LESSON 3
Proving the World Round: How the voyage of Ferdinand Magellan changed what people knew about the shape of our planet.
An age will come after many years when the Ocean will loose the chain of things, and a huge land lie revealed; and Tethys [a sea creature] shall discover new worlds, and Thule will no longer be the farthest land.
-–Seneca (ca. 3 B.C.E.-65 C.E.), Roman philosopher and playwright, Medea
In the Middle Ages a pound of ginger was worth a sheep, while a similar weight of mace could buy three sheep or half a cow. Pepper, counted out berry by berry, was nearly priceless. It could pay taxes and rents, dowries and tributes.
-–Charles Corn, twentieth-century American writer and editor, The Scents of Eden: A Narrative of the Spice Trade
-–Seneca (ca. 3 B.C.E.-65 C.E.), Roman philosopher and playwright, Medea
In the Middle Ages a pound of ginger was worth a sheep, while a similar weight of mace could buy three sheep or half a cow. Pepper, counted out berry by berry, was nearly priceless. It could pay taxes and rents, dowries and tributes.
-–Charles Corn, twentieth-century American writer and editor, The Scents of Eden: A Narrative of the Spice Trade
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On September 4, 1522, a battered, worm-infested ship is sighted heading for Seville on Spain's Guadalquivir (gwah-thuhl-kee-VEER) River. No one has expected it; it is as if a ghost ship has appeared.
The ship's crew–a pitiful band of 18 Europeans and 4 East Indians-are living skeletons. The 18 Europeans are all that remain of a hopeful expedition of 270 that set sail three years earlier. The families of the men think them dead. The ship limps slowly up the river, but word of its appearance spreads rapidly. By September 6, when it reaches Seville, the whole city is consumed with curiosity. Where has this ship been? The captain, Juan Sebastian del Cano, will soon be lionized across Europe and beyond. Actually, he is a traitor. Only later will history tell the truth about him. The story begins on this same river with an armada of five ships. The ships are not particularly impressive, but the capitán-general is. His name is Ferdinand Magellan, and he has checked, rechecked, and strengthened every timber, every sail, and every length of rope. Magellan is preparing for a two-year expedition. His food supplies include several tons of pickled pork, almost as much honey, and 200 barrels of anchovies. In case they must fight, there are thousands of lances, shields, and helmets. To keep the ships in repair, they pack 40 loads of lumber, pitch, and tar. And there are mirrors, scissors, colored glass beads, and kerchiefs to trade with unknown natives. (Later he will discover that he has been cheated; much that he ordered and paid for is stolen on the docks and not loaded on the ships.) Some people say Magellan is a fanatic or, at best, a dreamer. Actually, he is a bit of both, as achievers must be. Short and muscular with a bushy black beard and a limp–a battle wound–he has an idea, and it consumes him. He believes he can do what Columbus has not done–reach Asia and its fabled Moluccas (Spice Islands)– by sailing west. He expects to find the Moluccas, load his ships with cloves and other spices, and then turn around and sail back, thus pioneering a new trading route. Spices, especially cloves, nutmeg, mace, cinnamon, and ginger, are worth their weight in gold and sometimes more than gold. European monarchs, merchants, adventurers, and scholars, in search of power, wealth, and knowledge, are trying to find new ways around the world. At the same time, they are bringing surprises to distant cultures. They are not alone. Other forces are changing peoples and lands that were once isolated. In the seventh century, an inspired young camel driver named Muhammad married the widow of a wealthy Arab spice merchant. His followers, soon called Muslims, began spreading a new faith–Islam. Often they mixed missionary activities with business. Before long, Islamic Arabs traveling east controlled the overland route to Asia's market cities. They did everything they could to keep others from the rich spice trade. Europeans chafed. They wanted the wealth of the spice trade for themselves. After Vasco da Gama sails around Africa, the sea route seems a possible way to trade with the Far East. Perhaps the long land trek on the Silk Road can be replaced by a ship journey. But the voyage around Africa's Cape of Good Hope is tough and dangerous. Is there a better way to go? Magellan is convinced that sailing west to reach the East will be faster and safer. If he is right, he will become rich and famous. And if he reaches his destination, he knows it will prove once and for all that the Earth is a round globe. |
Ferdinand Magellan
The Victoria, the only one of Magellan's ships to survive the journey
A 16th century map of the Americas, a few decades after Magellan's voyage.
This is chapter is from "The Story of Science: Aristotle Leads the Way." These lessons are intended for your use at home. They are copyrighted by Joy Hakim and are not for commercial use or redistribution.
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Although he is descended from Portuguese nobility, Magellan has little finesse. When he goes to Lisbon to the royal court and presents his plan, he does it without the flattery and fawning that King Manuel I expects from his subjects. The king, expressing his disdain, turns around and shows Magellan his back. It is an insult. The courtiers titter.
Achievers and heroes--as this man will prove to be--don't give up. He goes to Spain and presents himself to the 18-year-old monarch, King Carlos I, who will soon be Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. But he is King Carlos when he agrees to sponsor the expedition. First, in order to get Spanish backing, Magellan must give up his Portuguese nationality and become Spanish. Before Magellan does that, he studies the secret records in the well-guarded Portuguese treasury. There he finds logs and sailing accounts from those who have been to the Americas. He learns as much as he can from the voyagers who have sailed before him.
The trick will be to find a passageway through the American land. That land is like a giant jigsaw puzzle, and most of the pieces are still missing. Like other mariners, Magellan believes the land Columbus discovered is skinny. Perhaps it is a long island or two.
He knows that Vasco Nunez de Balboa climbed a peak in Central America in 1513 and looked out at a sea. No one realizes that Balboa stood at the narrow waist between two giant continents--the only place where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans are relatively close. No one knows how big Earth actually is. And almost everyone believes there is only one ocean and that the new land is a minor interruption in the great Ocean Sea. Magellan studies everything that is known about the Americas.
A seasoned soldier and sailor who has served with distinction in Africa, India, Malaysia, and Mozambique, Magellan is one of a very few Europeans who has been to Malacca-the rich trading center for the lucrative (money making) spices. In 1511, when a Portuguese fleet captured Malacca, Magellan and his friend Francisco Serrao were part of the invasion force. Afterward, Magellan went back to Europe by sailing around Africa's Cape of Good Hope. His friend Serrao stayed behind and set out to find the Spice Islands. He was shipwrecked in a bad storm but ended up in the Spice Islands anyway. Serrao fell in love with those islands, settled there (the first European to do so), and married the daughter of a local prince. "I have found a New World," he wrote to Magellan in a letter full of enthusiasm. "I beg you to join me here, that you may sample for yourself the delights which surround me."
Serrao's detailed letters inspire Magellan. Besides that, Magellan has brought a slave, Enrique, from the Malay Islands. Enrique knows the Spice Islands region, and he has a talent for languages. With him, Magellan is as well prepared to travel to the Spice Islands as any European in his time can be.
When the Portuguese learn of the expedition, they are alarmed and try to destroy it before it can get started. Magellan, who is now working for Spain, is called a traitor. Rumors are spread that he is incompetent. The rumors are false but effective. Magellan has a hard time finding a crew of seamen. When he leaves, it is with a ragtag lot of sailors who speak several languages, and a few Spanish noblemen (called dons) who are not pleased to have a Portuguese captain. Some of them, including del Cano, are already planning a mutiny.
One man, Antonio Pigafetta from Venice, has been sent by business interests to report on what might be a possible route to the spice trade. Pigafetta will keep a detailed diary that will tell future generations the truth of the expedition. Going on this voyage takes courage and daring (like later trips into unexplored space).
Perhaps you know the story: of the mutiny and Magellan's strength in thwarting it. Of the discovery of a strait at the tip of South America and of the terrors and the tortuous twists of its waters. (It takes 38 days to get through it.) Of the second mutiny, when those who sail the largest of the ships turn around and head back to Spain with most of the expedition's provisions. Of the awful voyage across the enormous Pacific–99 days without fresh food. Of Magellan's leadership and example during that harrowing time. And, finally, of the landing on an island where Enrique talks to the natives and they answer him. He is speaking their language!
Enrique has arrived home. He is the first man to sail around the world. Magellan has found the East by sailing west. But the capitán-general doesn't have long to celebrate. They are in the Philippine Islands, and Magellan is about to be killed in a senseless battle.
Does all this have anything to do with science? Yes, a whole lot:
It's one thing to have a theory. It is something else to have a proof. Science depends on both.
Pythagoras believed the Earth was round. Two thousand years later, Magellan proved he was right. That knowledge electrified the medieval world. After del Cano arrived in Seville on Magellan's worn-out, worm-eaten vessel (the only ship left from the expedition), couriers (messengers) race across Europe to carry the news to the pope. Soon, everyone knows of the voyage. Their picture of Earth changes. They learn that when Magellan and his crew sailed near the antipodes-which they thought was the bottom of Earth, they hadn't been upside down.
You may not think of geography as a science. But it is one, and it plays an important role in our understanding of the universe. Europeans had limited knowledge of world geography. They thought themselves at the center of the Earth. They believed that hell was the underside of Earth; they called it the Underworld. They believed that the Garden of Eden and Paradise were somewhere on the actual Earth. They thought their medieval Christian world, which surrounded the Mediterranean Sea, was the biggest and most important part of the world.
When Magellan discovered the Philippine Islands, he found people who had never heard of Europe and its ideas and values. And they seemed to be doing just fine. Before long, Europeans became aware of the immensity of Asia and the colossal size of the Americas. It upset their worldview.
Magellan's voyagers had sailed around the globe and had not seen any sea monsters. That was important knowledge. Could it be that Gaius Julius Solinus, the third-century Roman writer known as the Polyhistor, had made up the gryphons and the dog-headed, horse-footed men he described so vividly? Solinus's exotic creatures decorated most medieval maps. They had been believed. But Magellan's crew had seen nothing of them.
And then there was Magellan's discovery of the vastness of the Pacific Ocean. This was no little sea. If all the Earth's landmasses could be dumped into the Pacific, there would still be plenty of water left for swimming. And Europeans hadn't even known that ocean existed! Can you imagine how that knowledge stretched their minds?
There was still more. The voyage was a great technological feat. When Magellan's crew arrived back in Spain, according to Pigafetta, the voyage had covered 81,449 kilometers. That's 50,610 miles. Columbus sailed only about 4,100 kilometers (2,548 miles) on his first voyage. Like the first trip to the Moon, Magellan's voyage showed what human intelligence and daring can do. It energized a Western world that, after 1,000 years of semi-hibernation, was doing more than yawning. It was getting ready to wake up and run. This new information helps make that possible. For those who think scientifically, Magellan's voyage changes everything.
Achievers and heroes--as this man will prove to be--don't give up. He goes to Spain and presents himself to the 18-year-old monarch, King Carlos I, who will soon be Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. But he is King Carlos when he agrees to sponsor the expedition. First, in order to get Spanish backing, Magellan must give up his Portuguese nationality and become Spanish. Before Magellan does that, he studies the secret records in the well-guarded Portuguese treasury. There he finds logs and sailing accounts from those who have been to the Americas. He learns as much as he can from the voyagers who have sailed before him.
The trick will be to find a passageway through the American land. That land is like a giant jigsaw puzzle, and most of the pieces are still missing. Like other mariners, Magellan believes the land Columbus discovered is skinny. Perhaps it is a long island or two.
He knows that Vasco Nunez de Balboa climbed a peak in Central America in 1513 and looked out at a sea. No one realizes that Balboa stood at the narrow waist between two giant continents--the only place where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans are relatively close. No one knows how big Earth actually is. And almost everyone believes there is only one ocean and that the new land is a minor interruption in the great Ocean Sea. Magellan studies everything that is known about the Americas.
A seasoned soldier and sailor who has served with distinction in Africa, India, Malaysia, and Mozambique, Magellan is one of a very few Europeans who has been to Malacca-the rich trading center for the lucrative (money making) spices. In 1511, when a Portuguese fleet captured Malacca, Magellan and his friend Francisco Serrao were part of the invasion force. Afterward, Magellan went back to Europe by sailing around Africa's Cape of Good Hope. His friend Serrao stayed behind and set out to find the Spice Islands. He was shipwrecked in a bad storm but ended up in the Spice Islands anyway. Serrao fell in love with those islands, settled there (the first European to do so), and married the daughter of a local prince. "I have found a New World," he wrote to Magellan in a letter full of enthusiasm. "I beg you to join me here, that you may sample for yourself the delights which surround me."
Serrao's detailed letters inspire Magellan. Besides that, Magellan has brought a slave, Enrique, from the Malay Islands. Enrique knows the Spice Islands region, and he has a talent for languages. With him, Magellan is as well prepared to travel to the Spice Islands as any European in his time can be.
When the Portuguese learn of the expedition, they are alarmed and try to destroy it before it can get started. Magellan, who is now working for Spain, is called a traitor. Rumors are spread that he is incompetent. The rumors are false but effective. Magellan has a hard time finding a crew of seamen. When he leaves, it is with a ragtag lot of sailors who speak several languages, and a few Spanish noblemen (called dons) who are not pleased to have a Portuguese captain. Some of them, including del Cano, are already planning a mutiny.
One man, Antonio Pigafetta from Venice, has been sent by business interests to report on what might be a possible route to the spice trade. Pigafetta will keep a detailed diary that will tell future generations the truth of the expedition. Going on this voyage takes courage and daring (like later trips into unexplored space).
Perhaps you know the story: of the mutiny and Magellan's strength in thwarting it. Of the discovery of a strait at the tip of South America and of the terrors and the tortuous twists of its waters. (It takes 38 days to get through it.) Of the second mutiny, when those who sail the largest of the ships turn around and head back to Spain with most of the expedition's provisions. Of the awful voyage across the enormous Pacific–99 days without fresh food. Of Magellan's leadership and example during that harrowing time. And, finally, of the landing on an island where Enrique talks to the natives and they answer him. He is speaking their language!
Enrique has arrived home. He is the first man to sail around the world. Magellan has found the East by sailing west. But the capitán-general doesn't have long to celebrate. They are in the Philippine Islands, and Magellan is about to be killed in a senseless battle.
Does all this have anything to do with science? Yes, a whole lot:
It's one thing to have a theory. It is something else to have a proof. Science depends on both.
Pythagoras believed the Earth was round. Two thousand years later, Magellan proved he was right. That knowledge electrified the medieval world. After del Cano arrived in Seville on Magellan's worn-out, worm-eaten vessel (the only ship left from the expedition), couriers (messengers) race across Europe to carry the news to the pope. Soon, everyone knows of the voyage. Their picture of Earth changes. They learn that when Magellan and his crew sailed near the antipodes-which they thought was the bottom of Earth, they hadn't been upside down.
You may not think of geography as a science. But it is one, and it plays an important role in our understanding of the universe. Europeans had limited knowledge of world geography. They thought themselves at the center of the Earth. They believed that hell was the underside of Earth; they called it the Underworld. They believed that the Garden of Eden and Paradise were somewhere on the actual Earth. They thought their medieval Christian world, which surrounded the Mediterranean Sea, was the biggest and most important part of the world.
When Magellan discovered the Philippine Islands, he found people who had never heard of Europe and its ideas and values. And they seemed to be doing just fine. Before long, Europeans became aware of the immensity of Asia and the colossal size of the Americas. It upset their worldview.
Magellan's voyagers had sailed around the globe and had not seen any sea monsters. That was important knowledge. Could it be that Gaius Julius Solinus, the third-century Roman writer known as the Polyhistor, had made up the gryphons and the dog-headed, horse-footed men he described so vividly? Solinus's exotic creatures decorated most medieval maps. They had been believed. But Magellan's crew had seen nothing of them.
And then there was Magellan's discovery of the vastness of the Pacific Ocean. This was no little sea. If all the Earth's landmasses could be dumped into the Pacific, there would still be plenty of water left for swimming. And Europeans hadn't even known that ocean existed! Can you imagine how that knowledge stretched their minds?
There was still more. The voyage was a great technological feat. When Magellan's crew arrived back in Spain, according to Pigafetta, the voyage had covered 81,449 kilometers. That's 50,610 miles. Columbus sailed only about 4,100 kilometers (2,548 miles) on his first voyage. Like the first trip to the Moon, Magellan's voyage showed what human intelligence and daring can do. It energized a Western world that, after 1,000 years of semi-hibernation, was doing more than yawning. It was getting ready to wake up and run. This new information helps make that possible. For those who think scientifically, Magellan's voyage changes everything.
Something for you to do: Imagine that you have taken the voyage with Magellan and survived. Write a diary, write a survivor's account, write a poem, paint a picture.