In the first quarter of the XVI century. Europeans learned about the hitherto unexplored part of the coast of South America and the existence of a narrow strait, later called Magellanic. Brave sailors crossed the Pacific Ocean for the first time, proved that the Earth is round, and the World Ocean is a single whole. This expedition was led by Ferdinand Magellan, whose biography was studied by many researchers, but the information available to historians has been controversial and has been of great interest for several centuries.
The place and exact date of birth of the famous Portuguese and Spanish navigator are the subject of debate. Historians name two settlements in which he could have been born: Porto and Sabrosa. Ferdinand Magellan was born in 1840 in a poor but noble noble family. As a page, he was part of the retinue of Queen Leonora of Avisa. Possibly the Queen of Portugalcontributed to the admission of the young man to the nautical school. The naval service of the future pioneer began with participation in the eastern expedition (1505) as a supernumerary warrior.
There is information about the expeditions equipped to explore the Indian Ocean, which went to the young Magellan. Fernand served in various places. Short in stature, but physically strong and self-confident, he proved to be a brave warrior in naval battles and was awarded the rank of captain. In 1513 he briefly returned to Portugal, and the next year went to Morocco, where he was wounded in the leg, after which he limped for the rest of his life. Immediately after the end of hostilities, he was accused of secretly selling part of the military booty to the opposing side. Outraged, Ferdinand Magellan went to Portugal without permission to justify himself, but this act caused the wrath of King Manuel I, and after his retirement, he was denied an increase in the size of his pension. In response to a request to allocate a ship to search for new sea routes, the Portuguese king also refused.
Fernand Magellan moved to Spain, where, after a long haggling, he managed to convince the more accommodating Spanish king of the necessity and profitability of the expedition. The main purpose of the trip was not geographical discoveries, but the Moluccas - a source of spices - "gold" of the 16th century. The navigator planned to get to the islands by a short route from America. His calculations, having maps of the shores of the South American continent and reports of sailors who visited those parts, he did not build onempty place. A flotilla of five ships loaded with cannons, other weapons, and various goods for trade set sail on September 20, 1519
Incredible trials have fallen to the lot of 256 people participating in the round-the-world regatta led by Magellan. On September 6, 1522, only one worn-out ship called the Victoria with an exhausted crew of 18 people moored to the Spanish coast. There was no longer a person on board the ship, thanks to the perseverance, strength and courage of which the world's first circumnavigation was completed.
The navigator and pioneer Ferdinand Magellan personally did not complete the round-the-world trip, which glorified him throughout the world, because he intervened in the internecine strife of the natives and died on April 27, 1521 in a skirmish near Mactan Island.
