William Mondschein, age 10 of Copley, Penna., for his question:
Which of Magellan's ships finished the voyage?
Originally the armada of five little sailing ships was to be under point command, The two captains‑general were Ruy Faleiro, Portuguese astronomer in the service of Spain and Ferdinand Magellan, Portuguese navigator in the service of Spain. There was politics behind this voyage. Spain planned to challenge Portugal's claims in the Far East, especially the rich Spice Islands ‑ the Moluccas.
At the last minute Faleiro cast his own horoscope and found that it predicted he would. perish. on the voyage. He decided to take no chances and stayed behind. So, on August 10, 1519, the five little ships set sail from Seville with Magellan in sole command. His flagship was the Trinidad.
On September 9, 1522, the weary ship Vittoria dropped anchor in Seville harbor with 18 men under the command of Juan Sebastian del Cano. This was all that was left of Magellan's brave armada. Of the five ships, the Vittoria alone sailed clear around the world. So far as we know she was the first vessel to circumnavigate the globe.
The voyage itself was one of the greatest of all feats of navigation. The men and the little ships were beset by every kind of hardship. Most of the long voyage was through uncharted waters and Magellan himself was killed by unfriendly natives in the Philippines.
One of the men to complete the voyage was Antonio Pigafetta who recorded events in great detail. The ships sailed west across the Atlantic and down the coast of South America. Here they wintered with the natives, whom Magellan called Patagonians ‑ Big Feet. Already the crew was restless. A serious mutiny broke out and was sternly crushed.
The ships sailed on southward and, after several false hopes, found the Strait of Magellan. And here the great captain proved his genius as a navigator. The 360‑mile strait was often narrow end steep sided, bordered with grim and rocky cliffs.
But Magellan managed to navigate three ships through this uncharted channel in 38 days. He also found time to notice the stark, cold. land to the south, dotted at night with flickering native campfires, He named. It Tierra del Fuego ‑ land. of fires.
On November 28, 1520 Magellan sailed into the vast ocean which had been sighted by Balboa seven years earlier. After the turbulent strait, the great sea looked calm, indeed, rind it way Magellan who named it the Pacific„
The great mariner died fighting for a treacherous king in the Philippines. Juan Sebastian took command. One of the three remaining ships was burned off the Philippines. Magellan's flagship, the Trinidad, sprang a leak at the island of Tid or where she stayed behind with her crew Only the Vittorio was left to complete the voyage.