Almost Around the World

April 27, 1581 - Today was the day the Portuguese explorer, Ferdinand Magellan, died at the Battle of Mactan.

An accomplished sailor, Magellan took 5 ships around the southern tip of South America and entered into a vast body of water that he named the "Peaceful Sea," what we now call the Pacific. Unfortunately for Magellan, he never made it past the Philippine islands.

The trouble began a month earlier when Magellan and his fleet landed on Homonhon island and started insisting that the natives convert to Christianity. Most of the locals acquiesced, but one chief named Datu Laulapu was like, "Uh, no thanks."

So Magellan and 49 members of his crew showed up on the problematic chief's island of Mactan armed with swords, axes, crossbows, and guns. The rocky coastline prevented them from landing on the beach. Instead, all these guys in body armor had to jump in waist-deep water and wade through the crashing waves. Another big problem: the chief had rallied over a thousand of his warriors to swoop down on the invaders.

Magellan's boat and crew immediately started taking a beating. The natives showered them with bamboo spears and stones. After struggling to reach land, Magellan hoped to start a diversion by lighting some of the islanders' houses on fire. This backfired terribly, as the natives unleashed their fury with an overwhelming show of force. Most of Magellan's crew started a hasty retreat, but the captain and a small band of his men tried to fight off the assault. Magellan took a bamboo spear in the arm and a sword wound to his leg. The final blow may have been from a poison arrow.

In the end, Magellan died watching what remained of his crew paddling out to sea. One of his underlings, Juan Sebastian Elcano, would eventually take command of the fleet and complete the first circumnavigation of the globe. Magellan usually gets credit for being the first guy to sail around the world, but technically it was Elcano.