Post by Zadkiel on Jun 10, 2016 11:28:54 GMT
Ferdinand Magellan, the famous 16th-century Portuguese explorer - and the man after whom the Strait of Magellan is named for (and a penguin and couple of galaxies and a crater on Mars) - is hailed as the first man to circumnavigate the globe. Except that he didn’t. First off, he didn't set out to circle the globe, but rather to find a safer way for Spanish merchants to fabled Spice Islands. Magellan's expedition is the first one to accomplish circumnavigation, but poor Ferdinand didn't make it home, since he was killed by natives in the Philippines in 1521, about halfway home. By modern standards, the expedition would be considered as a disaster. It started with 5 ships and about 270 men. Only 18 of them aboard one ship, the Victoria, made it home in 1522. Still, as an organiser of the expedition, Magellan received plenty of praises and he is - somewhat undeserved, perhaps - generally regarded as one of the greatest sailors and explorers in history.
