Around the World in 1080 Days

Two weeks. We’ve been back in Montpellier for two weeks. We’ve been having a good time, exploring our new location and linking up with friends in town. And we’re planning some trips, including one to Paris later this week. But, we’re not really done yet with Sevilla…

Archivo de Indias, the Archives of the Indies, a magnificent 16th C building in its own right, houses the Magellan exhibition.

Just before we left Spain we took in a special exhibit about Magellan and his astonishing voyage around the world. This, you see, is the 500^th anniversary of his trip. And, he left from—and his expedition (what was left of it) returned to—Sevilla. So it’s completely appropriate that the city of Sevilla celebrate this anniversary.

Sad looking lion in the garden in front of los Archivo de Indias

What do you know of Magellan? He was the first to circumnavigate the globe, he was killed somewhere along the way and didn’t finish the voyage. There’s a GPS company named after him. Also, I think, an investment fund. Quick: what was the name of the captain who did finish the voyage? Yeah, he was pretty important in the whole affair, but no one remembers him.

The exhibition was held, appropriately enough, in Archivo de Indias, the Archives of the Indies, the building housing all the documentation of Spain’s explorations (and exploitations) of the New World. We’d seen this building often enough (it’s too big to miss!) but had never gone inside. What an amazing place! Open, expansive, colorful marble everywhere. A broad, beautiful staircase leads to the expansive exhibition area upstairs.

Paula admires the marble.

Nobody does excess like the classic Spanish; this is a bit restrained for them!

Something I didn’t know, but which makes sense, is that the Spanish government had a whole department devoted to the logistics of ocean voyages, which had become quite numerous once Columbus showed the riches to be had. It was this department that selected the ships, equipped them, and found the men to sail them, all based on the considerable experience gained in selecting and equipping voyages into both the known and unknown over the past few decades. It was this department that took on the task of selecting and equipping Magellan’s ships. And, of course, buried in the basement archives were the records of every length of cord, spar, and barrel of water purchased or re-purposed for this expedition.

Original crew list, from the archives

An important aspect of this voyage that never occurred to me is the social and political context. The world had been divided up by Spain and Portugal, the major European powers of the day. Without actually knowing what was there, a line had been drawn on the globe by the monarchs of the two countries and approved by the pope. Spain had everything to be found on one side of the line, and Portugal on the other. (And that is why most of Central and South America speaks Spanish today, and Brazil speaks Portuguese—that land mass was on Portugal’s side of the line).

Last Will and Testament of Ferdinand Magellan, Notarized

The rivalry between the two countries was intense. Vast commercial interests—the spices of the Indies—were at stake. And these spices, including pepper, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger and mace, were like the petroleum of today. Riches and power for those that had it, second nation status for those that didn’t. The Portuguese were fabulous navigators, and while exploring their part of the world had found a route to what was then known as the Spice Islands (the Maluku Islands in eastern Indonesia). But that was their route, and Spain was NOT invited to use it! Spain had a tremendous economic incentive, then, to find its own way to these incredibly lucrative lands.

So along comes Ferdinand Magellan. Portuguese by birth and training, he switched sides and citizenship and started sailing for the Spanish. He had a great idea and an incredible plan—leave the Portuguese alone, and get to the islands by sailing west instead of east. The world, after all, was round; that had been known to the ancient Greeks. What he didn’t know, though, was the actual size of the earth… and that there was a whole ocean that he was not aware of. Still, he convinced the Spanish, and they started gearing up for his expedition. Unfortunately, distrust due to Magellan’s country of birth would prove of be a problem for some of the captains and many of the men in the crew.

Still, on 20 September 1519 the five ships and 175 men left the docks of Sevilla.

Models of the five ships: Santiago, San Antonio, Conception, Trinidad, and Victoria (although not in that order!)

The exhibition, in a vast darkened room, started with models of the five ships, each with a brief description of size, capabilities, and cost (and make no mistake, this was a commercial enterprise, funded by investors, and every maravedi* was counted). 

Marvedi: once a currency, by the 16^th century it was an accounting term used as a common denominator among all the currencies in use in the world at the time. Its value in today’s currencies is hard to determine.

Laid out on the carpeted floor of the display space were lines—five at first—indicating the course of the ships. The lines wound around the space, moving from room to room. Periodically there were date markers: DÍA/DAY 36; and occasionally small silver models of the ships. Along the route the number of small models, and the number of the lines, diminished as the ships were lost or destroyed.

Lighted, glass-fronted alcoves in the darkened rooms highlighted various aspects of the long and often frightening journey. There are some astonishing original documents on display, such as a page from the original crew’s list, and a notarized copy of the last will and testament of Ferdinand Magellan—documents from the massive archives in the basement of this same building.

Here we are, day 46, still with all five ships...

Another view of the scene on the wharf of 16th C Sevilla

 We track the expedition’s progress along the east coast of South America, the loss of the Santiago due to mutiny, and the explorations looking for a passage to the (the as-yet unsuspected--and therefore unnamed) Pacific Ocean. Another ship, the San Antonio, disappears before a passage is found. Thirty-four days after entering the straits the remaining three ships emerge into what even today is considered a frightening and formidable obstacle, known as the Southern Ocean. Still, on the day they managed to make it out of the narrow strait the sea looked pretty calm, so Magellan called this new ocean the Pacific. The joy of finding a passage soon turned to dismay as the ships and crew faced 40 straight days of constant storms, with high winds and massive seas.

The four ships enter the strait, where they'll be for 37 more days.

Two months later the starving and badly beat-up crew came upon an island, and eventually made it to what today is known as the Philippines. It was here that Magellan was killed. He foolishly got involved in local politics and attacked a tribe as part of an effort to convert them to Christianity.  

The expedition crossing the open ocean.

The expedition went on without him, of course, but eventually they had to lose another ship. Starvation, disease, and massive crew dissatisfaction left them without the manpower for all three ships, so one, the Conception, was abandoned and burned. Later the Trinidad was attacked by Portuguese and wrecked, leaving only the Victoria to finally arrive in the Spice Islands.

These little (6 inch?) sculptures throughout the exhibition highlighted the fears and difficulties faced by the crew: Cold (top left); Wonder and Fear of the night sky; the Boredom of being becalmed (lower left).

Finally, the Victoria headed across the Indian Ocean laden with cloves en route home. It took them another 3-1/2 months to get to the Cape of Good Hope at the tip of Africa. At this point things took on a new and more serious obstacle: while these waters were well known, and the route back to Spain clear, this was the part of the world that had been given to the Portuguese, and they would not be kind to a Spanish ship.

The Victoria rounding Cape of Good Hope

Another six weeks on the open ocean and the Victoria approached the Cape Verde Islands, commanded by the Portuguese. Desperate for water and other supplies, the captain sent the ship’s boat ashore. It was immediately impounded by Portuguese officials, and so the Victoria reluctantly left to avoid capture.

What was at stake was not just the extremely valuable cargo of spices, which the Portuguese would have loved to take, but the immensely important reports of the entire voyage, including the navigational directions for the all-important straits at the tip of South America. And, of course, the fact that they had found a route to the Indies by sailing west, not east—proof that the world was, indeed, round, and much bigger than anyone had suspected. And, last but certainly not least, their very lives may well have been lost if captured.

Nothing to do but push on to Spain. So, finally, on 5 September 1522, a single ship out of the five that left, carrying 18 men of the 175 who had started out, sailed up the Guadalquivir River to the docks of Sevilla. Commanding the ship was Juan Sebastian de Elcano, a name that deserves to be recognized as much as that of Magellan.

Model of the Victoria, captained by Elcano. TIny little thing....

Eventually some of the crew members who had been left at various ports did return to Spain; three years later the total number of returned men reached 35 or so (including the dozen men from the Victoria that had been abandoned to the Portuguese in Cape Verde.)

Interestingly enough, the voyage was considered a commercial success, if we overlook the loss of most of the men. Accounts show that the cargo of the one ship, all the cloves carried by the Victoria, sold for slightly more than the cost of equipping the entire original expedition. The more than 8.3 million maravedis spent/invested returned about 5.4% over three years. Not great by today’s standards, but then, there were those sailing directions for a new, non-Portuguese route to the riches of the Spice Islands…

The accounts. Don't know what a marvedi is worth, but 8 million of them is a lot!

We left the exhibition stunned and amazed. It was extraordinary, in both presentation and content. And this was what, our fourth visit to Sevilla? We’ve accumulated at least eight months in this historic and vibrant city, and still find it full of surprises!

What’s next? In a few days we’ll make a quick trip to Paris, to catch the closing of its Leonardo da VInci exhibition. We’ll ride the TGV (Tres Grand Vitesse—High Speed Train) from Montpellier and get a room for a few days. We got night-time tickets: our time slot is 5AM! Should be fun. Read all about it here, soon!