Circumnavigations #8: The Sometimes Forgotten Captain
It is common to say that Magellan was the first to circumnavigate the globe, but this really isn't true. Magellan lead the expedition. He organized the five ships and crews that left Spain in 1519, and for the most dangerous parts of the journey, meaning the areas that were unknown to Europeans, Magellan was the commander. Magellan had traveled to the Moluccas previously and so he brought a great deal of experience and vision to the expedition. You could even argue that given the fact that Magellan had visited the Western edge of the Pacific years prior, his reaching the Philippines in 1521 would mean that he had traveled around the world, albeit in different pieces. But in terms of undertaking a full, continuous voyage around the world, Magellan wasn't the first. After crossing the Pacific, passing through (rather violently) the Marianas, he made his way to the Philippines. He was killed there after his hubris compelled him to get involved in a conf