In 1519 five ships sailed west from Spain to reach the Spice Islands. One came back, three years later, from the east, with 18 men aboard and a calendar that was a day behind.
18/ ~270
men stepped off the Victoria at Sanlúcar de Barrameda on 6 September 1522, the only ship of five to complete the first voyage around the world. Ferdinand Magellan, who led it, was not among them.Sources: The Mariners’ Museum · History.com
Track of the voyage, pale (1519) to deep (1522)San Antonio’s desertion home✕ ship lost● port of callRoute leaves the left edge and re-enters at the right, across today’s 180° line
01 · The fleet
Five hulls in, one hull out
By the time the fleet reached the Spice Islands it was down to two ships, and only one of those made it home.
SantiagoWrecked scouting the Patagonian coast near Santa Cruz, May 1520.
San AntonioDeserted inside the strait and sailed back to Spain, arriving 1521.
ConcepciónBurned off Bohol in the Philippines, 1521. Too few men were left to sail three ships.
TrinidadStayed at Tidore for repairs, tried to recross the Pacific eastward, and was captured by the Portuguese in 1522.
VictoriaSailed west under Juan Sebastián Elcano and reached Sanlúcar on 6 Sep 1522.
02 · The door
A 560-kilometre gap at the bottom of a continent
The fleet entered the strait at Cape Virgins on 21 October 1520 and reached the Pacific 38 days later. The channel is 3 to 32 km wide.
38 days
to thread the strait, Atlantic to Pacific (History.com)
~560 km
length of the Strait of Magellan (Britannica)
3–32 km
its width, from the narrows to the open reaches (Britannica)
03 · The legs
Ninety-nine days of open ocean
The strait was the shortest leg of the voyage. The Pacific crossing was the hardest: 99 days before the crew ate fresh food again.
Antonio Pigafetta wrote down every day of the voyage. When the crew landed at Cape Verde, the people ashore were a day ahead of them.
Ship’s log
Wednesday, 9 July 1522
Cape Verde, ashore
Thursday
Sailing west, they chased the sun, and each day aboard ran slightly longer than a day ashore. After a full 360° the difference added up to 24 hours. Today the International Date Line, near 180° on the map, settles that day in one place.
06 · The men
One dot per sailor
About 270 men sailed in 1519. 18 came home on the Victoria: roughly one in fifteen.
~270
men aboard five ships in September 1519 (History.com; estimates vary)
18
stepped ashore from the Victoria in September 1522 (The Mariners’ Museum)
>30%
of Earth’s surface is the Pacific they crossed without a chart (NOAA)
Why it matters · what to notice on the map
The voyage showed how big the world is
Follow the colour from pale to deep. The track never doubles back. It is a single loop, and it proved by sailing that every ocean connects to the others.
Look at the gap between the Strait and Guam. Europeans expected a short hop to Asia. They found an ocean that covers more than 30% of the planet.
The route leaves the left edge and comes back on the right. That join, near 180°, is roughly where today’s Date Line resolves the day Pigafetta lost.
Count the three ✕ marks and the one dashed line home. Between them they account for every ship except the Victoria.