Magellan's French companions (1519 - 1522).
Chandeigne| N° d'inventaire | 25635 |
| Format | 12 x 17.5 |
| Détails | 224 p., illustrated, paperback. |
| Publication | Paris, 2022 |
| Etat | Nine |
| ISBN | 9782367322186 |
In 1519, five Spanish ships commanded by the Portuguese Magellan set sail from the port of Seville. Aboard this fleet, bound for a distant but confidential destination, were 237 crew members. Among them, 19 were from present-day French territory. These men came from Brittany, Normandy, Gascony and Béarn, Languedoc, Aunis, Anjou and Touraine, Champagne and Picardy, and Lorraine. They did not yet know that they were embarking on the most extraordinary maritime voyage ever attempted, where they would share the singular destiny of the five ships: shipwrecked, deserter, burned, apprehended, first circumnavigator.
When, in 1522, the ship Victoria finally managed to complete the first circumnavigation of the world in history, there were only thirty-two Europeans on board, including a Norman and a Breton. What were the names of these nineteen Frenchmen, where were they born and raised? To what extent can they be considered French, in a kingdom still in the midst of unification? Why, how and in what historical context did they end up in Seville? How did their journey unfold, and who survived?
We will attempt to answer these questions, drawing on all available direct or indirect sources, archive documents, reports and chronicles of actors or witnesses, and the work of historians. We can already recognize in these companions of Magellan courage and a certain spirit of adventure, for having embarked on this extraordinary enterprise for which two years of provisions were planned, an unprecedented supply for a Spanish fleet.
In 1519, five Spanish ships commanded by the Portuguese Magellan set sail from the port of Seville. Aboard this fleet, bound for a distant but confidential destination, were 237 crew members. Among them, 19 were from present-day French territory. These men came from Brittany, Normandy, Gascony and Béarn, Languedoc, Aunis, Anjou and Touraine, Champagne and Picardy, and Lorraine. They did not yet know that they were embarking on the most extraordinary maritime voyage ever attempted, where they would share the singular destiny of the five ships: shipwrecked, deserter, burned, apprehended, first circumnavigator.
When, in 1522, the ship Victoria finally managed to complete the first circumnavigation of the world in history, there were only thirty-two Europeans on board, including a Norman and a Breton. What were the names of these nineteen Frenchmen, where were they born and raised? To what extent can they be considered French, in a kingdom still in the midst of unification? Why, how and in what historical context did they end up in Seville? How did their journey unfold, and who survived?
We will attempt to answer these questions, drawing on all available direct or indirect sources, archive documents, reports and chronicles of actors or witnesses, and the work of historians. We can already recognize in these companions of Magellan courage and a certain spirit of adventure, for having embarked on this extraordinary enterprise for which two years of provisions were planned, an unprecedented supply for a Spanish fleet.