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Explorer · c. 1480–1521

Ferdinand Magellan

First expedition to circumnavigate the globe; died in the Philippines, but the voyage continued under Elcano.

First expedition to circumnavigate the globe; died in the Philippines, but the voyage continued under Elcano.

The Voyages

Voyages

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Route data is compiled in chronological order from Wikipedia's voyage articles (CC BY-SA), cross-checked against primary source narratives and historical records. Waypoints mark approximate port, bay, and landfall locations — not survey-grade ship positions — and should be verified against detailed historical charts and logs before being treated as authoritative. Coordinates for remote stops and open-ocean legs are estimated and approximate.

First Circumnavigation

1519–1522· Trinidad, Victoria (San Antonio, Concepción, Santiago lost/deserted)

Discover a westward sea route to the Spice Islands (Moluccas) and complete the first circumnavigation of Earth.

Magellan's expedition left Spain in September 1519 with five ships and ~270 men. They crossed the Atlantic, navigated the Strait of Magellan into the Pacific (which Magellan named for its calm waters), and crossed the Pacific in 99 days to Guam. Magellan died in battle at Mactan (27 Apr 1521); Juan Sebastián Elcano assumed command. Under Elcano the expedition reached the Moluccas, loaded spice cargo, returned via the Indian Ocean and Cape of Good Hope, and arrived back in Spain in September 1522. Of ~270 who departed, only 18 returned aboard the sole surviving ship Victoria.

Accuracy: Pacific crossing route estimated — no daily positions survive for the open-ocean leg. Patagonian coast and Pacific island coordinates approximate. Pigafetta's journal cross-checked against Wikipedia timelines and modern scholarship.