Ferdinand Magellan
Learn about the first expedition to sail around the entire world in an incredible 3-year adventure!
An image of what Ferdinand Magellan may have looked like
ILLUSTRATION BY Duskbloom Littles
In 1519, Ferdinand Magellan began the most ambitious journey ever attempted - to sail completely around the entire world! This Portuguese explorer convinced the Spanish king to give him five ships and 270 brave sailors for an expedition that would prove the Earth was truly round.
Magellan's greatest challenge came at the bottom of South America, where he discovered a narrow, stormy waterway now called the Strait of Magellan. After 38 dangerous days navigating through rocky cliffs and fierce winds, his ships finally reached a vast, calm ocean that Magellan named the "Pacific" (meaning peaceful).
Magellan's crew discovering the vast Pacific Ocean after crossing through the dangerous strait
Though Magellan died fighting in the Philippines, his navigator Juan Sebastián Elcano led the surviving crew home. After three incredible years, only one ship with 18 sailors made it back to Spain - but they had accomplished something amazing: the first journey around the entire world!
The surviving crew members completing the first journey around the world, arriving back in Spain
Magellan's expedition proved that brave explorers could sail around the entire world and showed just how big and amazing our planet really is!
