Character Catalog

Although he did not survive to complete it, Magellan organized and led the expedition that demonstrated for the first time that the Earth could be circumnavigated by sea, revolutionizing world geography and cosmography.

Magellan discovered the maritime passage connecting the Atlantic to the Pacific south of America, opening a new route to Asia independent of the areas controlled by Portugal.

Upon entering the Pacific through the southern strait, Magellan became the first European to sail this ocean from the American coastline, estimating its immense dimensions after a crossing of 98 days.

Before his great voyage, Magellan took part in Portuguese military and commercial campaigns in Malacca and the Indies, gaining firsthand knowledge of Asian maritime routes and the Spice Islands.

Magellan convinced the King of Spain of the geopolitical merits of reaching the Moluccas from the west to bypass the Portuguese monopoly, leading to the Capitulation of Valladolid in 1518.

We sailed in the Pacific Sea for three months and twenty days without tasting any fresh food. We ate biscuit reduced to powder and full of worms, which smelled strongly of rat urine.

The Catholic Monarchs and the King of Portugal agreed upon a demarcation line drawn from the Arctic Pole to the Antarctic Pole, three hundred and seventy leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands.

We, Charles I, grant to Ferdinand Magellan and Ruy Faleiro the grace of discovering within the limits of our dominion the lands and islands as well as the spices found therein.

The captain-general Magellan, in dying, had accomplished such great things that his renown shall remain immortal. He was more valiant than any other navigator of the past or the future.

Andalusian port from which Magellan set sail on September 20, 1519 with his fleet of five ships. It was also there that Elcano's Victoria returned three years later, completing the first circumnavigation of the globe.

Maritime passage at the southern tip of South America, discovered and navigated by Magellan in November 1520 over 38 days. Stretching 560 km long, it is today named after him in tribute to this landmark discovery.

Archipelago where Magellan forged alliances with the chieftain Humabon and where he met his death during the Battle of Mactan on April 27, 1521. This is where the explorer's personal journey came to an end.

The expedition's final destination, these islands were the heart of the global spice trade (cloves, nutmeg). The surviving crew loaded a precious cargo there before returning to Spain.

Patagonian bay where the fleet wintered from March to August 1520. Magellan suppressed a mutiny by the Spanish captains there and encountered the first Patagonians, indigenous peoples of remarkable stature who fascinated the Europeans.

A brass navigation instrument used to measure the altitude of celestial bodies in order to determine latitude at sea. Magellan and his pilots used it daily to find their bearings in uncharted waters.

A casing containing a magnetic needle pointing north, essential for open-sea navigation. It allowed Magellan to maintain a heading during long ocean crossings out of sight of the coast.

A medieval and Renaissance nautical chart drawn on calfskin, depicting coastlines with their ports and rhumb lines. Magellan's portolan charts were partially inaccurate for the Pacific, which was then entirely unknown to Europeans.

An instrument measuring time at sea through the flow of sand, typically set to half an hour. Lookouts used it to estimate the ship's speed using the log-line technique.

A sturdy three-masted ship type used for major Atlantic explorations. Magellan's five vessels were Spanish naos of approximately 80 to 130 tons, suited for long voyages on the open sea.

Commodities of extraordinary value in Europe, the source of the wealth of Arab and Venetian merchants. It was to reach the Spice Islands directly by sailing westward around the Americas that Magellan undertook his voyage.