Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese-born navigator, who, by way of attempting to reach the spice-rich South-east Asia, initiated the circumnavigation of the earth. After serving as a soldier in the Portuguese fleet for a couple of years, he got largely involved with searching a westerly route for spices. He was the first European explorer to sail from the Atlantic Ocean into the new calm waters and name it the Mar Pacifico (now Pacific Ocean), through the Strait of Magellan, and discover Tierra del Fuego, a chain of islands off the southernmost tip of South America. His efforts at circumnavigating the world eventually proved that there was another way to reach India and the Spice Islands other than the more-popular Africa-route, despite being long and dangerous. Although he was killed before the voyage could be completed, he is credited for making the first circumnavigation around the globe, which was masterminded by him. The western route discovered by Magellan was not used for years as Spain was busy acquiring land in South America and Portuguese sought sailing eastwards through the Cape of Good Hope a faster and more convenient route.