Magellan is burning. Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego, Strait of Magellan. Discovery of the Mariana Islands

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

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

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

And he became the first to travel around the world. The navigator made a geographical discovery: he 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 years old, the future traveler leaves the royal court and volunteers to serve in the fleet, and then to conquer the east under the leadership of Francisco de Almeida.

Having served 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 an 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.

But Manuel makes it clear to Fernand that he will not express dissatisfaction if the traveler leaves the Portuguese service. Offended 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 voyage 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:

1. Trinidad (Magellan's flagship)
2. "San Antonio"
3. "Conception"
4. "Victoria",
5. "Santiago".

The great navigator commanded the Trinidad, and the Santiago was captained by João Serran. On the other three ships the main representatives were Spanish nobility, and despite the magnitude of the travel, the sailors had strikes with each other. The Spaniards were unhappy that round the world expedition, the essence of which was to reach Asia by going west, the Portuguese commanded, 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 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 (the Strait of Magellan is now called), 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 have stocked up on food and continued to travel 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.

On September 20, 1519, the flotilla left the port of San Lucar at the mouth of the Guadalquivir. While crossing the ocean, Magellan developed good system signaling, 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. In the parking lot on February 13 in what he discovered big bay The Bahia Blanca flotilla endured a terrifying thunderstorm, during which St. Elmo's lights appeared on the ships' masts. 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). . 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, 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 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 mountain gorge. The high mountains (the southern end of the Patagonian Cordillera) and bare shores seemed to be 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). On our maps it is inaccurately called Tierra del Fuego. 38 days later, after Magellan had found the Atlantic entrance to the strait that actually connected the two oceans, he passed Cape Desired (now Pilar) at the Pacific outlet of the Strait of Magellan (about 550 km).

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 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 the Canary Islands at the end of September, 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 primarily 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 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” - “Terra del Fuego”. A little over a month after discovering the Atlantic entrance to the strait connecting two oceans, the flotilla passed Cape “Welcome” (Pilar) at the Pacific outlet. This sea corridor, which is 550 km long, is now known as the Strait of Magellan.

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