Columbus & Magellan by Stefan

Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Magellan were explorers from the 15-16 centuries. They became famous for things they didn’t know they would do.

For example, they both had a dream to get to the Indies. But they both went off course and that is what made them famous. They were both leaders. Instead of going south and around the tip of Africa, they went west; Different than most explorers. Columbus went due west and landed in the Bahamas. In contrast, Ferdinand Magellan went southwest and through a straight at the tip of South America. Columbus hated admitting he was wrong. If all the clues said that he had messed up his, “so clever calculations,” his dream of finding the Indies over took him and he somehow convinced himself he was right. Unlike Columbus, when Magellan found out that the Pacific Ocean was much larger than he thought, he just said, there’s got to be a first for everything and kept on sailing. Another similarity they have is that both crews didn’t manage their hunger. They both ended up eating rats and other animals on board.

All in all, Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Magellan have very many things that are different, and in contrast, things that are in common.