Ferdinand Magellan , a name synonymous with exploration and discovery, met his untimely end in a place far from his homeland. On April 27, 1521 , this Portuguese explorer , sailing under the Spanish flag , was killed in a skirmish on the island of Mactan in what is now the Philippines. The Journey to Mactan Magellan’s expedition had left Spain in August 1519 on a mission to find a westward route to the Moluccas or Spice Islands . The journey was fraught with challenges. First, they sailed from Spain to the Canary Islands off the coast of West Africa . From there, they crossed the Atlantic Ocean to what is now Brazil and Argentina . The harrowing trip around the tip of South America —what is now called the Strait of Magellan —took 38 days. Then the crew set sail across the Pacific. By the time Magellan and his crew reached the Philippines , they had been at sea for more than a year. The Battle of Mactan Upon reaching the Philippines , Magellan and his crew allied with...