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Magellan & Elcano: The First Voyage Around the World | 4K Documentary — Transcript

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0:04September 1519
0:07The explorer Ferdinand Magellan sets out
0:10on an expedition that will change the
0:12way we see the world forever.
0:17As Columbus before him, he too is
0:19seeking a western sea route to Asia and
0:21the legendary Spice Islands that hold
0:24the promise of huge fortunes.
0:27For Europeans, spices from the other end
0:29of the world are worth their weight in
0:31gold.
0:34Magellan's obsession leads his crew to
0:37distant shores on which no European has
0:40ever set foot.
0:42In the end, the tragic journey will turn
0:45into a triumphant testimony to the human
0:47drive to explore the unknown
0:50and mark the beginning of a global
0:52colonization whose terrible consequences
0:55are felt even today.
1:00After three long years, only a handful
1:03of survivors return to Spain
1:05on a ship laden with spices and carrying
1:07final proof that it is possible to
1:10circle the globe.
1:12After this seminal accomplishment, the
1:14world would never be the same again.
1:31Seville at the beginning of the 16th
1:33century,
1:34starting point for the Spanish
1:36expeditions into the recently discovered
1:38New World.
1:49The Portuguese soldier and seafarer
1:51Ferdinand Magellan tried in vain to
1:53convince the king of Portugal of a new
1:56sea route to the Spice Islands.
2:03Embittered, he now offers his services
2:06to his arch enemy, the Spanish king.
2:10In Spain, he finally finds financiers
2:12for his costly venture.
2:14Magellan's charisma and energy have
2:16convinced them.
2:21And he's determined to make the most of
2:23this chance.
2:28The historic shipyard of Seville still
2:30bears witness to the dimensions of
2:32seafaring ventures of old.
2:35>> The 16th century is an age of
2:36transformation. Nicolaus Copernicus has
2:38just placed the world not at the center
2:40of the universe, but as part of the
2:42mechanics of a much greater solar
2:44system. Christopher Columbus has
2:46discovered America, although he thinks
2:48it's still India.
2:49And Martin Luther is challenging the
2:51universal church of Western Europe. So,
2:53this constellation of little parochial
2:55places has suddenly woken up and
2:57realized there's a whole wide world out
2:59there to be discovered.
3:01And the 16th century will be the age of
3:03discovery.
3:08>> But this discovery is all about power
3:11and money. Scientific expeditions in the
3:13modern sense do not yet exist. But
3:16still, scientists benefit from the
3:18hunger for profit of kings, bankers, and
3:20merchants.
3:22And cartographers benefit the most.
3:28Magellan is convinced he's going to find
3:30an unknown passageway at the tip of
3:32South America.
3:33But what makes him so certain?
3:38The historic museum in Frankfurt is the
3:40proud owner of a globe that had been
3:42made 2 years before Magellan's journey.
3:45A puzzle that to this day has been
3:47confounding scientists.
3:51>> In South America, in America, we see a
3:53route going between the tip of the
3:55continent and the landmass of
3:57Antarctica.
3:59This passage way is puzzling. How is
4:02this route going around South America
4:04possible on a globe from 1515,
4:08even though Magellan didn't take this
4:10route until 5 years later?
4:17>> With every ship returning from the newly
4:19discovered worlds, certainty about the
4:21true shape of the earth grows.
4:28A sea route to Asia is the new great
4:31challenge of the 16th century.
4:33Whoever controls this route controls the
4:35most lucrative trade in those days.
4:40The Spanish king does not want to miss
4:42out on that opportunity.
4:48Today, the Moluccas, known as the Spice
4:51Islands, belong to Indonesia. This hub
4:54of the spice trade consists of two
4:56islands,
4:57Ternate and Tidore. The bigger one
5:00measures barely 20 km across, but still
5:04for centuries their treasures have been
5:06the cause of bloody wars and cabals.
5:11This is where the spice grows that
5:13Europeans so desire. Above all, nutmeg
5:16and cloves.
5:23In Seville, Magellan is pressing ahead
5:25with furnishing the fleet. Five ships
5:28are fitted out and a crew mustered. A
5:30seasoned sailor from the Basque region
5:33is also on board.
5:34>> Next.
5:37Name.
5:38>> Sebastián Elcano.
5:40>> Home and training. Bosun. From Guetaria.
5:47>> Little does Elcano know what role
5:49destiny wants him to play on this
5:51voyage.
5:53It is an expedition he will embark on as
5:55a simple bosun.
5:57But in the end, he will be solely
5:59responsible for bringing it home
6:01successfully.
6:08Sebastian Elcano hails from the Basque
6:10region in northern Spain.
6:19>> We know that he came from a very
6:21influential family in Getaria that was
6:23in the ship business and sea trade,
6:25outfitting expeditions, organizing
6:27transports.
6:29And that's no coincidence, since 80% of
6:32all ships leaving Seville in the 16th
6:34century bound for America were built in
6:36the Basque region.
6:44>> In Pasaia, not far away from Elcano's
6:46hometown, a unique opportunity now
6:49presents itself to decode the mysteries
6:52of shipbuilding in the age of discovery.
6:55A team of historians and shipbuilders is
6:57reconstructing a galleon from the 16th
7:00century.
7:03>> These ships were used for the most
7:05fantastic trips and adventures in the
7:07past. You know, 500 years ago, the only
7:10way humankind could connect with the
7:12world was with ships, because there was
7:14no other way of transportation or
7:17communication like nowadays.
7:19So, this was really a magical object. It
7:22was like a floating church or cathedral,
7:25you know, it was the most sophisticated
7:26object that mankind could build. And
7:30still,
7:31uh it comes from few trees, you know?
7:34You go to the forest with an axe,
7:36you cut the trees, and then with your
7:38work and your knowledge, you are able to
7:40build what is uh cons- could be
7:42considered a spaceship.
7:47>> The forest bear witness to the impact of
7:49shipbuilding throughout the centuries.
7:55>> As the Basque country is small, they had
7:57to
7:58manage the the forests very wisely. And
8:02so they were keeping the trees in the
8:04shape they needed. So they leave them
8:07grow upwards like 2-3 m and then from
8:11that height they would grow branches in
8:14the shape they needed for shipbuilding.
8:24And now I cannot come to a forest
8:27without looking at the trees like
8:30looking for naval timber on the
8:31branches.
8:37>> Whenever possible, the shipbuilders from
8:39Pasai used the traditional techniques of
8:41the 16th century. Not only in the
8:44construction of the ship itself.
8:50The iron nails or the ropes were also
8:53made with historically accurate tools.
8:56Just like those builders 500 years ago
8:58who outfitted a fleet that could sail
9:01around the world.
9:04>> In the 16th century the entire coast was
9:08fulfilled with with shipyards.
9:10It was the main specialty, you know,
9:13because of the iron mines, because of
9:15the oak forest. So it was a society that
9:18was meant to build ships in that time.
9:21Hundreds of people highly specialized
9:24building several boats and ships at the
9:26same time. You know, and one of them was
9:29the now Victoria that was probably built
9:32very quickly. I would say maybe 3
9:34months.
9:37>> On the 20th of September, five
9:39expedition ships finally leave Spain.
9:45Magellan has negotiated a detailed
9:47contract with the Spanish king that
9:49guaranteed him a handsome share in the
9:51expected profits and made him captain
9:54general of the fleet.
10:00But the sailors questioned his
10:01authority.
10:04Right from the beginning, tensions
10:05develop between the Portuguese captain
10:08and his mostly Spanish crew.
10:11Magellan didn't let anybody in on the
10:13details of his plans, neither his simple
10:16sailors nor the Spanish officers.
10:19Not least for fear of espionage since
10:22the Portuguese were determined to thwart
10:24the Spanish expedition to the Spice
10:26Islands.
10:33Magellan is sailing in treacherous
10:36waters.
10:37Ever since Columbus discovered a
10:38completely unknown continent, Spain and
10:41Portugal have become bitter adversaries
10:44in the fight for global dominance.
10:47And they didn't dilly long with fighting
10:49over contested borders in individual
10:52areas. Under the Treaty of the
10:54Tordesillas, brokered by the Pope, they
10:56simply divided the world into east and
10:58west, in two hemispheres halved by a
11:01line that runs right down the Atlantic.
11:09While this demarcation in the Atlantic
11:12clearly divides all territories
11:13discovered so far in Europe, Africa, and
11:16America, nobody knows exactly what the
11:19situation is on the other side of the
11:21globe. And that's exactly where you
11:23would find the Spice Islands. So, this
11:26line carries dramatic consequences.
11:28Since both Spain and Portugal lay claim
11:31to the Moluccas, and their riches.
11:34Magellan's mission is to find a direct
11:37route to the islands via the Spanish
11:39half of the world.
11:49Magellan is already familiar with Asia.
11:51As a young soldier, he fought under
11:53Portuguese colors in the conquest of
11:55Malacca, an important trading post near
11:58today's Singapore.
12:05He brought a Malay slave home from this
12:07voyage, Enrique, who accompanied him for
12:11the rest of his life.
12:18While Magellan returns home without
12:20having seen the Spice Islands, a friend
12:22and brother-in-arms, Francisco Serrano,
12:25stays behind in a world that to
12:27Europeans has all the alluring makings
12:30of a paradise.
12:31And he stays in touch with Magellan,
12:33sending letters from the other side of
12:35the globe.
12:40>> These letters are enormously important.
12:42There is one letter where Magellan asks
12:44Serrano to wait for him. He didn't know
12:46how he would get there, via Portugal or
12:48Castile, but he would come at any cost.
12:51Plus, the letters also tell of the
12:53riches in the Moluccas in the exotic
12:55islands, this paradise where Serrano
12:57lives. And for Magellan, that probably
12:59added to the attraction.
13:06>> Finally, Magellan's fleet finds the
13:08winds to carry them across the Atlantic.
13:15Magellan changed his course off the Cape
13:17Verde Islands,
13:19and as always without consulting the
13:20other captains, continued southeast
13:23instead of heading west directly for
13:25Brazil.
13:29If he wants to lose other ships hunting
13:30him or hopes for more fortunate winds,
13:33we do not know.
13:35Both reasons would have been accepted by
13:37the crew, but Magellan's condescending
13:40silence destroys their confidence in him
13:43as their leader.
13:51He reaches South America after 2 months
13:53and another 2 months later, he believes
13:56he has realized his dreams.
13:58A huge water passageway opens up towards
14:02the west.
14:09Magellan explores the long-awaited
14:11passage for 15 days. Could it really be
14:14that easy?
14:15Is this the long-desired path to the
14:18riches of the Spice Islands?
14:21>> Captain,
14:23they sent me to request you to come up
14:26on deck.
14:48>> Magellan has gambled everything on
14:51finding this passage to the Pacific,
14:54but the water on which the ship sails is
14:56not an ocean.
15:01>> Magellan John was disappointed to taste
15:04fresh water, a sign that they were in a
15:06huge mouth of a river, denying them a
15:08passage. They had to turn around. Today,
15:12we know it was the Rio de la Plata,
15:14where seafarers had been before and said
15:16they saw no land, so it had to be a
15:18passage, something Magellan also
15:20assumed.
15:24>> And so the puzzle of the route on the
15:26Schöner Globe is finally solved. The
15:28Portuguese seafarers mistook the huge
15:31mouth of the Rio de la Plata for the
15:33southern coast of the South American
15:34continent. And the cartographers of yore
15:38drew that belief into their maps and
15:40their globes. A disaster for Magellan.
15:44>> It can't be.
15:49It can't be that it's all for nothing.
15:57The charts are wrong.
15:59Forgeries, maybe.
16:02But the passage does exist.
16:07It must exist.
16:11>> Magellan is pushing his fleet farther
16:14and farther into uncharted worlds.
16:17No sign of a passage. With every bay
16:19they explore, the disappointment grows.
16:22The climate becomes colder and rougher.
16:24Winter has begun in the southern
16:26hemisphere.
16:34Never before have Europeans sailed so
16:36far into the south.
16:38Icy winds from Antarctica are hard on
16:40the crew.
16:43They've all stopped believing in
16:44Magellan's sea route to the promised
16:46Spice Islands and their tropical
16:47beaches.
16:52To everybody's despair, Magellan makes
16:54another ruthless decision.
16:58>> So at the end of the first year's
16:59voyage, they've reached the Bay of San
17:00Julian down on the south coast of
17:02America, and Magellan has to tell his
17:04people who are exhausted, weary, and
17:07slightly frightened at being beyond the
17:09map
17:11they're going to have to stay there for
17:12the winter. They're going to have to
17:13overwinter in an inhospitable,
17:15unpleasant place when it would be so
17:17much easier to just turn around and go
17:19home.
17:20This is what leadership looks like. He
17:22has to persuade these people, many of
17:24whom don't trust him, a lot of whom
17:26don't like him, that he's right, that
17:29the King of Spain has given him
17:30authority to do this, and that if they
17:32don't do as they're told, he will punish
17:34them.
17:37>> In the Bay of San Julian, the situation
17:40comes to a head.
17:42A mutiny breaks out, which Magellan and
17:45a handful of loyal allies crush with
17:47ruthless brutality.
17:49Magellan has the ringleader of the
17:51mutiny executed.
17:55Sebastian Elcano joined the mutiny and
17:58is awaiting Magellan's sentence with 40
18:00other sailors.
18:10>> Elcano supports this mutiny against
18:12Magellan. We know that.
18:14And we also know how this mutiny ends.
18:18It looks as if Elcano was demoted, but
18:21unlike others, spared of any severe
18:23punishment.
18:24This was quite reasonable since Magellan
18:26needed the experienced sailors who knew
18:29how to navigate.
18:31And among those were the so-called
18:32masters.
18:34And Elcano was such a master sailor and
18:37knew how to navigate such ships.
18:40And so, he may have been demoted, but
18:43he's not killed.
18:45But naturally, relationships were
18:47damaged and at a low.
18:59>> Sebastian Elcano's demotion is the
19:01reason he disappears from any official
19:03records.
19:04At this moment, no one could foresee the
19:07dramatic turn of events destiny has in
19:09store for him.
19:14The crew is going to wait out the winter
19:16for 7 months in this inhospitable
19:19wasteland.
19:21Everyone is relieved when Magellan
19:23finally orders their departure.
19:25A year has passed since they left Spain.
19:28Magellan knows if the passage is not
19:30found soon, everything will have been
19:33for naught.
19:41Only 2 weeks after they left their
19:42winter camp, another broad and craggy
19:45sea passage opens up towards the west.
19:48Magellan sends two scouting ships to
19:50explore the unknown waterway.
19:52Tensions run high as everybody waits for
19:55the ships to return.
20:05Magellan knows this is his last chance.
20:08Another disappointment would not go down
20:10well with the crew.
20:19>> Senhor,
20:20you understand what this means?
20:23>> Yes.
20:26We've just found the passage.
20:41>> In fact, it's an extremely happy moment
20:44for Magellan. Of course, he was
20:46extremely excited about it. I mean,
20:48there were rebellions and mutinies, and
20:50he really had his share of troubles
20:52caused by nature itself, but also by his
20:54own crew.
20:56And so, at this moment he was vindicated
20:58as a good captain because he has led his
21:01men to a good destination that can make
21:04them rich. Basically, they are at the
21:06doorstep to wealth, and that's why he
21:09was very very happy.
21:17>> But this happiness doesn't last long.
21:19After another scouting mission, the San
21:21Antonio and her crew have gone missing
21:24without a trace.
21:26She was the biggest ship in the fleet
21:27carrying indispensable equipment and
21:29vital provisions.
21:39>> Without the San Antonio, we're doomed.
21:41We're almost out of provisions.
21:44>> Are you all suggesting that you want to
21:45give up now?
21:47How dare you to even think about it?
21:52>> What Magellan doesn't know is that the
21:54San Antonio has deserted.
21:58>> How can you even think of giving up?
22:03Now,
22:07let us pray for the San Antonio and her
22:09departed men.
22:12>> The desertion of the San Antonio has two
22:15terrible consequences. Magellan runs out
22:17of food, but more importantly, it gets
22:20back to Spain,
22:21there's a court-martial, and the
22:23Portuguese hear that Magellan has
22:26entered the Pacific. From this point on,
22:28Magellan is a hunted man. The Portuguese
22:31are out to stop him, and they are not
22:33going to do anything other than kill
22:34every last person on board this
22:36expedition.
22:37This is a secret they need to preserve.
22:39The Spice Islands are the source of
22:41their wealth. They will kill everybody.
22:46>> Magellan has to cope with another
22:48setback. A ship runs aground.
22:51With the three remaining ships, he sails
22:53slowly through the rocky maze of the
22:54passage later named the Straits of
22:57Magellan.
22:59Now, the chronicler, named Antonio
23:01Pigafetta, has time to commit all his
23:03observations to paper.
23:09>> Pigafetta's story is of great interest
23:11to us
23:12since he is the first to write about the
23:15indigenous people he met up north in
23:18Patagonia.
23:22And also, when passing through the
23:23strait, Magellan describes signs of
23:26people in Tierra del Fuego. He saw fire
23:29and columns of smoke everywhere.
23:35>> And so he gives this barren stretch of
23:37land its name, Tierra del Fuego, land of
23:40fire.
23:45To this day, Magellan is celebrated as
23:48the discoverer of Tierra del Fuego and
23:50the passageway.
23:53But only few people talk about the fate
23:56of the indigenous peoples living here,
23:58the Kawesqar, Selk'nam, or Yaghan.
24:07>> We are not celebrating the 500-year
24:10anniversary.
24:13Since it marks the ensuing disappearance
24:16of ancient civilizations.
24:19Rape, death, arrests, poisoning, and the
24:24vanishing of ethnic identities. And this
24:27place was not called Magellan's.
24:30But Kawesqar, a part of the Kawesqar
24:33land.
24:39The Europeans have not discovered
24:41anything at all.
24:44They kidnapped the locals and dragged
24:46them to various places,
24:49even Germany,
24:50to be part of a human zoo.
24:59>> But own compatriots also paid a steep
25:02price for the discovery of the passage
25:04into the Pacific.
25:10At first, the newly discovered route was
25:12of pivotal importance for the Spanish.
25:1550 years after Magellan, they assemble a
25:18fleet of 3,000 sailors and 23 ships to
25:21establish a foothold here at the edge of
25:24the known world.
25:29>> And then the fatal ending.
25:31Within the space of a few years, they
25:32were all dead.
25:35There were two survivors, and in the
25:37end, only one of them was left.
25:41They christened the city Port of Hunger,
25:43Famine.
25:45Different designations were used on
25:47maps, but they all referred to either
25:49hunger, bad luck, failure, or misery.
25:58>> Magellan doesn't waste any time thinking
25:59about settling down.
26:02Facing dwindling provisions and the loss
26:04of two ships, he wants to move on as
26:06fast as possible. And indeed, after 4
26:09weeks, he's made it.
26:11Before his eyes stretches the vastness
26:14of the Pacific.
26:19>> The discovery of the passage
26:21faces Magellan with a huge problem. He
26:24thinks the islands that he's heading for
26:26are a few weeks away. So, instead of
26:29stopping and gathering as much provision
26:32as he can on the coast, he decides to
26:34take a risk. They'll just set off.
26:36They'll go now. And it'll be fine.
26:39They'll arrive in the Spice Islands. His
26:40friend lives there. They will pick up
26:42supplies. It'll be good. So, he takes a
26:44big decision, and this time it's the
26:47wrong decision, and it's going to cost a
26:49lot of men their lives. It's going to
26:51compromise the expedition and it could
26:54have led to an absolute disaster.
26:59>> Magellan estimated distance of 600
27:02nautical miles to the Spice Islands.
27:05However, the actual distance is 30 times
27:07that.
27:0920,000 nautical miles lie between him
27:12and his destination.
27:17And so the Pacific turns into a
27:19graveyard for Magellan's crew.
27:24Pigafetta, the voyage's chronicler,
27:25writes,
27:27"And we ate old biscuit turned to
27:29powder,
27:30all full of worms and stinking of urine,
27:33which the rats had made on it, having
27:35eaten the good.
27:37And we drank water impure and yellow.
27:39And every time someone had drawn his
27:41last breath,
27:42Magellan quickly committed their bodies
27:44to the sea. He probably feared some of
27:46his crew could turn into cannibals."
27:59As before with the location of the
28:01passage, his estimations are completely
28:03off. He simply can't understand why,
28:06after 2 months in the scorching heat of
28:08the Pacific, there still is no land
28:11ahead. Where are the so eagerly awaited
28:14Moluccas Islands?
28:19>> It can't be that far away.
28:23>> Guided by the sun and the stars,
28:25Magellan can determine the latitude of
28:27his position. He knows relatively well
28:29his exact position north or south on the
28:32globe. What he cannot determine is his
28:35west-east position.
28:37>> And this proves critical in Magellan's
28:39voyage because as he leaves the Magellan
28:42Straits, he thinks he's only a few days,
28:44maybe a week or two away from the Spice
28:46Islands. so he's looking for those
28:48islands day after day after day, and
28:50they're not going to be there. He's
28:52about to cross the biggest ocean in the
28:53world, and he thinks it's a pond.
29:04>> Land! Land ahoy!
29:08Land ahoy!
29:13>> Only a few days before they finally run
29:15out of provisions, the emaciated sailors
29:18at last make landfall.
29:21Their journey of hardship on the Pacific
29:24lasted for 100 days. On March the 16th,
29:271521, 1 and 1/2 years after their
29:30departure from Spain, the ship cast
29:33anchor at the shore of today's
29:34Philippines.
29:38For Magellan and his crew, the islands
29:41feel like heaven on Earth,
29:44even though they still don't know where
29:46they have landed.
29:48But Enrique, Magellan's Malay slave,
29:51gives them an important clue.
30:05>> You won't believe it, but I understand
30:07these people. Not everything, but
30:08enough.
30:09I'm certain, as clear, senor, as I could
30:12see blue in the sky.
30:15>> You know what that means?
30:17>> Si, senor. We are not far from my
30:18homeland.
30:24>> Magellan knows that he must be close to
30:26the Spice Islands,
30:28and that he is now within reach of the
30:30Portuguese, who, coming from the west,
30:33also lay claim to the riches of this
30:35region under the Treaty of Tordesillas.
30:40>> The great problem with the Treaty of
30:41Tordesillas is they knew where the
30:43Atlantic was and they divided it very
30:45neatly down the middle. The problem was
30:47on the other side of the globe, nobody
30:49really knew how big the world was or
30:51where the line came. So, nobody knew who
30:53owned the Spice Islands. The most
30:55valuable real estate on Earth was in
30:58unknown territory.
30:59Claiming it and owning it would be the
31:01key to success,
31:03but proving that would lead to many
31:06misfortunes along the way.
31:17>> As soon as the crew regained their
31:18strength, Magellan set sail again.
31:21On the island of Cebu, he forges an
31:24alliance with its ruler
31:25and is drawn into his local conflict. To
31:29demonstrate the superiority of his
31:31religion and his power, Magellan decides
31:34to make an example of the rebels'
31:36leader, Lapu-Lapu.
31:48Magellan wants to show his new ally the
31:50military superiority of his men and
31:53declines any reinforcements offered to
31:55him.
32:13But, he faces a battle-hardened warrior
32:16and strategic thinker.
32:17Every tattoo on Lapu-Lapu's skin
32:20symbolizes a battle won.
32:22Magellan has no idea of the man he is
32:24fighting.
32:56>> On April the 27th in the year 1521,
33:00Ferdinand Magellan dies far from home
33:03without ever having reached the Spice
33:06Islands.
33:08>> After Magellan's death, the Spanish
33:10leaders
33:11were ambushed, they were wiped out, and
33:14this left just one man standing who
33:15could really take the expedition back
33:17home again. It was the sailor Sebastian
33:19Elcano, the Basque. He was the man who
33:22would ultimately have to bring the
33:23expedition home because everybody else
33:25in a leadership role had been killed or
33:27had died.
33:32>> After the death of Magellan and most of
33:35the high-ranking officers and captains,
33:37Sebastian Elcano's greatest hour has
33:40arrived.
33:44After the mutiny a year ago in San
33:46Julian, this is the first time Elcano is
33:48mentioned again in official records.
33:58>> Listen up.
34:00We are leaving these islands of doom.
34:03Let us now get our final destination.
34:05Onward to the Spice Islands.
34:17>> First, he decides to leave behind the
34:19third remaining ship.
34:21It is in such bad repair and unfit for
34:24the challenge of the voyage to come.
34:27After loading all important supplies to
34:29the other two ships, they sink the
34:31Conception to leave no trace.
34:43With the two remaining ships, the
34:45Trinidad and the Victoria, Elcano tries
34:48to find the Spice Islands for another 6
34:50months,
34:51but in vain.
34:57Then finally, after more than 2 years
35:00into their adventurous voyage, the
35:02destination so dearly paid for suddenly
35:05appears on the horizon.
35:08The Spice Islands with their promise of
35:11immense wealth.
35:17Pigafetta recorded this moment in his
35:19travel diary.
35:22On Friday, the 8th of November, 1521, we
35:25entered the port of an island called
35:27Tidore, and after anchoring in a depth
35:30of 20 fathoms, we discharged all our
35:33artillery.
35:36The memory of Elcano's arrival is still
35:38alive on the small island.
35:44The appearance of the Spaniards is the
35:46onset of a colonization that would last
35:49for centuries.
35:52>> The victor of Trinidad and Victoria in
35:54Maluku.
35:55>> When the Trinidad and Victoria entered
35:58Maitara Bay,
35:59they knew that the capital of Tidore was
36:02located here in Myreku.
36:05And that's why Sebastian Elcano ordered
36:0820 cannon shots to honor them.
36:15Sultan Al Mansur appeared, and he lifted
36:18his hands up.
36:20A long time before, he'd had a dream,
36:23and it came true. The Europeans,
36:25particularly the Spaniards, will bring
36:28prosperity.
36:34But the arrival of the Spanish will
36:36bring prosperity above all to European
36:39merchants because the profit margins in
36:41the spice trade were astronomical at the
36:44time. The purchase price can easily be
36:46multiplied by a thousand when selling.
36:50And so the small volcanic islands become
36:52the plaything of the Spanish-Portuguese
36:55struggle for a market monopoly.
37:02>> The Portuguese were already on Ternate
37:05in 1512.
37:0710 years later, the Spaniards arrived at
37:10Tidore.
37:12Although the two islands are right next
37:14to each other, there has always been a
37:16great rivalry.
37:18Tidore and Ternate were enemies at that
37:20time.
37:24>> But with the arrival of the Europeans,
37:26the front line of two world powers has
37:28been drawn between the island enemies.
37:34The family of today's Sultan of Ternate
37:36hails back to the times of Elcano.
37:39The current heir to the throne has a
37:41self-confident perspective on the
37:43European voyages of discovery.
37:47>> It just happened that the trigger for
37:49interaction among us and the Europeans
37:51were cloves and nutmeg.
37:54When they arrived in search of these
37:55spices, they also brought over
37:57technologies.
37:59But that doesn't mean they came to a
38:00primitive country.
38:02No, we were civilized just like the
38:04Europeans.
38:06If anything, back then the Europeans
38:08were still in the dark age.
38:12>> Every year the Legugam festival is
38:14celebrated in honor of the Sultan's
38:16family. A magnificent procession of
38:19ships surrounding the island harkens
38:21back to the powerful and wealthy past of
38:23the local rulers.
38:28>> Ternate was so famous for its cloves and
38:30nutmeg that the Europeans, Chinese, and
38:33Arabs came here.
38:36But it was the Europeans who wanted to
38:38occupy and monopolize the spice trade,
38:40and that's the beginning of the colonial
38:42era in Indonesia.
38:45Once the Portuguese conquered Ternate
38:47and monopolized the spice trade, they
38:49wanted to keep the location a secret.
38:55>> With the arrival of the Spaniards on
38:57Tidore, the secrecy is over.
39:00Elcano is lucky that the Portuguese base
39:03on Ternate has just been deserted. There
39:05is also no trace of Francisco Serrão,
39:09whose letters drove Magellan halfway
39:11around the world.
39:15>> We really cannot say that the story has
39:16a happy end because the two protagonists
39:19have never met. As we know, Magellan
39:21died in the Battle of Mactan, and Serrão
39:24died at about the same time. It's
39:26possible that Serrão was poisoned in a
39:28conspiracy against the Sultan of
39:30Ternate. In the end, these two pen pals
39:33never managed to meet.
39:40>> Elcano can consider himself lucky that
39:42the Portuguese trading post on the
39:44neighboring island of Ternate is
39:46deserted upon his arrival.
39:48But he knows the Portuguese fleet is
39:50hunting him and could show up at any
39:52time. So, the first order of business is
39:55to quickly secure the island treasures.
40:06Today, the nutmeg harvest takes place in
40:08the same way it did in the times of
40:11Elcano.
40:13Every seaman who manages to safely bring
40:15home only a handful of it will be
40:17wealthy enough for the rest of his days.
40:29The amounts of cloves that Nutmeg Elcano
40:32and his crew lay eyes on are more than
40:34they have ever dared to dream.
40:40Even today, spices are one of the most
40:42important sources of income for the
40:44population.
40:47>> Antonio Pigafetta writes in his report
40:50that they succeeded in filling the holds
40:52of the two ships, the Trinidad and the
40:54Victoria, within only 40 days.
41:01And so Tidore became a Spanish trading
41:04center.
41:08>> And so Elcano is making good on a
41:11promise Magellan has made to the Spanish
41:13Crown.
41:14He establishes direct trading relations
41:17with the royal family on Tidore and
41:20wants to sail home as soon as possible.
41:27He reaches a decision of dramatic
41:29consequence.
41:30The Trinidad is supposed to reach home
41:32crossing the Pacific while Elcano plans
41:35on sailing west for Spain on the now
41:37Victoria.
41:43>> So Elcano,
41:45I think he was in a very desperate
41:46situation and that's there because he
41:49understood the Pacific. So it was going
41:50to be very difficult to go back home
41:52through the Pacific. So it is only then
41:55that Elcano decided to face the
41:58circumnavigation of the world.
42:01>> Elcano knows they must sail halfway
42:03around the world through Portuguese
42:05sovereign territory.
42:07And the hunt for them has already begun.
42:15>> While Elcano tries his luck going west,
42:18the Trinidad fails at her attempt to
42:20cross the Pacific again.
42:22Violent storms batter a ship and crew
42:25and force their return.
42:27Utterly exhausted, they try to go back
42:30to the Spice Islands,
42:32but in the meantime, the Portuguese
42:34fleet has arrived there. A catastrophe
42:37for the Spanish.
42:40>> So, the Trinidad had to return very uh
42:44very damaged uh by the storms to uh the
42:46Spice Islands, and she was
42:48uh right away captured by the uh
42:50Portuguese. Um they they took her near
42:54the fortress to to take all the valuable
42:57items like the anchors and the mast and
42:58the sails.
43:00And and also part of the timber of the
43:03of the ship to to build that fortress.
43:06Uh
43:07afterwards, the Trinidad
43:09sank right there, very close to the
43:11shore. We have a very fair idea of where
43:14she can be, and I'm
43:16hope that she will be found.
43:22>> A diving expedition by the Indonesian
43:25Ministry of Marine Affairs is working to
43:27shed light on the fate of the Trinidad.
43:33>> We want to find the coral reef in front
43:37of the port because uh the archive
43:40mentioned that the uh Trinidad smashed
43:43the coral reef, and then uh it caused a
43:47storm, and then so we have to find the
43:50reef first, so we will have a clue where
43:54the Trinidad um
43:55uh sank.
44:01>> The search is made more difficult by the
44:03fact that the seabed has sunk
44:05considerably since the 16th century.
44:08Thereby, the remains of the former
44:10Portuguese fort are not located at the
44:13shore anymore, but at the bottom of the
44:15sea.
44:20>> Uh so, our diving team, they mentioned
44:24that underwater they found they found
44:26like
44:28structure, the ruins.
44:30Looks like a similar with the
44:33the Castela fort.
44:35And also they found like a passage or a
44:38tunnel,
44:40the channel underwater between the reef.
44:46>> It's likely that the bigger ships had to
44:48anchor outside of the reef. Only small
44:51dinghies were able to shuttle back and
44:53forth through the man-made breach to
44:55unload the ships.
44:57>> So, later on we can do the things to
45:01prove this is a part of the Castela fort
45:04or not.
45:10>> Should the archaeological findings
45:12really be able to confirm the historical
45:14accounts of a harbor entrance through
45:16the reef, the team will return next year
45:19to continue its search for the wreck of
45:21the Trinidad.
45:31Elcano doesn't know that he is now the
45:33expedition's only hope.
45:36In order to avoid running into the
45:38Portuguese, he sails the southern Indian
45:41Ocean for months without ever making
45:43landfall.
45:45Hunger and scurvy decimate the crew and
45:47the ship is in desolate repair.
45:50In the end, they have to pump out water
45:52around the clock.
45:55On September 6, 1522,
45:58Sebastian Elcano miraculously returns
46:00home as one of only 18 survivors
46:049 months after they set sail to leave
46:07the Spice Islands.
46:17To date the first circumnavigation of
46:19the globe has been associated with the
46:21name Magellan.
46:23But what about Sebastian Elcano, the man
46:26who actually sailed around the earth?
46:28Some years ago a unique written document
46:31turned up in a private Basque archive.
46:38>> It was really emotional because within
46:40four or five seconds
46:42I realized this is the letter from
46:44Elcano. This is the original letter.
46:48What shall I say? I start sweating.
46:50And all the people in the archive
46:52standing around me.
46:53I'm holding the letter and say Look what
46:56I've found.
46:57How can it be possible that the letter
46:59is now being found after several
47:01centuries? I mean, everybody believed it
47:04to be lost.
47:09>> A handwritten letter that Sebastian
47:11Elcano sent to his king upon his return.
47:17>> You can't just read this like we sailed
47:20around the globe and then we were here
47:21and there. No, no.
47:25He returns with a ship so ravaged that
47:27it was just about to sink. That's how
47:29damaged it was.
47:32A week longer and it goes down.
47:35The ship is loaded but absolutely
47:37ruined.
47:40Elcano reports in his letter that they
47:42had to bail out water for more than 30
47:44days.
47:45A week more and no one would have
47:47arrived.
47:50There would have been no
47:51circumnavigation of the world.
48:00>> Elcano and his crew were rewarded
48:02handsomely.
48:03Not a problem for the king because 25
48:06tons of spices are unloaded from the
48:08hold of the now Victoria.
48:10The cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg ensure
48:13that the investors can turn a profit
48:15despite the loss of four of the five
48:17ships and the death of 200 sailors.
48:24Elcano is knighted and the king grants
48:26him his own coat of arms emblazoned with
48:29spices, a globe, and the words "Primus
48:33circumdedisti me."
48:35You were the first to circumnavigate me
48:38and still
48:39his name has vanished into oblivion.
48:48>> He is indeed a tragic hero.
48:52In part, he only has himself to blame
48:54for this tragedy because when he
48:56returned after sailing around the world
48:59and was given the title "Primus
49:01circumdedisti me" and his own coat of
49:04arms,
49:05in this moment of glory, he fails to
49:07write or publish a book.
49:12The printing press was the internet of
49:14those days.
49:17Instead, he was trying to assemble a new
49:19expedition to the Moluccas and back
49:22to establish and secure this sea route
49:24for good.
49:28However,
49:30another member of the expedition,
49:32Antonio Pigafetta, writes a book.
49:35And he does something very peculiar.
49:39He doesn't mention Elcano at all.
49:42Not a single word.
49:48Four years later, Sebastian Elcano sets
49:51off for the Spice Islands for the second
49:53time.
49:54He dies on this voyage.
49:57And so, he's erased from humanity's
50:00collective memory.
50:03The passage through South America found
50:06by Magellan is much too dangerous to be
50:08a successful trading route.
50:11And in spite of having exacted so many
50:13sacrifices, King Charles V
50:16sells the Spice Islands to the
50:18Portuguese at a low price only a few
50:21years later.
50:22But nonetheless, the voyage of Magellan
50:25and Elcano changed our understanding of
50:27the Earth and its shape forever.
50:31>> Even at the end of the expedition with
50:33only 18 crew left standing, these men
50:36are still recording data in their
50:37logbooks. They're taking an accurate
50:39record of every single day, every single
50:41position. And when they get back to
50:43Seville, they realize they've lost a
50:44day.
50:46And that information is priceless. It
50:48proves that the Earth is round,
50:50that it's rotating through space,
50:53and this breakthrough changes the way
50:5516th century men see the Earth. They
50:58begin to understand what's going on.
50:59They begin to understand our place in
51:02the planetary system, not just the size
51:04of the Earth, but the place of the
51:06Earth.
51:07That perhaps is Magellan's greatest
51:09legacy.
51:10>> Awareness of the true shape of the Earth
51:13is the beginning of what we call
51:15globalization today
51:17with all its good and bad consequences.
51:21500 years after Magellan,
51:24the once immeasurably large planet
51:27is perhaps
51:28a little bit smaller.
51:59>> Mhm.

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