earth science

Timeline of the Magellan expedition

Timeline of the Magellan expedition is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Timeline of the Magellan expedition rather than just read about it. In short: The Magellan expedition (10 August or 20 September 1519 – 6 September 1522) was the first voyage around the world in human history. It was a Spanish expedition that sailed from Seville in 1519 under the initial command of Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese sailor, and completed in 1522 by Spanish Basque navigator Juan Sebastián Elcano.

Key takeaways

Timeline of the Magellan expedition belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Timeline of the Magellan expedition to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Timeline of the Magellan expedition from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Magellan expedition (10 August or 20 September 1519 – 6 September 1522) was the first voyage around the world in human history. It was a Spanish expedition that sailed from Seville in 1519 under the initial command of Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese sailor, and completed in 1522 by Spanish Basque navigator Juan Sebastián Elcano. The initial goal of the voyage was to secure time to explore the possibility of a southwestern passage around South America to China and the Spice Islands (now part of Indonesia). After crossing the Atlantic, wintering in Patagonia, and suppressing a mutiny, the expedition found and transited the Straits of Magellan in 1520. After crossing the Pacific Ocean to the Philippines, Magellan was killed during a raid on the Mactan chief Lapulapu in 1521. The ship Victoria under Juan Sebastian Elcano—who began the expedition as a boatswain— took command of the expedition and sailed into the open Indian Ocean, avoided landing in South Africa despite the resulting starvation, and bluffed his way into resupply at the Cape Verde Islands before completing the first circumnavigation on 6 September 1522. Of the initial 270 crew members, only 18 sailors completed the entire journey.

Timeline

1494 June 7: The Treaty of Tordesillas amends a series of earlier papal bulls to divide the newly discovered territories of the world between the Spanish and Portuguese Empires 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands. Importantly, it provides for a Portuguese monopoly on trade around Africa but leaves open the possibility of Spanish exploration further west to the antimeridian of the division.

1514 Magellan was intent on finding a route to the Spice Islands. Accused of unlawfully trading with the Moors, the Portuguese king denied Magellan permission to embark on Portuguese adventures

1518 Magellan moves to Seville, the seat of the Casa de Contratación. He secures an audience with the new Habsburg king Charles I (later emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire) and his mother and co-monarch Joanna at Aranjuez. March 22: Charles issues the Titulo de Capitanes... approving the expedition under both Magellan and Ruy Faleiro, giving Magellan power of 'rope and knife' over the men and authority over newly discovered lands, and establishing a division of the profits upon its success. It is not expected at the time that the expedition would continue west into Portuguese territory to complete a circumnavigation. Magellan becomes a Spanish subject as part of the arrangement.

1519 April 19: Charles issues the expedition's letters patent, repeating his previous grants, naming Magellan and Faleiro captains general, and directing them to seek spices in the Moluccas. August 10: Departure from Seville down the Guadalquivir River to Sanlúcar de Barrameda, where the ships underwent further repairs, preparation, and provisioning. September 20: Departure from Sanlúcar de Barrameda. September 26 – October 3: Stopping in the Canary Islands to take in provisions. November 29: Fleet reaches the vicinity of Cape St. Augustine. December 13: Entering the bay of Rio de Janeiro. December 27: Departure from Rio de Janeiro.

1520 January 10: Cape Santa María. Severe storm then forces Magellan to reverse course and head north, toward Paranaguá Bay. January 12: Rio de la Plata February 3: The fleet resumes its southward course but the San Antonio found to be leaking badly and halts for repairs. February 5: Cape Corrientes February 24: San Matías Gulf February 27: Entering Bahía de los Patos. March 31: Beginning of the overwintering stay at Puerto San Julián. April 1 and 2: Attempted mutiny of the Victoria, Concepcion, and San Antonio, deftly handled by Magellan. Louis de Mendoza killed, followed by the execution of De Quesada and marooning of De Cartagena. Alvaro de Mesquita becomes the captain of the San Antonio and Duarte Barbosa of the Victoria. End of April: Santiago is sent on a mission to find the passage. The ship is caught in a storm and wrecked. Survivors return to Puerto San Julián. João Serrão becomes captain of the Concepcion. July: Encounters with the “Patagonian giants” (likely the Tehuelche people). August 23 or 24: Fleet departs Puerto San Julián for Río Santa Cruz. October 18: Fleet leaves Santa Cruz. October 21: Arriving at the Cape of the Eleven Thousand Virgins, entry to what would be known as Strait of Magellan. End of October: San Antonio, charged to explore Magdalen Sound, fails to return to the fleet, instead sails back to Spain under Estêvão Gomes who imprisoned captain de Mesquita. The ship arrives in Spain on May 21, 1521. November 28: The fleet leaves the strait and enters the Pacific Ocean. When out in the Pacific, some of the crew get scurvy.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Timeline of the Magellan expedition

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Timeline of the Magellan expedition claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Timeline of the Magellan expedition before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Timeline of the Magellan expedition ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Timeline of the Magellan expedition

In research: Timeline of the Magellan expedition appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Timeline of the Magellan expedition in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Timeline of the Magellan expedition is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1519 in Spain, 1519 in science, 1519 in the Spanish Empire, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Timeline of the Magellan expedition outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Timeline of the Magellan expedition in 20 minutes

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Frequently asked questions

What is Timeline of the Magellan expedition in simple terms?

Why does Timeline of the Magellan expedition matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Timeline of the Magellan expedition?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Timeline of the Magellan expedition.