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Ferdinand Magellan was an explorer from Portugal. He was leader of the first journey around the whole world.

Early Life
Magellan was born in 1480 in Portugal. His parents died when he was ten years old. He first went to sea in 1505. Magellan fought in many battles in Egypt, India and Malaysia.

Voyage to Indonesia
Magellan wanted to travel to Asia. He wanted to go there to find spices in Indonesia. Magellan thought that Indonesia was very close to America. He thought that he could get to Indonesia quickly if he went west, around America. People did not know how big the world was, or how big the Pacific Ocean was. In 1513, Magellan asked the king of Portugal if he could go to Indonesia. The king of Portugal did not help Magellan because he did not like him. So in 1518 he went to the king of Spain. The king of Spain decided to help Magellan. Magellan left Seville in Spain on 20th September 1519. He had five ships. There were 241 men on the ships. First, they sailed to Brazil. They rested for two weeks in the bay where Rio de Janeiro is now built. Then they sailed south along the coast. In March 1520 they reached southern Argentina. It was now Winter. A big storm destroyed one of the ships. In October 1520, the journey began again. The ships sailed around the southern end of South America. The southern end of South America is now called the Straits of Magellan. Then they crossed the Pacific Ocean. They were the first Europeans to sail across the Pacific Ocean. But the ocean was much bigger than they had thought. They did not see land for 98 days. They ate all their food and drank all their water. Nineteen men died. But on 6th March 1521 they reached the island of Guam.

Magellan Killed
Eventually they reached the Philippines. They stayed in the Philippines for several weeks but many of Magellans men became sick. Then Magellan decided to fight in a battle to help the local king. Magellan died in the battle. His men did not help him quickly enough because they did not like him. The new leader of the journey was Juan Sebastian del Cano. He went to Indonesia and bought lots of spices. On the journey back to Spain there was only one ship. Many soldiers died on the journey. The ship returned to Seville on 6th September 1522. There were only 18 men on the ship.
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