Magellan

Ferdinand Magellan (c.1480–1521) was a Portuguese navigator who organized the Spanish expedition to reach the Spice Islands by sailing west, leading to the first circumnavigation of the Earth. Although Magellan himself did not survive the voyage, his expedition demonstrated the feasibility of completing a global voyage and greatly increased European knowledge of global geography.

Magellan began his career with Portuguese explorations to India and the spice trade. After falling out with the Portuguese crown, he secured support from King Charles I of Spain for a westward expedition to reach the Spice Islands. In 1519, a fleet of five ships—Trinidad, San Antonio, Concepción, Victoria, and Santiago—left Seville to pursue the aim. The crews sailed across the Atlantic, navigated the southern tip of South America through a strait later named the Strait of Magellan, and entered the Pacific Ocean, which Magellan named “Mar Pacífico.”

Magellan was killed in the Philippines in 1521 during the Battle of Mactan. The remaining crew continued the voyage under the command of Juan Sebastián Elcano, and the Victoria returned to Spain in 1522, completing the first circumnavigation. The expedition yielded extensive geographic and ethnographic information and established the feasibility of sea-based global travel, transforming European navigation and trade.

The name Magellan also remains associated with geographic features named after him, notably the Strait of Magellan at the southern tip of South America. The term is used in various other contexts, including spacecraft and organizational names inspired by the explorer’s legacy.