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Ferdinand Magellan was bornabout 1480 in Sabrosa of a noble Portuguese family. His parents, who were members of nobility, died when he was about10 years old. At the age of 12, Magellan became a page to Queen Leanor at the royal court. Such a position commonly served as a means of education for sons of the Portuguese nobility. At the court, Magellan learned about the voyages of such explorers as Christopher Columbus of Italy and Vasco da …

…spices. The leaders of the fleet then decide that the two ships should make seperate return voyages. The Trinidad, under the command of Gonzalo Gomez de Espinosa, tried to sail eastward across the Pacific to the Isthmus of Panama. Bad weather and disease disrupted the voyage, and more than half the crew of the Trinidad died. The surviving members of the crew were forced to return to the Spice Islands, where the Portuguese imprisoned them.