Who was the first to make a round-the-world trip: the Magellan expedition

Ask any schoolboy about who made the first round-the-world trip, and hear: "Of course, Magellan." And few people doubt this word. But after all Magellan organized this expedition, directed it, and could not complete the voyage. So who is the first navigator who made a round-the-world trip?

Journey of Magellan

In 1516, little-known nobleman Fernand Magellan came to the Portuguese king Manuel I with the idea of implementing the plan of Columbus - to reach the islands of Spices, as the Moluccas were called , from the west. As you know, Columbus was then "interrupted" by America, who was on his way, which he considered for the islands of Southeast Asia.

At that time, the Portuguese had already sailed to the islands of the East Indies, but bypassing Africa and crossing the Indian Ocean. Therefore, they did not need a new way to these islands.

History repeated itself: King Manuel Magellan, ridiculed by King, went to the Spanish king and received his consent to organize the expedition.

On September 20, 1519, a fleet of five ships left the Spanish port of San Lucar de Barrameda.

Satellites of Magellan

No one disputes the historical fact that the first round-the-world trip was made by an expedition led by Magellan. The vicissitudes of the path of this dramatic expedition are known from the words of Pigafetta, who kept notes all the days of the journey. Its participants were two captains who had already visited the islands of the East Indies: Barbosa and Serrano.

And specially on this trip Magellan took his slave - the Malays Enrique. He was captured in Sumatra and for a long time served faithfully Magellan. In the expedition he was assigned the role of an interpreter when the Island of Spice was reached.

Course of the expedition

Having lost a lot of time at the crossing of the Atlantic Ocean and passing through a rocky narrow and long strait, later named Magellan, the travelers came to a new ocean. During this time, one of the ships drowned, the other went back to Spain. A conspiracy against Magellan was discovered. Tackles of the ships were in need of repair, and supplies of food and drinking water were running out.

The ocean, called the Quiet, first met a good fair wind, but later it became weaker and, finally, completely verse. People, deprived of fresh food, perished not only from hunger, although they had to eat both rats and skin with masts. The main danger was in the scurvy - a thunderstorm of all seafarers of that time.

And only on March 28, 1521 they reached the islands, whose inhabitants answered with astonishment the questions of Enrique, who spoke in his native language. This meant that Magellan and his companions arrived on the islands of the East Indies on the other side. And it is Enrique - the very first traveler who made a world tour! He returned to his homeland, circling the globe.

End of the expedition

April 21, 1521 Magellan was killed, intervening in the internecine war of local leaders. This had the worst consequences for his companions, who were forced to flee from the islands.

Many of the sailors were killed or wounded. Of the 265 team members, only 150 remained, they were only enough to manage two ships.

On the islands of Tidore, they were able to rest a little, replenish supplies of food, take on board spices and golden sand.

On the return journey to Spain went only the ship "Victoria" under the leadership of Sebastian del Cano. Back to the port of Lukar returned only 18 people! These people are those who made the first round-the-world trip. True, their names are not preserved. But Captain del Cano and the chronicler of Pigafett's journey are known not only to historians and geographers.

The first Russian round-the-world trip

The head of the first Russian round-the-world expedition was Ivan Fedorovich Krusenstern. This sailing took place in 1803-1806.

Two sailing ships - Nadezhda under the command of Krusenstern itself and the Neva, led by his assistant Yuri Fedorovich Lisyansky - left Kronstadt on August 7, 1803. The main goal was to study the Pacific Ocean and especially the mouth of the Amur. It was necessary to identify convenient places for parking the Russian Pacific Fleet and the best routes for its supply.

The expedition was not only of great importance for the formation of the Pacific Fleet, but also made a huge contribution to science. New islands were discovered, but a number of non-existent islands were erased from the ocean map. Systematic studies in the ocean were started for the first time. The expedition opened Interpassing countercurrents in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, measured the water temperature, its salinity, determined the density of water ... The causes of the glow of the sea were clarified, the data on tides and weather components in different regions of the World Ocean were collected.

Significant refinements were made to the map of the Russian Far East: parts of the coast of the Kuril Islands, Sakhalin, and the Kamchatka Peninsula. For the first time, some of the Japanese islands are inscribed on it.

Participants in this expedition also became those of the Russians who first made a round-the-world trip.

But for most Russians this expedition is known for the fact that the first Russian mission led by Rezanov went to Japan on "Hope".

Great second (interesting facts)

The Englishman Francis Drake became the second person to make a round-the-world trip in 1577-1580. His galleon "Golden Hind" first passed from the Atlantic Ocean to the Quiet Stormy Strait, later named after him. This path is considered much more complicated than through the Strait of Magellan because of constant storms, floating ice, sudden weather changes. Drake was the man who made the first round-the-world trip, rounding Cape Horn. Since then, the tradition of wearing earring in the ear has gone among the sailors. If the Drake Pass passed , leaving Cape Horn on the right, then the earring should be in the right ear, and vice versa.

For his services, Francis Drake was knighted personally by Queen Elizabeth. It is the Spaniards who are responsible for the defeat of his "Invincible Armada".

In 1766 the Frenchwoman Jeanne Barre became the first woman to sail around the world. For this, she disguised as a man and got on the ship of Bougainville, who went on a round-the-world expedition, as a servant. When the deception opened, despite all her services, Barre was landed in Mauritius and returned home on another ship.

The second Russian round-the-world expedition led by F.F. Bellingshausen and M.P. Lazarev is famous for the fact that in January 1820 Antarctica was discovered.