The first circumnavigation of the Earth

The first circumnavigation of the Earth started because the Spanish were looking for a westward route to the East Indies. They could not use the eastern route because they brokered a treaty with Portugal meaning that they could not use these routes. It was for this reason that King Charles I of Spain commissioned the Portuguese Ferdinand Magellan to find a westward route to the East Indies. They gave him control of 270 men,  five ships, and supplies to last two years.

Ferdinand Magellan set sail on this perilous journey on August 10, 1519 towards South America. He eventually landed in present day Rio de Janeiro. He continued sailing south along the coastline looking for the strait that would lead to the Pacific Ocean. Heading northwest he reaches the equator and eventually reaches an island called Homonhon that is now part of present day Philippines on March 16, 1521.

He reaches an island called Cebu where he baptizes and trades gifts with the Rajah (leader) of Cebu. Magellan eventually makes war with the enemy of the Rajah in an island called Mactan and he is killed. Left with only a 100+ men his crew were forced to burn one of the ships and continue on westward with their three remaining ships. They eventually encounter the spice islands and are able to trade with the locals there as well.

They passed under South Africa and were able to return to Spain in the autumn of 1522 and accomplishing the first circumnavigation of the world. Only one ship returned and only 18 men of the original 270 made it back alive to tell the tale. Since they believed that the spice islands were considered to be part of the westward part of the world the Spanish considered it their territory. Eventually Spain and Portugal settled the dispute by assigning the Spice Islands to Portugal and the islands of the Philippines to Spain.

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