Magellan’s Journey around the World in a lecture at BA
Posted on
Alexandria, 22 February 2005—The Planetarium Scientific Center (PSC) at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina is organizing a lecture entitled Magellan’s Journey around the World, on 23 February 2005. In his lecture, Mr. Omar Fekry, astronomy researcher at the Center, will shed light on Ferdinand Magellan, the famous explorer, his life and his journey around the Earth that gave the first positive proof of its rotundity and the first true idea of land and water distribution. The lecture is open for the public.
Ferdinand Magellan was born in Portugal in 1480 to a family of lower nobility. Like Columbus before him, Magellan believed he could get to the Spice Islands by sailing west. He knew he would have to sail around or through the New World to do so. Snubbed by the Portuguese king, he convinced King Charles, King of Spain, that at least some of the Spice Islands lay in the Spanish half of the undiscovered world. With money from the king, the explorer was able to obtain five ships called the Trinidad, the San Antonio, the Concepcion, the Victoria, and the Santiago. In 1519, he set sail with 270 men.
Like Columbus, Magellan was a foreigner in charge of Spanish captains, and like Columbus, his voyage was fraught with problems. It included mutiny attempts, lack of food, and rough seas. Magellan was killed in the Philippines in 1521 after getting involved in the natives’ tribal warfare. The only ship that arrived in Spain was the Victoria with 18 crewmembers. It was the first vessel to circumnavigate the globe.
 |
| Ferdinand Magellan |