Ferdinand Magellan

The sponsor of Magellan voyage was Emperor Charles V of Spain. Setting sail on September 20, 1519, Magellan began his voyage with a crew of 237 men and five ships -Trinidad, San Antonio, Concepción, Victoria, and Santiago . After three months at sea, Magellan anchored near present day Rio de Janeiro. At the delta of the Rio de la Plata Magellan exclaimed, Montevideo (I see a mountain), believing he had found the Spice Islands.

On the way further south, three sailors were executed and two were marooned for attempting to take control of the ships and to end the voyage.

In October of 1520, a lookout spotted the strait, later named the Straits of Magellan, leading to the Pacific Ocean. On March 6 the ships reached the island of Guam.  Only Victoria, three years later, made it back to Spain, carrying only 18 of the original 270 crew members. Magellan was killed in the Philippines towards the end of the voyage, .