Circumnavigating the Globe: Magellan's Real, Fatal Voyage

The Age of Exploration

Chapter 4 · Circumnavigating the Globe: Magellan's Real, Fatal Voyage

Chapter 3 ended with Spain and Portugal splitting the world between them. This chapter follows the Spanish expedition that tried to reach the Spice Islands by sailing west and ended up circling the globe, at a great cost in lives. The source is a single reference article on the expedition. It gives the dates, the fleet and the outcome clearly and the intermediate events only in outline, so the chapter says what is missing.

The Expedition in Outline

Item	What the source says
Departure	20 September 1519, from Spain.
Return	6 September 1522, about three years later.
Distance	Roughly 60,440 km.
Fleet	Five ships: Trinidad, San Antonio, Concepción, Victoria and Santiago.
People	Approximately 270 crew, representing diverse European and Asian origins.
Leaders	Ferdinand Magellan, until his death in April 1521; then Juan Sebastián Elcano, who guided the remaining ship home.

"Approximately 270" The source does not give an exact crew, and I did not research how sources differ. The phrase "diverse European and Asian origins" is the source's, and it does not say what the Asian members did or how they came to be aboard.

What It Achieved

A First Crossing of the Pacific

The source describes "the first crossing of the Pacific by a European expedition." The qualification "by a European expedition" is the source's, and it implies others may have crossed before. I did not research any earlier crossing, and Chapter 9 returns to the peoples of the region.

A Strait

The expedition discovered the Strait of Magellan. Whether Europeans "discovered" it is the same terminology question Chapter 1 raised, and the source gives no date.

The Original Goal

It reached the Moluccas, the Spice Islands, which was the mission's original objective, connecting back to Chapter 1's account of the spice trade.

Magellan's Death

Magellan died at the Battle of Mactan, fighting Filipino forces led by Lapu-Lapu, in April 1521. Elcano took over command. The source gives no day and does not describe the circumstances of the fight, so the chapter cannot say why it took place or how it was lost.

Who Circumnavigated? The leader who planned the voyage died before it was complete, and the ship that finished it was captained by someone else. The source credits the expedition with the first circumnavigation and Elcano with guiding the remaining fleet home. It does not say Magellan personally circled the globe, and it does not resolve how far his earlier travels in the East might matter to the question. I did not research that.

The Cost

Only the Victoria survived to complete the journey.
It returned with 18 survivors plus three Moluccans.
Additional crew members were detained in Cape Verde or returned separately.
The expedition endured mutinies, starvation, disease and hostile encounters throughout.

Numbers That Do Not Add Up on Their Own About 270 people set out, and 18 survivors plus three Moluccans arrived on one ship. The source accounts for some of the difference by noting others were detained in Cape Verde or returned separately, but it does not give totals for the dead, the deserters or those who came home by other routes. I do not calculate a death toll, and readers should not either from these figures.

Was It Worth It?

The Victoria returned carrying 26 tons of valuable cloves, though the source says the extremely long route proved commercially impractical for regular trade. The source does not compare this with da Gama's eastern route from Chapter 2, so I do not.

A Comparison I Will Not Push Too Far Chapter 2 gave da Gama's return losses as about half his crew. The Magellan figures look worse in the source's own numbers, but the two accounts describe different things, and I did not check that the comparison is fair. I note it and do not draw a conclusion.

What I Did Not Verify I did not find the mutiny, the route through the strait, the Pacific crossing, the stop in Guam or the Philippines before Mactan, or the profit made from the cloves, all named in the outline or expected in a full account. I also did not find any account by the surviving crew. The chapter is an outline of a much larger story.

Hands-On Exercises

Exercise 1

Set out the fleet, the dates and the two leaders from the chapter, and say why "Magellan circumnavigated the globe" is a problematic statement.

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Exercise 2

A student writes "Of 270 men, only 18 survived." Use the chapter to correct it.

→ Solution

Exercise 3

Explain the difference between the expedition's achievement and its commercial value, using the chapter's figures.

→ Solution

Quick Reference

Departed: 20 September 1519; returned: 6 September 1522; about 60,440 km
Fleet: Trinidad, San Antonio, Concepción, Victoria, Santiago; about 270 crew
Leaders: Magellan (died April 1521 at Mactan, fighting forces led by Lapu-Lapu); Elcano
Survivors: Victoria returned with 18 survivors plus three Moluccans
Cargo: 26 tons of cloves; the route was commercially impractical
Achievements: the first European crossing of the Pacific; the Strait of Magellan; the Moluccas reached
Not covered: the mutiny, the strait and Pacific crossing, the Philippines, the dead