Ask any schoolchild about who was the first to circumnavigate the world, and you will hear: "Of course, Magellan." And few people doubt these words. But after all, Magellan organized this expedition, led it, but could not complete the voyage. So who was the first navigator to circumnavigate the world?
Journey of Magellan
In 1516, the little-known nobleman Ferdinand Magellan came to the Portuguese king Manuel I with the idea to carry out the plan of Columbus - to reach the Spice Islands, as the Moluccas were then called, from the west. As you know, Columbus was “interfered” by America, which appeared on his way, which he considered to be the islands of Southeast Asia.
At that time, the Portuguese were already sailing to the East Indies, but bypassing Africa and crossing the Indian Ocean. Therefore, they did not need a new route to these islands.
History repeats itself: King Manuel ridiculed Magellanwent already to the Spanish king and received his consent to organize the expedition.
On September 20, 1519, a flotilla of five ships left the Spanish port of San Lucar de Barrameda.
Magellan's satellites
No one disputes the historical fact that the first round-the-world trip was made by an expedition led by Magellan. The vicissitudes of the path of this dramatic expedition are known from the words of Pigafetta, who kept records all the days of the journey. Its participants were also two captains who had already visited the islands of the East Indies more than once: Barbosa and Serrano.
And especially on this campaign, Magellan took his slave - the Malay Enrique. He was captured in Sumatra and served Magellan faithfully for a long time. On the expedition, he was assigned the role of an interpreter when the Spice Islands were reached.
Progress of the expedition
Having lost a lot of time crossing the Atlantic Ocean and passing through a rocky narrow and long strait, which later received the name of Magellan, the travelers came to a new ocean. During this time, one of the ships sank, the other went back to Spain. A conspiracy against Magellan was uncovered. The ships' rigging was in need of repair, and supplies of food and drinking water were running low.
The ocean, called the Pacific, first met with a good tailwind, but subsequently it became weaker and, finally, completely subsided. People deprived of fresh food did not only die of hunger, although they had to eat both rats and skin from masts. Main dangerwas scurvy - a thunderstorm for all sailors of that time.
And only on March 28, 1521, they reached the islands, whose inhabitants answered with amazement the questions of Enrique, who spoke his native language. This meant that Magellan and his companions arrived on the islands of the East Indies from the other side. And it was Enrique who was the very first traveler to circumnavigate the world! He returned to his homeland, circumnavigating the globe.
End of expedition
April 21, 1521 Magellan was killed, intervening in the internecine war of local leaders. This had the most dire consequences for his companions, who were forced to simply flee the islands.
Many of the sailors were killed or wounded. Of the 265 crew members, only 150 remained, they were only enough to manage two ships.
On the islands of Tidore, they were able to rest a little, replenish food supplies, take on board spices and golden sand.
On the return journey to Spain went only the ship "Victoria" under the control of Sebastian del Cano. Only 18 people returned to the port of Lukar! These people are the ones who made the first trip around the world. True, their names were not preserved. But Captain del Cano and the chronicler of Pigafetta's journey are known not only to historians and geographers.
The first Russian trip around the world
The head of the first Russian round-the-world expedition was Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern. This voyage took place in 1803-1806
Two sailing ships -"Hope" under the command of Kruzenshtern himself and "Neva", led by his assistant Yuri Fedorovich Lisyansky - left Kronstadt on August 7, 1803. The main goal was to explore the Pacific Ocean and especially the mouth of the Amur. It was necessary to identify convenient places for the parking of the Russian Pacific Fleet and the best routes for supplying it.
The expedition was not only of great importance for the formation of the Pacific Fleet, but also made a huge contribution to science. New islands were discovered, but a number of non-existent islands were erased from the ocean map. For the first time, systematic studies were started in the ocean. The expedition discovered the trade wind countercurrents in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, measured the temperature of the water, its salinity, determined the density of the water … The reasons for the glow of the sea were clarified, data were collected on the tides, on the components of the weather in different parts of the World Ocean.
Significant adjustments were made to the map of the Russian Far East: parts of the coast of the Kuril Islands, Sakhalin, the Kamchatka Peninsula. For the first time, some of the Japanese islands are marked on it.
The participants of this expedition became those of the Russians who were the first to circumnavigate the world.
But for most Russians, this expedition is known by the fact that the first Russian mission headed by Rezanov went to Japan on the Nadezhda.
Great Seconds (interesting facts)
Englishman Francis Drakebecame the second person to circumnavigate the world in 1577-1580. His galleon "Golden Doe" for the first time passed from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific through the stormy strait, later named after him. This route is considered much more difficult than through the Strait of Magellan due to constant storms, floating ice, and sudden changes in the weather. Drake was the first person to circumnavigate the world around Cape Horn. Since then, among the sailors, a tradition has gone to wear an earring in the ear. If he passed through the Drake Passage, leaving Cape Horn on the right, then the earring should have been in the right ear, and vice versa.
For his services, Francis Drake was personally knighted by Queen Elizabeth. It is to him that the Spaniards owe the defeat of their "Invincible Armada".
In 1766, Frenchwoman Jeanne Barre became the first woman to sail around the world. To do this, she disguised herself as a man and got on the ship of Bougainville, who went on a round-the-world expedition, as a servant. When the deception was revealed, despite all her merits, Barre was landed in Mauritius and returned home on another ship.
The second Russian round-the-world expedition led by F. F. Bellingshausen and M. P. Lazareva is famous for the fact that Antarctica was discovered during it in January 1820.
