Memorial to Ferdinand Magellan in Punta Arenas. The statue looks towards the Straits of Magellan

The arrow points to the city of Sanlúcar de Barrameda on the delta of the Guadalquivir River, in Andalusia.

Monument in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, Philippines that marks the site where Magellan was reportedly killed.

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Ferdinand Magellan (Portuguese: Fernão de Magalhães, pronounced /; Spanish: Fernando or Hernando de Magallanes); (Spring 1480 – April 27, 1521, Mactan Island, Cebu, Philippines) was a Portuguese maritime explorer who, while in the service of the Spanish crown, tried to find a westward route to the Spice Islands of Indonesia. This was the first known successful attempt to circumnavigate the Earth. He did not complete his final westward voyage; he was killed during the Battle of Mactan in the Philippines. As he died farther west than the Spice Islands, which he had visited on earlier voyages from the west, he became one of the first individuals to cross all the meridians of the globe. He was the first person to lead an expedition sailing westward from Europe to Asia and to cross the Pacific Ocean.

Magellan should also be recognized as the first European explorer to enter the Pacific from the Strait of Magellan, which he discovered. He is also remembered as the first European to reach the archipelago of what is now known as the Philippines, which was unknown to the western world before his landing. Arab traders had established commerce within the archipelago centuries earlier.

Of the 240 crew members who set out with Magellan to circumnavigate the earth, only 18 completed the circumnavigation of the globe and managed to return to Spain in 1522. They were led by Spaniard Juan Sebastián Elcano, who took over command of the expedition after Magellan's death. 17 other men arrived later in Spain, 12 men captured by the Portugueses in Cape Verde some weeks later, and in 1525/1526 5 survivors of the Trinidad.

Origins and first voyage

Magellan's parents died when he was 10, and since his parents were of royal nobility, he became a page to Queen Leonor at the royal court. Little is known about Magellan's background. He was the son of Rui de Magalhães (son of Pedro Afonso de Magalhães and wife Quinta de Sousa) and wife Alda de Mesquita, and brother of Duarte de Sousa, Diogo de Sousa and Isabel de Magalhães, but exactly how he is connected to the respective families it is unknown. He was married to Beatriz Barbosa and had two children: Rodrigo de Magalhães and Carlos de Magalhães, both of whom died at a young age.

Magellan made his first experience during the expedition on the sea at the age of 25 in 1505, when he was sent to India to install Francisco de Almeida as the Portuguese viceroy. The voyage gave Magellan his first experience of battle when a local king, who had paid tribute to Vasco da Gama three years earlier, refused to pay tribute to Almeida, which resulted in the Battle of Diu in 1509. After taking leave without permission, Magellan fell out of favour with Almeida and was also accused of trading illegally with the Moors. Several of the accusations were subsequently proved and there were no further offers of employment after May 15, 1514. Later on in 1515, Magellan had an employment offer as a crew member on a Portuguese ship, but rejected this offer.