Back إبحار ماجلان Arabic Ekspedisyon ni Magellan BCL Expedició de Magalhães-Elcano Catalan Дуьххьара дуьненна гуо баккхар CE Magellanova expedice Czech Περίπλους της Γης από τον Μαγγελάνο Greek Expedición de Magallanes y Elcano Spanish Magallaes-Elkano espedizioa Basque سفر کاوشگری ماژلان Persian Circumnavigation Magellan-Elcano French

Magellan expedition

Magellan expedition
Nao Victoria, the only ship in the fleet to complete the circumnavigation. Detail from a map by Abraham Ortelius, 1590.
CountrySpain
LeaderFerdinand Magellan
others
Juan Sebastián Elcano
StartSanlúcar de Barrameda 20 September 1519 (1519-09-20)
EndSanlúcar de Barrameda 6 September 1522 (1522-09-06)
GoalFind a western maritime route to the Spice Islands
Ships
CrewApprox. 270
Survivors
  • 18 returned with Elcano
  • 12 were captured by the Portuguese in Cape Verde, 55 returned with the San Antonio in 1521, and 4 (or 5) from Trinidad returned after hard labor in the East Indies
Achievements
  • First circumnavigation of Earth (completed by Elcano after Magellan's death)
  • First Pacific crossing
  • First to navigate from the Atlantic to the Pacific (Discovery of the Strait of Magellan)
  • First documented European contact with the Philippines[1]
Route

Route taken by the expedition, with milestones marked

The Magellan expedition, sometimes termed the Magellan–Elcano expedition, was a 16th-century Spanish expedition planned and led by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. One of the most important voyages in the Age of Discovery, its purpose was to secure a maritime trade route with the Moluccas, or Spice Islands, in present-day Indonesia.[2][3][4] The expedition departed Spain in 1519 and returned there in 1522 led by Spanish navigator Juan Sebastián Elcano, who crossed the Indian Ocean after Magellan's death in the Philippines.[5][4] Totaling 60,440 km, or 37,560 mi,[6] the nearly three-year voyage achieved the first circumnavigation of Earth in history.[3] It also marked the first crossing of the Pacific by a European expedition,[7] revealing the vast scale of that ocean, and proved that ships could sail around the world on a western sea route.[4][8]

The five-ship fleet left Spain on 20 September 1519[3] with about 270 men. After sailing across the Atlantic Ocean, the ships continued south along the eastern coast of South America. Discovering the Strait of Magellan on 1 November 1520,[9] the fleet passed through to the Pacific Ocean, which Magellan himself named Mar Pacifico.[4][3][10] The fleet crossed the Pacific in 98 days,[4] stopped in Guam and the Philippines, and eventually reached the Moluccas in November 1521. A much-depleted crew led by Elcano finally returned to Spain on 6 September 1522,[3] having sailed west across the Indian Ocean, around the Cape of Good Hope through waters controlled by the Portuguese, and north along the west African coast to finally arrive in Spain.[4]

The expedition endured many hardships, including sabotage and mutinies by the mostly Spanish crew, including Elcano himself; starvation, scurvy, storms, and hostile encounters with indigenous people also beset the voyage. Only about 40 men and one ship—the Victoria—completed the circumnavigation,[n 1] and Magellan himself died in battle in the Philippines in April 1521. A series of officers succeeded him as captain-general, with Elcano eventually leading the Victoria's return trip.

The expedition was funded mostly by King Charles I of Spain, with the hope that it would discover a profitable western route to the Spice Islands, as the eastern route was controlled by Portugal under the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas. Although the expedition did find a route, it was much longer and more arduous than expected and was therefore not commercially useful. Nevertheless, the expedition is regarded as one of the greatest achievements in seamanship, and had a significant impact on the European understanding of the world.[11][12][4]

  1. ^ Suárez 1999, p. 138.
  2. ^ "Spice Islands (Moluccas): 250 Years of Maps (1521–1760)". library.princeton.edu. Princeton University Library. 2010. Archived from the original on 15 March 2024. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Ferdinand Magellan". library.princeton.edu. Princeton University Library. 2010. Archived from the original on 15 March 2024. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Cartwright, Mark (16 June 2021). "Ferdinand Magellan". World History Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 30 April 2024. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  5. ^ "Ferdinand Magellan – Early Years, Expedition & Legacy". History.com. 6 June 2023. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference :6 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Ferdinand Magellan". www.rmg.co.uk. Royal Museums Greenwich. Archived from the original on 26 January 2025. Retrieved 14 February 2025.
  8. ^ Redondo, J.M.G., & Martín, J.M.M. (2021). Making a Global Image of the World: Science, Cosmography and Navigation in Times of the First Circumnavigation of Earth, 1492–1522. Spanish National Research Council. Culture & History Digital Journal. 10(2). ISSN 2253-797X
  9. ^ Pigafetta, Antonio (2007). The First Voyage Around the World, 1519-1522: An Account of Magellan's Expedition. University of Toronto Press. pp. lxi. ISBN 978-0-8020-9370-7.
  10. ^ Seelye Jr., James E.; Selby, Shawn, eds. (2018). Shaping North America: From Exploration to the American Revolution. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p. 612. ISBN 9781440836695.
  11. ^ Cameron 1974, pp. 211, 214.
  12. ^ Bergreen 2006.


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