Voyage into the unknown
MARGARET SMALL commends a new biography of Ferdinand Magellan that looks beyond the Portuguese explorer’s globe-circling achievements to reveal the man behind the myth
In Straits, we see a master of his craft at work. FernándezArmesto is arguably the leading scholar of our times in making the early European Age of Discovery accessible to a wider audience. In this book, he takes on the biography of Ferdinand Magellan, the Portuguese explorer often referred to as the world’s first circumnavigator (although he died en route), who set out on his last great voyage in 1519.
Fernández-Armesto draws on his vast knowledge of the wider context of European explorations: the geographical understanding and economic situation of the era. As he acknowledges, the first chapter – which particularly focuses on historical context – draws heavily on his book 1492: The Year Our World Began. But as a synthesis of the background to the Age of Discovery it is excellent, providing one of the clearest short guides to the forces that shaped the European drive for exploration. The author then moves on to probe the life, mindset and actions of Magellan himself, from childhood to death.
The book is built from the sources up, and here Fernández-Armesto shows his absolute command of the material, using a multiplicity of documents ranging from depositions of survivors captured by the Portuguese to official Spanish records. His linguistic capabilities are important here, too.
The sources are difficult to navigate; at points, the intricacies of both the voyage and the decision-making are almost impossible to discern. However, having highlighted the problems created by gaps and contradictions in the sources, Fernández-Armesto uses his own knowledge of the geography of the area to help the reader visualise and better understand the environment and context of the voyage through the strait now named after Magellan. He also expounds his theory of the navigator’s route across the Pacific; the evidence is too poor and contradictory to be certain of this route, but the author makes a convincing case. However, in addition to the helpful maps illustrating the book, I would have liked one more to demonstrate the route that Fernández-Armesto proposes for Magellan’s Pacific crossing.
Overall, the book provides a far better understanding of Magellan than any previous work. It comprehensively dismantles the heroic myth, and paints a well-rounded picture that is far from eulogistic. From these pages emerges the image of an irascible, egocentric, driven man. Magellan was, the author shows, a gambler, capable of treachery and vindictiveness, who would endure no criticism but who could also inspire staggering and enduring loyalty – particularly, though not exclusively, from ordinary seamen. He was determined to exert sole authority, and to compel obedience.
Fernández-Armesto shows clearly how far Magellan exceeded his remit in claiming sole charge of the expedition, effectively demoting his co-leader, the Spaniard Juan de Cartagena, whom he later marooned off the coast of Patagonia after an attempted mutiny. But we also discover how Magellan won support to overcome the mutineers and pursue his voyage, even though it was already doomed to failure – since it had already proved so long and difficult, it was demonstrably not a viable trade route to the spice islands.
The book’s only weakness is, perhaps, in failing to demonstrate clearly how and why the navigator won enduring support from so many, long after his naked ambition had led him to continue a disastrous voyage. That charming side of Magellan is the least clearly conveyed or understood.
Ferdinand Magellan was capable of treachery and vindictiveness, but he could also inspire staggering and enduring loyalty among his men