Magellan expedition
The Magellan expedition, sometimes called the Magellan-Elcano expedition, was a 16th-century Spanish expedition planned and led by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan with the objective of opening a trade route with the Moluccas. The expedition departed from Spain in 1519, and was completed in 1522 by Spanish navigator Juan Sebastián Elcano after Magellan's death, crossing the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans, culminating in the first circumnavigation of the world.
Nao Victoria, the ship accomplishing the circumnavigation and the only to return from the expedition. Detail from a map by Abraham Ortelius. | |
| Country | Spain |
|---|---|
| Leader | Ferdinand Magellan (succeeded by Juan Sebastián Elcano) |
| Start | Sanlúcar de Barrameda September 20, 1519 |
| End | Sanlúcar de Barrameda September 6, 1522 |
| Goal | Find a western maritime route to the Spice Islands |
| Ships |
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| Crew | approx. 270 |
| Survivors | 18 arrived with Elcano, 12 were captured by the Portuguese in Cape Verde, 55 returned with the San Antonio in 1521, 4 (or 5) from Trinidad returned in Europe after hard labor in East Indies |
| Achievements |
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| Route | |
Route taken by the expedition, with milestones marked | |
The expedition accomplished its primary goal – to find a western route to the Moluccas (Spice Islands). The fleet left Spain on 20 September 1519, sailed across the Atlantic ocean and south along the eastern coast of South America, eventually discovering the Strait of Magellan, allowing them to pass through to the Pacific Ocean (which Magellan named). The fleet completed the first Pacific crossing, stopping in the Philippines, and eventually reached the Moluccas after two years. A much-depleted crew led by Elcano finally returned to Spain on 6 September 1522, having sailed west across the great Indian Ocean, then around the Cape of Good Hope through waters controlled by the Portuguese and north along the West African coast to eventually arrive in Spain.
The fleet initially consisted of five ships and about 270 men. The expedition faced numerous hardships including sabotage and mutinies by the mostly-Spanish crew (and Elcano himself), starvation, scurvy, storms, and hostile encounters with indigenous people. Only 18 men and one ship (the Victoria) completed the return trip to Spain. Magellan himself died in battle in the Philippines and was succeeded as captain-general by a series of officers, 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 Moluccas, as the eastern route was controlled by Portugal under the Treaty of Tordesillas. Though 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.