Magellan expedition

The Magellan expedition, sometimes termed the Magellan–Elcano expedition, was a 16th-century Spanish expedition planned and initially led by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and completed by the Spanish navigator Juan Sebastián Elcano which resulted in the first circumnavigation of the Earth. Its purpose was to secure a maritime trade route with the Moluccas, or Spice Islands, in present-day Indonesia. The expedition departed Spain in 1519 and returned there in 1522 under the command of Elcano, who continued the voyage after Magellan's death in the Philippines. One of the most significant voyages in the Age of Discovery, the nearly three-year expedition totaled 60,440 km (37,560 mi) and was the first to sail around the earth. It also marked the first crossing of the Pacific by a European expedition, revealing the vast scale of that ocean, and proved that ships could sail around the world on a western sea route. The five-ship fleet left Spain on 20 September 1519 with about 270 men. After crossing the Atlantic Ocean, the ships continued south along the eastern coast of South America. Entering the Strait of Magellan on 1 November 1520, the fleet passed through to the Pacific Ocean, which Magellan himself named Mar Pacifico. The fleet crossed the Pacific in 98 days, stopped in Guam and the Philippines, and successfully reached the Moluccas in November 1521. A much-depleted crew led by Elcano finally returned to Spain on 6 September 1522, 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. 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...