Magellan's Voyage and the Era of Global Trade

Nearly 500 years ago, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan set out with a fleet of five ships on behalf of the Spanish crown. The intent was to conquer the seas and find an alternative western route to the Far East to maintain the spice trade. On Nov. 1, 1520, after more than a year of sailing and a failed mutiny, three ships entered the eastern opening of the passage now known as the Strait of Magellan. Technology has the power to break the chains of geographic constraints, just as breakthroughs like the caravel ship or the compass did hundreds of years ago. ...