Magellan Essay Research Paper Ferdinand Magellan Explorer

settled, Magellan sailed the passage to the Pacific Ocean named after him, the Strait of Magellan, losing another ship by desertion, en route. After 38 days and traveling 330 miles, on November 28, 1520, his three great ships sailed into the ocean, which Magellan named “Pacific” because it was so calm. He reached the Marianas, or Ladrone, Islands on March 6, 1521, and ten days later he discovered the Phillipines. He landed on the island of Cebu on April 7. There he made an alliance with the ruler of the island and agreed to help him attack the neighboring natives on the island of Mactan. Magellan was killed on April 27, 1521 during the Mactan expedition. What happens to the crew now that their leader is dead? A young Spanish navigator named Juan Sebastian del Cano takes over. Meanwhile two ships escaped and the other one was burned. The last ship, Victoria, was commanded by del Cano through the Cape of Good Hope route to Seville on September 6,1522. Although Magellan did not live to make the journey home he did circumnavigate the globe by passing the easternmost point he had visited on an earlier voyage. The cargo of spices brought back to Spain on the Victoria alone paid for the expenses of the Expedition. The passage through the Strait of Magellan was too long and difficult to be a practical trade route from Europe to the Moluccas, however, and Spain sold her interests there to Portugal. The voyage laid a foundation for trade in the Pacific between the New World and the East. Though Spain did not recognize the importance of the Phillipines immediately, before the end of the century, Manila became the greatest Spanish trading center in the East. Ferdinand Magellan proved to the world and all those who rejected his ideas that one could circumnavigate the world. His discoveries and passages opened new doors to a larger world. He will always be remembered as the first man who sailed around the world.