Ferdinand Magellan was born between 1470 and 1480 in Porto, Portugal. He was born into a wealthy family of Portuguese nobility. From a young age, Magellan studied navigation and sailing and worked in the royal court. As a young man, Magellan was a great soldier for Portugal. He traveled to Asia to fight in many wars and during one, his leg was severely injured. He walked with a limp for the rest of his life. Ferdinand Magellan died on April 27, 1521 in Mactan, Philippines.
Magellan believed it was true that the Americas lay between Europe and Asia. He had heard of other explorers who had voyaged to the new world and wanted to explore it for himself. His goal was to find a strait that connected the Atlantic to the unknown ocean. The king of Portugal did not
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More land meant fresh natural resources and more space for people to live. The nation also wanted to trade and find new trade routes to India, as well as Africa and the Americas. But most importantly, they wanted gold, wealth, and fame. There was gold in the Americas, and other riches in Asia, and the Spanish wanted it. King Charles agreed and Magellan was given five ships and about two hundred and fifty men, most of which were Spanish. Since these men were Spanish, and Magellan was Portuguese, they did not trust him.
Magellan exploration began on September 20, 1519. He set sail from Sanlucar De Barrameda, Spain. When the crew made it to the Canary Islands, Magellan was warned of potential mutiny. With this warning Magellan continued on. During the journey across the Atlantic, the ships were stuck in a part of the ocean with no wind and limited currents. The crew was stuck at sea for many weeks, unable to resupply. Food was rationed and sailors began to grow restless. Eventually, a current took carried the ships and began to sail again. The sailors spotted land on December 8th, 1519. Today, the place they landed on is called Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil. There, it took two weeks to restock