Magellan was a Sailin' Man: Song and Flash Animation!

My man Magellan, born in 1480,

Went to see the king in his court,¹

There his head was filled with thoughts of sailing,

wasn't long before he left shore.

Magellan...he was a sailin' man (Sailor Man!)

Soon, he was headed on his way south,

With a bunch of Spaniards aboard,²

Bumper sticker reading, "spice island or bust",

They were lookin’ for that tempting reward³

Magellan...he was a sailin' man (Sailor Man!)

Winter stole the Santiago from them,⁴

The Spaniard’s faith hung by a thread,

They thought mutiny was the only option,

Magellan cut off the leaders head.⁵

Magellan...he was a sailin' man (Sailor Man!)

Braving the tip of South America,

Was an imminent danger to face,⁶

If that wasn't bad, San Antonio left them,⁷

Magellan was in dire straits.

Eatin’ big rats, cow skin, sawdust too,

Scurvy it is said, ran rampant among the crew.⁸

Food was short, 19 died,

Stopped in Guam to save their hides.

Magellan...he was a sailin' man (Sailor Man!)

The Philippines were the next destination,

Sadly, they just couldn't get along.

Murdered by natives,⁹ my man Magellan died,

So now we're here howlin' this song.

up ¹Magellan was born in a Portuguese noble family, and at a young age served as a page in the King of Portugal’s court. He served the Portuguese king for many years, exploring new lands and warring against enemies. He fell out of favor of King Manuel, and in 1517 renounced his Portuguese citizenship. He convinced King Charles I to finance an expedition with the goal of reaching the Spice Islands by sailing west.

up ²The majority of the crew came from Spain, and in any case captains of the other ships below Magellan were Spanish, and harbored a deep distrust/jealousy of their Portuguese leader. This would lead to much strife throughout the expedition.

up ³The Portuguese controlled the eastward route to the East Indies, and the Spanish wanted a part of the lucrative spice trade. Magellan conjectured that the East Indies could be reached by sailing west, opening up the possibility of trade without Portuguese interference.

up ⁴During the winter, one of Magellan’s five ships (the Santiago) was driven ashore, rendering it useless.

up ⁵The Spanish officers that were part of the expedition started to organize a mutiny against Magellan because of the hardships they had already faced and possibly because of a conspiracy that had been planned before the voyage started. Magellan caught wind of the situation and swiftly executed punishment on the participants involved with planning the mutiny, marooning the ringleader and executing or imprisoning others.

up ⁶The tip of South America is treacherous, because of its many narrow, winding passages and its icy seas. Magellan accomplished quite a feat in navigating it.

up ⁷During the slow and dangerous process of sailing through the straits, the captain of the ship San Antonio deserted them and returned to Spain, taking the majority of the expeditions’ provisions with them. This disheartened the rest of the crew, and forced them to hunt and fish more vigorously in order to keep from starving.

up ⁸Scurvy is caused by a lack of vitamin C. The human body needs collagen, the material the binds cells together, and it forms an essential part of healing processes. Lack of vitamin C causes a shortage of collagen. This in turn causes internal bleeding and pain in the joints. Gums become softer and teeth loosen, making eating very painful.

up ⁹Magellan befriended a Philippine chieftain whom he converted to Christianity, and unwisely involved himself in conflicts with a rival chieftain. Magellan was killed during a battle between the rival chieftains.

Though Magellan was killed, his crew sailed on. The survivors divided themselves between two ships, burning the third, and sailed to the Spice Islands. After loading up with spices, they decided to have one ship sail west and one ship sail east in order to increase the chances of at least one ship returning to Spain. One ship tried to cross the Pacific again and was captured by the Portuguese. The other ship, the Victoria, successfully returned to Spain with eighteen surviving crew members. Interestingly enough, even though four of the original ships were lost, the spice on the remaining ship sold at such a high price that the expedition produced a profit.

Magellan’s expedition not only opened up another trade route, but in a sense conquered the seas for the Europeans. His fleet had sailed from one location and arrived at the same location without turning around. That's why "he was a sailin' man"!

Sources:
http://www.people.virginia.edu/~rjh9u/vitac.html
http://www.mariner.org/age/magellan.html
http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761570410/Ferdinand_Magellan.html
World Book Encyclopedia

Credits:
Exaggerated deep vocals: JaredT
Other vocals: CalebP
Guitars: JaredT and CalebP

We would like to thank:
Ibanez guitars (RG320FM)
Digitech (RP200A)
Zoom (505)
And Mr. N., our teacher who brings fun into learning about history.