Magellan vu par Stefan Zweig. Mémoire d’un voyage/prélude d’un exil
Magellan seen by Stefan Zweig. Memory of a Journey / Prelude to an Exile

Summary/Abstract: In 1518, an exiled Portuguese called Magellan persuaded the King of Spain, Charles V, to sponsor an ambitious project. He convinced the monarch to give him a fleet in order to: “discover the passage leading from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, and there by the path to travel around the world” (Zweig, 2003: 178). This passage proved full of adventure: mutiny, cold, hunger, disease, to name just a few of the challenges. Our goal is to recall the story of the great Portuguese circumnavigator through Stefan Zweig’s masterly written biography. Surprised at the lack of information on Magellan, Stefan Zweig did research on the subject and retraced the incredible destiny of this navigator, one of the most daring adventurers of his time. In a typically flowing and elegant prose, Stefan Zweig takes readers on a fascinating exploration journey. The writing of this biography, which finally does justice to Magellan, was inspired to the author by his voyage to Brazil in 1936, in the early years of his exile away from Nazi barbarism.

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