Secrets of the Dead, Magellan’s Crossing

PBS WESTERN RESERVE (WNEO 45.1 / WEAO 49.1):

Wednesday, March 22, at 10 PM
Thursday, March 23,  at 3 AM

Portuguese captain Ferdinand Magellan and his crew set sail 500 years ago to gain control of the global spice trade. They sailed in search of a western sea route to Asia and the Spice Islands.

For Europeans, spices from the other side of the world were worth their weight in gold, and Magellan hoped his voyage would lead to a payoff. His obsession took his crew to distant shores where no Europeans had been before. In the end, Magellan would not complete the epic journey; however, members of his crew did, setting the foundation for global commerce and colonization that remains with us today.