V.

The Pacific

Because it was calm, Magellan named the ocean Pacific. Although favored by the weather, the fleet suffered greatly in another way. Magellan had underestimated the ocean’s size, and his course was too far north to encounter the fruitful southern island groups such as Tuamotu and Samoa Islands. The fresh food and water were used up, causing scurvy, a wasting disease that results from lack of vitamin C in the diet. They were reduced to eating the leather rope guards, then sawdust and even rats. Many died. After 98 days, the fleet finally reached an island—probably Guam—in the western Pacific. During bargaining for supplies, the natives stole a wide variety of objects, and for this reason Magellan named the islands the Islas de Ladrones (Islands of Thieves). Later they were renamed the Mariana Islands.

From the Marianas, Magellan sailed southwest to the island of Mindanao in the Philippines, where he converted two local rulers to Christianity. From Mindanao he sailed to Cebu Island, where he made more converts. After converting Humabon, ruler of Cebu, he supported Humabon in a battle with a rival chieftain, Lapulapu. Magellan was killed in the battle, April 27, 1521, while defending the withdrawal of his landing party. Lapulapu is a Philippines national hero for resisting this first European invasion.

Although Magellan did not complete the voyage, he is considered the first person to circle the world because Cebu is west of the Moluccas. Sailing west, he had reached a point beyond the point he had reached earlier when sailing east.