Term Papers on Ferinand Magellan

Term Paper Title	Ferinand Magellan
# of Words	912
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	3.65

Ferinand Magellan

     Ferinand Magellan was a Portuguese sea captain who commanded the first expedition

that sailed around the world.  The Voyage was the first positive piece of proof that the

earth is round.

     Magellan was born around 1480 in northern Portugal.  His parents were members

of the nobility, died when he was ten.  He became a page at the Portuguese court at age

twelve to Queen Leonor.  His position served as a means of education for sons of the

Portuguese nobility.  While at court, Ferdinand learned about the voyages of such

explorers as Christopher Columbus and Vasco da Gama and how to navigate.  He was promoted

to the rank of squire and became a clerk in the marine department where he helped assist outfit

ships for trade in 1496.

     Magellan's first voyage out to sea was with the fleet of Francisco de Almeida in 1505.

Then in 1506 he went on an expedition sent by Almeida to the east coast of Africa to strengthen

Portuguese bases there.  In 1507 he returned to India and participated in trade and several naval

bases against Turkish fleets.  Then in 1509 Magellan sailed with a Portuguese fleet to Malaka,

then a commercial center, but is now Malaysia.  The Malays attacked the Portuguese who went

ashore, he helped rescue his comrades.  In 1511, he was part of the expedition that conquered

Malaka.  Portugal then claimed the Spice Islands.  Francisco Serra helped Magellan try to locate

the Spice Islands, which later became the destination of his great voyage.

     Magellan returned to Portugal in 1512 and fought on Morocco the next year.  He was

wounded and petitioned the Portuguese crown to increase his pension.  His request was refused,

and in 1517, he went to Spain to offer his services to King Manuel I for a voyage to the Spice

Islands.  Manuel disliked Magellan and refused to support the proposed voyage.  Magellan then

studied astronomy and navigation for about two years in Porto.  He met Ruy Faleiro, an

astronomer and geographer who strongly influenced his ideas. From their studies, they concluded

that the Spice Islands lay in territory that had been awarded to Spain in 1494. Magellan decided

to seek the support from the king of Spain.

     He presented his proposal for visiting the Spice Islands as part of a westward

circumnavigation of the earth.  Magellan convinced King Charles I of Spain to support the

voyage.  The king promised Magellan a fifth of the profits from the voyage, plus a salary.

  Spaniards became suspicious of Magellan, mainly because he recruited many Portuguese

sailors.  Therefore, the king forced Magellan to replace most of the Portuguese with Spanish

crewman.

     On September 20, 1519, Magellan set sail from Sanlucar de Barrameda in southern

Spain.  Magellan commanded a total...

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