Why His Quest was Epic
There are many big quests done back in the voyage days. Epic means a great achievement. Some examples of an epic voyage are Christopher Columbus or Napolean. Although these people made important voyages this one person did what nobody even thought of and is still hard to accomplish in these modern days. Ferdinand Magellan sailed around the whole world in the 1500’s.
Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese sea captain. He was the commander of the expedition that became the first to sail around the world. He first went to sea in 1505. He was interested in the way that Columbus sailed and studied Columbus's maps of his routes for many years. He wanted to find the richest part of the Far East and thought it would be quicker to go west first without the understanding if how far Europe actually was.
In 1513 Magellan asked King Manuel of Portugal for permission to sail to the Spice Islands in the Far East. These islands grew cloves and many other spices which would be very valuable if brought back to Spain. His best maps convinced him that he could sail to the Spice Islands, which are now part of Indonesia, by going around the southern tip of South America. He thought that this route would be shorter than the eastward trip to the southern tip of Africa and across the Indian Ocean (Magellan’s Route). Of course, he thought that the Spice Islands were very close to South America. He didn't realize how big the Pacific Ocean was, in fact nobody knew at that time. King Manuel refused Magellan's proposal because he didn't like Magellan.
Magellan then studied astronomy and navigation for about two years. He met a man named Ruy Falesrio who enjoyed listening to what Magellan had to say. He became a big part of Magellan's life and in a way became his partner. They finished their studies on the territory of the Spice Islands that were awarded to Spain in 1494.
The year after that, Magellan convinced King Charles I of Spain to...