Physics and Astronomy

In 1492, Columbus stumbled across the Americas while looking for a western route to Asia. Thirty years later, Magellan succeeded where Columbus had failed. The three-year voyage was gruelling: Magellan himself and two-thirds of the crew lost their lives, along with four of the fleet’s five ships. However, in one sitting the expedition accomplished three groundbreaking achievements: the discovery of a passage between the Atlantic and the Pacific; the first crossing of the Pacific; and the first circumnavigation of the globe. Drawing on the latest research, The Revolution of Magellan takes us through this physical revolution around the planet and the 500-year-old naval science that made it possible, which was as revolutionary then as rocket science is today. The book also explores how this technological turning point underpinned the wave of European expansion that followed, leading to the death and enslavement of millions and shaping many of today’s borders.