On the morning of September 20, 1519, in the port of Sanlúcar, a port outside the city of Seville, Spain, the rumble of cannons sent off the most singular voyage ever made by man.
When the Europeans took the Atlantic Ocean no longer strange, they did not know the existence of the Pacific Ocean, the largest body of water on earth much older than the Atlantic Ocean lying in the east of Asia, the Americas west of the huge basin, at that time there has not been a European intruded. 16th century, the beginning of the Spanish explorers from the west coast of Panama, high mountains, found between the New World and Asia, there is a magnificent
The Great South Sea, as it was called by the Europeans, is a great ocean between the New World and Asia.
The Dream of Voyage
The first round of exploration began, with European explorers clamoring to find a strait in the Americas that would lead to the Great South Sea, believing that such a strait must exist. Among those who jumped at the chance was a Portuguese soldier named Magellan, who had reached the Straits of Malacca with a fleet of voyages at a very young age, and had established himself as a credit to Portugal in the battle to capture this lifeblood of transportation in the East. Because of the blood lust of these loyalists, Portugal eventually took control of the Straits of Malacca and the city of Malacca. However, when Magellan returned to his homeland after a long absence, he had nothing but battle wounds and a Malayan slave, Henry, who followed him. He came to the king and told him of his knowledge of the voyage, hoping to serve his country and get a heavy responsibility, but King Manuel arrogantly refused.
Magellan wanted to organize a fleet of ships to the East in search of the Spice Islands, where legend has it that the magical tropical landscapes are very beautiful, and there are countless riches. He pondered the location of the Spice Islands, it is in the east of the eastern end of the ocean, according to the theory that the earth is round, Columbus sailed west of the route should be correct, as long as the Americas to find the strait that leads to the South China Sea, into the mysterious South China Sea, and then sailed west all the way down to the Spice Islands. Magellan rejoiced in his plan, and he went to the neighboring country of Spain with this great plan of westward voyage. The King of Spain immediately agreed to organize a fleet of ships for the Portuguese, who had been abandoned by his country. Magellan was made admiral, commander of the fleet and future governor of all the islands and continents he discovered.
The long voyage
Magellan's fleet consisted of five ships and ***256 men. During the first few days of the voyage, the sea was calm and they sailed using the light northeast trade winds and equatorial currents. Two months later, the flotilla crossed the Atlantic and reached Brazil.
Magellan stood on the coast of South America, thinking hard about the mysterious strait, it should be somewhere in South America, he looked long and far away from the long endless barbaric coastline, seems to hear the mysterious strait of the call, that the whale song like the melodious bleak sound of the call is in the distant sky wavering. So, without hesitation, he set sail southward along the coast of South America. The fleet traveled for several months in a row, and everywhere they went there was still solid land, there was no sign of the strait. Magellan's stubbornness was unbelievable, and he ordered the fleet to slow down and stick to the coast, leaving no bay untouched, surveying them carefully, trying to find the strait before winter set in. Winter came on this slow voyage, and the howling winds battered the ships with their bone-chilling waves, and the coast was so barren that not a beast was to be seen.
The crew gradually lost patience, and at 49 degrees south latitude, in an uninhabited place, Magellan decided to stop sailing and spend the winter here. The spies in the fleet thought the time had come, so they incited around, saying that Magellan looking for this strait is as ridiculous as Columbus looking for China and India in the Atlantic Ocean. In the face of numerous objections, Magellan firmly replied, "I will never take half a step backward, unless I die, I must find the strait leading to the Great South China Sea and reach the Spice Islands."
One dark night, a rebellion began, Magellan square not messed up, with the boldness of the soldier and resourcefulness he quickly pacified the rebellion. He put the leaders to death or expelled, but pardoned the sailors who participated in the rebellion. With all this, there was no one left in the fleet to oppose him.
When spring came, the fleet sailed south, the people silent, not knowing what awaited them. Traveling to 52 degrees south latitude, the fleet entered a deep bay, the crew's eyes brightened, half a year, they saw has been the deserted coast, cold and dim bay, and here is a completely different world. The rolling hills on either side covered with snow looked magnificent, and was this darkened channel sandwiched by rocky cliffs the entrance to the Great South Sea? Magellan stood on the deck, his whole being bathed in the scent of snow and ice, and it was as if he heard again the lilting summons of that whale-song, and the fleet embarked on the path of hope as never before. They walked in the large bay for more than a month, and on November 22, 1520, a strait appeared in front of them, which is the mysterious strait they had gone through a lot of trouble to find, and later people called it "Strait of Magellan".
As the fleet sailed calmly through the strait, a huge expanse of water suddenly appeared in front of their eyes, a vast open ocean, the largest and oldest sea on Earth that Europeans had never visited. The ships raised the Spanish flag and fired a salute to the ocean. From this day on, mankind finally figured out what his planet looked like, a planet where the world's oceans were all connected and where land could not and could not divide them. Magellan fleet sailed into a vast and unknown ocean, the sea is calm, how peaceful a piece of the ocean! Magellan then affectionately referred to this large South China Sea as the "Pacific Ocean". This is the origin of the name of the Pacific Ocean.
The fleet sailed many days in the Pacific Ocean, one day, they anchored on an island, in the face of a large number of natives gathered on the shore, Magellan ordered his Malayan slave Henry to go ashore to find out what the situation, Henry went to the middle of the natives, this is the history of ocean exploration of the most exciting moment: Henry actually understood the words of the islanders, that is his own language, these natives are his countrymen. Henry raised his head and tears flowed down his cheeks as he returned home from Sumatra, where he had left many years earlier to follow Magellan from India to Europe, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, and where he had circled the globe in its entirety. Shortly thereafter, on April 27, 1521, Magellan died of an arrow during a clash with the natives of the island of Mactan in the Philippine archipelago, and on September 8, 1522, the Victoria, one of the ships in the convoy, returned to the port of Sanlúcar.
This is the famous voyage of Magellan around the world. Magellan, one of the strongest members of civilized mankind, made one of the most brilliant journeys of all time, proving the theory of the spherical shape of the Earth correct; before mankind could observe his own planet from outer space, this Portuguese soldier figured out the shape of the Earth 500 years ago with courage and will
Magellan
p> Born in 1480 in northern Portugal to a poor family of knights, Magellan entered the service of the king's court around the age of 10, serving as the queen's attendant, and by the age of 16 he had joined Portugal's National Office of Naval Affairs, where he became familiar with the workings of the sea. At that time, Columbus had already discovered the American New World, and Da Gama also returned from India and brought back the great wealth of the Orient. With the desire for the wealth of the Orient and oceanic exploration, Magellan joined the overseas expedition in 1505, and from then on began the career of ocean exploration. During this expedition to India, Malacca, Malay Archipelago, in order to compete with the Arabs for the trade territory and the hegemony of the southern Asian sea, the expedition team fought several battles with Arab traders and residents along the way, and Magellan was also wounded three times as a result. After recovering from his wounds, Magellan's ship ran aground on the way back to Portugal. When everyone was discouraged, Magellan stepped forward and led the surviving seafarers to overcome the difficulties until they were rescued. As a result of this incident, Magellan was promoted to the rank of captain and was retained in India. Afterwards, Magellan participated in colonial wars in India and Southeast Asia, where he explored and traveled. He learned from the field that there was an ocean to the east of the Southeast Asian archipelago. He was convinced that the earth was round and guessed that to the east of this sea was the continent of America discovered by Christopher Columbus. He was determined to make a voyage around the world. 15 13 Magellan returned to Portugal. He repeatedly asked the king to allow him to organize a fleet of ships to explore the world, but the king ignored him, so the desperate Magellan had to leave his country in 1517 to join the commander of the fortress in the Spanish city of Seville. The commander of the fortress admired his talent and courage so much that he not only married his daughter to him, but also recommended him to the king of Spain. Magellan's plan to circumnavigate the globe was approved by the King of Spain, who signed an ocean voyage agreement with him. According to the agreement, Magellan was appointed as the leader of the expedition, the ships of the fleet were provided by the state, and the cost of the voyage was borne by the state. Any land discovered during the expedition was to be owned by the king, with Magellan acting as governor, and one-twentieth of all revenues from newly discovered land was to go to Magellan. To supervise Magellan, the king sent a member of the royal family as second-in-command of the fleet. In September 1519, Magellan led a fleet of five ships, consisting of more than 200 men, from the port of Seville, Spain, on a voyage of discovery around the world. After more than two months at sea, the fleet crossed the Atlantic Ocean to the coast of Brazil. The fleet continued southward along the coast, and in January of the following year came to a large, wide bay. "Channel found!" "The channel is found!" The seafarers cheered with joy, thinking that they had reached the southern tip of the Americas and were ready to enter a new ocean. However, as the fleet progressed through the bay, they realized that the sea water had turned to fresh water, and that this was just a wide estuary, which was the outlet of the La Plata River in present-day Uruguay. The fleet continued southward. The seasons in the southern hemisphere are the opposite of those in the northern hemisphere, and in South America in March it was already approaching winter, with snow and wind, making navigation extremely difficult. At the end of the month, the convoy arrived at the port of San Julián, where it anchored for the winter. Most of the seafarers were discouraged by several failed attempts to explore the strait, and three of the captains took the opportunity to oppose Magellan. Magellan managed to quell this rebellion and prevented the voyage from ending in failure. After nearly five months of rest and recuperation, Magellan set sail with his fleet in August, when spring was in full bloom in the region. Only four ships remained, as one had sunk on the May voyage. Two months later, the fleet found another opening at 52 degrees south latitude. This strait was curved, narrow and wide, with a series of harbors and rough seas. Magellan sent a ship to explore, but the ship turned around and fled back to Spain. Magellan had to lead the remaining three ships to navigate through the strait like a labyrinth. Magellan led the fleet with a strong will. After a month of meandering through the strait, they finally came out of the western mouth of the strait and saw the vastness of the sea. Magellan, who was always known for his composure and determination, shed tears of excitement. In honor of Magellan's voyage, later generations named the strait "Strait of Magellan". If you open a map of the world, you can find it at the southern tip of South America, at 52 degrees south latitude. The fleet sailed through this ocean for more than three months, but the sea was always calm. Therefore, they named it "Pacific Ocean". At the beginning of March 1521, when all the people were exhausted and weak, the fleet arrived at the rich Mariana Islands and was warmly received by the local people, and at the end of March, the fleet arrived at the Philippine Islands. When Henry, Magellan's original servant from Malacca, spoke to the natives in Malay, Magellan was thrilled! His dream of circumnavigating the globe was finally coming true. He had sailed from the west to the west and finally reached the east, proving with irrefutable facts that the earth was indeed round. In order to conquer this rich land of spices, the tough, bold and ambitious Magellan tried to exploit the conflicts between the local tribes to achieve his goal, but in a clash with the local tribes, Magellan was killed. In the end, Magellan's assistant burned a broken ship and led the only two remaining ships loaded with spices across the Strait of Malacca, through the Indian Ocean, across the Cape of Good Hope, more than a year, and finally returned to Spain in September 1522, when only one ship remained. At that time, only one ship and 18 crew members were left in the whole fleet. From September 1519 to September 1922, it took Magellan and his crew three years to complete the first one-week voyage around the world. Although Magellan died, but his contribution to the future generations of navigation and science, but let each of us can not forget.