Portuguese Navigator Ferdinand Magellan Begins His Voyage from Spain to Find a Western Sea Route to the Rich Spice Islands of Indonesia. September 20, 1519.

Image: Ferdinand Magellan. (Wikimedia Commons.)

On this day in history, September 20, 1519, Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan begins his voyage from Spain to find a western sea route to the rich Spice Islands of Indonesia. In control of five ships and 270 men, Magellan navigated to West Africa and then to Brazil, where he explored the South American coast for a passage that would lead him to the Pacific Ocean.

Ferdinand Magellan was born in Sabrosa, Portugal, in 1480, to a family of minor Portuguese aristocracy. At age 12, Magellan and his brother Diogo journeyed to Lisbon to work as pages at Queen Leonora’s court. While at the court, Magellan was subjected to tales of the great Portuguese and Spanish competition for sea discovery and supremacy over the spice trade in the East Indies, particularly the Spice Islands, or the Moluccas, in modern Indonesia. Fascinated by the potential of fame and treasures, Magellan developed an interest in nautical discovery in those early days.

In 1505, Magellan and his brother were transferred to a Portuguese fleet bound for India. Over the following seven years, Magellan took part in numerous voyages to India and Africa and was injured in various military engagements. In 1513, he enlisted in the massive 500-ship 15,000-soldier army dispatched by King Manuel to Morocco to confront the Moroccan governor, who declined to pay its annual tribute to the Portuguese kingdom. The Portuguese effortlessly overcame the Moroccan forces, and Magellan settled in Morocco. While there, he was critically injured in a battle, leaving him with a limp for the rest of his life.

In the 15^th century, spices were at the core of the world market, much like oil is today. Very much prized for seasoning and conserving food and masking the taste of meat gone bad, spices like cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and especially black pepper were precious. Since spices could not be grown in chilly and dry Europe, effort was not spared to find the fastest sea lane to the Spice Islands. Portugal and Spain led the struggle for early control over this significant product. Europeans had sailed east to the Spice Islands, but none had yet sailed west from Europe to reach that area. Magellan was dead set on being the first to do so.

As a skilled sailor, Magellan contacted King Manuel of Portugal to seek assistance for a westbound expedition to the Spice Islands. The king rejected his request over and over. In 1517, a discouraged Magellan disavowed his Portuguese nationality and moved to Spain to seek royal support for his endeavor.

Just 18 years old at the time, King Charles I conferred his support to Magellan, who assured the young monarch that his westward sea voyage would bring considerable treasures to Spain.

On August 10, 1519, Magellan said goodbye to his wife and young son, neither of whom he would ever see again, and the Armada De Moluccas set sail. Magellan was the expedition’s leader, and the lead ship Trinidad was accompanied by four other vessels: the Conception, the San Antonio, the Victoria, and the Santiago. The voyage would prove prolonged and grueling, and just one ship, the Victoria, would return three years later across the Pacific, carrying only 18 of the fleet’s original crew of 270.

In September 1519, Magellan’s flotilla set sail from Sanlucar de Barrameda, Spain, and crossed the Atlantic Ocean. The convoy reached South America about a month later. Once there, the ships moved southerly, embracing the coast to pursue the legendary strait permitting transit through South America. The armada stopped at Port San Julian, where the crew mutinied on Easter Day in 1520. Magellan immediately suppressed the revolt, killing one of the captains and leaving another rebellious captain behind. With those unfortunate incidents in the rearview mirror, the fleet left Port San Julian five months later when fierce seasonal storms lessened.

On October 21, 1520, Magellan finally arrived in the strait that he had been looking for, which came to bear his name. The journey across the Strait of Magellan was perilous and freezing, and numerous sailors continued to distrust their leader and complain about the risks ahead. In the early days of the navigation of the strait, the crew of the San Antonio compelled its captain to mutiny, and the ship turned and bolted across the Atlantic Ocean, returning to Spain. Only three of the original five ships remained in Magellan’s fleet by this time.

After more than a month of navigating the strait, Magellan’s remaining fleet had crossed it by November 1520 to observe a massive ocean before them. They were the first Europeans to view the Pacific Ocean.

It took three months for the fleet to slowly travel across the vast Mar Pacifico. The days crept along as Magellan’s crew nervously waited to see land. Finally, the armada reached the Pacific Island of Guam in March 1521, where they were able to replenish their food stores. Magellan’s flotilla then cruised to the Philippine archipelago, landing on the island of Cebu, where Magellan made friends with the locals and, hit with an unexpected religious fervor, tried to persuade them to convert to Christianity. Magellan was now closer than ever to reaching the Spice Islands, but when the people of Cebu requested help battling their neighbors on the island of Mactan, Magellan concurred. He assumed it would be a quick victory with their superior European weapons, and despite the suggestion of his men not to intervene, Magellan decided to lead the attack himself. The Macanese fought ferociously, and Magellan collapsed when hit with a poisonous arrow. Ferdinand Magellan died on April 27, 1521.

After Magellan’s killing, the survivors, in two ships, sailed on to the Moluccas and loaded their hulls with spice. One ship made an unsuccessful attempt to return home across the Atlantic Ocean. The other boat, the Victoria, continued west under the command of the Basque navigator Juan Sebastien de Elcano. The vessel sailed across the Indian Ocean, came around the Cape of Good Hope, and landed at the Spanish port of Sanlucar de Barrameda with only 18 men from the original crew of 270 on September 6, 1522, becoming the first ship to circumnavigate the globe.