserted shores of South America during his famous

From the author's book

And he became the first to travel around the world. The navigator did geographical discovery: became the discoverer of new territories and straits, and also proved that the Earth is spherical.

It often happens that the place and time of birth of great people is unknown. The exact biography of Ferdinand Magellan has not reached his contemporaries, so the life of the navigator can only be judged by the guesses of scientists.

According to historians, Fernand was born at the end of the 15th century, in 1480. But scientists disagree about the date of birth: some believe that this event occurred on October 17, while others are sure that the future navigator was born on November 20. Magellan's hometown is considered to be either the village of Sabrosa, which is located in Portugal, or the city of Port, located in the same country. Little is also known about Fernand’s parents: they belonged to a poor but noble noble class. Father Ruy (Rodrigo) de Magalhães served as alcalde, and what the traveler’s mother Alda de Mosquita (Mishquita) did remains unknown.

In addition to Fernand, the family had four more children.

When the future navigator was 12 years old, he was a servant at the court of Leonora of Avis, wife of the Portuguese king Joao II the Perfect. Instead of court ceremonies and fencing, the unsociable servant was interested in the exact sciences: the page often secluded himself in a room and studied astronomy, cosmography and navigation.

The future navigator served as a court page until he was 24 years old.

Expeditions

In 1498, the Portuguese opened a sea route to India, so when Ferdinand Magellan turns 25, the future traveler leaves the royal court and volunteers to serve in the navy, and then to conquer the east under the leadership of Francisco de Almeida.

After serving in the navy for 5 years, Magellan attempts to return to his native country, but due to circumstances remains in India. For his courage and courage, Fernand receives the rank of officer and honor among the military.

In 1512, Magellan returned to Portugal to the city of Lisbon. Despite the courage shown during the conquests of the east, the navigator is greeted without honor in his homeland.

During the suppression of the uprising in Morocco, Magellan was wounded in the leg, which made the Portuguese navigator lame for life, so the former officer was forced to resign.

Trip around the world

IN free time The traveler studied the secret archives of the King of Portugal, where Fernand found an old map of a certain Martin Bayhem. A navigator discovers a strait connecting the Atlantic Ocean with the unexplored South Sea. The map of the German geographer inspired Fernand to cruise.

During a personal reception with the ruler, Magellan asks for permission to conduct a naval expedition, but is refused due to the fact that he acted spontaneously in suppressing Moroccan unrest, which angered the fifth king of Portugal, Manuel I. The reason for the refusal was that the king was sending ships to India around Africa, so he did not see any benefit in Magellan’s proposal.

Ferdinand Magellan's circumnavigation of the world

But Manuel makes it clear to Fernand that he will not express dissatisfaction if the traveler leaves the Portuguese service. Insulted by the sharp refusal and anger of the King of Portugal, Fernand goes to the sunny country of Spain, where he buys a house and continues to work on the idea of a sea trip around the world.

In the 15th century European countries oriental seasonings and spices were valued like gold. Spices were not produced in Europe, but the Arabs sold them on the market at high price. The rich people in those days were even jokingly called bags of pepper.

Therefore, the meaning of sea expeditions was to discover the shortest route to the Indian spice islands. In Spain, Fernand turns to the “Chamber of Contracts” with the idea of a sea voyage, but does not receive support from the department. A certain Juan de Aranda privately promises to help Magellan for 20% of the profits if the sea expedition to conquer the spice islands is successful. But Fernand, with the help of his astronomer friend Rui Falera, concluded a more profitable agreement, which was officially certified by a notary for one-eighth of the profit.

According to a document drawn up by the Pope in 1493: the territories that opened up to the east belonged to Portugal, and to the west became the property of Spain. King sunny country Charles approved the sea voyage of Ferdinand Magellan on March 22, 1518. The ruler hoped to prove that the rich islands, where black pepper and nutmeg grow, lay closer to the west, and therefore passed to Spain, although at that time they were subjugated by the Portuguese crown, following the Treaty of Tordesillas.

The sailors received one twentieth share of all the wealth obtained during the expedition.

The ships were preparing for the voyage with food supplies that would be enough for two years of stay on the ship. 5 ships took part in the voyage:

Trinidad (Magellan's flagship)
"San Antonio"
"Conception"
"Victoria",
"Santiago".

The great navigator commanded the Trinidad, and the Santiago was captained by João Serran. On the other three ships, the main ones were representatives of the Spanish nobility, and despite the scale of the travel, the sailors had strikes with each other. The Spaniards were unhappy that the round-the-world expedition, the essence of which was to reach Asia by going west, was commanded by a Portuguese, so they refused to obey. In addition, Fernand did not disclose the plan of action, which aroused suspicion among the commanders of other ships. The King of Spain ordered Magellan to be impeccably commanded, but the Spaniards made a secret agreement among themselves that they would remove the Portuguese captain if necessary.

Magellan's associate, astronomer Rui Faleira, was unable to take part in the expedition because he began to experience bouts of madness.

Ferdinand Magellan's voyage around the world began on September 20, 1519, with 256 sailors setting off from the port of San Lucaras towards the Canary Islands.

The ships moved along for a long time east coast South America in search of the South Sea. Magellan's team became the discoverers of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, located in the southern part of the continent and very beautiful, judging by modern photographs. The Portuguese believed that the group of islands - component"The Unknown Southern Land". The islands seemed empty, but as the travelers sailed past, lights lit up in the night. Fernand believed that this volcanic eruptions, for which he gave the archipelago a name associated with fire. But in fact, it was the Indians who lit the fires.

The ships passed between Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego (that Strait is now called the Strait of Magellan), then the travelers ended up in the Pacific Ocean.

From Fernand's trip around the world, he proved that the Earth is spherical; after 1081 days of sailing in 1522, only one ship, the Victoria, returned with 18 sailors on board, commanded by Elcano.

Personal life

Outwardly, Ferdinand Magellan did not resemble a descendant of nobles, since he resembled more of a peasant: he had an ordinary appearance, a strong physique and short stature. The traveler believed that the main thing in a person is not his external data, but his actions.

In the south of Spain, Ferdinand Magellan meets Diego Barbosa and marries his daughter, the beautiful Beatrice. The lovers have a son who dies due to illness. Fernand's wife tried to give birth to a second child, but could not stand the birth and died. Therefore, the great traveler had no descendants.

Death

Although significant food supplies had been prepared before the expedition, after several months of sailing the food and water ran out. Due to the lack of food, sailors had to chew the skin of the sails in order to at least slightly satisfy their hunger. The travelers lost 21 sailors, who died of exhaustion and scurvy.

The sailors, who had not seen land for a long time, reached the Philippine province. Magellan's team could stock up on food and continue on their way around the world, but Fernand got into a quarrel with the leader of the island of Mactan, Lapu-Lupu. The Portuguese wanted to show the natives the power of Spain and organize a military expedition against Mactan. But, to the surprise of the Europeans, they lost due to the lack of training and dexterity of the natives.

It might be useful to read: