Quotes from Laurence Bergreen

for the merchants and chandlers of the Canaries, practiced

Portugal was the first European nation to exploit the sea for spices and the global empire that went along with them.

Only Seville was capable of providing Magellan with the technology, the labor, and the financial resources

were inspired by Ptolemy. Had Magellan comprehended the size of the Pacific

swindled Magellan by falsifying their bills of lading. They vastly overstated the amount of supplies they sold to the fleet

its currents, storms, and reefs, it is unlikely that he would have dared to mount an expedition.

They vastly overstated the amount of supplies they sold to the fleet

The quest began as early as 1419, when Prince Henry, the third son of João I and his English wife, Philippa

and what they did sell was in poor condition. This type of cheating was common, and very dangerous to the expeditions

Known as Prince Henry the Navigator, he rarely went to sea himself; instead, he inspired others to conquer the ocean.

without the Pacific Ocean to inform his calculations, the estimated length of his route came to only half the actual distance.

whose lives depended on the food acquired in the Canaries.

predicted that it would take him at most two years to reach the Spice Islands and return to Spain with ships bulging with precious cargo.

Although Magellan was normally meticulous in preparing the ships, this time he was too trusting of his suppliers.

Verily those giants stand straighter than a horse, and are very jealous of their wives," he observed.

he would have to do was find a way to get around or through South America

After three busy days in one of Tenerife's harbors, Pigafetta wrote, "We departed thence and came to a port called Monterose

and he would be at the doorstep of the Indies.

Eventually, Magellan gave the Indians a name—Pathagoni, a neologism

This was nearly the same mistake that Columbus had made over and over

remained two days to furnish ourselves with pitch, which is a thing very necessary for ships.

who later gave the name to the whole region, known ever since as Patagonia.

and accomplished mariners dared to venture into the Ocean Sea, as the Atlantic Ocean was then known.

during his four voyages. And it was a mistake that would be corrected only at the cost of great suffering