Ferdinand Magellan

📷 Wikimedia Commons — domaine public — Unknown artistUnknown artist — 1848

1480 — 1521

royaume de Portugal

ExplorationExplorateur/triceRenaissanceRenaissance — Age of Exploration (late 15th – early 16th century)

Portuguese navigator and explorer sailing under the Spanish crown, Magellan led the first expedition to circumnavigate the globe (1519–1522). He died in the Philippines in 1521, before the completion of the voyage, which was finished by Juan Sebastián Elcano.

Key Facts

Born around 1480 in Portugal, he entered the service of the Spanish crown after falling out of favor with King Manuel I.
In 1519, he set sail from Seville with five ships and 270 men, bound for the Spice Islands by sailing westward.
In 1520, he navigated the strait that would bear his name (the Strait of Magellan) at the southern tip of South America, opening the route to the Pacific Ocean.
He was killed on April 27, 1521, in the Philippines during the Battle of Mactan, in which his men clashed with the local chieftain Lapulapu.
On September 6, 1522, the Victoria — the sole surviving ship, commanded by Elcano — completed the first circumnavigation of the Earth.