Ferdinand Magellan, or Fernão de Magalhães (c. 1480-1521), was a Portuguese mariner whose expedition was the first to circumnavigate the globe in 1519-22 in the service of Spain. Magellan was killed on the voyage in what is today the Philippines, and only 22 of the original 270 crew members made it back to Europe.
More about: Ferdinand MagellanDefinition
Timeline
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c. 1480 - 1521Life of the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan.
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c. 1480The Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan is born in Villa Real in Tras os Montes.
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c. 1492Ferdinand Magellan joins the royal Portuguese court as a page.
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1510Ferdianand Magellan assists in the establishment of Portuguese Goa.
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1511Ferdinand Magellan assists in the establishment of Portuguese Malacca in Malaysia.
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1513Ferdinand Magellan participates in the Portuguese expeditionary force that attacks Azemmour in Morroco.
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1517Ferdinand Magellan renounces his Portuguese citizenship and moves to Seville.
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Mar 1518Charles I of Spain formally accepts the proposal of Ferdinand Magellan to sail to Asia via the Americas.
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1519 - 1522Ferdinand Magellan's expedition circumnavigates the globe for the first time.
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1519The carrack Victoria is launched in Gipuzkoa (Guipúzcoa) in Spain. It will be the only ship of Ferdinand Magellan's fleet to circumnavigate the globe.
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10 Aug 1519Ferdinand Magellan's five-ship fleet leaves Seville to circumnavigate the globe.
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3 Oct 1519Ferdinand Magellan's circumnavigation fleet leaves the Canary Islands.
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Dec 1519Ferdinand Magellan's circumnavigation fleet arrives in Rio de Janeiro.
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21 Mar 1520Ferdinand Magellan's circumnavigation fleet winters at San Julián Bay in southern Argentina.
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May 1520Santiago, a ship of Ferdinand Magellan's circumnavigation fleet, is wrecked in a storm off the coast of Argentina.
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21 Oct 1520 - 28 Nov 1520Ferdinand Magellan's circumnavigation fleet sails through the Straits of Magellan in Tierra del Fuego.
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Nov 1520San Antonio, a ship in Ferdinand Magellan's circumnavigation fleet, returns to Spain.
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18 Dec 1520Ferdinand Magellan's circumnavigation fleet leaves the coast of South America near Santiago to cross the Pacific Ocean.
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24 Jan 1521Ferdinand Magellan's circumnavigation fleet spots their first land after crossing the Pacific Ocean, an island they call San Pablo.
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4 Feb 1521Ferdinand Magellan's circumnavigation fleet sails through Micronesia.
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6 Mar 1521Ferdinand Magellan's circumnavigation fleet reachs the island of Guam in the Marianas group.
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31 Mar 1521The first Catholic Mass is celebrated in the Philippines on Easter Sunday on the island of Limasawa in Southern Leyte, officiated by Father Pedro de Valderrama who had arrived with a party under the explorer Ferdinand Magellan who then planted a large cross on a hilltop and claimed possession of the island.
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7 Apr 1521Ferdinand Magellan's circumnavigation fleet reaches the Philippine Islands.
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27 Apr 1521Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan is killed during the Battle of Mactan on Mactan Island, Cebu, Philippines when Chief Lapu-Lapu defeats the invading Spanish forces. Lapu-Lapu's victory continues to be celebrated in the Philippines today.
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27 Apr 1521Ferdinand Magellan is killed in a battle on Cebu in the Philippines.
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May 1521Concepción, a ship in Ferdinand Magellan's circumnavigation fleet, is burned after being deemed unseaworthy.
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Jul 1521Ferdinand Magellan's circumnavigation fleet reaches Brunei.
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8 Nov 1521Ferdinand Magellan's circumnavigation fleet reaches Tidore, one of the Spice Islands.
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21 Dec 1521Victoria, one of the two remaining ships of Ferdinand Magellan's circumnavigation fleet, leaves the Spice Islands for home.
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6 Sep 1522Victoria, commanded by Juan Sebastian Elcano and the only surviving ship of the original five of Ferdinand Magellan's circumnavigation fleet, returns to Spain.
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6 Sep 1522The carrack *Victoria*, one of five ships of the Spanish expedition to the Moluccas commanded by Ferdinand Magellan, becomes the first ship to circumnavigate the globe when she returns to Sanlucar de Barrameda, Spain, her port of departure in August 1519.
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Oct 1522Trinidad, the flagship of Ferdinand Magellan's circumnavigation fleet, is captured by the Portuguese in the Spice Islands and wrecked in a storm.
