Quick answer
How was this voyage completed?
Five ships left Spain in 1519 seeking a westward route to the Moluccas. After winter, mutiny and loss, three crossed the strait and the enormous Pacific. Magellan died at Mactan in 1521. Victoria, later commanded by Juan Sebastián Elcano, loaded cloves in the Moluccas and continued west across the Indian Ocean, returning to Spain in September 1522.
- Years
- 1519—1522
- Command
- Ferdinand Magellan through the Pacific stage; several successors, including Juan Sebastián Elcano on the returning Victoria
- Ships
- Trinidad, San Antonio, Concepción, Victoria and Santiago at departure
- Objective
- Reach the Spice Islands by a western route and strengthen Spain's claim to their trade
- Result
- The first recorded circumnavigation, completed by one returning ship after extreme human loss
Itinerary
Principal route stops
Stops come from verifiable voyage records. Open-ocean segments show sequence; daily coordinates remain unknown.
- 01September 1519
Sanlúcar de Barrameda
Five ships enter the Atlantic
- 02April—August 1520
Puerto San Julián
Winter, mutiny and the wreck of Santiago reduce the expedition
- 03October—November 1520
Strait of Magellan
San Antonio deserts; three ships reach the Pacific
- 04November 1520—March 1521
Pacific Ocean
A far longer crossing than expected brings hunger, scurvy and death
- 05April 1521
Cebu and Mactan
Alliance, conversion and war culminate in Magellan's death
- 06November 1521
Moluccas
The surviving ships reach the spice source and load cloves
- 07September 1522
Sanlúcar and Seville
Victoria returns around the Cape and closes the route
A passage through South America cost a ship and nearly the command
The fleet searched south, wintered at San Julián and survived a mutiny that Magellan punished severely. Santiago wrecked on reconnaissance; San Antonio later turned back inside the strait.
Three ships emerged into an ocean whose calm appearance inspired its European name. Its scale—not its surface—became the next danger.
The Pacific crossing outran every provision estimate
The fleet found too little fresh food across months of open water. Food decayed, scurvy spread and sailors died before relief in the western Pacific.
At the Philippines, route-making became political intervention. Magellan allied at Cebu and attacked Mactan, where shallow water and local resistance killed him and changed command again.
Elcano closed the line by choosing the Portuguese route home
After reaching the Moluccas, the expedition divided its return strategy. Trinidad tried to recross the Pacific; Victoria sailed west with cloves through seas claimed by Portugal.
Elcano avoided Portuguese ports where possible, rounded the Cape and reached Spain with eighteen full-route survivors. Circumnavigation emerged from changing leaders, local assistance and repeated decisions after the original plan had broken apart.
Route reading
What is known—and what remains uncertain?
Reliable waypoints, disputed details and the voyage’s effects on trade, empire and local societies form separate parts of the record.
The route was completed under changing command
Magellan led to the Philippines; successive officers and finally Elcano carried the expedition from the Moluccas to Spain.
Different return paths produce different survivor totals
Eighteen completed the circuit aboard Victoria, while others returned later after detention or by routes that did not close the same line.
A global circuit served a spice rivalry
New geographical experience emerged inside a contest over the Moluccas, imperial boundaries and commercial control.
Questions
Common questions
How many ships completed the circuit?
One—Victoria. The other four deserted, wrecked, were abandoned or fell into Portuguese hands.
Why are both Magellan and Elcano in the voyage's name?
Magellan led the strait and Pacific stages; after his death and further command changes, Elcano led the ship that completed the return.
How many people completed the full route?
Eighteen arrived aboard Victoria in September 1522. Other expedition members survived by later or different routes.
Was circumnavigation the original scientific goal?
No. The expedition sought western access to the Spice Islands. The full circuit became the solution adopted by Victoria for the return.
Sources
Sources and further verification
The museums, archives, research institutions and international organizations below support this account.
- First Voyage of Circumnavigation by Magellan and Elcano (1519–1522)UNESCO Memory of the World
- Ferdinand Magellan Interactive MapThe Mariners’ Museum and Park
- Today in History — November 28Library of Congress
- Research guide: Exploration and discoveryRoyal Museums Greenwich
Age of Seas editorial research records verifiable route sequence while leaving unknown daily coordinates unresolved.Editorial standards and corrections ↗