MAGDALENA RIVER 



3590 



MAGELLAN 



ster, cod, herring and seal abound. Gypsum 

 is found in large quantities; this and grind- 

 stones are the principal exports. Amherst and 

 House Harbor are the leading settlements, the 

 former being a port of entry. Population, 

 about 5,000. 



MAGDALENA, mahg dah la'nah, RIVER, 

 the most important river of Colombia, South 

 America, the main artery of commerce and 

 communication in the republic. It rises in the 

 Andes Mountains, flows northward and dis- 

 charges through two channels into the Carib- 

 bean Sea. The length is about 1,000 miles, and 

 it is navigable for ocean steamers as far as 

 Barranquilla, where it separates into its two 

 channels. Bogota, the capital of Colombia, 

 depends largely upon this river for communi- 

 cation with points on the coast. Heretofore the 

 city has been reached by steamer from Bar- 

 ranquilla to Girardot, thence by rail, the trip 

 consuming about ten days, but a hydroplane 

 invented in 1916 by Senor Mejfa, that can 

 carry mail and ten passengers, will shorten the 

 trip to twenty-four hours. 



MAGDEBURG, mahg ' de boorK, the capital 

 of the province of Saxony, southwest of Berlin, 

 is a first-class modern fortress, as the term was 

 understood prior to 1914, and one of the leading 

 commercial cities of Northern Germany. The 

 town, built mainly on the left bank of the Elbe, 

 is divided from north to south by a wide 

 avenue lined with historic shops and quaint 

 old gabled houses. There are many beautiful 

 churches, the most famous being the Cathedral 

 of Saints Maurice and Catharine, built mainly 

 between 1208 and 1363, but finished in 1521. It 

 is a fine type of Gothic architecture and con- 

 tains many monuments and tombs, including 

 those of Otho the Great and his wife Editha. 

 There is also the eleventh century Basilica of 

 Our Lady, the Gothic Church of Saint Ulrich, 

 the modern Church of Saint Paul and the syna- 

 gogue. 



Magdeburg's commercial importance is in its 

 great machine shops. It is also the center of 

 the German beet-sugar industry and well 

 known for its fine fruit and vegetables; there 

 are great distilleries, chemical works, manufac- 

 tories of chicory, chocolate, tobacco, cigars, ce- 

 ment, fertilizers, pottery, ribbons, gloves and 

 musical instruments. 



The history of Magdeburg began in 937, when 



Otho the Great founded a monastery there, 



which was later made the seat of an archbishop. 



^ During the Middle Ages it was an independent 



city, and its laws, known as the Magdeburg 



Right, were used as a model by many other 

 towns. It became an important commercial 

 city and one of the most powerful members of 

 the Hanseatic League (which see). In 1524 it 

 adopted the Reformed religion and in the re- 

 ligious wars was conquered by Maurice of Sax- 

 ony and given to Brandenburg. In the Thirty 

 Years' War it suffered much, belonging first to 

 one side, then to another; finally, by the treaty 

 of Westphalia, it was given to Saxony. Popu- 

 lation in 1910, 279,629. 



MAGELLAN, majel'an, FERDINAND (about 

 1470-1521), the name by which the Portuguese 

 navigator was known who first discovered a 

 route around the world. His real name was 

 FERNAO DE MAGALHAES. He was 

 born in Sabrosa and belonged 



MAGELLAN AND HIS ROUTE 



to the nobility of Portugal, but fell into the 

 king's disfavor and offered his services to Spain. 

 After Columbus returned home with the story 

 of his discoveries, the king of Spain believed 

 that by sailing west India could be reached, and 

 he fitted out an expedition of five ships arid 270 

 men to test his views. Magellan had been to 

 India, directed by Da Gama (see GAM A, VASCO 

 DA), and he boldly struck out for what is now 

 known as South America, the ships leaving 

 Seville on September 20, 1519. 



He explored the South American coast, then 

 his frightened men rose in mutiny, and one ship 

 turned back, but Magellan declared he would 

 push on southward "if we have to eat the 

 leather of the rigging." Finally he sailed into 

 a channel between the precipices of Cape Horn 

 and after thirty-eight days a splendid open 

 ocean appeared. He named it the Pacific, 

 which meant peaceful, for it was smooth and in 

 contrast to the tempestuous "rounding the 

 Horn." After a tedious voyage the Philippine 

 Islands were reached, and here Magellan was 

 killed by the natives, who were angered by his 

 rough treatment of them. Sebastian Del Cano, 

 as lieutenant, then took command, and he re- 

 turned around the Cape of Good Hope, reach- 

 ing Spain on September 8, 1522. The expedition 

 had been gone nearly three years. 



Strait of Magellan, the narrow and tortuous 

 strait to which Magellan gave his own name 

 after its discovery in 1520. It is 350 miles long, 



