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Ferdinand
Magellan (1480-1521)
Ferdinand
Magellan was born to a minor Portuguese noble family in 1480 and by
the age of 12 had become a page boy to his Queen; at the Court of King
John II. Like many of the younger Portuguese nobility he received his
education at Court and could look forward to a military command, a diplomatic
post or an administrative position in Portugal or her colonies. However
fired by the exploits of earlier Portuguese explorers like Dias and
Da Gama he began his career as a soldier/adventurer on the 1505 expedition
to India under the command of Francisco de Almeida.
After
seven years of distinguished service in India, Malacca (Malaysian peninsula)
and the Moluccas (Spice Islands) he returned to Portugal but received
little recognition from his King, Manuel I, and no increase in his pension.
Worse still he had put all his savings into backing a scheme by a Portuguese
trader to ship pepper from India to Portugal. The merchant had subsequently
died and his father had fled the country to escape his son's creditors.
Magellan who had only a meagre pension to live on was broke and so he
volunteered for a Portuguese campaign against Morocco; where he again
distinguished himself with his bravery. However he not only suffered
a severe leg wound which caused him to limp for the rest of his life,
he also, whilst in the position of Quatermaster suffered the unjust
accusations of dishonesty, theft and treason. Magellan found the charges
against him contemptuous and he rashly abandoned his post to return
to Lisbon and clear his name. The King, Manuel I refused to intercede
on his behalf and ordered him back to Morocco. Magellan returned to
face trial and was cleared of all charges but his relationship with
his King had deteriorated to such an extent that Manuel I refused all
of Magellan's requests for financial recognition of his loyal service
and told him that he could take his offers of service elsewhere. This
was the principle reason why Magellan came to sail around the World
under the Spanish flag.
On the
Moluccan expedition of 1511, Magellan's friend, Francisco Serrao had
been shipwrecked and had taken refuge on the island of Ternate where
despite later voyages there by the Portuguese he had chosen to remain.
He had sent letters back to Portugal extolling the riches of the islands
and urging Magellan to visit them. Because the exact longitude of the
Moluccas was uncertain, Magellan thought that their far easterly position
might bring them into the Spanish hemisphere as defined by the Treaty
of Tordesillias of 1494. His plan was to sail west and like Columbus
before him to try and find the western route to the east and the Spice
Islands. This expedition he hoped would ensure his financial security
as well as bringing him the fame and recognition he felt was long overdue.
To this end he began to study all the maps, pilots logs, charts and
journals he could obtain. He knew that Columbus had failed to find a
passage around the Central American coastline, that Cabot had likewise
failed in the North, that the Florentine Amerigo Vespucci had possibly
reached as far South as the River Plate estuary and Patagonia without
encountering a passage and that Balboa had crossed the Panamanian Isthmus
and seen a great ocean that was different to the Atlantic. He became
convinced that a South Western route was there south of the River Plate,
and this belief was shared by the scientist, map maker and scholar Rui
Faleiro, who thought that the likely passage was just below the 40 degree
South latitude. He also assured Magellan that the Ocean Balboa had seen
could not be more than a couple of thousand miles across and that the
Spice Islands must therefore be in the Spanish half of the World as
laid down by the Treaty of Tordesillias. With his humiliation at the
hands of the Portuguese King fresh in his mind, it was to Spain that
Magellan now offered his knowledge and his services. This plan may have
been encouraged by the news of Juan Diaz de Solis' Spanish expedition
of 1515 which had reached 35 degrees South before an exploratory landing
party led by Solis himself had encountered death and disaster. They
were attacked by hostile natives, slaughtered, butchered roasted and
then eaten in view of the rest of the crew watching from the safety
of their ships. The expedition was aborted but the news from the survivors
back in Spain seemed to indicate that with the coastline bearing west
at that point, a likely passage through to Balboa's Ocean lay just South
of that latitude. Magellan's plan interested the young Spanish Monarch
Charles I (later the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V) and a formal agreement
was made between the two in March 1518, whereby Magellan was appointed
Captain General of the proposed expedition, given five ships, and the
prospective governorship of any new lands he might discover plus one
fifth of the profits from the voyage.
The five
ships, San Antonio, Trinidad, Concepción, Victoria and Santiago were
all small, (none above 130 tons), old and somewhat the worse for wear.
They all needed extensive repairs and renovation to make them seaworthy
for such a voyage much to the amusement of Alvarez the Portuguese agent
in Spain. Alvarez did his utmost to sow seeds of doubt amongst Magellan's
new backers, whilst guaging what potential threat they might pose to
the Portuguese possessions overseas. Satisfied that they were as poorly
armed as they were fitted Alvarez thought Portuguese interests might
be best served by an opportunist attack on them if they should stray
anywhere near Portuguese colonial interests. His interference in Magellan's
preparations led to Spanish misgivings over the number of Portuguese
members of the proposed crews and in the end only 37 of the 270 odd
crew were Portuguese with three of the five captains of the individual
ships being Spanish. The remainder of the various crews comprised of
Greeks, Italians, French, Flemings, Africans, Spanish, an Englishman
and Malays including Enrique, a slave from Malacca who Magellan had
brought back to Portugal on his previous expedition East. Also on board
was a Venetian, Antonio Pigafetta, a Papal Ambassador at the court of
King Charles. Whether he was on board out of a sense for adventure,
or on behalf of the Pope should any dispute arise over whose half the
Spice Islands were in, or as a spy for his native Venice is unclear.
Whatever his reasons Pigafetta kept a detailed journal of the voyage,
describing the weather, wildlife and indigenous people as well as the
conditions the crew were forced to endure. Throughout the voyage his
admiration for Magellan, for his command and character is displayed
on every page. Two other important members of the company were Albo,
a Greek pilot who kept a detailed navigational log from the first sighting
of the Brazilian Coast until the sighting of Cape Vincent on the return
(November 29th 1519 to September 4 1522) and San Martin an astrologer
and astronomer who made Calculations on the exact point of longitude
the ships had reached; he was also the most accomplished pilot at celestial
navigation amongst Magellan's crew. On September 20th 1519 the flotilla
of five ships finally sailed off into the Atlantic heading first for
the Canaries and then onto South America. However the course taken South
went along the Coast of Africa until Sierra Leone and then went across
the Atlantic was both extremely long and hazardous being susceptible
to extreme changes in the wind and weather. Already there was talk of
mutiny amongst the Spanish Officers who had plenty of experience in
crossing the Atlantic. Magellan knew this route was well known for its
unpredictable weather and that most ships tried to avoid it, but he
was anxious to negate any Portuguese attempts to intercept and destroy
his expedition and despite the misgivings of some of his Spanish officers
refused to jeopardise his mission by altering his course. The Spanish
Captains, Castilians of high birth considered themselves more knowledgeable
and it wasn't long before there was open insubordination resulting in
the replacement of Cartogena as the Captain of the San Antonio with
another spaniard Antonio de Coca.
On November
29th the fleet sighted the coastline of Brazil near where the modern
port of Recife stands and on December 13th they moored in Guanabara
Bay (Rio de Janiero) where they were able to replenish their supplies
by bartering with the natives "For the King in a deck of playing cards
........... they gave me six chickens, thinking that they had got the
better of me" (Pigafetta). They were also able to buy young native women
from their fathers for the price of a hatchet or knife. Magellan allowed
his crew some freedom and many of them set up 'love nests' with their
women on shore, but he still kept a firm discipline when it mattered
- executing the ship's master of the Victoria for sodomising a young
apprentice seaman. The threat of mutiny by his Spanish captains was
also a constant source of concern and he was forced to arrest de Coca
for conspiring to release Cartagena from his confinement on the Victoria.
Because they were technically moored in a Portuguese colony, albeit
one that had not established a proper trading post, they sought to leave
as soon as they had recuperated and by December 26th they were sailing
out of Guanabara Bay and heading South.
After
two weeks the ships had reached Cape St Mary where Magellan is reputed
to have said of the large hill behind the Cape "I see a mountain" ("Montem
Video") thereby naming the place where Uruguay's capital city now stands.
They explored the estuary of the River plate, ruling out any possible
channel and then continued South with the weather growing increasingly
colder, the terrain bleaker and the seas rougher before stopping briefly
at Bahia de los Patos (literally Ducks' Bay) named after the abundant
penguins found there. The penguins along with sea lions provided the
necessary fresh food suplies and after sheltering from tremendous storms
they continued southwards. By March 31st 1520 they had reached 49 degrees
15' South, but the ships were taking such a heavy battering in the worsening
climate that Magellan put into a sheltered bay named St Julian to see
out the rest of the Southern winter and to make good all the vital repairs
that the different ships needed. In order to survive the winter and
still have enough provisions to continue the search, Magellan cut the
daily rations in half much to the annoyance of his crew. His determination
to find a South Western passage was fuelled by the knowledge that should
he fail he faced the choice between a return to Spain in disgrace and
with little prospect of further backing or risking sailing east, south
of the Cape of Good Hope, away from the Portuguese Shipping lines and
onto the Spice Islands. This latter option meant the possibility of
being intercepted by the Portuguese which would have caused his sponsor
the King of Spain great embarassement and would have further damaged
his reputation at both courts. In a resolute speech to his men, he promised
them the paradise of the Moluccas if they would honour their commitment,
trust his leadership and behave accordingly. Most of the crew were probably
won over by Magellan's stand but certainly not the Castilian Officers
and Captains whose resentment of his single mindedness and inflexibility
was still growing. The following night April 1st, Easter Sunday the
Spanish led mutiny took place. Capatins Quesada and Cartagena on the
'Concepcion', Captain Mendoza of the 'Vicotria' and the master of the
'Concepcion' del Cano with other Officers plotted to overthrow Magellan
and return to Spain. To this end they boarded the San Antonio and took
command, so that when Magellan awoke the following morning he found
that only his own ship the 'Trinidad' along with the smaller 'Santiago'
were still loyal to him. The three mutineers' ships gave them a fire
power advantage of two to one and if they had moved with the same decisiveness
as Magellan they would have without doubt succeeded. However, the mutineers
were unable to coordinate their efforts or win the total loyalty of
their crews and as a result suffered the consequences.
Characteristically
Magellan moved swiftly and with great opportunism. Taking advantage
of the mutineers attempts at negotiation he sent Espinosa, the 'Trinidad's'
loyal master of arms along with a disguised boarding party and retook
the 'Victoria' that same evening. Having regained numerical superiority
he then blockaded the bay and forced a showdown. It is not known for
certain whether Magellan was instrumental in cutting loose the anchors
of the San Antonio but the ship did indeed break loose of its anchorage
and drifted broadside of the 'Trinidad' enabling Magellan to board and
recapture her. The 'Concepcion' had no choice now but to surrender,
so that within 48 hours the mutiny had taken place and been extinguished.
Magellan's justice was swift but by the standards of the day not unduly
brutal. Although many of the crew had participated in the Mutiny, forty
were found guilty of treason and sentenced to death. However Magellan
could not afford to lose sucha large number of his company and so he
pardoned the lot; they were put to work, chained by the feet, working
the pumps, clearing the putrid bilges and undertaking other menial hard
labour. Of the ringleaders, Mendoza had already been killed by Espinosa
on the retaking of the 'Victoria', but was still taken ashore, decaptitated
and quartered. Quesada who was alive suffered the same punishment. Cano
was spared and put in chains in the bilges with the other mutineers
and Cartagena who had been a perpetual thorn in Magellan's side for
the whole expedition was also spared but later was left marooned along
with a priest on the desolate coast when the ships finally departed.
He was never heard of or seen again. The winter in Patagonia was extremely
hard and life very uncomfortable for the crew who had to refit the ships
for the voyage ahead. Their rations had been cut by half and there was
little wild food locally apart from mussels. Several of them froze to
death and there were many cases of frost bite. Pigafetta made copious
notes of the region which Magellan had called Patagonia because the
natives had such large feet encased in abig leather boots (Patagonia
means large foot in Spanish). In fact two of the native men were captured
to be taken back as presents for the King, but neither survived the
journey. The 'Santiago' was the first ship to be repaired and Magellan
eager to find the Western passage as soon as possible, sent her on an
exploratory probe along the coast. Unfortunately 70 miles south near
the Santa Cruz estuary a sudden gale drove her aground and she broke
up, leaving the crew stranded. Two members trekked for eleven days back
to San Julian to alert Magellan and an overland rescue party was organised.
It was not until August 24th with 'Santiago's' crew redistributed amongst
the four remaining ships and Serrano the 'Santiago's' captain, now installed
as the Captain of the 'Concepcion' that Magellan finally left the bay.
They moved along the coast near to where the 'Santiago' had been wrecked
to a better winter anchorage in the estuary of the Santa Cruz where
there were plenty of supplies of fish, seals and seabirds to replenish
their stores.
After
a two month stay and unknowingly within 300 miles of it, on 18th October
they set off in search of the passage. Three days later they had reached
the Cape of the Virgins (named by Magellan) and Magellan instructed
the 'Concepcion' and the 'San Antonio' to investigate a small inlet
at the far side of the bay sided by high peaks. After an anxious wait
of five days the two ships returned with the news that the inlet was
not a river but a strait leading into a bay followed by another Strait
leading into an even larger bay. The passage had been found. Carefully
sounding their way through the straits they reached Cape Valentine where
Magellan sent the 'San Antonio' to investigate the South East Channel
whilst taking the other three ships south west in what was proved to
be the right direction. The San Antonio, was carrying the bulk of the
fleet's provisions, had a Portuguese pilot Gomes who was both jealous
and disaffected with Magellan's command and together with the fleet's
treasurer Guerra they took control of the ship from the Captain Mesquita.
Persuading the rest of the crew that Magellan was leading them all to
certain doom and starvation they retraced their route to the South Atlantic
and straight home to Spain, where despite Mesquita's testimony their
tales of Magellan's injustice were beleived. It is interesting to note
that whilst Magellan had always made every attempt to save or rescue
his crew when abandoned, the 'San Antonio' made no effort to retrieve
the marooned Cartagena at St Julian. It was now of paramount importance
to Magellan that he succeeded in his mission as he knew the consequences
he must face if he returned to Spain unsuccessful after the San Antonio
told her story.
On November
28th 1520 after spending 36 days in the 'Magellan' Straits the three
remaining ships entered what Magellan called the 'Mar Pacifico'. Magellan
with greatly diminished stores now made the almost fatal mistake of
not seeking out new provisions for the journey across the Pacific. He
still believed that the distance to the Moluccas was not much more than
the length of the Mediterranean and therefore it was prudent to push
on as speedily as possible. He kept the South American coastline in
sight whilst heading north to about 30 degrees South before heading
north west and crossing the equator on Feb 13th 1521 at about 160-165w
longitude, missing both the Tahitian and Marquesas Island groups, where
they could have amply replenished their supplies and the crew could
have recovered. Both food and water were running out and what was left
was rotten or putrid, so that the crew were suffering from malnutrition
and scurvy. Pigafetta describes, "We ate biscuit that was no longer
biscuit but powder of biscuits swarming with worms that had eaten the
good. It stank strongly of rat urine. Rats were sold for half a ducat
each and even so we could not always get them." Magellan realised that
if they were approaching the Moluccas they had to find a place to harbour
soon, so that the crew could recover before sailing too close to the
dangers of Portuguese waters where he knew he might be challenged. Unfortunately
his knowledge of this part of the world was based on third hand travellers'
and merchants' tales and having come from an easterly direction he was
not at all sure of the geography, believing that he was quite near the
Japanese coast.
On February
28th they had reached 13 degrees North and sailing west arrived at the
island of Guam (having passed by unnoticed the Marshall Islands). From
the logs and journals available Magellan's course had taken him across
the Pacific missing out everyone of the large South Sea Island groups.
It was incredible misfortune. Both crew and ships were barely functional
by the time they reached Guam, but the crew were too ill or weak to
consider mutiny and tended to optimism in Magellan's belief that they
had reached the northern edge of the Molucca archipelago. Magellan was
able to resupply the ships, but constant thieving by the natives including
one of the longboats from the 'Trinidad' forced him to use a raiding
party that killed seven natives and wounded several others. Pigafetta
recounts that when the natives were hit by crossbow bolts they were
so astonished that they promptly pulled them out and as a result died
fro haemorraging. This trouble with the natives caused Magellan to rename
the islands, Islas le los Lodrones (Islands of Thieves). Although the
crew were refreshed by new supplies of water, fruit and fish a longer
rest was needed before any possible encounter with the Portuguese and
so sailing south west the four ships arrived a week later at the island
of Samur in the Philippines.
They
settled on the smaller island of Homonhon where they were visited by
friendly natives who brought them fresh food, spices, and wine. Magellan
cemented the friendship by becoming a blood brother with the Chief.
It was also obvious from the jewellery worn that gold was plentiful
in these islands. From measurements made by both Albo and San Martin
it became apparent that the expedition had passed beyond the Spanish
hemisphere and had already entered the Portuguese domain. This was slightly
awkward for Magellan as he had assured King Charles that the Moluccas
lay just within the Spanish half. Having journeyed all this way across
the Pacific, losing 19 men through scurvey and suffering all manners
of deprivation to find themselves already within territory reserved
for Portuguese exploitation was a sever blow. However there was provision
in the Treaty of Tordesillias for discovered unclaimed territory in
either half to belong to the discoverer if he could establish trading
ports and conclude alliances with the local rulers. Sailing on they
arrived at the small island of Limosawa where to the delight of all
parties concerned, Magellan's Malay slave Enrique was able not only
to understand the natives but also to be understood himself. Although
Enrique was thought to have originally come from Sumatra it was quite
possible that he was already a captured slave by then and it has been
suggested that only someone from the Central Philippines could have
understood the dialect. If this was so it means that Enrique, a humble
Philippine Slave was the first man to have circumnavigated the globe.
Striking
up another friendship with the local native Chief, Magellan's fleet
was taken on to the larger island of Cebu, where once again Magellan
not only became the local ruler's (Humabon) blood brother and established
trading agreements but also converted him and two thousand of his people
to Christianity. It was clear that Magellan had plans for Humabon and
Cebu to become the central base for subsequent Spanish exploitation
of the Philippines. The crew were refreshed by the abundance of good
food and water and were also able to indulge in their favourite pass-time
of rampant sexual liasons with the women of Cebu. Pigafetta's journal
interestingly notes that the men of Cebu pierced their penises with
gold or tin bolts that often had small spurs attached to either end.
Females from the age of six upwards progressively had their vaginas
opened and enlarged to accomodate these penis appendages. Pigafetta
confirms a fact that is hardly suprising by noting that the women of
Cebu seemed to prefer Magellan's men as lovers rather than the locals.
Learning that Humabon had several rivals to the rulership of Cebu, Magellan
forced other local chiefs to accept Humabon's authority. However one,
Lapulapu, refused and Magellan personally took charge of a force of
both Spanish and natives to sujugate him. Whether his success as a great
christian warrior and leader had clouded his judgement or whether he
just underestimated the opposition, the fact was the campaign was a
disaster and brought about Magellan's death. Unable to use the fire
power of his ships because of an outlying reef, Magellan's men were
overwhelmed by superior numbers, and although his own personal resolution
and bravery ensured that the majority of his men were able to escape,
he himself was cut down and killed (April 27th 1521). The invunerability
of the Spanish had been destroyed and with it Humabon's faith in them.
At a subsequent banquet, Serrano and Barbosa, who had assumed joint
command (along with a party of men that included San Martin), were ambushed
and killed by Humabon. Enrique, who had been promised his freedom should
Magellan die and then found that Serrano would not honour this was probably
instrumental in helping set up the trap. Fortunately Pigafetta who relished
banquets and parties was suffering from a head wound and did not attend.
The Philippine expedition that had begun so promisingly had ended in
tatters.
Carvalho
assumed command, and owing to the loss of manpower to crew three ships,
the 'Concepcion' the least seaworthy of the three was scuttled and burnt.
There followed six months of meandering around the Philippines and Brunei,
most of it spent searching out fresh supplies. On September 21st after
fleeing Brunei Carvallho who had never received the full confidence
of his crew, and who stood accused of unnecessarily abandoning crew
members in tricky situations was deposed as commander being replaced
by Espinosa, with Cano the former mutineer, being made Captain of the
'Victoria'. Finally on November 8th 1521 the two ships sailed into the
harbour of Tidore to a warm welcome. They had hoped and expected to
be met by Magellan's shipwrecked friend Serrao but he had died from
poison some eight months before as a result of becoming too involved
in local native politics (compare with Magellan).
Albo who
had been keeping his navigational log since first crossing the Atlantic
was able to confirm that the Moluccas were placed in the Portuguese
hemisphere. This did not deter the Spanish however because the local
feeling was strongly anti-Portuguese and with the help of a disaffected
Portuguese trader called Larosa, a treaty of alliance was concluded
with the Rajah of Tidore. Infact the Portuguese had apparently been
awaiting Magellan's ships from the onset of the voyage with two squadrons
of warships. One Squadron had been sent to the Cape of Good Hope should
he strike east for the Moluccas, the other to the estuary of the River
Plate should he attempt to find the western passage. When either failed
to locate Magellan the Indian fleet had been alerted and a small force
had been sent to the Moluccas. This expedition had ended in disaster
and death as they had antagonised the local Rajah with their treatment
of the local women. A few days before the two Spanish Ships had arrived
in Tidore, the survivors had fled back to Mallacca without any knowledge
of the Spanish ships imminent arrival. Fortunately Espinosa managed
to keep his own crew from their usual sexual indulgences and apart from
signing treaties and purchasing a large cargo of cloves, he enjoyed
an amicable relationship with the locals and their rulers.
The two
ships laden with their cargoes prepared to leave for Spain on December
18th, but almost immediately the 'Trinidad' sprung such a bad leak that
she was forced to remain to carry out extensive repairs. Thus the 'Victoria'
under the command of Cano finally left on her own on December 21st and
by sailing south west to Timor and through the Timor Sea into the Indian
Ocean she took a fluctuating course due west 2 degrees either side of
40 degree parallel. The journey turned out to be a nightmare, probably
worse than the crossing of the Pacific as the crew were forced to do
arduous work on the pumps to combat the appalling leaks, all on rations
of just rice and water as the meat and other fresh produce had spoilt
through lack of salt or any other preservative.
With the
crew on the verge of mutiny and in extremely harsh conditions the Cape
of Good Hope was eventually rounded on May 19th 1522, but the 'Victoria'
ws badly damaged and 21 of her Crew were to die from starvation, disease
or exhaustion between the Cape and the Cape Verde Islands. Desperate
to get fresh food and also slaves to man the pumps Cano was forced to
take the huge risk of putting into the Portuguese Cape Verde Islands.
By pretending to be part of a Spanish fleet that had been blown off
course in a storm whilst returning from the Americas they were able
to harbour and negotiate for new supplies. Carelessly one of the crew
members used some cloves (that could only have come from the Portuguese
Moluccas) as part of the transactions and when their ruse was discovered
Cano was forced to put to sea immediately, thereby abandoning 13 of
his crew (including Pigafetta). Caro sailed on to Spain with a crew
of only 18, arriving September 6th 1522 at the harbour of San Lucar,
a cirvumnavigation of the Earth that had taken just two weeks under
three years to complete.
It is
interesting to note that whilst on the Cape Verde Islands they had discovered
that although all the logs on the boat showed that it was a Wednesday,
the Calenders on land all showed it to be a Thursday. At first they
puzzled over the mistake they thought they had made before eventually
realising that by travelling a 360 degree circumference of the globe
they had lost a day.
Cano
was received as a hero and at an enquiry set up into the voyage condemned
Magellan's unfairness, thereby lending weight to the arguements of the
deserters of the 'San Antonio'. It was not until much later when other
crew members accounts, including Pigafetta's became known that Magellan's
reputation was restored. Meanwhile the crew of the Trinidad under Espinosa
had embarked on an equally hazardous and gruelling voyage trying to
recross the Pacific from west to east. Departing Tidore on April 6th
1522 after having made the necessary repairs they sailed north east,
but lacking knowledge of the northern Pacific's wind system they struggled
up to the 44 degree parallel just off the Japanese Coast still hoping
to get some westerly winds. But with inadequate provisions, a broken
main mast and a crew succombing to scurvy they were forced to retreat
south, finally surrendering to a Portuguese force that had been sent
to the Moluccas. Of the 54 Europeans who set off from Tidore only 21
survived; the rest were imprisoned, and only 4 of them, including Espinosa
ever made it back to Spain. Larosa, the Portuguese trader who had opted
to return with the Trinidad rather than the Victoria was beheaded as
a traitor. The local rajah, with the arrival of the Portuguese force
repudiated all the agreements and treaties he had made with the Spanish.
Of the 270 odd crew that had left in 1519 only 35 altogether returned
to Spain.
Although
he had died in the Philippines it is to Magellan that the credit for
the voyage belongs. He had found the western route to the east and had
achieved what Columbus had tried and failed to do. As for the Moluccas
Spanish interest waned for two reasons. Firstly the Portuguese with
established bases in Southern Africa, India and Malaya were in a far
better position to exploit the Moluccas that were after all proven to
be in their hemisphere. Secondly the Spanish American possessions which
at first had seemed largely worthless were now, after Cortes Conquest
of Mexico, proving to be abundant in gold and silver. In 1529 Charles
signed away any claims for the Moluccas that Spain had in return for
350,000 ducats at the Treaty of Saragossa. When the Spanish later continued
their exploration of the Pacific it was from their base in Panama. The
work Magellan had done in the Philippines eventually paid off as the
islands became Spain's largest Pacific Colony lasting almost until the
20th Century. In purely financial and diplomatic terms the voyage was
a failure; the small profits raised on the 'Victoria's' cargo of cloves
failed to offer a reasonable return; the human cost was terrible; diplomatically
it had offended the Portuguese and scientifically it had failed to prove
Spanish claims to the Moluccas. Yet despite the overt goals of the expedition
being a failure, Magellan's personal goal of finding a western route
to the east and the knowledge of the globe resulting from that was one
of mankind's greatest successes. Magellan's voyage had given the world
its known dimensions, although it would take another three centuaries
to fill in all the gaps. Albo's navigational log together with San Martin's
observations had given the unknown Pacific its dimensions of one third
of the Earth's surface whereas previous knowledge/speculators had limited
it to a sea a little larger than the Mediterranean. Magellan's route,
particularly through the straits named after him was attempted many
times in expeditions that followed his but with little success. The
two voyages that did succeed in the passage then floundered in the Pacific.
A mendacious campaign was mounted that the whole route had been a sham,
so difficult was it proving to replicate, that the true worth of his
seamanship was recognised.
Lesser
men would have failed and indeed did so, but Magellan was a genuine
leader, he had a determined self belief allied with a stubborn nature
that belied his romantic notion of heroism and honour. Intensely proud
of his nobility and his own worth, he could be tough when needed, humane
and caring when circumstances warranted it and always courageous. He
always tried to deal fairly with the Natives and his expidition whilst
under his command carried out none of the atrocities that previous and
future Colonials seemed to revel in. From his voyage the new humanists
in Europe, the philosophers, scholars, scientists and artists were able
to gain a truer understanding of their world and with this information
continue to challenge the dogma and medieval beliefs that were still
prevalent. He had provided the answer to man's seemingly eternal quest
to find the true shape and size of the Earth.
Iain Murray.
Text
Copyright © 2000 Greaves & Thomas. London
Greaves & Thomas, fine Globemakers,
a potted history.
Award winning Globemakers Greaves &
Thomas are a small company based in the United Kingdom, today they make
Historical Globes, Celestial Globes, Lunar Globes, Planetary Globes,
Facsimile Globes, Replica Globes, Themed Globes, Paper Folding Globes,
and Modern Day Globes. Arts Corespondent Jemmy Button looks into their
history.
In 1991 James Bissell-Thomas after several
years of research, published his first globe (Merzbach
& Falk's 1881 globe). The globe was well received,
especially because of the ageing techniques developed to lend the globes
a patina producing a convincing replica. James Bissell-Thomas believes
that this was achieved because of his Art School background, his printing
knowledge gained running his own publishing house in the 1980's (Long
Tail Prints) combined with his knowledge as an antiques dealer. In 1991
the first globe joined an already existing eclectic range of furnishing
ideas which included Giant Tennis Rackets, Rivercraft furniture, Hat
Boxes etc. (most are still being made: www.gtstore.co.uk)
. It was because of James
Bissell-Thomas' interest in globes, that the decision was then made
to form a collection of globes, spanning cartographic history from 1492
to the present day.
At the time James' knowledge in globes was
poor, however a good friend at the Royal Geographical Society pointed
out that the following year (1992) would be not only be the 500 year
anniversary of the European discovery of the New World, but it would
also be the anniversary of the earliest surviving terrestrial globe
~ Martin Behaim's 'Erdapfel'. This globe today resides in the Germanishes
Museum in Germany, rightly described by Bissell-Thomas as the 'Holy
Grail' of all globes, not just because of its age, but also because
of the profusion of data inscribed on the globe, the globe is best described
as a medieval geographical census describing the world beyond Europe,
listing the origin of spices, metals, traditions, peoples, animals,
islands and religions etc. not only this but the globe covered in beautiful
illustrations by Glockendon.
Despite the globe being on an elaborate stand,
with extremely detailed artwork, Greaves & Thomas still decided
it would be wise to republish this fine relic. Appointments were then
made with the Germanisches Museum and flights were booked. On arrival
at the museum in September 1991, it transpired that the Germanisch Museum
had its own globe publishing interest and was not interested in helping
G&T achieve their goal. Consequently, they were given a very limited
time to study the original globe and reference images they also commissioned
from the Museum were later blocked and never arrived. While many would
have given up, Greaves & Thomas decided that it would persevere,
knowing that what ever they produced would ultimately be compared to
a rival globe that would have the Museum's seal of approval. All possible
data concerning the globe was sourced and the finished result once again
was well received, and is today is considered one of the most important
globes in their collection.
In August 1992 when the Martin
Behaim Globe was completed, Bissell-Thomas proudly informed
the Germanish Museum that despite their reluctance to help, he had succeeded
in making their facsimile. Soon after this 3 overseas business men arranged
to come and see their Behaim Globe, at the time Greaves & Thomas
was trading from 2 small garages in a small muddy yard, then even the
two garages were not room enough, and a small 12' white square marquee
had been hurriedly erected in the yard as a temporary measure. When
the visitors arrived, they spent considerable time inspecting the globe,
and then had an impromptu board meeting by themselves in the rain in
the muddy yard, they re-entered, and announced that 2 of them were presidents
of two globe companies, Rath Globes from Germany and Cram Globes from
the USA. They informed Greaves & Thomas that they had been working
with the Gemanishes Museum to produce their facsimile version, however
upon inspection of the globe, they stated that they were keen to cease
production of their own efforts and to market the G &T globe. This
they did, with considerable success including selling one example to
the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. Not only this, but the Gemanishes
Museum also ordered a globe for themselves.
Greaves & Thomas have, on more than one
occasion, offered to make the Germanische Museum's version, which would
be one step closer to the original, but to date they have declined.
The Greaves & Thomas version can now be found in numerous museums
around the world.
From this point onwards, Greaves and Thomas
would only concentrate on globes, initially historical globes but soon
branching into themed globes: Holbein's
Terrestrial Globe; Shakespeare's
Globe; Alice's
Celestial Globe and lastly the ludicrous Elvis
Presley Mars Globe is another example of the diversity
that can be achieved in globemaking, if one cares to explore the possibility
of producing something other than the norm.
Today alongside their Themed Globes, Historical
Replica Globes and their Modern Day Globes, Greaves & Thomas have
also added the spectacular 'Hermetic
Globe'
to their Collection and this will soon be followed by a production version
of their amazing Invisible
Globe.
Greaves & Thomas now also have now formed
an interesting collection of globes made in the last 300 years by other
globemakers, this 500 strong collection will soon be prominently displayed
in the Museum that they are presently preparing on the Isle of Wight.
This should be a Mecca for designers as it will show numerous different
versions of the same object. Not only this, but they will be using the
Sistine Chapel's ceiling as inspiration to make a stunning celestial
ceiling, and at the same time show one of the finest optical illusions
in the world.
A surprising aspect of Greaves & Thomas
is that they produce all their Globes in the UK. While numerous companies
in the UK now relocate their production to the far east, in order to
survive in today's cut throat market, G&T continue to produce a
quality product which is well received. Their workforce never more than
5 craftpersons, and the globes they offer are limited by craft instead
of number, this is verified in the small numbers of certain globes produced
each year ( for example 2-6 Coronelli Globes per year and 5-12 Behaim
Iron Stand Versions per year) , consequently there is always a waiting
list for the larger more intricate globes that Greaves & Thomas
produce. The globes are made using recycled papers and the wooden components
for the elaborate stands are also made using reclaimed / recycled timber.
Consequently Greaves & Thomas globes will never cost the Earth.
Jemmy Button, Arts Corespondent
TO
VIEW THE G&T GLOBE COLLECTION CLICK HERE!