Early Life
Ferdinand Magellan was born in Portugal, in 1480 to his parents who were part of Portuguese nobility. At the age of twelve Magellan began to serve the Queen of Portugal. He attended Queen Leonora's School of Pages in Lisbon, there he was learn subjects that would aid him greatly later, such as cartography, and astronomy.
Magellan joined the Portuguese service to sail with the fleet in 1505. He went to East Africa and later was at the battle of Diu, in which the Portuguese destroyed the Egyptian fleet's dominance in the Arabian Sea. He went twice to Malacca, located in present-day Malaysia, and participated in that port's conquest by the Portuguese.