Which ship made the first circumnavigation of the world. Circumnavigations and travel

We were taught at school what was the first trip around the world Spanish captain Fernando Magellan (1480–1521). This answer is incorrect. The fact is that Magellan was the admiral of the squadron of Spanish ships that left Spain and circled America in order to reach the Spice Islands. Now they are called the Moluccas. On this path, among other things, the Spaniards discovered the Philippine Islands, which they named after the Spanish king Philip II. It was here that the natives killed Fernando Magellan in 1521. So Magellan did not finish his round-the-world trip. But the sailors of that single ship from Magellan's squadron, which returned to Spain in 1522, having circumnavigated the globe and spent 3 years sailing, were also not the first people to circumnavigate the world. Then who was the first?

Most of us don't know his name. His name was Enrique de Malacca or Black Enrique. It was a black slave of Magellan, whom he bought at a slave market in the city of Malacca. It is located in the south of the Malay Peninsula. This is what is now Malaysia. Hence the nickname: "de Malacca", "from Malacca".

How did Fernando Magellan get to such a distance? And he got there in those years when he was still a subject of the Portuguese king and his name was Fernand de Magalhash. Fernand participated in the expedition of Admiral Afonso de Albuquerque (Afonso de Albuquerque) (1453-1515) to the Spice Islands. Because when the Portuguese, led by Vasco da Gamma, went around Africa and, having overcome Indian Ocean, ended up in India, in the city of Goa, they discovered that not all the spices that they brought to Europe from India grow in India. Yes, black pepper was grown here, but other valuable spices, cloves and nutmeg, were brought here from afar by Chinese merchants. According to them, they bought spices very cheaply on the islands, which were far to the east. In 1511, the de Albuquerque squadron set out to search for these islands. On the way there, they stormed Malacca. Here Magillaish bought himself a slave, a dark-skinned boy, whom the merchants, who, as expected, did not disdain piracy, stole somewhere on the island of Sumatra.

Magillais christened the slave, gave him the name Enrique, and took him with him to Lisbon. When Magillais, who, in his opinion, was deprived of awards for the discovery of India, moved to neighboring Spain in 1517, Black Enrique naturally left with him. Having settled down in Spain, where he became Fernando Magellan, the adventurer offered the Spanish king to capture the Spice Islands. How to do it? Elementary! Magellan offered to get to the Moluccas from the side where the Portuguese "guests" did not expect, from the east, by circumnavigating the globe. True, for this it was necessary to go around America. The Spaniards have already successfully mastered this continent. However, they had no idea about its length to the north and south.

The king approved the plan, but did not indulge the expedition with finances. Only two years later, in September 1519. a squadron of five ships set sail, in fact, not even imagining that this voyage would continue for three years. Enrique de Malaca was on the flagship "Trinidad" with the owner.

Fernand de Magalhaish by this time in his homeland was declared a traitor. Any Portuguese captain who captured him was charged with the duty of hanging Magellan on a yardarm. Therefore, the squadron of F. Magellan far rounded the coast of Brazil, where the Portuguese were in charge.

Magellan was lucky three times, but once he was not lucky. The first luck - he did not get caught by the Portuguese. The second is that he was able to go around America, finding a strait connecting two oceans. And finally, he sailed for almost four months on a hitherto unknown ocean, and all this time he was accompanied by clear weather. But four months - it was at the limit of human strength and capabilities. Food and water were running out. Crews mowed down the disease.

Off the coast of the Philippines, the great captain died in a skirmish with the natives. According to his will, he freed Black Enrique after his death. But Juan Sebastian Elcano (1486–1526), ​​who became admiral of a fairly depleted squadron after the death of F. Magellan, began to slow down the release of Enrique. And then the former slave ran away. On one of the Philippine islands, Cebu, he heard the conversation of local residents. They spoke in a dialect familiar to Enrique from childhood. From the island of Cebu, Enrique returned to his native Sumatra. Thus, he made a round-the-world trip before the only ship from F. Magellan's flotilla, which survived three years of difficult adventures, returned to Seville.

Geographical knowledge about the Earth has been rapidly developing. There were suggestions that, having rounded South America, it was possible to go to the South Sea (as they used to call it) and use it to reach the shores of Asia and. The first to undertake this was Ferdinand Magellan (1470-1531). He proposed to the king of Spain a hitherto unheard of plan - to reach the shores of Asia, bypassing America from the south.

On September 20, 1519, a flotilla of five ships set out on a campaign. She crossed Atlantic Ocean and moved along the coast of South America in search of a passage to the South Sea. After a long wandering, the daredevils finally got lucky. The Strait, later named Magellanic, was found, and the flotilla entered the South Sea. According to one of the expedition members, Magellan called the vast expanses of water the Pacific Ocean, "because we have never experienced the slightest storm." This name is a paradox, since calm in the Pacific Ocean is a rarity.

More three months this transition continued across the boundless ocean. The crew suffered from thirst and illness. In the spring of 1521, Magellan reached the islands at east coast Asia, later called Philippine. An entry made by his hand in the ship's log says that, having circumnavigated the Earth, the ship returned to old light. This was the last written message made by the hand of Magellan himself.

In April 1521, the fearless navigator died in one of the battles in the midst of an intertribal war. Of all the ships back to, having circled Africa, only one returned - the Victoria (Victory). He entered his native harbor on September 6, 1522. The first trip around the world lasted three years. It finally proved the fact that the Earth is spherical.

Globe by Martin Behaim

With the development of geographical knowledge about the Earth, cartography also improved. In 1492, the German geographer and eminent navigational specialist Martin Beheim (1459-1507) and the artist Georg Glockendon (year of birth unknown - died in 1553) made the first globe depicting the globe. Its diameter is 54 cm. The authors called their creation "Earth Apple". On it, Beheim placed a map of the world of the ancient Greek scientist Ptolemy. this small likeness of our planet began to be called later. Of course, the images on it were far from the truth: the creators of the "Earth Apple" did not know about the existence of the New World (Columbus just set sail in 1492). However, later, when people appreciated their benefits, globes became very popular. They could be seen in the chambers of monarchs, in the offices of ministers and scientists. Pocket globes in special cases were intended for travel. Medium-sized globes made for cabinets were often equipped with a mechanism that set them in motion, rotating around an axis. There were even globes as high as human height, and they contained not only colorful images of the Earth's surface, but also information about different countries Oh. However, maps have always had their advantages and therefore still remain indispensable attributes of any traveler, explorer and scientist.

In 1569, Gerard Mercator (1512-1594) created the first map of the world based on the latest cartographic and geographical knowledge of Europeans about the Earth and outstanding discoveries of that time. The continents were plotted on it, with the exception of Australia (they were discovered and explored later), as well as the oceans washing them. Many geographic features named after the navigators and explorers who discovered them. The name Amerigo Vespucci remained for posterity in the names of two continents: North and South America, in honor of Ferdinand Magellan, the strait separating the mainland was named South America and island Tierra del Fuego. Thanks to the expeditions of the era of the Great geographical discoveries appeared on the world map New World(America), the Pacific Ocean, the island of Tierra del Fuego, the Strait of Magellan, major islands in the Caribbean: Bahamas, Haiti, Cuba. Entire generations of geographers and cartographers, researchers and travelers had to refine and supplement maps for several more centuries, draw accurate contours of all continents and oceans, islands and peninsulas, bays and straits, and other geographical objects.

On January 7, 1887, Thomas Stevens of San Francisco completed the first bicycle trip around the world. In three years, the traveler managed to overcome 13,500 miles and open a new page in the history of world travel. Today about the most unusual circumnavigations.

Thomas Stevens' cycling around the world

In 1884, "a man of medium height, dressed in a worn blue flannel shirt and blue overalls ... tanned as a walnut ... with a protruding mustache", this is how the journalists of that time described Thomas Stevens, bought a penny-farthing bicycle, grabbed a minimum supply of things and Smith & Wesson .38 caliber and hit the road. Stevens crossed the entire North American continent, covering 3,700 miles, and ended up in Boston. There he came up with the idea of ​​traveling around the world. He sailed to Liverpool on a steamboat, passed through England, crossed by ferry to French Dieppe, crossed Germany, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey. Further, his path ran through Armenia, Iraq and Iran, where he spent the winter as a guest of the Shah. He was refused passage through Siberia. The traveler crossed the Caspian Sea to Baku, reached Batumi by railway, and then sailed on a steamer to Constantinople and India. Then Hong Kong and China. And the end point of the route was where Stevens, by his own admission, was finally able to relax.

Around the world in an amphibious jeep

In 1950, Australian Ben Carlin decided to travel around the world in his modernized amphibious jeep. Three-quarters of the route with him was his wife. In India, she went ashore, and Ben Carlin himself completed his journey in 1958, having covered 17,000 km by water and 62,000 km by land.

Hot air balloon trip around the world

In 2002, American Steve Fossett, co-owner of Scaled Composites, who by that time had already managed to earn the fame of an adventure pilot, flew around the Earth at hot-air balloon. He tried to do this for more than one year and achieved the goal on the sixth attempt. Fossett's flight was the first solo round-the-world flight without refueling or stopping.

Round the world taxi ride

Somehow, the British John Ellison, Paul Archer and Lee Purnell calculated the costs associated with drinking the morning after drinking and found out that a taxi home would cost them much more than the drink itself. Probably, someone would have decided to drink at home, but the British acted radically - they bought a 1992 London cab and set off on a round-the-world trip. As a result, in 15 months they covered 70 thousand km and went down in history as participants in the longest taxi ride. History is silent, however, about their activity in the pubs along the way.

Travel around the world on an ancient Egyptian reed boat

Norwegian Thor Heyerdahl made the transatlantic crossing in a light reed boat built on the model of the ancient Egyptians. On his boat "Ra" he managed to reach the coast of Barbados, proving that ancient navigators could make transatlantic crossings. It is worth noting that this was Heyerdahl's second attempt. The year before, he and his crew nearly drowned when the ship, due to design flaws, began to bend and break into pieces a few days after launch. The Norwegian team also included the well-known Soviet TV journalist and traveler Yuri Senkevich.

Travel around the world on a pink yacht

Today, the title of the youngest navigator who managed to complete a solo circumnavigation of the world belongs to Australian Jessica Watson. She was only 16 years old when, on May 15, 2010, she completed her circumnavigation of the world, which lasted 7 months. The girl's pink yacht crossed the Southern Ocean, crossed the equator, rounded Cape Horn, crossed the Atlantic Ocean, approached the shores of South America, and then returned to Australia through the Indian Ocean.

Cycling around the world for a millionaire

75-year-old millionaire, former producer of pop stars and football teams Janusz River repeated the experience of Thomas Stevens. He changed his life dramatically when he bought a $50 mountain bike in 2000 and hit the road. Since that time, River, who, by the way, being Russian by mother, speaks excellent Russian, has traveled to 135 countries and traveled more than 145 thousand km. He learned a dozen foreign languages ​​and managed to be captured by militants 20 times. Not life, but a continuous adventure.

Jogging around the world

Briton Robert Garside bears the title "Running Man". He is the first person to circumnavigate the world by running. His record was included in the Guinness Book of Records. Robert had several unsuccessful attempts to make a round-the-world race. And on October 20, 1997, he successfully started from New Delhi (India) and finished his race, the length of which was 56 thousand km, at the same place on June 13, 2003, almost 5 years later. Representatives of the Book of Records meticulously and for a long time checked his record, and Robert was able to receive a certificate only a few years later. On the way, he described everything that happened to him using his pocket computer, and all those who were not indifferent could get acquainted with the information on his personal website.

Motorcycle trip around the world

In March 2013, two Britons - Belfast Telegraph travel expert Geoff Hill and former racing driver Gary Walker - left London to recreate the world tour that American Carl Clancy made 100 years ago on a Henderson motorcycle. In October 1912, Clancy left Dublin with a fellow traveler whom he had left in Paris, while he himself continued south of Spain, through North Africa, Asia, and at the end of the tour traveled across America. The journey of Charles Clancy lasted 10 months and contemporaries called this circumnavigation of the world "the longest, most difficult and most dangerous journey on a motorcycle."

Non-stop solo circumnavigation

Fedor Konyukhov is the man who made the first solo circumnavigation of the world non-stop in the history of Russia. On the 36-pound Karaana yacht, he sailed along the route Sydney - Cape Horn - Equator - Sydney. It took him 224 days to do this. Konyukhov's round-the-world trip began in the fall of 1990 and ended in the spring of 1991.

Fedor Filippovich Konyukhov - Russian traveler, artist, writer, priest of the Russian Orthodox Church, Honored Master of Sports of the USSR in sports tourism. He became the first person in the world to visit the five poles of our planet: the North geographic (three times), the South geographic, the Pole of relative inaccessibility in the Arctic Ocean, Everest (the height pole) and Cape Horn (the pole of yachtsmen).

A Russian crosses the Pacific Ocean in a rowboat
Russian traveler Fedor Konyukhov, who has five round-the-world voyages behind him, is currently crossing the Pacific Ocean on the Turgoyak rowboat. This time he decided to make the transition from Chile to Australia. As of September 3, Konyukhov has already managed to overcome 1148 km, there are still more than 12 thousand kilometers of the way across the ocean to Australia.

An excellent example for aspiring travelers is the experience of Nina and Gramp, a married couple who have been married for 61 years. They packed their bags and created .

Any educated person can easily remember the name of the one who made the first trip around the world and crossed the Pacific Ocean. This was done by the Portuguese Ferdinand Magellan about 500 years ago.

But it should be noted that this formulation is not entirely correct. Magellan thought out and planned the route of the voyage, organized it and led it, but he was destined to die many months before it was completed. So Juan Sebastian del Cano (Elcano), a Spanish navigator, with whom Magellan had, to put it mildly, not friendly relations, continued and completed the first round-the-world trip. It was del Cano who eventually became the captain of the Victoria (the only ship to return to his native harbor) and received fame and fortune. However, Magellan made great discoveries during a dramatic voyage, which will be discussed below, and therefore he is considered the first traveler around the world.

First trip around the world: background

In the 16th century, Portuguese and Spanish seafarers and merchants vied with each other for control of the spice-rich East Indies. The latter made it possible to preserve food, and it was difficult to do without them. There was already a proven path to the Moluccas, where the largest markets with the cheapest goods were located, but this path was not short and unsafe. Due to the limited knowledge of the world, America, discovered not so long ago, seemed to sailors an obstacle on the way to rich Asia. No one knew if there was a strait between South America and the hypothetical Unknown Southern Land, but the Europeans wanted it to be. They did not yet know that America and East Asia were separated by a huge ocean, and they thought that the opening of the strait would provide quick access to Asian markets. Therefore, the first navigator to circumnavigate the world would certainly have been awarded royal honors.

Career of Ferdinand Magellan

The impoverished Portuguese nobleman Magellan (Magallans), by the age of 39, managed to repeatedly visit Asia and Africa, was wounded in battles with the natives and collected a lot of information about travels to the shores of America.

With his idea to get to the Moluccas by the western route and return by the usual one (that is, to make the first trip around the world), he turned to the Portuguese king Manuel. He was not at all interested in the proposal of Magellan, whom he also disliked for his lack of loyalty. But he allowed Fernand to change citizenship, which he immediately took advantage of. The navigator settled in Spain (that is, in a country hostile to the Portuguese!), got a family and associates. In 1518, he obtained an audience with the young king Charles I. The king and his advisers became interested in finding shortcut for spices and "gave the go-ahead" to organize the expedition.

Along the coast. Riot

Magellan's first circumnavigation of the world, which was never completed for most of the team, began in 1519. Five ships left the Spanish harbor of San Lucar, carrying 265 people from different European countries. Despite the storm, the flotilla relatively safely reached the coast of Brazil and began to "go down" along it to the south. Fernand hoped to find a strait into the South Sea, which, according to his information, should have been located in the region of 40 degrees south latitude. But in the indicated place it was not the strait, but the mouth of the La Plata River. Magellan ordered to continue moving south, and when the weather turned bad, the ships anchored in the bay of St. Julian (San Julian) to spend the winter there. The captains of three ships (Spanish by nationality) mutinied, seized the ships and decided not to continue the first round-the-world trip, but to head for the cape Good Hope and from him to his homeland. People loyal to the admiral managed to do the impossible - to recapture the ships and cut off the rebels' escape route.

Strait of All Saints

One captain was killed, another was executed, and a third was put ashore. Magellan pardoned ordinary rebels, which once again proved his foresight. Only at the end of the summer of 1520 the ships left the bay and continued to search for the strait. During a storm, the ship "Santiago" sank. And on October 21, the sailors finally discovered the strait, more reminiscent of a narrow crevice between the rocks. The ships of Magellan sailed along it for 38 days.

The admiral called the shore, which remained on the left hand, Tierra del Fuego, since the bonfires of the Indians burned on it around the clock. It was thanks to the discovery of the Strait of All Saints that Ferdinand Magellan began to be considered the one who made the first trip around the world. Subsequently, the strait was renamed Magellan.

Pacific Ocean

Only three ships left the strait into the so-called "South Sea": "San Antonio" disappeared (simply deserted). The sailors liked the new waters, especially after the troubled Atlantic. The ocean was named the Pacific.

The expedition headed northwest, then west. For several months, the sailors sailed without seeing any signs of land. Starvation and scurvy caused the death of almost half of the team. Only at the beginning of March 1521 did the ships approach two still undiscovered inhabited islands from the Mariana group. From here it was not far to the Philippines.

Philippines. Death of Magellan

The discovery of the islands of Samar, Siargao and Homonkhon greatly pleased the Europeans. Here they recuperated and communicated with local residents, who willingly shared food and information.

Magellan's servant, a Malay, spoke freely with the natives in the same language, and the admiral realized that the Moluccas were very close. By the way, this servant, Enrique, eventually became one of those who made the first trip around the world, unlike his master, who was not destined to land on the Moluccas. Magellan and his people intervened in the internecine war of two local princes, and the navigator was killed (either with a poisoned arrow, or with a cutlass). Moreover, after some time, as a result of a treacherous attack by savages, his closest associates, experienced Spanish sailors, died. The team became so thin that one of the ships, the Concepción, was decided to be destroyed.

Moluccas. Return to Spain

Who led the first round-the-world trip after Magellan's death? Juan Sebastian del Cano, Basque sailor. He was among the conspirators who presented Magellan with an ultimatum in San Julian Bay, but the admiral forgave him. Del Cano commanded one of the two remaining ships, the Victoria.

He made sure the ship returned to Spain loaded with spices. It was not easy to do this: off the coast of Africa, the Portuguese were waiting for the Spaniards, who from the very beginning of the expedition did everything to upset the plans of their competitors. The second ship, the flagship Trinidad, was boarded by them; sailors were enslaved. Thus, in 1522, 18 members of the expedition returned to San Lucar. The cargo delivered by them paid off all the expenses for the expensive expedition. Del Cano was awarded a personal coat of arms. If in those days someone had said that Magellan made the first trip around the world, he would have been ridiculed. The Portuguese had only accusations of violating royal instructions.

The results of Magellan's journey

Magellan explored east coast South America and opened the strait from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. Thanks to his expedition, people received weighty proof that the Earth is really round, they were convinced that the Pacific Ocean is much larger than expected, and that it is unprofitable to swim on it to the Moluccas. Also, the Europeans realized that the World Ocean is one and washes all the continents. Spain satisfied its ambitions by announcing the discovery of the Mariana and Philippine Islands, and laid claim to the Moluccas.

All the great discoveries made during this voyage belong to Ferdinand Magellan. So the answer to the question of who made the first trip around the world is not so obvious. In fact, this person was del Cano, but nevertheless, the main achievement of the Spaniard was that the world generally learned about the history and results of this voyage.

The first round-the-world voyage of Russian sailors

In 1803-1806, Russian sailors Ivan Kruzenshtern and Yuri Lisyansky made a large-scale journey through the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. Their goals were: exploration of the Far Eastern outskirts of the Russian Empire, finding a convenient trade route to China and Japan by sea, providing the Russian population of Alaska with everything necessary. Navigators (set off on two ships) explored and described Easter Island, the Marquesas Islands, the coast of Japan and Korea, Kurile Islands, Sakhalin and the island of Iesso, visited Sitka and Kodiak, where Russian settlers lived, and in addition, they brought an ambassador from the emperor to Japan. During this voyage, domestic ships visited high latitudes for the first time. The first round-the-world trip of Russian explorers had a huge public outcry and helped to increase the prestige of the country. Its scientific significance is no less great.

First circumnavigation- Spanish naval expedition led by Ferdinand Magellan, began on September 20, 1519 and ended on September 6, 1522. The expedition was staffed by a large team (according to various estimates, 265-280 people) on 5 ships. As a result of the mutinies, the most difficult crossing of the Pacific Ocean and skirmishes with the population of the Philippines and the Spice Islands, the team was greatly reduced. Only one ship, the Victoria, managed to return to Spain with 18 people on board. Another 18 people who were captured by the Portuguese returned to Europe later. The expedition also turned out to be very successful commercially, bringing the organizers a lot of profit.

In August 1519, the first round the world expedition from five ships. The Spanish king Charles I approved and equipped her on her way (at home, in Portugal, Magellan's plan was rejected). With luck, Spain could lay claim to the discovered new lands. The path of the expedition lay southwest across America in the direction of the Moluccas.

The journey was not easy. More than once, Magellan's subordinates tried to stage a rebellion in order to return to Spain.

The flotilla moved along the eastern coast of the South American continent for a long time in search of an exit to the "South Sea". Having reached the southern tip of the mainland, the flotilla discovered a deep bay. The ships moved cautiously forward, cutting their way through the labyrinth of winding channels. The shores seemed completely deserted, but in the darkness of the night on south coast the strait suddenly lit up the fires. That is why Magellan called this country Tierra del Fuego, becoming its discoverer.

Passing between Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego along the Strait, which is now called Magellanic, the sailors entered the Pacific Ocean.

For three months the travelers did not see the land, provisions, and drinking water are over. Famine and scurvy began on the ships. Sailors had to eat ship rats and chew on the ox skin that was used to cover the sails in order to somehow satisfy their hunger. The crew lost 21 men who died of exhaustion. The expedition was plagued by misfortune. When, finally, the travelers reached land (these were the Philippine Islands) and were able to stock up on food and water, Magellan, to his misfortune, got involved in the internecine strife of local rulers and was killed in battle by the natives on April 27, 1521.

Only one ship returned from sailing three years later - the Victoria. Under the command of J. S. Elcano, he completed the voyage in 1522. The surviving members of the crew were greeted with honors and triumph as participants in the world's first circumnavigation.

The importance of Magellan's voyage cannot be overestimated.

First, with his circumnavigation, he proved the sphericity of the Earth.

Secondly, Magellan's expedition gave an idea of ​​the relative sizes of land and sea on the globe.

Thirdly, Magellan proved that the greatest ocean stretches between America and Asia. It was he who gave this ocean the name Pacific, which we still use today. And he chose such a name, because in the course of four months of sailing on the ocean he was fortunate enough not to meet a storm.

In addition, he proved the existence of a single World Ocean on our planet.

Fernan (Fernando) Magellan (Magalhaes)(Port. Fernão de Magalhães, Spanish. Fernando (Hernando) de Magallanes[(f)eɾ'nando ðe maɣa'ʎanes], lat. Ferdinandus Magellanus; 1480, Sabrosa, Traz-os-Montes region, Kingdom of Portugal - April 27, 1521, Mactan Island, Philippines) - Portuguese and Spanish navigator with the title of adelantado. He commanded the expedition that made the first known circumnavigation of the world. He opened the strait, later named after him, becoming the first European to travel by sea from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific.

Around the world

Conquerors high seas- the first person to swim around the earth

Age of discovery
The age of discovery was full of sea travel and the desire to find a way to the spices of the Far East, while the eastern Mediterranean was blocked by powerful competitors. When Vasco da Gama sailed around the Cape of Good Hope to reach India in 1488, the Portuguese concentrated their efforts in the south and east. The Spaniards, who agreed to share the world with the Portuguese in the Treaty of Tordesillas of June 7, 1494, sailed west. They did not have the slightest idea about the American continent and no one knew that there was a Pacific Ocean.

Christopher Columbus(1451-1506), an Italian who moved to Spain, on the basis of the theory that the earth is round, decided that it was possible to reach the Far East from the other side. He persuaded the monarchs to finance his expedition and sailed in 1492. After 10 weeks of sailing, he reached an island in the Bahamas, which he named San Salvador. Thinking he had found islands near Japan, he continued swimming until he reached Cuba (which he thought was China) and Haiti. He met black people there, whom he called "Indians" as he was sure he was sailing across the Indian Ocean.

Columbus made 3 more voyages to the New World, which he believed was the East, in 1493, 1497 and 1502, exploring Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Jamaica and Trinidad. He never reached North America, and while he was alive, he thought that he had reached Asia.

North America has already been discovered

Viking ships reached North America nearly 500 years before Columbus set sail. Sailed off Iceland in the mid 990s Biarni Heriolfsson veered off course and arrived on an unknown land. He did not investigate or name her. AT 1002, Leifr Eiriksson followed the course of Biarni and arrived on the coast of modern Canada. He then traveled further south and discovered an island which he named Vinland (today's Newfoundland), where he established a colony and traded with the local population known as the Scraelings for 3 years. Ultimately, the Skraelings forced them to leave, but the Vikings continued to sail to Canada for the forest.

"New Found Earth"

In 1497, King Henry VII granted John Cabot(1450-1498) the right to explore. On May 2nd, Cabot and a crew of 18 others gathered on a small ship called Matthew in Bristol, England. He sailed further north than Columbus to get out of the Spanish territories. On June 24, the team spotted land. Cabot believed he had found an island off the coast of Asia and called it "new found land". This was the first documented landing in Newfoundland since the Vikings. Cabot returned to England on August 6, 1497, and although he brought no treasures or spices, he was the first to mark the North American coast on a map.

Name "America"

The line by which the Portuguese and Spaniards divided the world between themselves passed through the Atlantic, as a result of which Spain got western lands including the Americas. Brazil went to the Portuguese, who also had East Africa and India. But, since it was not possible to determine the exact location of the line, the question arose about the exact location of the line. In 1501, the Portuguese king Manuel I sent his fleet to Brazil. One of the members of the flotilla was an Italian Amerigo Vespucci. He was one of those first explorers who said that South America was not an island at all, but a whole continent, calling it the "New World". Vespucci is an excellent cartographer, he sold copies of his maps to the German cartographer Martin Waldsemüller, who, by redrawing them in 1507, honored Vespucci and wrote his name on the South American continent. And so it began to be called southern continent"America".

Amerigo Vespucci, after whom the American continent was named in 1507.

First trip around the world

First to circle the globe Ferdinand Magellan. He was born in Oporto, Portugal in 1480. In 1505, he was enrolled in the fleet, where he learned all the intricacies of ship management and military affairs during a battle in India from the Portuguese royal governor. In 1509 he took part in the Battle of Death, which gave the Portuguese a huge advantage in the Indian Ocean.

For 7 years he traded Cochin, porcelain and canes.

Like Columbus, Megellanus believed that Far East reachable through the west. After being snubbed by the Portuguese king, he convinced King Charles I of Spain that at least half of all the "spicy" islands were in the Spanish part of the unexplored world. In September 1519, Magellan set off on 5 ships ("San Antonio", "Santiago", "Trinidad", "Victoria" and "Concept"), consisting of 280 crew members, full of desire to travel, despite adversity and mutinies that arose on the ship.

An Italian nobleman, Antonio Pigafetta, kept a diary during the entire journey.

November 20, 1519 they crossed the equator, and saw Brazil on December 6. Magellan thought it would be unwise to sail near Portuguese territory, as he sailed under the Spanish flag, and on December 13 he anchored near today's Rio de Janeiro. They were met by the Guarani Indians, who believed that white people were gods and gave them gifts. After they replenished their supplies, they headed south, reaching Patagonia (Argentina) in March 1520. Santiago was sent to explore further south, but was lost in a storm.

In August, Magellan decided it was time to sail south to find his way to the east. In October they saw the strait. During their voyage, the captain of San Antonia turned back to Spain, taking most of the provisions.

Into the Pacific

By the end of November, 3 ships left the bay for the Pacific Ocean. Magellan thought that the "spicy" islands were already close, but they sailed for another 96 days without seeing the ends of the earth. The condition of the crew on the ships was terrible. They survived on sawdust, leather strips and rats. Finally, in January 1521, they saw the island and stopped to celebrate. In March, they sailed to the island of Guam. They continued their voyage and sailed to the Philippines, arriving there on March 28.

After being supported by the island king, Magellan was foolishly embroiled in a tribal war and died in battle on April 27, 1521. Sebastian del Cano took command of the ships and 115 survivors. Due to the lack of crew for the third ship, the ship "Concept" was burned.

They sailed to the Moluccas ("spicy" islands) in November and loaded up with valuable spices. To ensure that at least one ship arrived in Spain, the Trinidad sailed back east across the Pacific while the Victoria continued west. The Trinidad was captured by the Portuguese and most of the crew were killed. "Victoria" managed to avoid the attack of the Portuguese in the waters of the Indian Ocean, and they bypassed the Cape of Good Hope. September 6, 1522, almost three years after the start historical journey, "Victoria" and 18 team members (among whom was Pigafetta) arrived in Spain. They were first, who circumnavigated the globe.

Reproduction of the ship on which Ferdinand Magellan led the first circumnavigation of the world.

Second trip around the world

The second circumnavigation was completely explorer-a former pirate Englishman Francis Drake(1540-1596). Seeing that the Spaniards are collecting a new big empire, Queen Elizabeth I surreptitiously sent Drake west, with the added purpose of harassing the Spanish. On December 13, 1577, Drake set sail from Plymouth in England, with 6 ships under his command.

In September 1578, 5 ships returned to the Strait of Magellan, but Drake sailed on in his Golden Lane. By June 1579, he reached the shores of today's California and continued north to the current border of Canada and the United States. Then, he turned to the southwest and crossed the Pacific Ocean in 2 months. He sailed across the Indian Ocean and around the Cape of Good Hope. He returned in the Golden Lana, loaded with gold and spices, back to Plymouth on September 26, 1580. He became first captain who circumnavigated the world.

Captain Cook

Another famous circumnavigation was the James Cook. He sailed from England on August 25, 1768 on the ship Indive with 94 crew and scientists on board. April 11, 1769 they reached the island of Tahiti. By government order, they moved south, arriving at New Zealand 6 October. By April 1770, Cook had studied and recorded notes on Australia. Then, "Indeva" went to Java, by the end of sailing through the Cape of Good Hope. On July 13, 1771, Cook landed at Dover. For his historic 3-year voyage, he was appointed captain of a sea vessel by King George III.

First solo circumnavigation of the world

Joshua Slocum. Born in Nova Scotia in 1844, he became an American citizen and Captain Slocum at the age of 25. On April 24, 1895, 51-year-old Slocum went to long-distance navigation from Boston in his 11m sloop the Spray, a dilapidated oyster boat he rebuilt himself.

Slocum crossed the Atlantic Ocean and approached the Suez Canal. At Gibraltar, he met Mediterranean pirates, and sailed back across the Atlantic and down the Brazilian coast through the dreaded Strait of Magellan. He faced deadly currents, rocky coasts and rough seas as he sailed near Australia, through the Cape of Good Hope and the Atlantic.

On June 27, 1898, after more than 3 years and 74,000 km, Joshua Slocum entered Newport, Rhode Island, as first person to complete the first solo circumnavigation of the world. He describes his outstanding cruise in his book Sailing Around the World.

Joshua Slocum - the first person to sail alone around the world (1895-1898). Planning to start his voyage from the Amazon, Slocum set off from Wynyard Haven on November 14, 1909, but he and his ship disappeared.

Joshua Slocum became the first person to circumnavigate the world on his sloop the Spray.

First around the world with one stop

The honor of sailing around the world with just one stop went to Francis Chichester(1902-1972). In 1966, 64-year-old Chichester set sail on his 16m ketch "Gypsy Mot IV" from England. The steering mechanism broke at a distance of 3,700 km from Australia. Soon, after sailing from Sydney, the Gypsy tipped over, but leveled off on its own. Near Cape Horn, Chichester encountered 15m waves. But he is not a man who deviates from his plans. In 1960 he was the winner of the first transatlantic race for one. He also made the longest solo seaplane flight (from England to Australia). On May 28, 1967, after 226 days at sea, he was greeted by half a million people in Plymouth, England.

Francis Chichester completed the first one-stop circumnavigation of the world on the Gypsy Moth IV.

Around the world alone

Today's solo non-stop sailing around the world still captures the imagination. Chay Blyth, nicknamed "Man of Steel", was one of the few who traveled against the wind around the world from east to west on a British Steel ketch in 1971. He completed his voyage in 302 days. Two years later, French Alain Cola on his trimaran "Manureva" sailed around the world through three great capes, which took him only 129 days of navigation.

First woman who sailed around the world became an Englishwoman Lisa Clayton. She sailed on the 11m tinplate Spirit of Birmingham from Dartmouth, England on September 17, 1994, ending her rigorous voyage after 285 days.

Jonathan Sanders Traveled around the world alone 5 times. He also managed an outstanding non-stop circumnavigation of the world between May 1986 and March 1988, covering 128,000 km.

Circumnavigation has become a passion, as did the Whitbread race. Then the French Philip Janto proposed the idea of ​​a round-the-world race without stopping.

Competitions

In 1982, the British company proposed the BOC competition - around the world alone. It has now been renamed to AroundAlone, whose main goal, as it says: "One man, One boat, Around the world." This is the most long distance in individual sports. The difficult path, which is 43,000 km long, consists mainly of distant oceans. The finish line is literally beyond the edge of the world. (The next race will take place on September 26).

And there is The Race- a non-stop race around the world without rules and without borders, which starts from the Strait of Gibltar at midnight on December 31, 2000. No rules only means that the only limit is imagination and technology.

In 120 AD The Egyptian mathematician Ptolemy (Claudius Ptolemyus) devised several planes whereby areas on the uneven surfaces of the Earth could be displayed on flat surfaces.

His geography appeared in Europe in 1406, and with the invention of the printing press in 1450, his plans were published and universally accepted.

The Cunard Laconia Ship Company offered the first round-the-world cruise on Laconia in 1922.

Black Henry.

A name that almost no one knows. Enrique de Malaca was a slave and translator of Ferdinand Magellan.

Magellan himself never completed his round-the-world trip. In 1521, he was killed in the Philippines, when he was only halfway to his goal.

Magellan first visited East Asia in 1511, sailing there from Portugal across the Indian Ocean. It was there that he found Black Henry. Magellan bought it in Malaysia at the slave market, and then took it with him to Lisbon, returning back the same way.

On all subsequent travels, Henry invariably accompanied his master - including an attempt to circumnavigate the world, on which Magellan set off in 1519. This time the caravels went in the opposite direction - across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, - so that when the expedition reached East Asia in 1521, Henry became the first person in history to completely circumnavigate the globe.

No one knows where Black Henry comes from - he was probably captured and sold into slavery as a child by pirates from Sumatra - but when he arrived in the Philippines, he was surprised to find that locals speak his native language.

After the death of the commander, the expedition continued its journey, successfully completing a round-the-world trip under the command of Magellan's deputy, Juan Sebastian Elcano, a Basque by birth.

True, Black Henry was no longer on the ship. Elcano refused to honor his patron's last will promise to free Henry from slavery, so Henry decided to flee and was never seen again.

Thus, Juan Sebastian Elcano became the first man in history to circumnavigate the globe in one voyage.

He returned to Seville in September 1522. Four years earlier, five caravels set off to sea, but only one Victoria was able to get home. The ship was bursting with spices, but of the 264 people who originally went on a round-the-world trip with Ferdinand Magellan, only eighteen survived: scurvy, malnutrition and skirmishes with the natives dealt with the rest.

The Spanish king granted Elcano a coat of arms with the image of the globe and the motto: "You were the first to sail around me."

In modern times, Black Henry is considered a national hero by several southeastern nations.