THE LUISTANIAN-HISPANIC RIVALRY

IN MARITIME DISCOVERIES & THE

MAGELLAN EXPEDITION
 LUISTANIAN-HISPANIC
RIVALRY IN MARITIME
Portugal was the first country to use innovation in seamanship and boatbuilding with the establishment by Henry The
Navigator of the first navigational school on Sagres Point in 1419.
Portugese Pursued their dream of reaching the East using a direct all-water route.
Paolo Toscanelia was a Florentine mapmaker who wanted to discover a westward sea route to India.
Christopher Columbus made landfall in Guanahani Island on October of 1492 and two weeks later on the coast of Cuba.
His voyage however caused misapprehension and dispute between Spain and Portugal.
King John insisted that Columbus voyage was an invasion by Spanish on his sphere of influence.
Pope Alexander VI mediated between Spain and Portugal.
On May of 1493, the Inter Caetera and Eximiae Devotions were issued, giving Spain rights on any new lands discovered
by Columbus equivalent to Portuguese territories. The Portuguese, however, did not agree so they worked on a
revision.
The spheres of influence of the two superpowers of the 15 th century was finally fixed by an imaginary line that was
drawn from the north to south poles., one hundred leagues or 5.57 km in Spanish legua, from Spain to the west of the
Cape Verde Islands. Those lands that lie in the east will be Portugal's and also the territories west of Spain. Both
Nations agreed on spreading the doctrines of Christianity in their newly found lands.
On 1494, the treaty of Tordesillas was signed. This partitioned the non-Christian world into two spheres of influence. It
was faithfully followed by the papal bull of 1493 which means that the New World will be given to Spain, however the
treaty shifted the line 370 leagues further west giving Portugal Africa, India and Brazil. This was a gain for the
Portuguse part.
 THE MAGELLAN EXPEDITION
Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese serving the Spanish royalty. He saw action for his country in the East,
first in India with Alfonso de Almeida in 1505 and in the fall of Malacca in 1511. He returned to his home
country after seven years of active service in the East. He fought in the North African campaign against the
Moors. As part of his voyage of 1511-12, he had visited the Spice Islands.
Ruy Faleiro was a brilliant cosmographer that pushed Magellan to serve Spain for he was not in good terms
with the Lisbon Court.
On March 17, 1521 Magellan reached the Philippines.
On April 1521, he was defeated and killed in the battle between Lapulapu and Zula, the chiefs of Mactan.
Only one of his ships had made the journey back to Spain in 1522. The Victoria, led by Juan Sebastian del
Cano, reached Seville in 1522, with 18 European survivors and 4 Malays, out of the original 192 men.
The voyage was a test of human endurance. The lack of food and lack of vitamin C resulted in many deaths
of the crew due to scurvy.
Magellan did not live to see the first-known voyage in history to circumnavigate the globe. It was through
this trip the Europeans discovered the Philippines. It was also proved that the Earth is round, the East Indies
could be reached by crossing the Pacific Ocean, and it showed that the Americas were separated from Asia.