The Ferdinand Magellan Ships - Ferdinand Magellan (1480 - 1521) Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese sea captain who sailed under the Spanish Flag. Magellan convinced King Charles I of Spain to support his voyage to the Spice Islands. The government of Spain provided 5 ships for the Magellan expedition. On 20 September 1519 Ferdinand Magellan led the five Spanish ships and 251 men in what was to become the first voyage around the World. Ferdinand Magellan died on the island of Mactan before the end of the voyage. The names of the 1519 Ferdinand Magellan Ships were the Trinidad, the San Antonio, the Conception, the Victoria and the Santiago. The brave men of the 1500's, like Ferdinand Magellan, who sailed in uncharted waters to unknown lands were courageous adventurers who were motivated by fame, glory and the wealth. The living conditions on board the small ships were basic and the voyages were very dangerous.
The Voyage of Ferdinand Magellan The fleet under Ferdinand Magellan sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to South America and Rio de Janeiro. Magellan then started to search for a passage to the Pacific Ocean. On 21 November 1520 Ferdinand Magellan entered the straits which would be forever named in his honour - the Magellan Straits - they were to be the first Europeans ever to sail across the Pacific. The names of the Five Ships of Ferdinand Magellan and their commanders were as follows:
Magellan commanded the Trinidad - Ferdinand Magellan was killed by natives on the island of Mactan before the end of the voyage
Juan de Cartagena commanded the San Antonio
Gaspar de Quesada commanded the Conception
Luis de Mendoza commanded the Victoria
Juan Serrano commanded the Santiago
Facts, Information and History about the Navigational Aids on the Ferdinand Magellan ships Facts, Information and history about Ferdinand Magellan Ships. Various aids to navigation were available on ships during the Renaissance. The Navigational aids that Ferdinand Magellans would have used on his five ships, the Trinidad, the San Antonio, the Conception, the Victoria and the Santiago, included:
Astrolabes
Charts
Assorted time pieces including and hour glass and sundial
Compasses
Cross-staffs
Nocturnals
Traverse boards
Almanacs
All of the navigational aids used by Ferdinand Magellan on the the Trinidad, the San Antonio, the Conception, the Victoria and the Santiago were used to measure the angle between objects above the ocean, such as the stars or the sun, with the horizon. This would have enabled Ferdinand Magellan to calculate the ship's position at sea.
Facts about the five ships of Ferdinand Magellan Facts, Information and history about the five Ferdinand Magellan Ships:
Facts about Ferdinand Magellan Ships: Conditions on the Ferdinand Magellan ships would have been very basic. Food provisions would have included bread, beer, hard biscuits, fish and salted meat. The Captain would have had some private stores which might include wine
Facts about Ferdinand Magellan Ships: How fast were the ships? The Trinidad, the San Antonio, the Conception, the Victoria and the Santiago would probably covered a distance of about 100 miles per day
The ships carried about 251 men in total
The seamen would sleep in cramped and damp conditions on the deck of the ships
There was a lack of proper sanitation
One of the ships would have carried a surgeon or doctor
One of the worst health problems on board the five Ferdinand Magellan Ships would have been scurvy
Fresh livestock included pigs and chickens were part of the ships provisions
Meat would have been preserved by being salted
Cooking was done in a fire box located on decks in the bow of the ship, Cooking pots or cauldrons would be suspended from a bar
In 1521, Magellan recorded the following information about conditions on the voyage:
"We were three months and twenty days without refreshment from any kind of fresh food. We ate biscuit which was no longer biscuit but its powder, swarming with worms, the rats having eaten all the good. It stank strongly of their urine. We drank yellow water already many days putrid. We also ate certain ox hides that covered the top of the yards to prevent the yards from chafing the shrouds, and which had become exceedingly hard because of the sun, rain and wind. We soaked them in the sea for four or five days, then placed them for a short time over the hot embers and ate them thus, and often we ate sawdust. Rats were sold for half a ducat apiece, and even so we could not always get them. "
Facts about the Ferdinand Magellan ships - the Trinidad, the San Antonio, the Conception, the Victoria and the Santiago
Facts about Ferdinand Magellan Ships: The names of the Ferdinand Magellan ships were the Trinidad, the San Antonio, the Conception, the Victoria and the Santiago
It is believed that the type of ships used were caravels
Caravels were broad-beamed ships that had 3 masts with square sails and a triangular sail
Caravels varied in size from between 50 and 100 tons and varied in length from 45 feet to 100 feet
The fullest account of the voyage of Ferdinand Magellan is that of Antonio Pigafetta, who sailed with Magellan
A storm destroyed the Santiago
The Conception was abandoned
The Trinidad tried to return to Spain
The Victoria was the last remaining ship which held seamen from the other ships
The Victoria reached Spain with only eighteen survivors
Juan Sebastian Elcano was the Captain General of the Victoria who took the ship back to Spain
The list of survivors and their positions on board who completed the first voyage around the world were as follows:
Juan Sebastian Elcano, Captain-General
Miguel de Rodas, boatswain of the Victoria ( a boatswain was a petty officer who controlled the work of other seamen)
Francisco Albo boatswain of the Trinidad
Juan de Acurio, of Bermeo, boatswain of the Conception
Maartin de Judicibus, of Genoa, superintendent of the Conception
Hernando de Bustamante, of Alcantara, barber of the Conception ( a barber of the era would have acted as an unskilled doctor and dentist)
Juan de Zuvileta, of Baracaldo, page of the Victoria
Miguel Sanchez, of Rodas, marinero of the Victoria ( a marinero was a skilled seaman )
Nicholas the Greek, of Naples, marinero of the Victoria
Diego Gallego, of Bayonne, marinero of the Victoria
Juan Rodriguez, of Seville, marinero of the Trinidad
Antonio Rodriguez, of Huelva, marinero of the Trinidad
Francisco Rodriguez, marinero of the Conception
Juan de Arratia, grumete of the Victoria ( a grumete was a common sailor)
Vasco Gomez Gallego , grumete of the Trinidad
Juan de Santandres, grumete of the Trinidad
Martin de Isaurraga, grumete of the Conception
Antonio Pigafetta, of Vicenza, passenger and the man who wrote the diary
Famous Explorers and their Ships - The Ferdinand Magellan Ships Some interesting facts and biography information about the History, Life & Times of Ferdinand Magellan Ships. Additional details, timelines, facts, history and information about the famous European Explorers and events in the great Age of Exploration and can be accessed via the Elizabethan Era Sitemap.
