MAGELLANEST 2026
1519 to 1522

The Voyage of Magellan

20 SEPTEMBER 1519

Departure

Portugal was blocking the eastern route to the Spice Islands.

Magellan led 5 ships and 270 men to find a westward route to the Islands.

Portrait of Ferdinand Magellan, The Mariners' Museum, Newport News, Virginia. Public domain.
NOVEMBER 1520

The strait

Magellan charts 350 miles of unseen channels through South America, stumbling upon a new ocean.

The first map of the Strait of Magellan, from Pigafetta's account. Library of Congress. Public domain.
1520 TO 1521

The Pacific Ocean

The crossing takes 98 days.

No storms the whole way, so Magellan names it the Mar Pacífico (Peaceful Sea).

Maris Pacifici, Abraham Ortelius, 1589. Public domain.
APRIL 1521

The Philippines

Magellan allied with the king of Cebu.

The chief of Mactan, another island, refused Spain's rule. Magellan went to take it, and died trying.

The death of Magellan, 19th-century illustration. Public domain.
SEPTEMBER 1522

Home

One ship, the Victoria, makes it back with 18 men, completing the first circumnavigation of the Earth.

The ship Victoria, from a map by Abraham Ortelius, 1590. Public domain.
TODAY

The sky

Two galaxies visible from the southern sky carry his name, the Magellanic Clouds.

The Victoria sailed 53,247 miles around the world.
We hope to charter 53,247 with you soon.

Sources: Wikipedia, "Magellan expedition" and "Magellanic Clouds". Images from Wikimedia Commons and the Library of Congress, public domain.