@cmoneyspinner 11 March 2021 more from that month

On September 20, 1519, Portuguese navigator, Ferdinand Magellan (c. 1489-1521), set sail from Spain on a mission to find a western route to the Spice Islands. He reached the coast of South America and then navigated the strait linking the Atlantic and the Pacific which now bears his name, the Strait of Magellan. He crossed the Pacific to the Philippines in1521, where he was killed in a battle with the natives. Juan Sebastian del Cano (c. 1460-1526), a Spanish navigator, stepped into the shoes of Commander after Magellan’s death, and returned to Spain in 1522. Three of the five ships Magellan led on expedition did return to Europe. But what became of the Spice Islands? After being fought over for years, in 1814 the Dutch traders finally beat out the Spanish, Portuguese and the British for the monopoly of the spice trade and these islands came under Dutch control. The Spice Islands, along with other territories in the area now governed by the Dutch were all consolidated under one name: Dutch East Indies. They were under Dutch government from 1814 to 1942. During World War II, the Japanese conquered the Dutch West Indies and occupied them from 1942 – 1945. In 1945, Indonesia was proclaimed a republic, and the islands which were formerly known as the Spice Islands are now known as the Maluku Islands(also called the Moluccas or Moluccan Islands). The Moluccas are included with a group of islands between Southeast Asia and North Australia, that comprise the Malay Archipelago. #DidYouKnow