I 



Ferdinand Magellan 

 Break-through to the Pacific 



Although we have no accurate representation 

 of Magellan's ships, this 1532 drawing by 

 Holbein shows a ship thought to be similar 

 to those of Magellan's fleet in 1519. 



During the eighteen hundred years that separate Pytheas from 

 Magellan, the old world was mapped and important journeys were 

 made - but chiefly by land. The first great burst of exploration by 

 sea came in the fifteenth century, with the high-spirited voyages 

 sponsored by Spain and Portugal. Probably the most astonishing 

 of all these undertakings was Ferdinand Magellan's circumnavi- 

 gation of the earth. 



Magellan made his magnificent voyage in the service of Charles V 

 of Spain. Ironically, though, in view of the rivalry between the 

 two countries at that time, he himself was a native of Portugal, born 

 about 1480 in the arid and mountainous district of Traz-os-Montes. 

 At the age of fifteen young Ferdinand became a page at the queen's 

 court, where he remained until he was twenty-four, at which time, 

 stirred by the conquests of explorers such as Da Gama, Cabral, and 

 Caspar Corte-Real, he decided to take part in the great adventure. 



He signed on as a sobresaliente (an extra officer) with a twenty- 

 ship armada that set out in 1 504 to annihilate the fleets and armies 

 of the Sultan of Egypt and hostile Indian rulers. The operation was 

 completely successful. While Portugal emerged as a great world 

 empire, Magellan emerged with the scars of his first batde wounds 

 and with an undiminished appetite for the sea. 



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