 |
| Route of Magellan's circumnavigation. (Wikimedia Commons.) |
Joyner, Tim. Magellan. Camden, Maine: International Marine, 1992. Joyner’s Magellan biography sticks close to the history, offering a compelling story without too much sensationalizing. Its coverage of Magellan’s early career around the Indian Ocean provides essential context for his 1519 voyage. For readers interested in a closer look, the book provides rich appendices with maps, explanation of the ships, a rich list of sources, notes, and more. In this it reflects and builds upon Guillemard's work with an extra century of scholarship to draw upon.
Bergreen, Laurence. Over the Edge of the World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe. United Kingdom: HarperCollins, 2009. Bergreen fills in gaps that other biographies skip over, such as shipboard routine and the roles of various crew. Sensationalized in places, Bergreen's storytelling made this a popular work.
Fernandez-Armesto, Felipe. Straits: Beyond the Myth of Magellan. United States: University of California Press, 2022. This newer biography stuffily argues that Magellan was a failure throughout, a book published conveniently, as it was, just before the 500-year anniversary of the Victoria's circumnavigation.
Long-form Accounts of Magellan.
Morison, Samuel Eliot. The European Discovery of America: The Southern Voyages A.D. 1492-1616. United States: Oxford University Press, 1974. Book 2 in a series (after the Northern Voyages), the book offers several chapters on Magellan's life. Morison's work stands out for its scholarship, particularly his bibliographical notes at the ends of chapters. And while the book takes a romanticized view of Magellan and other explorers (Morison dismisses the suggestion that Magellan did not set out to circumnavigate the globe as "heresy"), his general detailed survey of events makes this a valuable read—in addition to its excellent bibliographical discussions.
Spate, O. H. K.. The Spanish Lake. Australia: ANU E Press, 2004. In this account of early Spanish activities in the Pacific, Spate begins with a chapter on "The World without the Pacific (Before Magellan) and then a unit on "Balboa, Magellan, and the Moluccas." Both are valuable reads in Spate's context, the Pacific Ocean as a Spanish lake.
Rossfelder, André. In Pursuit of Longitude: Magellan and the Antimeridian. United States: Starboard Books, 2010. With a foreward by Tim Joyner.
Kelsey, Harry. The First Circumnavigators: Unsung Heroes of the Age of Discovery. United Kingdom: Yale University Press, 2016. A blurb from the publisher: "[Kelsey's] study is the first to concentrate on the hitherto anonymous sailors, slaves, adventurers, and soldiers who manned the ships." This is an informative perspective, covering Magellan's and later expeditions, though care should be taken on historical controversies, such as whether Magellan captained Aubrey's three ships sent from Malacca in 1512 to locate the Moluccas. The book's first chapter is on Magellan's voyage.
Crowley, Roger. Conquerors: How Portugal Forged the First Global Empire. United Kingdom: Random House Publishing Group, 2015. This through survey covers Portugal's sudden forging of a maritime empire in the Indian Ocean through eye-witness accounts and letters. Crowley quickly catches the reader with compelling storytelling.
Crowley, Roger. Spice: The 16th-century Contest that Shaped the Modern World. United Kingdom: Yale University Press, 2024. Crowley presents the race between Portugal, Spain, and others to claim the Moluccas, the source of cloves and nutmeg. Magellan figures into the story's beginning in Malacca in 1511, from where the Portuguese immediately went on to first reach the islands, and ten years later when, months after his death in the Philippines, when two of his ships approached the the Moluccas from the other direction. Compelling storytelling rich in research, Spice is a good follow-up and companion to Crowley's Conquerors (see above).
Newitt, Malyn. Navigations: The Portuguese Discoveries and the Renaissance. United Kingdom: Reaktion Books, 2023. This comprehensive survey of exploration by the Portuguese begins with a look at the world before the fifteenth century—the ideas, commerce, technology and ships—and goes on to cover events from Henry the Navigator to Magellan, "Navigator as an Epic Hero." Newitt spent his career teaching at the universities of Rhodesia and Exeter, and until he retired, he was the Charles Boxer Professor of History at King’s College London. He offers explanation of historical controversies such as how much navigation did Henry actually do—a figure almost mythical in some accounts.
The Basics
Baron Stanley of Alderley, Pigafetta, Antonio. The First Voyage Around the World by Magellan. Printed for the Hakluyt Society, London, 1874. (Available online at Gutenberg.org and WikiSource).
Robertson, James Alexander (translator), Pigafetta, Antonio. Magellan's Voyage Around the World: Index. United States: Arthur H. Clark Company, 1906.
Nowell, Charles Edward. Magellan’s Voyage Around the World: Three Contemporary Accounts. United States, Northwestern University Press, 1962; United Kingdom: Papamoa Press, 2018.
Skelton, Raleigh Ashlin (translator), Pigafetta, Antonio. Magellan's Voyage: A Narrative Account of the First Circumnavigation. United Kingdom: Dover Publications, 1994.
Less-mentioned works.
Butterworth, Hezekiah. The Story of Magellan. New York: D. Appleton and Co., 1899. Interesting how perceptions—and audiences—change over time. Available in multiple formats at Gutenberg.com.
Johnston, Charles L. Famous Discoverers and Explorers of America. Boston: The Page Company, 1917. Available in multiple formats at Gutenberg.com.
Editor’s notes: This list was originally posted on 10/25/23. I will continue to update it.