The Man Who Sailed The World Met A Brutal End

Ferdinand Mellin, a Portuguese in the employee of Spain, would become famous when his expedition would be the first in history to circumn the globe. But all stories come with a bit of embellishment, and things didn’t always go as planned. When Mellin arrived on the island of Maktan in the Philippines, he hoped to convert the people to his religion, but instead met a harsh and brutal welcome and one that would change history.

Ferdinand Mellin was born in 1480 into privilege. His family was wealthy and enjoyed many advantages as his father was a minor nobleman. This head start in life would open many doors for Mellin to move up in the world. He eventually received a position for the king’s consort, Queen Eleanor, working as a page before eventually working directly for King Manuel I 5 years later.

 By the time he reached 25, he was keen to gain more experience and soon enlisted in the Portuguese Navy. Eventually, he would begin serving under Diego Lopez de Sakiraa in the 1510s and embarked on a mission all the way to the Malaysian state of Malaa. The mission to Malaca would intensify when after arrival they discovered a conspiracy in progress against the Portuguese and decided to intervene.

Conflict erupted and the Portuguese were forced to retreat but remained alive. For displaying such loyalty, the navy rewarded him with a promotion. Mellin and Sarang would return soon enough with more forces and eventually conquer the region. During the campaign, he obtained a slave who was originally from Sumatra named Enrique.

Riding high with his newfound wealth, success, and a promotion, Mellin returned to Portugal in high spirits. However, he made the mistake on one occasion of leaving his duties without permission, and this misstep tarnished the king’s opinion of him. In his eyes, Mellin was becoming more of a liability, an arrogant officer who played by his own rules.

 Mellin would soon be back in battle, this time participating in a Portuguese attack on the Moroccan city of Azamore. Amidst the chaos, he sustained an injury that would leave him with a limp for the rest of his life. Shortly after, and despite his hardships, Mellin would find himself embroiled in a scandal around 1514 when accusations emerged that he had engaged in unlawful trading.

 These were later revealed to be fake, but the damage was done, and all of a sudden, no one wanted to employ him. Mellin tried in vain to pursue his dreams, pestering the uninterested King Emanuel on his idea of finding a new route to the Spice Islands in Asia. With nothing seemingly coming from his efforts, he soon made a drastic decision and left his Portuguese nationality behind, moving to Spain instead, where he had a better chance of achieving his goals.

This defection was no small move and seen as the ultimate betrayal to join Portugal’s greatest rival. Approaching the Spanish King Charles I, Mellin explained his vision of discovery, impressing the monarch so much that he earned himself a position at court. With his plans for a new route to the Spice Islands, Mellin wasn’t only presenting King Charles with a very lucrative opportunity, but a way to one up his rival, King Manuel, as well.

Since Portugal already controlled all the eastern routes to the Spice Islands, Mellin instead proposed to go west around South America instead. King Charles was interested, but it was still a very dangerous and expensive proposal. To fully convince him, he told the king that his slave, Enrique, was actually from the Spice Islands, thus convincing the monarch that he knew what he was doing.

 When King Manuel of Portugal got wind of what Mellin and the Spanish were doing, he couldn’t stand it and attempted to dissuade him by vandalizing his family home in Sabrosa and even hiring someone to assassinate him. These attempts failed and when Mellin’s expedition officially set off, he even sent a fleet after him. Luckily for Mellin, however, they were too slow and Mellin was free.

 He slipped away in command of five ships, the Trinidad, San Antonio, Conpsion, Victoria, and Santiago. The ships departed Spain in the fall of 1519 and would have a relatively easy time crossing the Atlantic before landing at Cabo de Santo Agugustinho in Brazil. There, Mellin’s men were happy to find that the indigenous Tupi people treated them with courtesy as the sailors weren’t the first Europeans that the Tupi had met.

 They continued sailing south along the coast, eventually landing at Guanabara Bay, where the locals were also friendly, and they stayed for 2 weeks, restocking their supplies. Although things had been fine so far, an incident soon occurred. Mellin discovered that one of his crew had forced himself upon a cabin boy. After a quick trial and guilty verdict, the man was shortly executed.

 Although harsh, Mellin knew that a breakdown of morals and discipline could have severe consequences for their expedition. They continued sailing south, always keeping an eye out for a passage to the other side of South America. But as they did not know at the time, it was a very long continent. Winter weather soon intensified, and since they had not yet found a way through, they had to stop, finding a safe harbor in the port of St.

Julian. This setback called into doubt the crew’s faith in their captain and his abilities. Many of his men began to believe that he was unfit for command. And led by captains Gasparta Casada, Wanda Cartahena, and Luis de Mendoza, the crew began a mutiny. A struggle ensued, and the mutineers nearly succeeded with Mendoza perishing in the process.

Mellin, however, was able to stop them. Once he retook control, he knew that he would have to make an example out of them, and the consequences were not light. Quesada was executed, and Cartahena was marooned on an island. After many months of misery, the weather soon lessened, making it safe to travel. They set off southward and by October 1520 they finally discovered a straight that would lead them to the Pacific.

Subsequently calling it the Strait of Mellin. During their passage through the straight evidently many were still unhappy with his leadership and one of the ships turned around heading back to Spain before Mellin could do anything. Of the five ships that he had set out with, he now had three, as one had been lost in a winter storm.

 This desertion left the men with much less supplies. Reaching the end of the straight, they arrived at the Pacific, which was named such by Mellin, as he thought it would be a peaceful sea, and he projected that it would take simply 4 days to cross it. Although he was an excellent navigator, he was more than a little off in his estimate.

 In reality, it took them almost 4 months to cross the ocean with around 30 of his crew perishing along the way as their supplies began to dwindle. The men were reduced to eating whatever they could find, as well as suffering from scurvy. Starving, dehydrated, and exhausted, Mellin and his men finally reached the island of Guam, where the indigenous Chamarro people kindly gave them more provisions.

It is possible that the Chamarro believed it was meant to be a fair trade. As they began taking things from Mellin’s ships, such as the rigging and even some of the smaller boats, it seemed patience and understanding were not among Mellin’s skill set. For he believed that the Chammoro had intentionally stolen from his ships, and he retaliated with violence, burning several of their huts and slaying several natives.

After this, they set off west again, soon reaching the island of Hanhan in the Philippines, which they found uninhabited. They spent 2 weeks here as several of the men were ill and needed to recover. The expedition continued west, soon encountering a new group of people in an outrigger boat off the coast of Limasawa.

Through his slave Enrique, Mellin was able to communicate with them and they were soon joined by two warships belonging to the ruler of Bhutan, Raja Kulombo. Fortunately for the Europeans, it seemed Raja Kulombo had no issue with their presence in his lands and even invited them ashore to meet his brother. They were treated with comfort and hospitality, and Mellin learned more about the regions they ruled and their customs.

 Although it was all new and interesting, Mellin was intrigued by something even greater, gold. He noticed that the Raja and his people were surrounded by gold artifacts and accessories and was no doubt filled with a sense of greed. After a few days rest during which they held the first Catholic mass in the Philippines, they were soon ready to set off again.

 Instead of wandering blindly, Mellin asked for directions to a good place for trading. The Raja indicated that there was a large port on the island of Sabu. They arrived swiftly and met the region’s ruler, Raja Humaban, who believed that since Mellin and his men were traitors, they should offer tribute to the Raja. Melan countered, saying it was unnecessary since he was representing Spain and quote the most powerful king in the world.

 They reached a compromise and no tribute was given. The Europeans were taken in as guests. Happy with how things went, Mellin planted a cross on the beach to mark the introduction of Christianity to the region. But they didn’t stop there. Mellin continued to impress Spain’s authority over Sabu by converting everyone there to his religion, including the royals.

 The queen was allegedly so enthusiastic about her new faith that she begged Mellin to leave her the image of baby Jesus, which he did. By this point, Mellin may have begun to see himself as more than an explorer, but also as a divine instrument of the church. And this hubris would have consequences down the line.

 After an extended period, it was once again time to set off and reach their original destination, the Spice Islands. However, the king of Sabu had a different idea. He had his own problem. His enemy, Chief Lapu Lapu, on the island of Maktan. He asked Mellin to travel there and eliminate his rival to which he obliged. Although he had given the Raja his word, Mellin also desired to convert the people of Maktan to Christianity if it was possible.

 So when they arrived, they appeared friendly, completely unaware of what they were getting themselves into. As they had so far encountered many friendly natives, they expected Maktan to be the same. Yet, Chief Lapu Lapu’s people were immediately distressful of the Europeans and refused to convert. Angered by the chief’s attitude, Mellin ordered his men to capture the Mines, which turned out to be more challenging than expected, and a battle broke out.

Although he was advised to stay behind, Mellin personally led the attack. Despite his helmet, the natives knew he was the leader and targeted him. He sustained an arm injury and his helmet was knocked off. Lapu Lapu’s warriors pressed the attack and Mellin was soon overwhelmed, eventually perishing in a battle on the beach.

 The remaining men, unable to do much more, retreated to their boats. The Europeans were now leaderless. They realized that the whole fiasco had been a result of a poorly executed plan, and they decided to flee Makan. The expedition finally did reach the Spice Islands in November 1521, filling their stores with goods. After all their hardships, they now only had one ship of the original 5, the Victoria.

 Embarking back home under the leadership of Juan Sebastian Elcano, they remarkably made it back to Spain on September 6th, 1522, nearly 3 years after they had originally set out. Only about 18 men remained from the original 270. Despite his efforts, Mellin’s name didn’t receive much praise upon the return of the expedition.

 As well, many of the crew who survived didn’t have many nice things to say about him. Another reason for his poor standing was that the deserters who had left Mellin around South America upon their return to Spain claimed that he had been disloyal to the king. Yet one survivor would set the record straight. Antonio Pigapetta, a Venetian scholar who had survived the voyage.

 He had kept a journal that detailed all their experiences. And Mellin’s legacy was eventually restored. A flawed man and violent as well. Although he met his end in battle before he could finish his journey of discovery, Mellin was undoubtedly a skilled and determined explorer. and his expedition would make history as the first to circumn the globe.

 His voyage proved once and for all that the world was round and much larger than many had previously thought. Thanks for watching History Expose. If you love uncovering the best stories in history, hit like and subscribe to keep exploring with us. If you enjoyed this video, check out the videos on the screen for more amazing history content.