Magellan DBQ PDF

Magellan Mini-Q April 27, 1521: Was Magellan Worth Defending? Overview: Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese master of sea navigation and exploration. He was also a complicated man, greatly admired by some, feared and even hated by others. Magellan's life ended...

Magellan Mini-Q April 27, 1521: Was Magellan Worth Defending? Overview: Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese master of sea navigation and exploration. He was also a complicated man, greatly admired by some, feared and even hated by others. Magellan's life ended during a fight with local villagers on a beach in the Philippines in 1521. Many of his own men were slow to come to his rescue. This Mini-Q reflects on events leading up to Magellan's death and asks if you would have tried to help save his life. The Documents: Document A: Magellan's Voyage (map) Document B: The Easter Mutiny Document C: The Strait of Magellan (map) Document D: Sailing the Pacific Document E: The Battle of Mactan Background Essay April 27, 1521: Was Magellan Worth Defending? During the late Middle Ages, Europeans developed a craving for spices — especially nutmeg, The Spanish king agreed to give Magellan an pepper, and cloves — that came from the mysterious armada of five ships. Magellan hired a crew — Spice Islands in distant Asia. But overland trade young men in their teens and twenties — and prepared through Arab lands was difficult. Two countries in to set sail. At 40, he was probably the oldest man in particular, Portugal and Spain, wondered if there the armada. wasn't an easier way. The Portuguese found one route At sea, a captain's word was law, so Magellan by sailing south around Africa had complete power over the and then east to India and the roughly 270 men under his Spice Islands beyond. Christopher command. This was a problem Columbus, sailing from Spain, for many of Magellan's officers, sought to reach Asia by traveling who were Spanish and resented west across the Atlantic. It was a sailing for a Portuguese captain. good idea, but the Americas If Magellan wanted to stay in happened to be in the way. The command, he would have to be challenge now was to find a river tough. He was. or strait that cut through the For his crew, life was already Americas and led to the Spice hard. Typically, there were no Islands on the other side. beds or hammocks on a trade One person who hoped to ship, just the boards of the make this discovery was deck. Men had to keep watch Ferdinand Magellan. Born in throughout the night, so sleep 1480, Magellan was the son of was a luxury. Food rations were Portuguese nobility and a student often cut back to hardtack, of cartography and astronomy. From 1505 to 1512, water, and wine. And bathroom facilities were Magellan sailed on expeditions for his native country non-existent. Magellan's hard personality didn't help. of Portugal. But he wanted more — his own fleet — Eventually, the crew of one of his boats staged a which the king of Portugal refused to give. In 1517, he mutiny. arrived in Spain, determined to get support from that Perhaps it's no surprise, then, that after three throne just as Columbus had in 1492. His plan was long years at sea, only one of the five ships in simple in design — sail south and then west across the Magellan's armada completed the voyage around the Atlantic, find a strait that led him to Asia, fill his ships world. When the lone surviving ship, the Victoria, with fragrant spices, then continue on around the arrived back in Seville, Spain, on September 10, 1522, world and back to Spain. A single shipload of cloves it had a crew of just 18. Magellan was not among would pay for the voyage and make investors happy. them. For Magellan, there would be fame and glory. For As you will discover in the last document, Spain there would be the huge wealth gained by Magellan was killed in hand-to-hand combat with opening up a new trade route. local villagers of a Philippine island on April 27, 1521. Many of his own men could have come to his rescue. Most did not. What would you have done? Read the documents that follow and answer the question: Was Magellan worth defending? Background Essay Questions Magellan Mini-Q 1. Why did the Portuguese and Spanish want to find a water route to Asia? 2. Why did Magellan approach the king of Spain? 3. How much authority did Magellan have over the fleet? 4. What hardships were faced by crewmembers on Magellan's ships? 5. How many men left with Magellan and how many came back? 6. Define these terms: strait: cartography: armada: hardtack: mutiny: Timeline 1488 — Bartolomeu Diaz of Portugal reaches the Indian Ocean by rounding the tip of Africa. 1492 — Christopher Columbus arrives in the Bahamas, but thinks he has reached Asia. 1498 — Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama reaches India. 1513 — Vasco Nunez de Balboa of Spain crosses Panama and becomes the first European to see the Pacific Ocean west of the Americas. 1519 — Ferdinand Magellan's expedition leaves Spain to find a route to the Spice Islands. 1521 — Heman Cortes of Spain conquers the Aztec Empire in Mexico. 1533 — Francisco Pizarro of Spain conquers the Inca Empire in Peru. 1542 — Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto becomes the first European to see the Mississippi River.  Magellan Mini-Q Document A Source: Map created from various sources. Document Analysis 1. How long did it take to complete the entire voyage? 2. What could explain the eight-month gap between the mutiny at San Julian and the navigation of the Strait of Magellan? 3. What was the course of the voyage after Magellan's death? 4. The map states that Victoria was the first ship to circumnavigate the globe. What does that mean? 5. How might you use this document to argue that Magellan was worth defending? 6. How might you use this document to argue that Magellan was not worth defending?  Magellan Mini-Q Document B Source: From the journal of a crewman known only as "The Genoese Pilot," 1520. Note: After crossing the Atlantic, Magellan sailed down the coast of modern-day Brazil and Argentina, searching for a waterway that would lead to the Pacific Ocean. It was the start of autumn in the Southern Hemisphere, and the weather soon turned harsh. Magellan stopped in a harbor which he named St. Julian. Fearing that his fleet's supplies would not last the winter, Magellan put the crew on reduced rations. Many of the men—resentful of this cut and fearing that Magellan might lead them to their death—began to demand that the fleet return to Spain. Magellan refused, and the growing discontent eventually led to the mutiny described below. Note: The three mutinous captains, Luis Mendoza, Gaspar de Quesada, and Juan de Cartagena were closely associated with a powerful Spanish royal official. All three men looked down on Magellan and had mutinied unsuccessfully earlier in the voyage. On that occasion, Magellan showed leniency. This time, he did not. In addition to the killing of Mendoza and Quesada, Magellan abandoned Cartagena and a priest who conspired with him on an island. Document Analysis 1. Why did the captains of three ships rebel against Magellan? 2. Why do you think Magellan responded to the mutiny the way he did? 3. What is the definition of "decapitation"? What is the definition of "quartering"? 4. How might you use this document to argue that Magellan was worth defending? 5. How might you use this document to argue that Magellan was not worth defending?  Magellan Mini-Q Document C Source: Laurence Bergreen, Over the Edge of the World, Harper Collins, 2003. Map created from various sources. Note: Several months after leaving the Port San Julian, Magellan found a strait linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The trip through the strait took 38 days, during which time one of the ships, the San Antonio, deserted the fleet and returned to Spain. Although the armada enjoyed reasonably relied on the taste of seawater to guide the fleet. As good fortune, Magellan's extraordinary skill as a the water became fresher, he knew he was traveling strategist proved to be the decisive factor in inland, and once it turned salty, he realized he was negotiating the entire length of the Dragon's Tail approaching the Pacific on the western side of the [the European name for Tierra del Fuego, the strait. peninsula the strait runs through]. He ordered lookouts scrambling to the highest perch on the ships, where they could see the waterways and obstacles that lay ahead. In addition, he regularly sent small scouting parties in the long- boats. "They would go and come back with news of the findings, and then the rest of the armada would follow. This is the way the armada operated for the whole passage of the strait," Gines de Mafra recalled. The information they brought back helped Magellan plot his next move; they warned him against rocky shoals, bays that deceptively resembled a continuation of the strait, and other dead ends that would have delayed the passage. Magellan even Document Analysis 1. What two oceans are connected by the strait? 2. According to the map, about how many miles long is the strait? 3. What could explain why it took Magellan 38 days to navigate the strait? 4. How did Magellan use taste to find his way through the strait? 5. How might you use the document to argue for defending Magellan? 6. How might you use the document to argue against defending Magellan?  Magellan Mini-Q Document D Source: From the journal of Antonio Pigafetta, 1520. Note: Antonio Pigafetta was an Italian scholar who was a passenger on Magellan's expedition. He kept a detailed journal that was the most complete account of the voyage. During the course of the journey, Pigafetta developed a great admiration for Magellan that never diminished. This excerpt describes the journey across the Pacific Ocean after the ships successfully made it through what became known as the Strait of Magellan. Note: Magellan and his officers seemed immune to scurvy, a vitamin-C deficiency common among sailors which often led to death. As was the custom, the officers had a few delicacies they did not share with the crew. One of these was quince jelly, which contained enough vitamin C to prevent scurvy, something no one suspected at the time. Document Analysis 1. What did the sailors eat? Why did their food supplies run low? 2. According to Pigafetta, what was the worst misfortune about crossing the Pacific? 3. As a crew member, how might you feel about Magellan during this part of the voyage? 4. How can you use this document to argue that Magellan was worth defending? 5. How can you use this document to argue that Magellan was not worth defending?  Magellan Mini-Q Document E Source: Text from the Journal of Antonio Pigafetta, 1520; illustration from Archive Photos/Getty. Note: Magellan's main goal was to reach the Spice Islands. However, while crossing the Pacific, he stopped in the Philippines, where he decided that God had an additional purpose for him. On the island of Cebu, he converted about 2,200 people to Catholicism. Magellan began to threaten those who did not convert, and he burned a village on Mactan ruled by tribal chief named Lapu Lapu. In the battle that followed, Magellan was killed while many of his crew remained on their ships, despite knowing that their leader was in danger. Document Analysis 1. How does the artist portray Magellan at the time of his death? What appears to be the artist's purpose? 2. How had Magellan's goals changed by the time he reached the Philippines? 3. How long did the Battle of Mactan last? How did it end? 4. How can you use this document to argue that Magellan was worth defending? 5. How can you use this document to argue that Magellan was not worth defending?