Magellan’s Remarkable Voyage In 1498 Vasco da Gama had sailed around Africa to reach India Thereafter Portuguese trading ships made the voyage regularly to India and the Spice Islands beyond A captain on one of these ships was Ferdinand Magellan Balboa’s report of another ocean excited Magellan Perhaps Columbus was right Perhaps one could reach the Indies by sailing west If so, the journey might be shorter than sailing east around Africa First, though, it would be necessary to find a water passage through or around the Americas Magellan thought he would find it by sailing south After all, that was the way the Portuguese had rounded Africa The king of Portugal had doubts about Magellan, however, and told Magellan that he was free to offer his services elsewhere Magellan next went to Spain Impressed by Magellan’s proposal, the king of Spain agreed to sponsor him Reading Content Social Studies/ Geography Reading Strategy Visualize Location Visualize the route to India that Magellan plans to take Use your finger to show (in the air or on your desk) the route What words help you to visualize the route? ✓ Reading Check Recall details What did the king of Portugal tell Magellan? Ferdinand Magellan’s voyage changed people’s understanding of the world trading ships ships that carry goods from one place to another to be exchanged for money or other goods rounded gone around proposal something that is suggested as a possible plan sponsor help pay for something Recall details Who paid for Magellan’s voyage? Makeinferences What did Magellan propose to the king of Spain? Unit • Chapter 235 Life at sea was not easy for Magellan and his crew The stormy weather was their first challenge In September 1519 Magellan set out from Spain with five ships and about 240 men The ships crossed the rough Atlantic and then turned south along the coast of South America As they continued south, the weather grew stormier and more bitter So did tempers Magellan executed one mutinous captain The expedition spent the winter on the coast near the tip of South America, repairing their boats In the spring they set out again Despite terrible storms and winds, Magellan found what he was looking for—a strait between the two oceans He knew it was a strait, not a river, because the water remained salty This is the waterway now called the Strait of Magellan Before heading into the strait, Magellan sent men out to gather food for the long voyage ahead When he thought they had prepared enough dried fish and smoked game, the ships lifted anchor and headed into the strait Four days later they emerged into Balboa’s South Sea The ocean seemed so calm that Magellan renamed it the Pacific, meaning “peaceful.” Reading Strategy Visualize Location Think about the directions the ships sailed in—north, south, east, and west Where are Magellan and his crew now? Show the location on your map bitter giving pain, hurtful tempers emotions mutinous going against authority expedition group of people who go on a journey for a special purpose strait a narrow passage of water that joins two larger bodies of water smoked game wild animals or birds cooked over an open fire lifted anchor raised the ship’s anchor, the heavy metal tool that keeps the ship from moving when lowered 236 Unit • Chapter For the next four and a half months, Magellan and his crew sailed across the Pacific The ocean was far wider than Magellan had ever imagined The voyage seemed endless The fresh food lasted only a month Hunger, thirst, and disease tortured the sailors One member of the crew, Antonio Pigafetta, had the job of writing an account of the expedition for the king Of those terrible days on the Pacific, Pigafetta wrote: We ate biscuit, which was no longer biscuit, but powder of biscuits swarming with worms We drank yellow water that had been putrid for many days We also ate some oxhides ; often we ate sawdust from boards Rats were sold for [gold], and even then we could not get them Reading Strategy Visualize Location Where are Magellan’s ships now? Add the location to your map In what direction are the ships moving? ✓ Reading Check Recall detailsWhy did Magellan call Balboa’s South Sea the “Pacific”? Antonio Pigafetta was one of only 18 survivors who sailed with Magellan in 1591 Make inferences How did Magellan know the waterway he found was a strait and not a river? What can you infer about the water in an ocean? Interpret a primary source According to Pigafetta, what did the sailors eat and drink during their days on the Pacific Ocean? Antonio Pigafetta drew this map of the Strait of Magellan tortured caused great pain account description of events that happened expedition journey made by a group for a purpose swarming covered with a large number of moving animals or people putrid rotten, badly spoiled oxhides tough skin of an ox Unit • Chapter 237 Reading Strategy Visualize Location Where is Magellan when he is killed? Show the location on your map 10 Nearly dead, the sailors at last reached the islands they named the Philippines There, fresh food and fresh water helped them begin to regain their health 11 In the Philippines, Magellan was pleased to convert a chief to the Catholic faith In his zeal to befriend the chief, Magellan became involved in a local war He decided to take on the friendly chief’s enemy Magellan wanted to show how powerful the Spanish were and thereby demonstrate the power of their God It was a costly mistake In a beach assault, Magellan’s forces were met by a hail of bamboo spears, and he was killed 12 Despite the death of their leader, the expedition continued The crew headed south to the Spice Islands, where they picked up cargo of cloves and other spices One of Magellan’s ships, the Victoria, sailed around the world It finished 16 months after Magellan’s death regain get back convert change someone’s beliefs, especially religious beliefs zeal strong desire befriend become friends with assault attack hail objects falling forcefully like frozen rain cargo goods carried on a ship, an airplane, or a train 238 Unit • Chapter 13 14 Only one ship completed the journey This was the Victoria, whose captain was Juan Sebastián del Cano Del Cano sailed across the Indian Ocean, around southern Africa, and then northward in the Atlantic Three years after leaving Spain, the Victoria and its crew of eighteen Europeans and four Indians arrived home These sailors were the first to circumnavigate— sail around—the earth The spices on board more than paid for the cost of the expedition In honor of the feat, the king of Spain allowed del Cano to add to his coat of arms a globe with the words, in Latin, “You were the first to encircle me.” The knowledge gained by the expedition was priceless Here was the first real proof that the world was round Furthermore, Europeans now knew that the Americas were not part of Asia The mapmakers went back to their drawing boards A Remarkable Voyage Around the World N W North America Spain S Asia Europe ATLANTIC OCEAN Philippine Islands India Africa PACIFIC OCEAN Strait of Magellan E Magellan died here April 27, 1521 INDIAN OCEAN South America Spice Islands Australia Antarctica Reading Strategy Visualize Location Where does the Victoria end its journey? Show the location on your map Build Your Knowledge The phrase go back to the drawing board is an idiom that means to go back to the beginning and start a task or project again because there was a problem with it the first time A drawing board is a flat board that artists and designers use for drawing, often to sketch new ideas for their work In paragraph 14, go back to the drawing board is used in two ways Use your knowledge of this idiom to determine the two meanings used here ✓ Reading Check Recall details What helped the sailors regain their health? This early world map of Magellan’s journey looks very much like modern maps feat act showing strength, courage, or unusual ability coat of arms symbol that represents a family or group encircle make a circle around ExplainWhy was Magellan killed? SequenceWhat happened after Magellan was killed? Unit • Chapter 239