Over the edge of the World
Over the Edge of the World
In 1519 Magellan and his fleet set sail from Seville, Spain, to find a water route to the Spice Islands in Indonesia. Magellan was Portuguese by birth. He first asked the King of Portugal to fund an exploration to the Spice Islands by sailing west, but since Portugal had already found a route to the east the king denied Magellan. However Charles I of Spain funded Magellan because Spain had not found a route to the Spice Islands as yet. Charles I gave Magellan five ships, but Magellan had a long way to go. For one thing the Portuguese wanted to prevent him from finding an alternate route to the Spice Islands. In order to avoid the Portuguese, he first set sail along the coast of Africa before crossing the Atlantic. Also the other ship captains disliked and distrusted him because he was Portuguese.
No one at the time had any idea of how big the Pacific Ocean was or the location of the hospitable islands. Once into the Pacific Magellan headed west with favorable winds, but still took 98 days to reach land where he could obtain fresh water and food. During that stretch, he lost many of the crew to scurvy and malnutrition. Magellan encountered many indigenous people along the way and it was very unpredictable. Some resulted in trading, but several resulted in battles and mutual killing. The Spanish always had more advanced weapons and armor, but the natives had weapons dipped in poison to ensure the death of the enemy if he was hit. The natives also outnumbered the Spanish in most of the battles they fought. The armada made landed in the Philippines on March 28, 1521. After impressing the natives with guns and armor, Magellan made friends with a local war lord. Magellan wanted convert the locals to Catholicism, so he offered his services as a military force to help fight the Mactans, who were enemies of his new best friend. The Mactans turned out to be tougher and more numerous that he had anticipated, and he and some of his crew got
In 1519 Magellan and his fleet set sail from Seville, Spain, to find a water route to the Spice Islands in Indonesia. Magellan was Portuguese by birth. He first asked the King of Portugal to fund an exploration to the Spice Islands by sailing west, but since Portugal had already found a route to the east the king denied Magellan. However Charles I of Spain funded Magellan because Spain had not found a route to the Spice Islands as yet. Charles I gave Magellan five ships, but Magellan had a long way to go. For one thing the Portuguese wanted to prevent him from finding an alternate route to the Spice Islands. In order to avoid the Portuguese, he first set sail along the coast of Africa before crossing the Atlantic. Also the other ship captains disliked and distrusted him because he was Portuguese.
No one at the time had any idea of how big the Pacific Ocean was or the location of the hospitable islands. Once into the Pacific Magellan headed west with favorable winds, but still took 98 days to reach land where he could obtain fresh water and food. During that stretch, he lost many of the crew to scurvy and malnutrition. Magellan encountered many indigenous people along the way and it was very unpredictable. Some resulted in trading, but several resulted in battles and mutual killing. The Spanish always had more advanced weapons and armor, but the natives had weapons dipped in poison to ensure the death of the enemy if he was hit. The natives also outnumbered the Spanish in most of the battles they fought. The armada made landed in the Philippines on March 28, 1521. After impressing the natives with guns and armor, Magellan made friends with a local war lord. Magellan wanted convert the locals to Catholicism, so he offered his services as a military force to help fight the Mactans, who were enemies of his new best friend. The Mactans turned out to be tougher and more numerous that he had anticipated, and he and some of his crew got