Juan Sebastian Elcano

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Juan Sebastian Elcano
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Biography
• Soldier and merchant
• The Magellan expedition
• To the Pacific
• Across the Pacific
• Death of Magellan
• Return to Spain
• Commemoration

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Biography

• Juan Sebastián Elcano (1486-1526) was a Spanish
  (Basque) sailor, navigator and explorer best
  remembered for leading the second half of the
  first round-the-world navigation, having taken
  over after the death of Ferdinand Magellan. Upon
  his return to Spain, the King presented him with
  a coat of arms that contained a globe and the
  phrase You Went Around Me First.

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Soldier and Merchant

• In his early years, Elcano was an adventurer,
  fighting with the Spanish army in Algiers and
  Italy before settling down as captain/owner of a
  merchant ship. When he was forced to surrender
  his ship to Italian companies to which he owned
  money, he found he had broken Spanish law and had
  to ask the King for a pardon.

The KingCharles v.
Young King Charles V agreed, but on the condition
that the skilled sailor and navigator serve with
an expedition the King was funding the search
for a new route to the Spice Islands, led by
Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan.
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The Magellan Expedition

• Elcano was given the position of ships master on
  board the Concepción, one of five ships making up
  the fleet. Magellan believed that the globe was
  smaller than it actually is, and that a shortcut
  to the Spice Islands was possible by going
  through the New World.

Spices such as cinnamon and cloves were immensely
valuable in Europe at the time and a shorter
route would be worth a fortune to whoever found
it. The fleet set sail in September of 1519 and
made its way to Brazil.
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To the Pacific

• Magellan lost two ships the San Antonio returned
  to Spain (without permission) and the Santiago
  sank, although all of the sailors were rescued.
  By this time, Elcano was captain of the
  Concepción. In October-November of 1520 the fleet
  explored the islands and waterways at the
  southern tip of South America, eventually finding
  a passage through that to this day is known as
  the Strait of Magellan.

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Across the Pacific

• According to Magellans calculations, the Spice
  Islands should only be a few days sail away. He
  was badly mistaken his ships took four months to
  cross the South Pacific. Conditions were
  miserable on board and several men died before
  the fleet reached Guam and the Marianas Islands.
  Continuing westward, they reached the present-day
  Philippines in early 1521.

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Death of Magellan

• In the Philippines, unfortunately, Magellan was
  one of several Europeans killed in the ensuing
  battle. Elcano was now second in command of the
  Victoria, under Juan Carvalho . They decided to
  destroy the Concepción and head back to Spain in
  the two remaining ships the Trinidad and the
  Victoria.

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Return to Spain

• Heading across the Indian Ocean, the two ships
  made a stop in Borneo before finding themselves
  at the Spice Islands, their original goal. Packed
  with valuable spices, the ships set out again.
  About this time, Elcano replaced Carvalho as
  captain of the Victoria. Trinidad soon sank and
  many of the Trinidads sailors were captured by
  the Portuguese. Elcano sailed the Victoria back
  into Spain on September 6, 1522. The ship was
  crewed by only 22 men18 European survivors of
  the voyage and four Asians they had picked up en
  route.

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Commemoration

• Elcano has unfortunately been mostly forgotten by
  history, as Magellan still gets all the credit
  for the first circumnavigation of the globe.
  Although there is a statue to Elcano in his
  hometown of Getaria, Spain and the Spanish navy
  named a ship with his name.