Ferdinand Magellan was a brave explorer who lived a long time ago. He is famous because he was the first person to lead a trip around the world. Magellan was born in Portugal in 1480. When he grew up, he worked for the king as a sailor.
One day, Magellan had a big idea. He wanted to find a new way to the Spice Islands, which are in Asia. At that time, spices were very valuable. Many people wanted them. But getting to the Spice Islands was hard and dangerous.
Magellan thought there might be a better route to get there. In 1519, Magellan started his journey. He had five ships and many men. They sailed from Spain and went across the Atlantic Ocean. After some time, they reached South America. Magellan led his crew down the coast, looking for a way to the other ocean.
After many months, they found a passage, now known as the Strait of Magellan. This passage took them to the Pacific Ocean. The journey across the Pacific Ocean was very difficult. The ocean was very big, and they did not see land for many weeks. Many of Magellan’s men became sick because there wasn’t enough fresh food and water.
Finally, they reached the Philippines. Unfortunately, Magellan was killed in a battle there. Even though Magellan died, his journey went on. One of his ships, the Victoria, continued. It sailed all the way back to Spain in 1522.
Only 18 men returned, but they had done something amazing. They proved the Earth was round by sailing all the way around it. Magellan’s adventure was important because it changed how people viewed the world. It showed that different places were connected and that the world was a big but reachable place.
Vocabulary
| explorer | felfedező |
| to lead a trip | utazást vezetni |
| valuable | értékes |
| route | útvonal |
| crew | legénység |
| passage | átjáró, átkelés |
| battle | csata |
| to be connected | kapcsolatban lenni |
| reachable | elérhető |
