Early Spanish Voyages to the Strait of Magellan

Sir Clements Markham

• Publisher: Bonhopai Books
• Year: 2025
• eBook ISBN: 9781779794000
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Military & Maritime History
• Index: History

Early Spanish Voyages to the Strait of Magellan by Sir Clements R. Markham is a masterful reconstruction of one of the most daring and dramatic chapters in maritime history — the sixteenth-century Spanish attempts to navigate the perilous waters at the tip of South America. Drawing upon rare manuscripts, official reports, and journals preserved in the archives of Seville and Madrid, Markham brings to life the courage, ambition, and tragedy of the explorers who followed in Magellan's wake in their search for empire and glory.

The book chronicles the voyages of Loaysa, Sarmiento, and other forgotten captains whose ships braved the furious storms and labyrinthine channels of Patagonia. Markham's meticulous research transforms these little-known expeditions into vivid epics of endurance and failure, revealing the navigators' struggles not only against the sea, but against mutiny, starvation, and the unyielding desolation of the southern world. His narrative captures both the grandeur and futility of Spain's quest to control the gateway between the Atlantic and Pacific — a saga of human courage overshadowed by nature's indifference.

 Beyond its drama, Early Spanish Voyages to the Strait of Magellan illuminates the broader spirit of discovery that defined the Renaissance. Markham's scholarship restores to the historical record the bravery of men who, though overshadowed by Magellan's fame, expanded the boundaries of the known world. For lovers of exploration, maritime history, and the literature of discovery, this volume stands as a testament to the endurance of human ambition at the very edge of the earth. 

Table of contents

• Title page
• TABLE OF CONTENTS
• ILLUSTRATIONS
• MAPS
• PREFACE
• INTRODUCTION TO THE EXPEDITION OF THE COMENDADOR LOAYSA AND JUAN SEBASTIAN DEL CANO
• NARRATIVE OF THE VOYAGE TO MALUCOS OR SPICE ISLANDS BY THE FLEET UNDER THE ORDERS OF THE COMENDADOR GARCIA JOFRE DE LOAYSA WRITTEN BY THE CAPTAIN ANDRES DE URDANETA 1525—1535
• NARRATIVE OF THE VOYAGE UNDERTAKEN TO THE MALUCOS OR SPICE ISLANDS BY THE FLEET COMMANDED BY THE COMENDADOR GARCIA JOFRE DE LOAYSA WRITTEN BY THE CAPTAIN ANDRES DE URDANETA
• NARRATIVE OF THE VOYAGE OF THE PINNACE SANTIAGO AFTER PARTING COMPANY WITH THE FLEET OF LOAYSA WITH THE MEMORABLE HEROISM OF THE CHAPLAIN JUAN DE ARREIZAGA
• NARRATIVE OF THE VOYAGE OF ALVARO DE SAYAVEDRA 1527—1529 BY VICENCIO OF NAPLES
• NARRATIVE OF THE EVENTS WHICH HAPPENED IN THE FLEET OF SIMON DE ALCAZABA WHO WENT OUT AS GOVERNOR OF THE PROVINCE OF LEON IN THE PARTS OF THE SOUTH SEA. HAVING TO PASS THE STRAIT OF MAGELLAN HE TOOK TWO SHIPS, THE CAPITANA CALLED LA MADRE DE DIOS AND THE OTHER CALLED SAN PEDRO IN WHICH WERE EMBARKED, INCLUDING PASSENGERS AND SAILORS, 250 PERSONS
• NARRATIVE OF THE VOYAGE OF SIMON DE ALCAZABA
• EXPEDITION SENT BY THE BISHOP OF PLASENCIA UNDER THE COMMAND OF DON ALONSO DE CAMARGO TO OPEN A ROUTE FROM SPAIN, BY THE STRAIT OF MAGELLAN, TO THE WEST COAST OF SOUTH AMERICA 1539—1541
• VOYAGE OF THE CAPTAINS BARTOLOMÉ AND GONZALO NODAL TO THE STRAIT OF LE MAIRE, CAPE HORN AND MAGELLAN’S STRAIT 1618—1619
• NARRATIVE OF THE VOYAGE WHICH BY ORDER OF HIS MAJESTY AND ADVICE OF THE ROYAL COUNCIL OF THE INDIES THE CAPTAINS BARTOLOMÈ GARCIA DE NODAL AND GONZALO DE NODAL BROTHERS AND NATIVES OF PONTEVEDRA UNDERTOOK FOR THE DISCOVERY OF THE NEW STRAIT OF SAN VICENTE (WHICH TODAY IS CALLED LE MAIRE ) AND RECONNAISSANCE OF THAT OF MAGELLAN [Translation.]
• FIFTH AND LAST VOYAGE FROM PERNAMBUCO TO THE BAR OF SAN LUCAR DE BARRAMEDA.
• REMARKS ON THE SOUNDINGS AND VARIATION OF THE NEEDLE
• RULES TO KNOW THE VARIATION OF THE NEEDLE AT THE RISING AND SETTING OF THE SUN
• TABLE TO KNOW THE HOURS OF THE ARTIFICIAL DAY UNTIL IT REACHES THE NATURAL OF 24 HOURS IN ALL PARALLELS AND ALTITUDES FROM THE EQUINOCTIAL LINE, TO THE 66TH ½ DEGREE.