In keeping with the nautical theme I accidentally adopted this month, I'll be exploring the rather misleading story of sixteen century Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan this week. Magellan's claim to fame is being the first person to circumnavigate the globe, to sail all the way around the Earth, a full circle. That really is Magellan’s only claim to fame. Except for one thing. He never even did that. Did you know that, despite claiming all the credit posthumously, Magellan only made it about three quarters of the way around the world? One of his five ships did return to Spain after a mostly disastrous voyage but Magellan was no longer on board. So who should really claim the credit? Who was the first person to circumnavigate the Earth? Let’s fix that.

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Sources:

• History.com "Why the Magellan Expedition Was So Treacherous"
• Encyclopedia Britannica "Ferdinand Magellan"
• BBC "Ferdinand Magellan"
• History Skills "Magellan was NOT the First Person to Sail Around the World..."
• History.com "Was Magellan the First Person to Circumnavigate the Globe?"

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I'm back this week with four more shipwreck stories. We'll start with the horrific explosion of the Mississippi river steamboat, the Sultana in 1865. Next, we'll tackle the Titanic which famously sank in 1912, killing around 1,500 passengers. On to another famous ship, the Endeavor. The Endeavor was the British naval ship used by explorer Captain James Cook during his first voyage of discovery which landed him in Australia, New Zealand, and Tahiti in the mid 1700s. Later the ship changed hands and was eventually used and intentionally sunk during the American Revolutionary War. Finally, I'll end with what is, quite possibly, one of the most controversial shipwrecks ever found, the San Jose. This Spanish galleon has been called the "holy grail" of shipwrecks because it was supposedly carrying treasure worth up to 17 billion dollars today when it went down in 1708. As five plus countries argue over the San Jose's treasure, the ethical question remains - what should be done with these shipwrecks?

Support the show!

• Join the Patreon (patreon.com/historyfixpodcast)
• Buy some merch
• Buy Me a Coffee
• Venmo @Shea-LaFountaine

Sources:

• American Battlefield Trust "The Sultana Disaster"
• Wikipedia "Sultana"
• New York Times "Civil War Hull Is Reported Found"
• Live Science "Digital "resurrection" of the Titanic sheds light on fateful night the ship tore apart"
• National Geographic Press Release "National Geographic reveals groundbreaking underwater scan..."
• The Times "At last, the Titanic wreck is left to rust in peace"
• Wikipedia "James Cook"
• Australian National Maritime Museum "Evidence Identifying Endeavor"
• The Guardian "Discovery provides further evidence shipwreck is Captain Cook's Endeavor, maritime scientists say"
• The Guardian "Worm-eaten shipwreck of Captain Cook's Endeavor under threat from more marine animals"
• BBC "The fierce battle over over the 'Holy Grail' of shipwrecks"

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This week, we'll uncover the stories of four different shipwrecks. I'll start with an ancient Roman ship found near the Greek island of Antikythera which sank around 60 to 70 BC with mind blowing treasures on board. Next, I'll talk about the sinking of King Henry VIII's flagship, the Mary Rose, in 1545 and it's rediscovery twice in the 400 years since. Then we'll move on to my personal favorite, the Queen Anne's Revenge, which was intentionally run aground by the infamous pirate Blackbeard in 1718 and rediscovered in 1996. Finally, the HMS Victory which sank in the English Channel in 1744, one of the largest and most mysterious naval tragedies in British history. We'll take a closer look at the artifacts that came off of these wrecks and what they can teach us about the people once onboard. And, we'll dive into some difficult ethical questions. What is a shipwreck really? A museum? A treasure chest? A graveyard? And should that affect how we handle these discoveries?

Support the show!

• Join the Patreon (patreon.com/historyfixpodcast)
• Buy some merch
• Buy Me a Coffee
• Venmo @Shea-LaFountaine

Sources:

• Scientific American "An Ancient Greek Astronomical Calculation Machine Reveals New Secrets"
• Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution "Antikythera Shipwreck"
• Royal Museums Greenwich "Mary Rose"
• maryrose.org "The Mary Rose in History"
• Museum Crush "11 Tudor Treasures Recovered from the Wreck of the Mary Rose"
• Queen Anne's Revenge Project "Discovery of the Shipwreck"
• Wikipedia "Queen Anne's Revenge"
• BBC "HMS Victory: The English Channel's 'Abandoned Shipwreck'"
• The Guardian "Wreckage of HMS Victory's Predecessor Discovered in Channel After 265 Years"
• Time Magazine "The HMS Victory, Famed Shipwreck, Is Found"

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