Maritime Exploration

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Maritime Exploration

Introduction

It is always interesting to know about the way different explorers and the approaches that is being taken by these people when it comes to their voyages (Pigafetta, 2010). There are different attitudes and the backgrounds as well as the resources that these people have at their disposal that tend to define the fact that how the voyages are shaping up (Pigafetta, 2010). Now when one talks about the European explorers, there are two explorers that immediately come to mind. The first one is Francis Drake who is an English sea captain and the other one is the infamous Ferdinand Megallan who is a Portuguese explorer. During this paper, it would be seen that how the account of both these explorers have turned out, and what are some of the differences that these explorers have taken in terms of the way their overall journey worked out (Pigafetta, 2010).

Discussion

The first thing that is needed to be looked at is that how the journey started for both these explorers. When he contacted For Megallan, it all started during the year as they presented their proposal to the King at that point of time and discussed what are some of the long-term ramifications of the voyage that they intend to take at the given point of time (Pigafetta, 2010). One of the reasons that there was so much interest in the route that was taken by Megallan and the King was so interested was since if the route turned out to be successful, it would have opened the route towards the spice route as well as making sure that the relations with the Portuguese are not damaged (Pigafetta, 2010). On the other hand, if one looks at the journey of Francis Drake, one of the first thing that tends to stand out is that how he used to have several quarrels with his co commanders, and the motivation was well as the underlying rationale for the trip was hard to explain to the people in England. Specially his relationship with the captain Thomas Doughly were far from ideal and thus the start of the journey was far from ideal when one talks about the voyage for Francis Drake (Pigafetta, 2010). The idea was in tune with the times and had already been discussed after Balboa's discovery of the Pacific. On 22 March 1518 the king named Magellan and Faleiro captains so that they could travel in search of the Spice Islands in July. He raised them to the rank of Commander of the Order of Santiago.

The major turning point for Francis Drake happened when he entered with his remaining fleet of about three ships into the Pacific Ocean (Pigafetta, 2010). Even though the violent storms have destroyed much of his fleet. During their stay in the straif, one of the crew got to learn that the infusion that they have made in the Drimys WInteri can be used as a remedy against the scurvy and the orders were carried out by Captain Wynter to make sure that the collection of the great amount of bark was being carried out (Pigafetta, 2010). This is one of the prime reasons that the scientific name was given for the voyage at that point of time. Now, even though popular narrative seems to suggest, the likelihood that Drake was able to reach towards the Cape Horn are quite unlikely to say the least (Pigafetta, 2010). The same thing can be said about the way eponymous Drake passage seems to have operated. Thus, the resources were always a constraint when one looks at the voyage of Drake (Pigafetta, 2010).

Comparing him with the Megallan, the expedition that was carried out as his end was funded by the Spanish crown and the ships were carrying enough supplies that almost couple of years of travel could be carried out with much ease (Pigafetta, 2010). This goes to show an important aspect about the way such exploration journeys that resourcefulness and having greater sense of purpose among the crew is one of the most important things that people need to take care off at the given point of time. It is one of the prime reasons that if one looks at the voyage, they were able to reach as far as the eastern shores towards the Portugal and they also made arrangement towards the alternative supplies (Pretty, 2006). There were some delays here and there due to the shortage of supplies, but one thing that is clearly seen in the case of the exploration of the Megallan that how the planning on his part was much greater (Pigafetta, 2010).

Even during the rest of the journey, it was seen that how crucial the role of the Duarte Barbosa at the given point of time was when it was certain that how the whole voyage was not supposedly possible to be resumed with the current situation and passage (Pretty, 2006). The other aspect of the planning that was done by Megallan was that how he sent some of his ships forward to make sure that they can ascertain the situation in some of the other regions (Pigafetta, 2010). There were instances when Megallan took a measured approach when it comes to moving forward. Coming towards the expedition that was taken by Drake, he left the Pacific Coast and headed towards the Southwest so that he is in the position to make sure that the winds that can propel them towards the subsequent region can be carried out (Pigafetta, 2010). With that method, he was able to reach towards the region of Moluccas, that is in the modern-day Indonesia these days (Pigafetta, 2010). One of the reasons that the Golden Hind became caught on the reef was since it was almost lost at that point of time (Pretty, 2006). Again, there was lack of insight by Drake as he moved forward and thus, they had to wait for almost three days before the tides could become much more convenient in terms of the Weather (Pretty, 2006). The key thing though that can be seen in terms of the voyage and the expedition of Drake was that despite the difficulties and the hardships, there was single mindedness about him that allowed him to make sure that he kept going on for the voyage (Pretty, 2006). Both men though have left a legacy that goes way beyond the voyages that are carried out by them (Pigafetta, 2010).

Conclusion

In the hindsight, one of the key differences that can be seen between them is that while Megallan comes across as someone who put much more thought and planning into the expedition and was a much better manager, Drake was someone who was much more impulsive and intuitive in terms of the way his overall planning (Pigafetta, 2010). The other major aspect is that how the support that was received by both played a major part when it comes to the way their voyages were supposed to be carried out (Pigafetta, 2010). The other thing that is very important is that how resource consideration has to be taken care off during each aspect of the journey to ensure better planning prospects which was visible in the case of Magellan (Pigafetta, 2010).

Works Cited

Pigafetta, Antonio. First Voyage Round the World by Magellan: Translated from the Accounts of Pigafetta and Other Contemporary Writers. No. 52. Cambridge University Press, 2010.

Pretty, Francis. Sir Francis Drake's Famous Voyage Round the World. BiblioBytes, 2006.