when does ferdinand magellan voyage to moluccas start

• History Classics
• Your Profile
• Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window)
• Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window)
• Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window)
• Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window)
• Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window)
• This Day In History
• History Podcasts
• History Vault

Ferdinand Magellan

By: History.com Editors

Updated: October 4, 2023 | Original: October 29, 2009

In search of fame and fortune, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan (c. 1480-1521) set out from Spain in 1519 with a fleet of five ships to discover a western sea route to the Spice Islands. En route he discovered what is now known as the Strait of Magellan and became the first European to cross the Pacific Ocean. The voyage was long and dangerous, and only one ship returned home three years later. Although it was laden with valuable spices from the East, only 18 of the fleet’s original crew of 270 returned with the ship. Magellan himself was killed in battle on the voyage, but his ambitious expedition proved that the globe could be circled by sea and that the world was much larger than had previously been imagined.

Ferdinand Magellan’s Early Years

Ferdinand Magellan (c. 1480–1521) was born in Sabrosa, Portugal, to a family of minor Portuguese nobility. At age 12 Ferdinand Magellan ( Fernão de Magalhães in Portuguese and Fernando de Magallanes in Spanish) and his brother Diogo traveled to Lisbon to serve as pages at Queen Leonora’s court. While at the court Magellan was exposed to stories of the great Portuguese and Spanish rivalry for sea exploration and dominance over the spice trade in the East Indies, especially the Spice Islands, or Moluccas, in modern Indonesia. Intrigued by the promise of fame and riches, Magellan developed an interest in maritime discovery in those early years.

Did you know? Clove was the most valuable spice in Europe during Magellan's day. It was used to flavor food, but Europeans also believed that its essence could improve vision, its powder could relieve fevers and that it could enhance intercourse when mixed with milk.

In 1505, Magellan and his brother were assigned to a Portuguese fleet headed for India. Over the next seven years, Magellan participated in several expeditions in India, Southeast Asia, and Africa and was wounded in several battles. In 1513 he joined the enormous 500-ship, 15,000-soldier force sent by King Manuel to Morocco to challenge the Moroccan governor who refused to pay its yearly tribute to the Portuguese empire. The Portuguese easily overwhelmed the Moroccan forces, and Magellan stayed on in Morocco. While there he was seriously wounded in a skirmish, which left him with a limp for the rest of his life.

Magellan: From Portugal to Spain

In the 15th century, spices were at the epicenter of the world economy, much like oil is today. Highly valued for flavoring and preserving food as well as masking the taste of meat gone bad, spices like cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and especially black pepper were extremely valuable. Since spices could not be cultivated in cold and arid Europe, no effort was spared to discover the quickest sea route to the Spice Islands. Portugal and Spain led the competition for early control over this critical commodity. Europeans had reached the Spice Islands by sailing east, but none had yet to sail west from Europe to reach the other side of the globe. Magellan was determined to be the first to do so.

By now an experienced seaman, Magellan approached King Manuel of Portugal to seek his support for a westward voyage to the Spice Islands. The king refused his petition repeatedly. In 1517, a frustrated Magellan renounced his Portuguese nationality and relocated to Spain to seek royal support for his venture.

When Magellan arrived in Seville in October 1517, he had no connections and spoke little Spanish. He soon met another transplanted Portuguese named Diogo Barbosa, and within a year he had married Barbosa’s daughter Beatriz, who gave birth to their son Rodrigo a year later. The well-connected Barbosa family introduced Magellan to officers responsible for Spain’s maritime exploration, and soon Magellan secured an appointment to meet the king of Spain.

The grandson of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, who had funded Christopher Columbus ’s expedition to the New World in 1492, received Magellan’s petition with the same favor shown by his grandparents. Just 18 years old at the time, King Charles I granted his support to Magellan, who in turn promised the young king that his westward sea voyage would bring immeasurable riches to Spain.

Strait of Magellan

On August 10, 1519 Magellan bade farewell to his wife and young son, neither of whom he would ever see again, and the Armada De Moluccas set sail. Magellan commanded the lead ship Trinidad and was accompanied by four other ships: the San Antonio , the Conception , the Victoria and the Santiago . The expedition would prove long and arduous, and only one ship, the Victoria , would return three years later across the Pacific, carrying a mere 18 of the fleet’s original crew of 270.

In September 1519 Magellan’s fleet sailed from Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain, and crossed the Atlantic Ocean, which was then known simply as the Ocean Sea. The fleet reached South America a little more than one month later. There the ships sailed southward, hugging the coast in search of the fabled strait that would allow passage through South America. The fleet stopped at Port San Julian where the crew mutinied on Easter Day in 1520. Magellan quickly quelled the uprising, executing one of the captains and leaving another mutinous captain behind. Meanwhile Magellan had sent the Santiago to explore the route ahead, where it was shipwrecked during a terrible storm. The ship’s crew members were rescued and assigned out among the remaining ships. With those disastrous events behind them, the fleet left Port San Julian five months later when fierce seasonal storms abated.

On October 21, 1520 Magellan finally entered the strait that he had been seeking and that came to bear his name. The voyage through the Strait of Magellan was treacherous and cold, and many sailors continued to mistrust their leader and grumble about the dangers of the journey ahead. In the early days of the navigation of the strait, the crew of the San Antonio forced its captain to desert, and the ship turned and fled across the Atlantic Ocean back to Spain. At this point, only three of the original five ships remained in Magellan’s fleet.

The Magellan Expedition: Circumnavigation the Glob e

After more than a month spent traversing the strait, Magellan’s remaining armada emerged in November 1520 to behold a vast ocean before them. They were the first known Europeans to see the great ocean, which Magellan named Mar Pacifico, the Pacific Ocean, for its apparent peacefulness, a stark contrast to the dangerous waters of the strait from which he had just emerged. In fact, extremely rough waters are not uncommon in the Pacific Ocean, where tsunamis, typhoons and hurricanes have done serious damage to the Pacific Islands and Pacific Rim nations throughout history.

Little was known about the geography beyond South America at that time, and Magellan optimistically estimated that the trip across the Pacific would be rapid. In fact, it took three months for the fleet to make its way slowly across the vast Mar Pacifico. The days dragged on as Magellan’s crew anxiously waited to utter the magic words “Land, ho!” At last, the fleet reached the Pacific island of Guam in March 1521, where they finally replenished their food stores.

Magellan’s fleet then sailed on to the Philippine archipelago landing on the island of Cebu, where Magellan befriended the locals and, struck with a sudden religious zeal, sought to convert them to Christianity . Magellan was now closer than ever to reaching the Spice Islands, but when the Cebu asked for his help in fighting their neighbors on the island of Mactan, Magellan agreed. He assumed he would command a swift victory with his superior European weapons, and against the advice of his men, Magellan himself led the attack. The Mactanese fought fiercely, and Magellan fell when he was shot with a poison arrow. Ferdinand Magellan died on April 27, 1521.

Magellan would never make it to the Spice Islands, but after the loss of yet another of his fleet’s vessels, the two remaining ships finally reached the Moluccas on November 5, 1521. In the end, only the Victoria completed the voyage around the world and arrived back in Seville, Spain, in September 1522 with a heavy cargo of spices but with only 18 men from the original crew, including Italian scholar and explorer Antonio Pigafetta. The journal Pigafaetta kept on the voyage is a key record of what the crew encountered on their journey home.

Impact of Ferdinand Magellan

Seeking riches and personal glory, Magellan’s daring and ambitious voyage around the world provided the Europeans with far more than just spices. Although the trip westward from Europe to the east via the Strait of Magellan had been discovered and mapped, the journey was too long and dangerous to become a practical route to the Spice Islands. Nevertheless, European geographic knowledge was expanded immeasurably by Magellan’s expedition. He found not only a massive ocean, hitherto unknown to Europeans, but he also discovered that the earth was much larger than previously thought. Finally, although it was no longer believed that the earth was flat at this stage in history, Magellan’s circumnavigation of the globe empirically discredited the medieval theory conclusively.

Though Magellan is often credited with the first circumnavigation of the globe, he did so on a technicality: He first made a trip from Europe to present-day Malaysia, eastward via the Indian Ocean, and may have continued further east to the Spice Islands. He then later made his famous westward voyage that brought him to the Philippines. So he did cover the entire terrain, but it was not a strict point A to point A, round-the-world trip, and it was made in two different directions. His enslaved servant Enrique was born in the region, possibly near Malacca or Cebu, and had come to Europe with Magellan by ship. Enrique reached Cebu (and possibly Mallaca) on the expedition’s westward voyage, meaning he may have been the first person to circumnavigate the world in one direction to return to the same starting point.

HISTORY Vault: Columbus the Lost Voyage

Ten years after his 1492 voyage, Columbus, awaiting the gallows on criminal charges in a Caribbean prison, plotted a treacherous final voyage to restore his reputation.

Sign up for Inside History

Get HISTORY’s most fascinating stories delivered to your inbox three times a week.

By submitting your information, you agree to receive emails from HISTORY and A+E Networks. You can opt out at any time. You must be 16 years or older and a resident of the United States.

More details : Privacy Notice | Terms of Use | Contact Us

Magellan, Elcano and Their Voyage Around the World

Discover the details of the first circumnavigation of the globe..

By Naval Museum

Museo Naval

We Were The First: Magellan, Elcano, and the Voyage Around the World Naval Museum

The Voyage Around the World In 2019, Spain celebrated 500 years since 5 ships set sail from Seville, heading west in search of a new route to the spices of the east. Around 250 men from at least 9 different countries began the journey, which was funded by the Spanish monarch King Charles I. It was a journey that would end 3 years later with the arrival of just 1 ship carrying 18 men, having completed the first circumnavigation of the world.

Chart of Juan de la Cosa (1500) by Juan de la Cosa Original Source: Museo Naval Madrid.

The World of Magellan and Elcano

Finding a maritime route to the east was a constant preoccupation in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period. The decline of the overland trade route called the Silk Road forced European powers to look for new ways to the east. Portugal began crossing the Atlantic and Spain's Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand II and Isabella I, financed Christopher Columbus' voyage in search of a new route.

Ptolemy's Mappamundi (1472) by Claudio Ptolomeo Original Source: Museo Naval. Madrid. Todos los derechos reservados.

When Columbus set sail for the Indies in 1492, sea voyages were an adventure into the unknown. The discovery of new lands helped improve cartography, which was essential for navigation. Claudius Ptolemy's Geography, an ancient Roman atlas, was hugely influential in this, as it was the first example of using a systematic method to map the world.

The first map to depict the Americas was produced in 1500 by Juan de la Cosa. It represents the limits of European knowledge of this new world by the time Ferdinand Magellan's expedition set sail in 1519.

The Cantino planisphere. The original is in the Biblioteca Estense Universitaria library in Modena (1502-1505) by Anonimuos Original Source: Museo Naval. Madrid. Todos los derechos reservados.

In the east, accounts from merchants and travelers alluded to rich and fertile lands. To the south, Portuguese explorers had provided more specific details of the outline of the African coast. Looking west, the tales of Spanish conquistadors described the recently discovered Americas as a new land full of natural riches.

In 1502, Alberto Cantino's Planisphere, or world map, was the first to depict the meridian designated by the Treaty of Tordesillas. Signed in 1494, the treaty divided the rights to sail to and conquer new lands in the Atlantic Ocean and the New World between the Spanish monarchy and Portugal.

Model of the Victoria (2019) by Francisco Fernández González, Luis Fariña Filgueira, Fernando Sagra Sanz, José Antonio Álvarez Manzanares Original Source: Museo Naval. Madrid. All rights reserved.

Inspiration and Preparation for the Voyage

By that time, Europe had begun to realize that the Americas were a new continent rather than part of Asia, and so continued to send expeditions there. During one of these, Vasco Núñez de Balboa discovered the South Sea (now known as the Pacific Ocean) in 1513. This created new opportunities for navigation on the other side of Panama.

Ratification of the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) Original Source: Archivo del Museo Naval. Madrid. Todos los derechos reservados.

Spain and Portugal began searching for a passage to this ocean to reach the Indies, while adhering to the boundaries established in the Treaty of Tordesillas. Signed in 1494, this treaty comprised a series of agreements between King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile on the one hand, and King John II of Portugal on the other. These established a new line of demarcation between their kingdoms from pole to pole, 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands.

Portrait of Ferdinand Magellan (19th Century) by Spanish anonimous Original Source: Museo Naval. Madrid. Todos los derechos reservados.

Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese-born sailor who knew the Portuguese route to Africa and Asia, having sailed in the service of King Manuel I of Portugal for over 20 years. He wanted to begin a journey that would take a new route to the Moluccas (Spice Islands), but the idea did not get far at the Portuguese court. That is how he ended up in Spain, where he was welcomed by the young monarch Charles I, grandchild of Ferdinand and Isabella.

Model of the Victoria (2019) by Francisco Fernández González, Luis Fariña Filgueira, Fernando Sagra Sanz, José Antonio Álvarez Manzanares. Original Source: Museo Naval. Madrid. Todos los derechos reservados.

In 1518, an agreement (the Capitulaciones de Valladolid) was signed between Magellan, his cosmographer Rui Faleiro, and the Spanish monarch to find a new western route to the Spice Islands that avoided the areas under Portuguese control. They had five ships with which to make the journey (the "Trinidad", "San Antonio", "Concepción", "Victoria", and "Santiago"), which the Casa de la Contratación (House of Commerce) supplied with provisions for a planned two-year voyage.

The Voyage (1519–22)

The expedition left Seville on August 10, 1519, arriving in Sanlucár de Barrameda 10 days later to collect the final provisions and equipment. From there, they set sail into the unknown, on a journey that would take three years.

Map of South America (1630) by Gerardis Mercatoris Original Source: Museo Naval. Madrid. Todos los derechos reservados.

The Familiar: From Seville to Río de Solís Leaving Seville, they journeyed south and, at the beginning of October, they headed southwest across the Atlantic Ocean, which was already familiar to the experienced sailors. On December 13, they dropped anchor in Santa Lucia Bay (now Rio de Janeiro), where they picked up food supplies. In January 1520, they reached the mouth of Río de Solís (now Río de la Plata).

Map of America (Siglo XVI) by Diego Gutierrez Original Source: Museo Naval. Madrid.

The Unknown: From the Río de Solís to The South Sea Due to the weather, they decided to stop in Port St. Julian. The "Santiago" was lost on a reconnaissance mission, although the crew and cargo were saved. Discontent was starting to grow among the crew due to the rationing of supplies and not knowing which route to follow. Juan de Cartagena, led a mutiny with the support of the "Victoria" and the "Concepción". Magellan quelled the uprising, killing the captain of the "Victoria" (Luis de Mendoza) and the captain of the "Concepción" (Gaspar de Quesada), and abandoning Juan de Cartagena on an island in Patagonia.

Tierra del Fuego (18th century) by Anónimo Original Source: Museo Naval. Madrid.

On August 24, the expedition set off again, but with one less ship after the "Santiago" crashed into a sandbank. “On the 21st of the said month [October 1520] … we saw an opening like a bay … within this bay we found a strait … and passing this strait we found another small bay, and then we found another strait …” (Francisco Albo). They had finally found the passage. What is now known as the Strait of Magellan allowed them access to a new ocean that they called the Pacific.

Penguin Original Source: Museo Naval. Madrid.

The accounts of Antonio Pigafetta describe the never-before-seen animals they discovered there, such as the penguin, now known as the Magellanic penguin. During this discovery, the "San Antonio" deserted the expedition and turned east, back to Spain.

Model of a rowboat (rocking boat) (19th Century) by Spanish anonimous Original Source: Museo Naval. Madrid. Todos los derechos reservados.

The seas gradually became more difficult to navigate. They crossed open waters that were unknown to them, leading to a shortage in supplies and illness among the crew. The expedition landed on islands such as San Pablo, Guam, and the Caroline Islands, signing treaties of loyalty to the king of Spain and spreading Christianity along the way. Finally, in 1521, they reached the Archipelago of San Lazaro, now the Philippines.

Kris with wavy blade (c. 1840) by Philippine anonimous Original Source: Museo Naval. Madrid. Todos los derechos reservados.

Magellan's Death The commander of the expedition established good relations with the king of Cebu, Rajah Humabon, arousing suspicion in the other local kings. Quarrels broke out, with some in favor of the Spanish and others against, creating a hostile environment. Finally, in 1521, Magellan and 60 men confronted Lapu-Lapu, the king of Mactan. The island's reefs stopped the Spanish artillery boats from landing and they were attacked by 1,500 islanders. Magellan died in the battle.

Primus Circumdedisti Me (2019) by Augusto Ferrer Dalmau Original Source: Museo Naval. Madrid.

Elcano and the Arrival at the Moluccas The early departure from the Philippines led to a reorganization of the remaining crew. They set fire to the "Concepción", which was in poor condition, and the crew were split between the two remaining ships. The "Trinidad" was commanded by Gonzalo Gómez de Espinosa, and Juan Sebastián Elcano became captain of the "Victoria". At last, on November 8, 1521, they caught sight of the Moluccas, landing on Tidore.

Juan Sebastián Elcano (1854) by J. Donon Original Source: Museo Naval. Madrid. Todos los derechos reservados.

After arriving at these islands, they discovered the "Trinidad" was no longer seaworthy. Gómez de Espinosa stayed for a few months to repair the ship and wait for more favorable winds to help them sail east and return via the Americas. Meanwhile, Elcano began the return journey across the Indian Ocean towards Africa, setting course for the Cape of Good Hope, which was under Portuguese control.

The Return of the Victoria from the Moluccas to Seville Following more storms and illnesses, the "Victoria" landed in Cape Verde, in Portuguese territory, in May 1522 to carry out repairs and take on supplies. When the Portuguese discovered their cargo and the origin of the crew, they were forced to abandon the island suddenly, leaving some of the crew on land.

Juan Sebastián Elcano returning to Seville in 1522 (Ca. 1944-45) by Elías Salaverría Inchaurrandieta Original Source: Museo Naval. Madrid. Todos los derechos reservados.

“On the 4th of the said month [September 1522], in the morning, we saw land, and it was Cape St. Vincent, and it was to the northeast of us, and so we changed our course to the southeast …” (Francisco Albo). They had finally returned home. The "Victoria" reached Seville with 18 survivors, 4 days after catching sight of Cape St. Vincent. They had made it possible to carry out commercial trade around the world. They were the first to circumnavigate the globe.

Charles V welcoming back Elcano (1854) by Carlos Mugica y Pérez Original Source: Museo Naval. Madrid. Todos los derechos reservados.

The king summoned Juan Sebastián Elcano to Valladolid, where he gave him a personal report on the mission and requested the rescue of the crew members held prisoner in Cape Verde. The monarch granted him a lifetime income of 500 gold ducats a year—which he never paid him—and a coat of arms featuring a world globe with the inscription, "Primus circumdedisti me (You were the first to circumnavigate me)."

Model of the barquentine Juan Sebastián de Elcano, a training ship for the Royal Spanish Navy (1927–active service) (1982-1987) by José Francisco Arregui Arambarri Original Source: Museo Naval. Madrid. Todos los derechos reservados.

Elcano died four years later, during a new mission to the Moluccas led by García Jofre de Loaísa. The current Spanish navy training ship bears his name in his honor.

Descriptio Maris Pacifici (1589) by Abraham Ortelius Original Source: Museo Naval. Madrid. Todos los derechos reservados.

Legacy: A New World

The importance of the Magellan-Elcano voyage far exceeded the original plans for the expedition.

Universal Chart (1866) by Diego Ribero Original Source: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana (Vatican City)

What began as a mission to find a way to the Spice Islands, far from the Portuguese routes, became a successful enterprise for two other reasons: it helped prove the shape of the Earth and showed that the Americas were not part of the Indies, but in fact a whole new continent. It generated numerous economic, geographic, and political changes, and led to the beginnings of globalization.

Organized by the Naval Museum, Madrid Curators: Enrique Martínez Ruiz, Susana García Ramírez, José María Moreno Martín Online adaptation: Blanca Sazatornil, Alicia Suárez. Outreach Department, Naval Museum, Madrid. This exhibition is part of the First Voyage Around the World project.

Chart of Juan de la Cosa: The First Known Map of America

Naval museum, elcano's return (el regreso de elcano), navigational instruments and equipment in the 16th century, scale model ships, masters of the sea, lords of the world, midshipmen: the arrival of science in spain, isaac peral and the invention of the first electric submarine, blas de lezo, the last voyage of the mercedes, la batalla de lepanto.

History of Spain

Magellan expedition

The Magellan expedition , often called Magellan–Elcano expedition, was a Spanish expedition initially led by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan to the Moluccas, which departed from Spain in 1519, and culminated with the first circumnavigation of the world in 1522 by the Spaniard Juan Sebastián Elcano. The expedition accomplished its primary goal — to find a western route to the Moluccas (Spice Islands). The fleet left Spain on 20 September 1519, sailed across the Atlantic and down the eastern coast of South America, eventually discovering the Strait of Magellan, allowing them to pass through to the Pacific Ocean (which Magellan named).

The fleet completed the first Pacific crossing, stopping in the Philippines , and eventually reached the Moluccas after two years. A much-depleted crew led by Juan Sebastián Elcano finally returned to Spain on 6 September 1522, having sailed west, around the Cape of Good Hope, through waters controlled by the Portuguese . The fleet initially consisted of about 270 men and five ships. The expedition faced numerous hardships including Portuguese sabotage attempts, mutinies, starvation, scurvy, storms, and hostile encounters with indigenous people. Only 30 men and one ship (the Victoria) completed the return trip to Spain. Magellan himself died in battle in the Philippines, and was succeeded as captain-general by a series of officers, with Elcano eventually leading the Victoria's return trip. The expedition was funded mostly by King Charles I of Spain, with the hope that it would discover a profitable western route to the Moluccas, as the eastern route was controlled by Portugal under the Treaty of Tordesillas.

We value your feedback. If you find any missing, misleading, or false information, please let us know. Please cite the specific story and event, briefly explain the issue, and (if possible) include your source(s). Also, if you encounter any content on our site you suspect might infringe copyright protections, do let us know. We are committed to respecting intellectual property rights and will promptly address any issues raised. Thank you.

• Corrections

Ferdinand Magellan & The First Voyage Around the World

During the Age of Exploration, one task was particularly noteworthy: the circumnavigation of Earth. Discover the life of Ferdinand Magellan and the first voyage around the world.

The Age of Exploration saw the achievement of incredible feats with the voyages of European expeditions. Perhaps the most famous of them all is the arrival of Christopher Columbus to the Americas, but many other expeditions are equally groundbreaking. Besides making contact with a “new continent,” the circumnavigation of the Earth was seen as an enormous feat. With Columbus’ travels and following expeditions by other explorers, the circumnavigation of the world was believed possible, but who would be first? Europe’s major powers put their efforts into completing the task, but one expedition, led by Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese explorer serving the Spanish crown, would ultimately be successful: the Magellan expedition.

Magellan’s Early Life & First Travels

Magellan was born in the north of Portugal in 1480. His family was of noble origin and enjoyed a minor presence yet sufficient status among the higher classes of the Kingdom of Portugal. His father, Rui Magellan, was the mayor of a small town. Ferdinand served as a page to Queen Eleanor, consort of John II of the Portuguese crown. After the death of John, Magellan served under Manuel I. When Magellan was 25, he joined a Portuguese expedition to India, where they would establish Francisco de Almeida as the first viceroy of Portuguese India. Magellan stayed in India for almost a decade; then, he traveled to Malacca, where, in 1511, the Portuguese conquered the city under the governor Alfonso de Albuquerque.

Magellan received great riches and promotions from his participation in the conquest of Malacca. He received a slave, baptized under the name Enrique of Malacca, who would join Magellan through many of his travels and endeavors. Magellan’s behavior became increasingly rebellious and not in tune with the Portuguese authorities’ expectations. He took leave without permission, was accused of illegally trading in Morocco, and even quarreled with the Portuguese King Manuel I.

Magellan dedicated himself to studying the most recent nautical charts available to him. He investigated, alongside cosmographer Rui Faleiro, the possibility of reaching the Moluccas through a gateway from the Atlantic to the South Pacific in the Americas. While in Malacca, Magellan befriended the navigator Francisco Serrao, who reached and stayed in the Spice Islands (the Moluccas). His letters to Magellan would prove very useful for his consequent travels to the Islands.

Magellan the Spanish Explorer: Pledging Loyalty to the Opposing Crown

Get the latest articles delivered to your inbox

Please check your inbox to activate your subscription.

When Magellan fell out of favor with the Portuguese King, he turned to the Spanish crown. Magellan had been refused time and time again an expedition made possible by the Portuguese crown. King Manuel I disapproved of Magellan’s planned expedition. Thus, Magellan renounced his Portuguese nationality and proposed his travel expedition to King Charles I of Spain (Charles V as Holy Roman Emperor ).

At the time of Magellan’s proposed expedition, Spain was at the start of its expansion into other continents, mainly the Americas, which would be decisive for the Spanish to consolidate their empire.

Portugal had a similar situation. The Portuguese Empire had explored most of the coasts of Africa, reached the Indies through said passage, and established colonies all throughout Africa and Asia.

However, both Iberian empires had become rivals whose differences were often solved only through external intervention. The Treaty of Tordesillas of 1494 established a division of lands outside of Europe between Spain and Portugal. The treaty was largely left unsettled, but in 1529, the Treaty of Zaragoza clarified and formalized the divisions. Before its formalization, however, Magellan and his fleet would achieve the first circumnavigation of the Earth, arguably abusing the agreement set in the Tordesillas treaty.

Magellan convinced the Spanish king that his expedition would not be opposed to the agreement between Spain and Portugal; thus, he was allowed to sail. King Manuel I was greatly insulted by Magellan’s expedition and work under the Spanish crown. The preparations of the Spanish fleet were disrupted by the Portuguese, and a fleet was sent after Magellan, though it failed to capture him.

Expedition through the Atlantic & Reaching the Americas

Magellan and his fleet left Spain from the port of Seville in 1519. The fleet traveled through the Guadalquivir River until they reached the Atlantic through the port of Sanlucar de Barrameda. The fleet remained in place for weeks, going back and forth from Seville to solve unforeseen difficulties. More than a month later, they departed. The fleet reached the Canary Islands, then passed next to Cape Verde and the coasts of Sierra Leone. Four months went by before the fleet reached the coasts of the Americas.

In December 1519, Magellan and his fleet touched land in what is now Rio de Janeiro. They traveled through the estuary of the Rio de la Plata River, then reached and named the region of Patagonia . In Patagonia, the Spaniards met local Indigenous people for the first time. After making contact and trading with them, the Spanish kidnapped some to bring them back for the king. Unfortunately, the kidnapped Indigenous people didn’t survive.

In March 1520, the fleet found itself in harsh conditions. They took refuge in the port of San Julian, but after considering the expedition had failed, some of the crew attempted to overthrow Magellan as their leader. The insurrection ultimately failed; the leaders of the unsatisfied crew were killed or banished, and Magellan forgave the rest as he needed them to continue. Later, the crew of one of the five ships, San Antonio , once again rose against Magellan and turned back for Spain.

The Strait of Magellan & the Voyage in the Pacific

After facing difficulties finding a passage to the Pacific Ocean (known to them as Mar del Sur ), the fleet reached the Strait of Magellan. Magellan originally named it the Strait of All Saints ( estrecho de Todos los Santos ), but the strait gained its name in honor of Magellan and his expedition, having been the first European explorer to find the strait.

Known to be a harsh place, the Strait of Magellan was challenging to pass through. The Spaniards saw bonfires lit by the natives and thus named the territory “ Tierra del Fuego ” (Land of Fire). Indigenous people lived or had reached as far down as Antarctica . The ocean known to them as Mar del Sur was then baptized the Pacific Ocean for its tranquil waters. For three months, after passing through the strait, the fleet was unable to reach land and disembark. The conditions aboard were challenging, to say the least.

The difficulties during the voyage in the Pacific decreased once the fleet reached the Mariana Islands . The state of the fleet was in tatters, having barely survived over three months without touching land. They then reached the Philippines, becoming the first Europeans to do so. Magellan and his fleet carried out the conversion of the local islanders to Catholicism. Magellan won over the locals by proving his strength and urging them to convert so that they could become like them. Thus, the fleet remained in the region before continuing to the Moluccas.

The Battle of Mactan, Magellan’s Death, & the First Circumnavigation of the World

In the Philippines, the locals were manipulated into converting to Catholicism, but when attempting to form an alliance with one chieftain, Magellan proposed to battle an opposing leader to win over his potential ally. Magellan and his fleet went to the Island of Mactan to fight, convert, and make the chieftain Lapulapu submit to the Spanish crown. The battle was a decisive defeat for the Spanish, who were unprepared and outnumbered. Magellan himself was killed during combat. After Magellan’s death, the expedition under his command had to choose a new leader.

The expedition chose Magellan’s brother-in-law and Juan Serrano as co-commanders, but their leadership would be short-lived. On the first of May, the Spanish disembarked to join the Cebuanos for a feast, yet once the meal was finished, they were surprised and murdered by the Cebuanos. The Spaniards had been betrayed by Magellan’s slave Enrique, who was supposed to be freed after his master’s death but was forced to continue working as an interpreter for them. Enrique made a deal with the island’s leader, Humabon, in order to regain his freedom.

With both co-commanders murdered, Juan Lopez de Carvalho was named captain. The fleet chose to continue with just two ships: Trinidad and Victoria . Carvalho was deemed unable to command, and Gonzalo Gomez de Espinosa was chosen as the new captain, leading the ship Trinidad . Meanwhile, Juan Sebastian Elcano was to captain the ship Victoria . When the fleet reached the Moluccas, it was decided that they should leave for Spain at once, yet the Trinidad was in no shape for that sort of travel, so only the Victoria would continue, and the Trinidad would follow later. Elcano and his ship circumnavigated the African continent for their return, and in September 1522, they reached Spain, completing the first circumnavigation of the world .

5 Things Marco Polo Discovered on His Travels

By Francisco Perpuli BA History (in progress) Francisco is completing a History degree at the University of Guadalajara. He has a keen interest in the study of culture and the arts. In his spare time, he tries to explore and develop other interests while saving up to travel the world.

Frequently Read Together

The Holy Roman Empire in 3 Key Leaders

Modern Argentina: A Struggle for Independence from Spanish Colonization

Polynesians in Antarctica: Were They the First?

The Pirate-y Life of Ferdinand Magellan

Magellan’s voyage in search of the “Spice Islands” was marked by storms, sharks, and scurvy—plus multiple attempts at mutiny.

From the start, it was hard to know whose side Ferdinand Magellan was on. Born in northern Portugal around 1480, Magellan, an orphaned son of lesser nobles, spent decades serving the Portuguese crown in its wars abroad, in India and Malaysia. One might think Magellan was the epitome of national devotion. But in 1518, after being rejected by the Portuguese authorities, Magellan turned to his country’s greatest rival: Spain. The Spanish court leapt at the opportunity to back Magellan’s ambitious venture—a voyage to find a westward trade route to the lucrative Spice Islands. For the Portuguese, a countryman aligning himself with public enemy number one was tantamount to treason.

The turn of the 16th century was an unsettled time. Sailors like Christopher Columbus were opening up vast new swathes of land that Europeans viewed as ripe for exploitation. To the west lay the Americas and the Caribbean islands, rich with natural resources (nevermind that they’d been inhabited for millennia). To the east, beyond India, were the Spice Islands, an archipelago in Indonesia called the Moluccas. It was here that traders found nutmeg, cloves, and mace.

Weekly Newsletter

Get your fix of JSTOR Daily’s best stories in your inbox each Thursday.

Privacy Policy   Contact Us You may unsubscribe at any time by clicking on the provided link on any marketing message.

The demand for spices was so high that whichever nation controlled access to the islands was sure to become fabulously wealthy. As the cook and author Clifford Wright stated in Gastronomica :

One could argue that the money made from spices contributed to the rise of the European city-state, perhaps played a role in the transition from feudalism to capitalism, fueled the impetus that opened an age of discovery, and contributed to the later emergence of the Renaissance.

To keep Spain and Portugal from literally warring over the lucrative territories, Pope Alexander created the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494, awarding the eastern hemisphere of the globe to Portugal and the western hemisphere to Spain. But even this attempt only served to “touch off a furious race between the nations to claim new lands and to control the world’s trade routes even as they attempted to shift the line of demarcation to favor one side or the other,” as the historians Scott Fitzpatrick and Richard Callaghan wrote in the Journal of Pacific History .

Magellan waded directly into these contentious waters, suggesting to the Spanish court that the Moluccas might actually fall within the Spanish side of the treaty. He just needed to navigate a westward route to them, across the Atlantic and around the unexplored tip of South America. If he happened to discover other islands along the way, so much the better for Spain—and for Magellan’s own coffers.

But proving the Portugese-born Magellan had Spain’s best interests at heart proved a challenge from day one. The Spanish court awarded him a five-ship armada and around 280 crew members for the mission. The majority of the crew members were Spanish, including three of the five captains. Many among them mistrusted Magellan’s intentions.

“The masters and captains of the other ships of his company did not love him,” wrote Italian sailor Antony Pigafetta , the voyage chronicler. “Of this I do not know the reason, except by cause of his, the captain-general, being Portuguese, and they were Spaniards or Castilians, who for a long time have been in rivalry and ill will with one another.”

The fleet set sail for the Canary Islands, an early restocking area, on September 20, 1519. Before the ships had even crossed the equator or sighted Brazil, word came to Magellan that the capitan of the San Antonio , a Spaniard named Juan de Cartagena, was collaborating with two other Spanish captains to start a mutiny. But the attempt was short-lived, and Magellan quickly had Cartagena arrested and removed from command.

On December 13, the armada landed at Rio de Janeiro, just in time for the beginning of summer in the southern hemisphere. The ships made their way down the eastern coast of South America, sometimes catching and eating sharks, noting the abundance of “sea wolves” (sea lions). Despite their fearlessness around the sharks, in steering their course, the sailors gave the sea lions wide berth as “man-eaters” and waited out storms. When the group reached the Bay of San Julian (in present-day Patagonia) on March 31, Magellan decided to spend the winter there, reduce rations, and prepare for the final stretch around South America.

The crew was already around 860 miles farther south than the Cape of Good Hope, in Africa. Rumors began spreading that Magellan was going to lead all the Spanish sailors to their deaths for the glory of Portugal, or that he was hoping to be away long enough that the Spanish court would forget about the venture. Once again, mutiny began brewing.

On April 1, 1520, Magellan held an Easter mass for all crewmembers. But the three Spanish captains neglected to attend; they were already planning a way to overthrow Magellan and sail back to Spain. When Magellan learned of the plan, he realized that only two ships of the five were loyal to him: the Santiago and the Trinidad . Since all five ships were currently anchored in a bay with one narrow exit to the sea, Magellan deployed a cunning strategy to keep the mutineers from escaping. He sent a ship with his loyal followers to negotiate with the Spanish captain Luis de Mendoza, who held control of the Victoria . But instead of opening a discussion, Magellan’s men immediately killed Mendoza. The sudden violence was enough for the crew members to vow their allegiance to Magellan once more.

From there, Magellan sent the Trinidad to the bay’s exit and waited for the one of the other mutineer’s ships to approach. Men loyal to Magellan boarded the mutinous ship and quickly arrested dozens. Although 40 crew members were found guilty and sentenced to death, Magellan pardoned all of them and only put some in chains for several weeks. To do differently would have left him without enough men to complete the voyage. As for the leaders of the mutiny, Magellan had several of them marooned (left alone on an island)—which was as good as a death sentence in their current location.

Even after this incident, the trials facing Magellan’s crew were far from over. In October, the group finally returned to their mission to look for an inlet that would allow them passage around the tip of South America. “Any possible foreknowledge Magellan may have had of this passage was inexact at best,” write the management professors Patrick J. Murphy and Ray W. Coye in Mutiny and Its Bounty: Lessons from the Age of Discovery . “In those days, cosmologists and diviners were very active in cartography. Maps were badly drawn because the true magnitude of the earth’s size was unknown, and methods of determining longitude had not yet been ascertained.”

On October 21, the armada entered a strait, but in the weeks that followed the men became restive once more. Some felt they’d achieved their goal in simply finding the strait, and argued the armada should return to Spain. In fact, the San Antonio , still captained by a Spaniard, went off to explore a channel and abandoned the mission. They returned to Seville on May 6, 1521.

As for the rest of the men, they reached the South Pacific on November 28, 1520. Magellan, believing the journey to the Moluccas would take no more than a few days, christened the great body of water the Mare Pacifico —“calm sea.” Little did he know that the Pacific was the world’s largest ocean, comprising a full third of the whole globe.

Instead of quickly arriving at their destination, Magellan and his men would spend the next three months sailing in search of land. As time wore on, food provisions were emptied and men began to suffer from exhaustion and scurvy. Pigafetta wrote:

We ate only old biscuit turned to powder, all full of worms and stinking of the urine which the rats had made on it, having eaten the good. And we drank water impure and yellow. We ate also ox hides which were very hard because of the sun, rain, and wind. And we left them four or five days in the sea, then laid them for a short time on embers, and so we ate them. And of the rats, which were sold for half an écu apiece, some of us could not get enough.

Thirty men died of scurvy alone; dozens of others starved to death. Although Magellan experienced remarkably good weather, they didn’t reach the inhabited Marianas Islands until March 6, 1521, and then made landfall on the island of Cebu in the Philippines on April 7. Though they weren’t on the Moluccas, it seemed at long last the crew might have achieved their mission. But instead, Magellan was killed during a battle with one of the indigenous groups on Mactan Island, who resisted being converted to Christianity. Of the remaining ships, only the Victoria made it all the way back to Spain, on September 6, 1522, with a mere 18 crew members.

In the aftermath of the calamitous voyage, Magellan’s reputation was quickly sullied by surviving Spanish sailors. Though he had succeeded doing something that no one else had ever done—the combined journeys he made to both the east and the west over his lifetime amounted to a full circumnavigation—he was decried for his treatment of the crew. “This first circumnavigation of the globe epitomized the contention between Portugal and Spain for the dominion of the East Indies, and the difficulty of determining where lands such as the Moluccas lay in relation to the ideal Line of Demarcation established by the Treaty of Tordesillas of 1494,” wrote the historian David Boruchoff in Renaissance Quarterly .

The restoration of Magellan’s legacy came largely from the sailor Pigafetta, who survived the voyage and gave his notes directly to the Spanish King Charles. Pigafetta then traveled throughout Europe to publish and promote the work. But even in the most favorable light, Magellan’s voyage remained contentious. Spurned by the Portuguese, he had turned by the Spanish, but was never truly accepted as one of them. Magellan, in short, never had a chance to tell his own story. That work was left to his crew and to historians, all with their own views, as they attempted to understand why one man would push so hard at such an impossible task.

JSTOR is a digital library for scholars, researchers, and students. JSTOR Daily readers can access the original research behind our articles for free on JSTOR.

Get Our Newsletter

More stories.

• The Fashionable Tour : or, The First American Tourist Guidebook

What Convenience Stores Say About “Urban War Zones”

When All the English Had Tails

Remembering Sun Yat Sen Abroad

Recent posts.

• The Development of Central American Film
• Remembering Maud Lewis
• Rice, Famine, and the Seven Wonders of the World
• Celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Support JSTOR Daily

Sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Have Fun With History

Ferdinand Magellan Timeline

Ferdinand Magellan, born around 1480, was a Portuguese explorer who is best known for leading an expedition from Spain in 1519 that eventually resulted in the first circumnavigation of the Earth.

Although Magellan himself did not complete the entire journey, as he was killed during a conflict in the Philippines in 1521, his expedition provided valuable proof that the world was round.

His fleet of five ships embarked on a westward journey to reach the Spice Islands, with only one ship, the Victoria, returning to Spain in 1522.

His voyage revolutionized understanding of world geography and ushered in an era of intensified global exploration.

Timeline of Ferdinand Magellan

1. born in portugal around 1480.

Ferdinand Magellan was born into a noble family in the small town of Sabrosa, Portugal. His parents were Pedro Ruy de Magalhães and Alda de Mezquita.

Being from a noble family, Magellan likely spent his early years at the family estate in northern Portugal, where he would have been introduced to various forms of education fitting his noble status.

2. Became a page to the Queen of Portugal in 1495

When he was around 15 years old, Magellan became a page to the Queen of Portugal, Leonor. This was a common practice for the sons of the Portuguese nobility, particularly for those who, like Magellan, were orphaned at a young age.

As a page in the royal court, Magellan would have been given responsibilities that taught him about the workings of the court.

Additionally, his education was broadened to include topics like cartography, astronomy, and navigation – subjects that would later prove invaluable to his career as an explorer.

3. Joined a Portuguese fleet to the Indian Ocean in 1505

In his mid-twenties, Magellan embarked on his career as a seafarer. He joined a large fleet of 22 ships, led by Francisco de Almeida, the first viceroy of Portuguese India.

Their mission was to set sail for the Indian Ocean, where they were tasked with establishing Portuguese outposts and securing trade routes in the East Indies. This would mark the beginning of Magellan’s life on the seas and his first experiences with exploration.

4. Participated in the Battle of Diu in 1509

Magellan took part in the Battle of Diu in 1509. This was a significant naval conflict where the Portuguese fleet, of which Magellan was a part, decisively defeated a coalition of forces that included the Ottoman Empire, Egypt, the Republic of Venice, the Sultanate of Gujarat, and the Zamorin of Kozhikode.

This victory was pivotal in establishing Portuguese control over the Indian Sea, which in turn played a crucial role in securing their monopoly over the lucrative spice trade.

5. Helped in the Portuguese conquest of Malacca in 1511

By 1511, Magellan was an experienced seaman. This year marked his participation in the Portuguese conquest of Malacca, on the Malay Peninsula, which was an essential trade hub on the route to the Spice Islands (the Moluccas).

The capture of Malacca under the leadership of Alfonso de Albuquerque demonstrated Portugal’s naval prowess and significantly bolstered the country’s control over important trade routes in the East Indies.

Magellan’s contributions during this campaign further honed his navigational and leadership skills, and he gained a better understanding of the Spice Islands’ location, which would become critical in his later expedition.

6. Injured in Morocco and accused of illegal trading in 1512-1513

Magellan joined a Portuguese expedition to Morocco in 1512, where he suffered a leg wound that caused him to limp for the rest of his life. It was during this time in Morocco that he was falsely accused of trading illegally with the Moors.

These accusations tarnished his reputation, and he fell out of favor with the Portuguese king, Manuel I. Despite his attempts to clear his name, Magellan’s service in the Portuguese navy ended with this disgrace.

7. Moved to Spain in 1517

Unable to continue serving Portugal due to the false accusations, Magellan left his homeland around 1517 and moved to Spain.

His intention was to convince the Spanish monarchy to back his plan of reaching the Spice Islands (the Moluccas), not by going east around the Cape of Good Hope – a route that Portugal controlled – but by going west, across the Atlantic and around or through the New World.

He believed that the Spice Islands lay within the Spanish zone of the Treaty of Tordesillas (a 1494 agreement dividing the newly discovered lands outside Europe between Portugal and Spain) and hence sought Spanish support.

8. Commissioned by King Charles I of Spain to find a westward route to the Spice Islands in 1519

After nearly two years of negotiation and preparation, Magellan’s proposal gained the support of the young Spanish king, Charles I (later known as Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor). King Charles commissioned Magellan to find a westward route to the Spice Islands.

His fleet, named the Armada de Molucca, was composed of five ships—the Trinidad, San Antonio, Concepcion, Victoria, and Santiago—and 270 men. They set sail from Seville, marking the beginning of one of the most famous expeditions in human history.

9. Reached the Strait of Magellan in 1520

After more than a year of sailing and searching for a westward path to the Pacific, Magellan’s fleet reached the strait at the southern end of South America. This strait, later named the Strait of Magellan in his honor, was a treacherous 373-mile passage linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

The journey through the strait was perilous and cold, taking about a month to navigate. One ship, the Santiago, had already been wrecked during a scouting mission, and another, the San Antonio, deserted the fleet during the passage and returned to Spain.

10. Entered the Pacific Ocean in November 1520

After successfully navigating through the strait, Magellan’s reduced fleet of three ships entered a body of water he named “Mar Pacifico” because of its apparent calmness relative to the Atlantic. However, crossing the Pacific Ocean proved to be a long and arduous journey.

The crew had to endure extreme conditions including starvation, scurvy, and storms. Despite its initial calmness, the Pacific crossing was far longer and more perilous than Magellan had anticipated.

11. Arrived in the Philippines in March 1521

The fleet reached the island of Homonhon in the Philippines after approximately three months of crossing the Pacific. Here, they made contact with local inhabitants and began to establish relations.

However, tensions quickly arose between the Europeans and the local islanders, which would later escalate into open conflict.

12. Killed in the Battle of Mactan in the Philippines in April 1521

After having navigated their way through several Philippine islands, Magellan became involved in a local conflict in Mactan, pledging his support to a friendly local ruler against Lapu-Lapu, a chieftain of Mactan Island.

During the Battle of Mactan, Magellan was killed by a poisoned arrow. After his death, the fleet was left without its experienced leader, and command eventually fell to Juan Sebastián Elcano.

13. His remaining crew completed the first circumnavigation of the Earth in 1522

After more than a year since Magellan’s death, and after further navigational challenges and hardships—including surviving a siege in the Spice Islands, circumnavigating the Indian Ocean, and sailing around the Cape of Good Hope—the remaining crew members of the original fleet arrived back in Spain aboard the Victoria, the sole surviving ship.

Their arrival marked the completion of the first circumnavigation of the Earth, demonstrating conclusively that the world was round and that the Americas were separate from Asia.

Proceedings of The National Conference On Undergraduate Research (NCUR) 2020 Montana State University, Bozeman MT March 26-28, 2020

Ferdinand Magellan’s Voyage and its Legacy in the Philippines

Emma Jackson History Liberty University 1971 University Blvd. Lynchburg, Virginia 24515 USA

Faculty Advisor: David Snead

During the fifteenth century, the expanding Spanish empire changed the course of history for the lands that it conquered. The economic and territorial rivalry between the two Iberian powers, Spain and Portugal , led to Ferdinand Magellan ’s famed attempt to circumnavigate the globe in 1519. Magellan, the Portuguese explorer sailing for Spain, intended to find a western route to the lucrative Spice Islands, but instead he found himself in the Philippine Islands. Magellan and his crew developed relationships with the Filipino natives and won the first converts to Christianity in the country. In an effort to demonstrate Spanish military power to their new Filipino allies, the Spanish entered into a battle with the Chief Lapu-Lapu, in which Magellan lost his life. This paper seeks to explore the significant cultural and societal impact that Magellan’s expedition left in the Philippines. Magellan’s exploration of the Philippines paved the way for the Spanish colonization of the Philippines, introduced Catholicism and the revered Sto. Nino icon to the islands, and made a national hero of Lapu-Lapu, who still lives on in the memory of the people. This paper analyzes the primary source accounts of Magellan’s voyage, government documents, newspaper articles, and secondary analyses of Filipino oral traditions in an attempt to understand the cultural impact of the first contact with Europeans in the Philippines. While a cursory fact in the west, Magellan’s exploration of the Philippines and his death at the battle of Mactan changed the course of Philippine history and remain embedded in the national consciousness.

Keywords: Ferdinand Magellan, Philippines, Age of Exploration

1. Introduction

In the early sixteenth century, the growing Spanish empire desired access to trade in the Spice Islands, which proved a problem due to the Line of Demarcation decided in the Treaty of Tordesillas by Pope Alexander VI.1 This line of demarcation roughly split the globe in half between the two Iberian powers, Spain and Portugal. To gain access to the Spice Islands, it was necessary for Spain to find a western route to avoid sailing through Portuguese territory. A Portuguese sailor working for Spain, Ferdinand Magellan, believed that a western route, going around South America, existed that would lead to the Spice Islands. On their expedition, Magellan’s crew discovered the Philippine Islands, among other territories. Unlike other peoples they encountered, the natives of what is now called the Philippines lived in a highly developed society that was connected to the eastern world through trade. Magellan entered into alliances with the natives and became entwined in tribal warfare. His expedition brought Christianity to the Philippines, which remains the dominant religion to this day. Magellan lost his life at the hands of Filipino natives while engaged in a battle against the now legendary figure, Chief Lapu-Lapu. Decades after Magellan’s death, the Spanish would return to the Philippines to finish the process of colonizing the islands. Magellan’s quest to find a western route to the Spice Islands helped shape the history and culture of the Philippine Islands and remains embedded in the national consciousness.

In 1518, Magellan received support from King Charles of Spain, who agreed to sponsor his expedition.2 The king agreed to finance the journey, promising percentages of the potential revenues to Magellan and his partners, as he expected the expedition to bring in large profits from the lucrative spice trade .3 Magellan’s five ships set sail from the port of Seville on September 20, 1519.4 The voyage proved to be eventful and lacked nothing in setbacks and hardships. While anchored for the winter in St. Julian Bay in Patagonia , Magellan’s crew mutinied, led by Juan de Cartegna, Gaspar Quesada, and Antonio de Coca.5 The expedition ran into further hardship when they lost the ship Santiago on an exploring expedition.6 After successfully finding the straight, named in Magellan’s honor, and passing into the Pacific Ocean , the crew sailed for three months without finding any food, leaving many men malnourished and ill.7 The voyage chronicler, Pigafetta, notes, “daily we made runs fifty, sixty, or seventy leagues with the wind at the windward side or at the stern, and had not God and His blessed mother given us such good weather we would all have died of hunger in that exceedingly vast sea .”8 After further misadventures with the natives on what they dubbed “Island of Thieves,” Magellan’s expedition landed on an island in what is now the Philippines on Sunday March 16, 1521.9 This European “discovery” of the Philippines impacted the courses of both Philippine and Spanish history. When the Spanish made landfall in the Philippines, they encountered a developed society, one not at all isolated from the outside world. As early as the ninth century, the Philippines were engaging in trade with the Chinese by way of Arab traders.10 The Filipinos possessed a written language, likely inherited from Sanskrit or Arabic.11 The Filipinos already had some knowledge of Europeans when the Spanish first made contact as the people of Cebu were aware of the Portuguese due to their trade connections. A merchant from Siam warned Rajah Humabon , the ruler of Cebu, that he should respect the white men, who he confused as Portuguese, because they conquered “Calicut, Malacca , and all India Major.”12 Jose Amiel Angeles argues that the Philippines treated the Spaniards as they would any other potential enemy or ally because they perceive them as being their equals.13 The Filipinos, coming from a developed society, “did not show any of the shock that the inhabitants of the Americas faced upon encountering Europeans.”14 The Spaniards first came into contact with native Filipinos from Homonhon Island on March 18, 1521.15 Shortly after they met and built a positive relationship with Rajah Colambu of Butuan Island.16 According to Pigafetta, Magellan showed the Rajah’s men the many spices that the Spanish carried with them in order to honor them.17 The men indicated that some of those spices grew in the place where the Spanish were going, which could have meant the Moluccas (the Spice Islands) or the Philippine Islands themselves.18 Magellan had motivation to find islands rich in resources such as spices because he was promised a heavy percentage of the revenues from two of the Islands he discovered, after King Charles picked six islands for himself.19 As the Moluccas were already claimed by Portugal, Magellan’s hope for territorial gain lay in islands such as the Philippines that were previously unknown to Europeans. Magellan’s desire to take two Islands for himself could explain why Magellan’s expedition stayed in the Philippines for so long, when their goal was to find the Moluccas.20 A lasting impact of Magellan’s time in the Philippines is the spread of Catholicism in the islands. On Easter Sunday, March 31 , 1521, Magellan’s crew celebrated the first mass in the Philippines.21 The Kings Rajah Colambu and Rajah Siagu were present at the mass and showed reverence to the cross.22 Richard Field argues that the first mass was most likely heard onboard the ship on March 16 but was not recorded by Pigafetta, as he only recorded departures from regular displays of religion such as eating meat on Good Friday.23 The expedition arrived at the Island of Cebu on Sunday April 7 and sent an ambassador and an interpreter, Magellan’s slave Enrique, to meet Rajah Humabon, the king of Cebu.24 John Leddy Phelan notes that, “It was not until his arrival in Cebu that the religious sentiments of Magellan’s nature began to assert themselves with vehemence and ardor.”25 Magellan instructed the people of Cebu in the faith and they requested that the Spaniards leave them one or two men to teach them.26 Magellan’s missionary efforts came to fruition when Humabon, along with five-hundred of his men, were baptized into the Christian faith on Sunday, April 14.27 When Humabon expressed interest in becoming a Christian, Magellan instructed him and his followers that they must burn their idols and worship the cross that the Spanish erected. Magellan baptized Rajah Humabon as Don Carlo in honor of the Spanish king.28 Humabon’s desire to become a Christian may have been driven by politics. Pigafetta records that Magellan promised to make Humabon the most important king in the region because of his desire to become a Christian.29 On the other hand, it seems the Rajah’s wife sought baptism freely and quite genuinely. When shown an icon of the child Jesus, the Queen, who was given the name Juana, “was seized with contrition, and weeping, asked for baptism.”30 Magellan gave this icon, the Santo Niño to the queen and it was attributed with a miraculous healing that led to the newly converted natives burning local idols.31 The Legazpi expedition, tasked by King Phillip II to explore the islands found by Magellan, rediscovered the Santo Niño icon and the Filipino people have revered the icon from 1565 until

927 the present.32 Christianity, which Magellan was the first to introduce to the Philippines, remains the dominant religion with many modern Filipinos proudly proclaiming “that they are the only Christian nation in all of Asia .”33 The Santo Niño icon continues to play an important role in the devotional lives of faithful Filipino Catholics. Even into the Twenty-first century, the Santo Niño icon remains the de facto patron of Cebu Island.34 Magellan’s time in the Philippines culminated in his death during the Battle of Mactan , a battle whose legacy remains controversial for modern Filipinos. On April 26, a chief named Zulu came to pay tribute to the Spanish but claimed he was prohibited because of Chief Lapu-Lapu of Mactan Island, who would not subject himself to the Spanish.35 Magellan sent a message to Lapu-Lapu that if he would obey the Spanish king, recognize the Christian king Humabon as his sovereign and pay tribute to them, then they could have a friendly relationship, but if not the Spanish were ready with their weapons.36 Lapu-Lapu refused, sending the reply, “that if we[the Spanish] had lances, they[Lapu-Lapu’s men] had lances of bamboo.”37 One scholar theorizes, based of Filipino practices of using deception in warfare, that Chief Zula was in an alliance with Lapu-Lapu and went to lure Magellan into a trap; however, the more likely motivation is that Zula wanted Magellan to defeat Lapu-Lapu because they were rivals.38 Regardless of it being a trap or not, Magellan went into battle against Lapu-Lapu to make a show of European power. On April 27 , 1521 Magellan and forty-nine of his men waded onto the shores of Mactan to face Lapu-Lapu, having refused an offer of aid from Rajah Humabon, in order to show the natives the power of the Spanish.39 Phelan argues that by throwing himself into the work of spreading the gospel, Magellan “reached a state of spiritual intoxication” that clouded his judgment leading to “the unwise ultimatum to Lapu-Lapu to abandon paganism , the battle of Mactan, and a heroic but unnecessary death” which “followed each other in rapid sequence.”40 Pigafetta records that the Spanish struggled to defend themselves against fifteen hundreds of Lapu-Lapu’s men who were armed with arrows and bamboo spears .41 In a retaliatory effort, Magellan sent men to burn houses in the village which served to further enrage the native warriors.42 Magellan, immortalized by Pigafetta as “so noble a captain” was tackled and killed by Lapu-Lapu’s men.43 Magellan’s confidence in European weapons proved to be ill-founded when faced with Lapu- Lapu’s forces. Much of the western world remembers Magellan as the first man to circumnavigate the globe, not as the man who was killed by natives in the Philippines. In contrast, the battle of Mactan remains embedded in the Philippine national consciousness. Jose Amiel Angeles declares that “every Filipino schoolchild knows the local chieftain, Lapu-Lapu, who defeated a small force of Europeans under the command of the famous Portuguese explorer and conquistador ,” and “This battle [battle of Mactan] has entered into the canon of Philippine history and, indeed is etched in Philippine nationalist consciousness.”44 The battle of Mactan remains an event that Filipinos celebrate. The Island of Mactan holds a yearly festival to celebrate the “Kadaugan sa Mactan” meaning “victory at Mactan,” which features a dramatic reenactment of the battle on the beaches of the island.45 While an obscure fact in the west, the battle of Mactan holds an important place in the history of the Philippines. In the battle of Mactan, Lapu-Lapu acted as a defender of his people against the foreign invaders. Angeles notes that “Lapu-Lapu is a national hero, and his victory over Magellan is extolled as a typical example of prehistoric Philippine martial prowess.”46 Lapu-Lapu’s esteem in the Philippines is enough to warrant a national holiday. In 2017, the Philippine congress passed a bill that marks April 27 as Lapu-Lapu day.47 In the explanatory note to the bill, Senator Richard J. Gordon celebrates Lapu-Lapu as the “first successful defender of the Philippine shores “and declares Lapu- Lapu as “the first national hero of the Philippines who resisted and repulsed the Spanish invaders and pushed them back to the seas , defending the land he calls home, now part of the Philippine territory.”48 As a byproduct of Magellan’s voyage to the Philippines, a national hero and cultural figure was created. Magellan’s voyage to the Philippines influenced the oral tradition in the islands. In 1952 Jovito Abellana recorded the “Aginid bayok Sa Atong Tawarik,” a dance-epic that was passed down to him by his grandfather.49 The Aginid contains the oral tradition regarding Magellan’s voyage to the Philippines, giving it a uniquely Filipino perspective on the events. The poem focuses on the arrival of the Spanish to the Philippines. Going farther than Pigafetta’s account, the Aginid recounts Humabon’s lineage and Lapu-Lapu’s return to his home in Borneo .50 In an article introducing the Aginid and another text that revolves around Magellan’s time in the Philippines, Erlinda Kintanar-Alburo claims the Aginid characterizes Humabon as “braver and more cunning than Lapu-Lapu.”51 Also differing from Pigafetta’s account, the poem records how Humabon and Lapu-Lapu restored their friendship in the aftermath of the battle of Mactan.52 Natives of Cebu also memorialized the battle of Mactan in ritual dances. Philippine dance traditions express the local significance of both the battle of Mactan and the giving of the Sto. Nino icon. Sala-Boza explains,

The impact of the battle on the collective consciousness of the Cebuanos, in combination with the impact of the Sto. Nino on their lives, cannot be ignored as it was a vastly significant historical event which devotees felt themselves psychologically bound to ritually express as a mock battle in the traditional sinulug "ritual

dance" which incorporates religious overtones related to the Sto. Nino. Though the Battle of Mactan highlights Lapulapu 's triumph over Magellan, the sinulug shows that the Spaniards eventually triumphed during the next expedition, in a spiritual and temporal conquest - the sword and the Sto. Nino.53

The consequences of Magellan’s voyage were both martial and religious. The Filipino people remember not only the battle of Mactan, but also the gift of the Santo Niño icon. Both elements of Magellan’s time in the Philippines, the spiritual and temporal, shaped the local consciousness, as indeed the Spanish returned and completed both works started by Magellan.

3.Conclusion

While attempting to find the Spice Islands by circumnavigating the globe, Magellan instead found himself in the Philippines. Magellan and his crew built relationships with the natives and attempted to win them over to Christianity. Rajah Humabon and his wife were baptized, with hundreds of their subjects following suit. Magellan’s missionary efforts were the first time Christianity was preached in the Philippines and Catholicism remains the most widely practiced religion in the Philippines. Filipino faithfuls still revere the Santo Niño Icon that Magellan presented to Queen Juana. The battle of Mactan, during which Magellan was defeated by Lapu-Lapu, remains embedded in the national consciousness. Filipinos regard Lapu-Lapu as their first national hero who defended their shores from foreign invaders. Generations passed down rich oral history and dance traditions that recount the story of the battle of Mactan and tales about the Santo Niño icon. Magellan’s arrival in the Philippines paved the way for Spanish rule, introduced Christianity to the islands, and still lives on in the stories and cultural practices of the Filipino people.

4. Acknowledgements

I wish to thank Dr. David Snead for his guidance during the writing of this paper and for encouraging me to present my research at NCUR 2020. I would also like to thank my high school history teacher, Mr. Greg Fronk, for fostering my love for world history and my interest in Ferdinand Magellan’s story.

5. References

1 Richard J. Field, “Revisiting Magellan’s Voyage to the Philippines,” Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society 34, no. 4 (December 2006): 314. 2 E. F. Benson, Ferdinand Magellan (Edinburg: T. and A Constable LTD., Printers, 1929), 75. 3 Ibid. 4 Ibid., 113. 5 Stefan Zweig , Conqueror of the Seas: the Story of Magellan, Trans. by Edan and Cedar Paul (New York: The Viking Press, 1938):178-181. 6 Antonio Pigafetta , The first voyage around the world, 1519-1522: an account of Magellan's expedition, Ed. by Theodore J. Cachey Jr (Toronto; Buffalo; London: University of Toronto Press, 2007):17 7 Ibid., 24. 8 Ibid., 25. 9 Ibid., 30. 10 Teodoro Agoncillo., History of the Philippino People (Quezon City: C&E Publishers, 1990): 24. 11 Ibid., 56. 12 Pigafetta, The First Voyage Around the World, 1519-1522, 43. 13 Jose Amiel Angeles, “The Battle of Mactan and the Indigenous Discourse on War,” Philippine Studies 55, no. 1(2007): 10. 14 Ibid. 15 Pigafetta, The First Voyage Around the World, 1519-1522, 30-31. 16 Ibid., 34-37. 17 Ibid., 31. 18 Field, ”Revisiting Magellan’s Voyage to the Philippines”, 315.

19 Ibid. 20 Ibid., 316. 21 Pigafetta, The First Voyage Around the World, 1519-1522, 37. 22 Ibid., 37-36. 23 Field, ”Revisiting Magellan’s Voyage to the Philippines,” 319. 24 Pigafetta, The First Voyage Around the World, 1519-1522, 41. 25 John Leddy Phelan, “Prebaptismal Instruction and the Administration of Baptism in the Philippines during the Sixteenth Century,” in Studies in Philippine Church History, Ed. by Gerald H. Anderson (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1969): 23. 26 Ibid., 45. 27 Pigafetta, The First Voyage Around the World, 1519-1522, 48-50. 28 Ibid., 50. 29 Ibid., 49. 30 Ibid., 50. 31 Ibid.,52-53. 32 Astrid Sala-Boza, “The Sword and the Sto. Niño: Señor Sto. Niño de Cebu History Revisited,” Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society 36, No. 4 (December 2008):269. 33 Onofre D. Corpuz, The Philippines: Modern Nations in Historical Perspective( Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1965): 35. 34 Sala-Boza, “The Sword and the Sto. Niño,” 271. 35 Pigafetta, The First Voyage Around the World, 1519-1522, 56. 36 Ibid. 37 Ibid. 38 Angeles, “The Battle of Mactan and the Indigenous Discourse on War,”, 50. 39 39Pigafetta, The First Voyage Around the World, 1519-1522, 58. 40 40 Phelan, “Prebaptismal Instruction and the Administration of Baptism in the Philippines during the Sixteenth Century,” 23. 41 Pigafetta, The First Voyage Around the World, 1519-1522, 56-57. 42 Ibid., 57. 43 Ibid., 58. 44 Angeles, “The Battle of Mactan and the Indigenous Discourse on War,” 1. 45 Marlen Limpag, “Kadaugan Features Battle of Mactan Reenactment,” MyCebu.ph, https://mycebu.ph/article/kadaugan-battle-of-mactan-reenactment, 9. 46 Angeles, “The Battle of Mactan and the Indigenous Discourse on War,” 1. 47 Congress of the Republic of the Philippines, Senate, An Act to Declare April 27 Lapu Lapu Day, 17th Cong., 1st sess., S. No. 108., 2018. 48 Ibid. 49 Romola Ouano-Savellon, "Aginid Bayok Sa Atong Tawarik": Archaic Cebuano and Historicity in a Folk Narrative," Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society 42, no. 3/4 (2014):189-190. 50 50 Ibid., 51 Erlinda Kintanar-Alburo, "Introducing Two Cebuano Texts in Translation: "Aginid" and "Sugilakbit"," Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society 42, no. 3/4 (2014): 182. 52 Ibid., 183. 53 Sala-Boza, “The Sword and the Sto. Niño,” 254.