The Great Voyage (TIMELINES)

• Mar 22 1518

Ferdinand Magellan convinces King Charles I to support his voyage to Spice Islands

In October 1517 in Seville, Magellan contacted Juan de Aranda, Factor of the Casa de Contratación.

Then, following the arrival of his partner, Rui Faleiro, and with the support of Aranda, they presented

their project to the Spanish king, Charles I, future Charles V. Magellan's project was particularly

interesting, since it would open the "spice route" without damaging relations with the
neighbouring

Portuguese. The idea was in tune with the times.

• Sep 20 1519

Ferdinand Magellan sets sail to Spice Islands

The fleet left Seville on August 10, 1519, but waited until September 20, 1519 to sail from Sanlúcar de

Barrameda, with a crew of 237 men from several nations, including Spanish, Portuguese, Italians,

Greeks and French, on five ships: the Trinidad flagship commanded by Magellan, the San Antonio

commanded by Juan de Cartagena, Concepcion commanded by Gaspar de Quesada, Santiago

commanded by Juan Serrano and the Victoria, commanded by Luis Mendoza.

• Dec 6 1519

Ferdinand Magellan reaches South America

There the crew was resupplied, but bad conditions caused them to delay. Afterwards, they continued to

sail south along South America’s east coast, looking for the strait that Magellan believed would lead to

the Spice Islands. The fleet reached Río de la Plata on January 10, 1520.

• Mar 30 1520

Ferdinand Magellan and crew establish settlement called Puerto San

Julian On April 2 a mutiny involving two of the five ship captains broke out, but it was unsuccessful

because most of the crew remained loyal. Juan Sebastián Elcano was one of those who were forgiven.

Antonio Pigafetta, an Italian from Vicenza who paid to be on the Magellan voyage, related that Gaspar

Quesada, the captain of Concepcion, was executed; Juan de Cartagena, the captain of San Antonio, and
a priest named Padre Sanchez de la Reina were instead marooned on the coast.

• Nov 1 1520 to Nov 28 1520

Ferdinand Magellan discovers and explores Strait of Magellan

Four ships began an arduous trip through the 373-mile (600 km) long passage that Magellan called the

Estrecho (Canal) de Todos los Santos, (“All Saints’ Channel”), because the fleet travelled through it on

November 1 or All Saints’ Day. The strait is now named the Strait of Magellan. Magellan first

assigned Concepcion and San Antonio to explore the strait, but the latter, commanded by Gómez,

deserted and returned to Spain on November 20.

• Nov 28 1520

Portuguese Ships Enter “The Sea of The South”

Having sailed from the Atlantic Ocean through the passage that came to be known as the Straits of

Magellan, three ships under the command of native Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan entered

“The Sea of the South” on November 28, 1520.

• Mar 6 1521

Ferdinand Magellan reached the Mariana Islands and Guam

On 6 March they reached the Marianas and Guam. Magellan called Guam the “Island of Sails” because

they saw a lot of sailboats. They renamed it to “Ladrones Island” (Island of Thieves) because many of

Trinidad’s small boats were stolen there.

• Mar 16 1521

Ferdinand Magellan becomes first European to reach Philippines

On 16 March Magellan reached the island of Homonhon in the Philippines, with 150 crew left.

Members of his expedition became the first Spaniards to reach the Philippine archipelago, but they

were not the first Europeans. Magellan was able to communicate with the native tribes because his

Malay interpreter, Enrique, could understand their languages. Enrique was indentured by Magellan in

1511 right after the colonization of Malacca and was at his side during the battles in Africa.

• Apr 27 1521

Ferdinand Magellan dies

Rajah Humabon of Cebu was friendly towards Magellan and the Spaniards, both he and his queen Hara
Amihan were baptized as Christians. Afterward, Rajah Humabon and his ally Datu Zula convinced

Magellan to kill their enemy, Datu Lapu-Lapu, on Mactan. Magellan had wished to convert Datu Lapu-

Lapu to Christianity, as he had Rajah Humabon, a proposal to which Datu Lapu-Lapu was dismissive.

On the morning of April 27, 1521, Magellan sailed to Mactan with an army of men. During the

resulting Battle of Mactan against native forces led by Datu Lapu-Lapu, Magellan was shot by a

poisonous arrow and later surrounded and finished off with spears and other weapons.

• Sep 6 1522

Ferdinand Magellan’s remaining crew return to Spain

The casualties suffered in the Philippines left the expedition with too few men to sail all three of the

remaining ships. Consequently, on May 2 they abandoned Concepción and burned the ship. The fleet,

reduced to Trinidad and Victoria, fled westward to Palawan. They left that island on June 21 and were

guided to Brunei, Borneo by Moro pilots who could navigate the

shallow seas.

Brief Explanation or Judgement.

In 1519, the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan set off from Spain with a fleet of five ships in an

effort to find a western sea passage to the Spice Islands. Magellan's motivations for this endeavor
were

fame and money.

As a result of this path, which is now known as the Strait of Magellan, he is credited with becoming the

first European to successfully traverse the Pacific Ocean. Due to the protracted and perilous nature of

the journey, just one ship made it back to port three years later.

Only 18 of the original crew of 270 aboard the fleet returned with the ship, despite the fact that it was

loaded down with costly spices from the East.

Although Magellan did not survive the journey because he was slain in a conflict during the journey,

his ambitious mission demonstrated that it was possible to navigate around the globe by sea and that

the world was far bigger than had previously been assumed.
SOURCES:

Ferdinand Magellan timeline. (1480, January 1). World History Project.

https://worldhistoryproject.org/topics/ferdinand-magellan/