Final answer:
Antonio Pigafetta documented the events leading to the death of Ferdinand Magellan at the Battle of Mactan in 1521. Magellan's expedition, which inadvertently proved the Earth's circumference, ended with just one ship and eighteen survivors out of an initial fleet of five ships and 237 men.
Step-by-step explanation:
Antonio Pigafetta was an Italian scholar and explorer who chronicled the last moments of Ferdinand Magellan during his ill-fated expedition. At the Battle of Mactan on April 27, 1521, while attempting to convert locals to Christianity and in the midst of assisting Rajah Humabon against a rival, Magellan was killed in what is now known as the Philippines. Pigafetta's accounts provide valuable insights into early European explorations and the contact between European explorers and indigenous peoples.
Despite their initial welcome by local leaders such as Rajah Humabon, the expedition faced a tragic end during the battle. Pigafetta describes how Humabon later attacked Magellan's men, leading the survivors to flee and eventually manage a difficult return to Spain. Of the original 237 men and five ships that set sail, only one ship and eighteen men survived to complete the first circumnavigation of the world.
The voyage of Magellan, funded by the king of Spain after the Portuguese king declined, proved to be monumental. It not only traced a westward route to the Spice Islands but also helped in understanding the vastness of the Pacific Ocean, revealing the need for an International Date Line, and inadvertently provided proof of the Earth's circumference.