History of travel around the world: from Magellan to Picard. First circumnavigation and other notable circumnavigations
Ask anyone, and he will tell you that the first person to circumnavigate the world was the Portuguese navigator and explorer Ferdinand Magellan, who died on Mactan Island (Philippines) during an armed clash with the natives (1521). The same is written in history books.
Actually, this is a myth. After all, it turns out that one excludes the other. Magellan managed to go only half way.
Primus circumdedisti me (you were the first to bypass me)- reads the Latin inscription on the emblem of Juan Sebastian Elcano crowned with a globe. Indeed, Elcano was the first person to commit circumnavigation.
The San Telmo Museum in San Sebastian houses Salaverria's painting "The Return of the Victoria". Eighteen emaciated people in white shrouds, with lighted candles in their hands, staggering down the ladder from the ship to the embankment of Seville. These are sailors from the only ship that returned to Spain from the entire flotilla of Magellan. In front is their captain, Juan Sebastian Elcano.
Much in the biography of Elcano has not yet been clarified. Oddly enough, the man who circumnavigated the globe for the first time did not attract the attention of artists and historians of his time. There is not even a reliable portrait of him, and of the documents written by him, only letters to the king, petitions and a will have survived.
Juan Sebastian Elcano was born in 1486 in Getaria, a small port town in the Basque Country, not far from San Sebastian. He early linked his own fate with the sea, making a “career” that was not uncommon for an enterprising person of that time - first changing his job as a fisherman to a smuggler, and later enrolling in the navy to avoid punishment for his too free attitude to laws and trade duties. Elcano took part in the Italian Wars and the Spanish military campaign in Algeria in 1509. Bask had mastered maritime business quite well in practice when he was a smuggler, but it was in the navy that Elcano received the “correct” education in the field of navigation and astronomy.
In 1510, Elcano, the owner and captain of a ship, took part in the siege of Tripoli. But the Spanish Treasury refused to pay Elcano the amount due for settlements with the crew. After leaving the military service, which never seriously attracted the young adventurer with low wages and the need to maintain discipline, Elcano decides to start new life in Seville. It seems to Basque that a bright future awaits him - in a new city for him, no one knows about his not entirely impeccable past, the navigator atoned for his guilt before the law in battles with the enemies of Spain, he has official papers that allow him to work as a captain on a merchant ship … But the trade enterprises, in which Elcano becomes a participant, turn out to be unprofitable as one.
In 1517, in payment of debts, he sold the ship under his command to the Genoese bankers - and this trading operation determined his entire fate. The fact is that the owner of the sold ship was not Elcano himself, but the Spanish crown, and the Basque is expected to again have difficulties with the law, this time threatening him with the death penalty. At that time it was considered a serious crime. Knowing that the court would not take into account any excuses, Elcano fled to Seville, where it was easy to get lost, and then take refuge on any ship: in those days, the captains were least interested in the biographies of their people. In addition, there were many Elcano fellow countrymen in Seville, and one of them, Ibarolla, was well acquainted with Magellan. He helped Elcano to enlist in Magellan's flotilla. Having passed the exams and received beans as a sign of a good grade (those who did not pass received peas from the examination board), Elcano became the helmsman on the third largest ship in the flotilla, the Concepcione.
Ships of Magellan's flotilla
On September 20, 1519, Magellan's flotilla left the mouth of the Guadalquivir and headed for the coast of Brazil. In April 1520, when the ships settled down for the winter in the frosty and deserted bay of San Julian, the captains, dissatisfied with Magellan, mutinied. Elcano was drawn into it, not daring to disobey his commander - the captain of the "Concepción" Quesada.
Magellan vigorously and brutally suppressed the rebellion: Quesada and another of the leaders of the conspiracy were cut off their heads, the corpses were quartered and the mutilated remains were stumbled on poles. Captain Cartagena and one priest, also the instigator of the rebellion, Magellan ordered to be landed on the deserted shore of the bay, where they subsequently died. The remaining forty rebels, including Elcano, Magellan spared.
1. The first ever circumnavigation of the world
On November 28, 1520, the remaining three ships left the strait and in March 1521, after an unprecedentedly difficult passage through the Pacific Ocean, they approached the islands, which later became known as the Marianas. In the same month, Magellan discovered the Philippine Islands, and on April 27, 1521, he died in a skirmish with local residents on the island of Matan. Elcano, stricken with scurvy, did not participate in this skirmish. After the death of Magellan, Duarte Barbosa and Juan Serrano were elected captains of the flotilla. At the head of a small detachment, they went ashore to the Raja of Cebu and were treacherously killed. Fate again - for the umpteenth time - spared Elcano. Karvalyo became the head of the flotilla. But there were only 115 men left on the three ships; many of them are sick. Therefore, the Concepcion was burned in the strait between the islands of Cebu and Bohol; and his team moved to the other two ships - Victoria and Trinidad. Both ships wandered between the islands for a long time, until, finally, on November 8, 1521, they anchored off the island of Tidore, one of the "Spice Islands" - the Moluccas. Then, in general, it was decided to continue sailing on one ship - the Victoria, whose captain shortly before that was Elcano, and leave the Trinidad on the Moluccas. And Elcano managed to navigate his worm-eaten ship with a starving crew through the Indian Ocean and along the coast of Africa. A third of the team died, about a third was detained by the Portuguese, but still, on September 8, 1522, the Victoria entered the mouth of the Guadalquivir.
It was an unprecedented, unheard-of passage in the history of navigation. Contemporaries wrote that Elcano surpassed King Solomon, the Argonauts and the cunning Odysseus. The first ever circumnavigation of the world has been completed! The king granted the navigator an annual pension of 500 gold ducats and knighted Elcano. The coat of arms assigned to Elcano (since then del Cano) commemorated his voyage. The coat of arms depicted two cinnamon sticks framed with nutmeg and cloves, a golden padlock surmounted by a helmet. Above the helmet is a globe with a Latin inscription: "You were the first to circle me." And finally, by special decree, the king announced forgiveness to Elcano for selling the ship to a foreigner. But if it was quite simple to reward and forgive the brave captain, then to resolve everything contentious issues connected with the fate of the Moluccas turned out to be more complicated. The Spanish-Portuguese congress sat for a long time, but could not "divide" the islands located on the other side of the "earthly apple" between the two powerful powers. And the Spanish government decided not to delay sending a second expedition to the Moluccas.
2. Goodbye A Coruña
A Coruna was considered the safest port in Spain, which "could accommodate all the fleets of the world." The importance of the city increased even more when the Chamber of Indies was temporarily transferred here from Seville. This chamber developed plans for a new expedition to the Moluccas in order to finally establish Spanish domination on these islands. Elcano arrived in A Coruña full of bright hopes - he already saw himself as an admiral of the armada - and began to equip the flotilla. However, Charles I did not appoint Elcano as commander, but a certain Jofre de Loais, a participant in many naval battles, but completely unfamiliar with navigation. Elcano's pride was deeply wounded. In addition, the “highest refusal” came from the royal office to Elcano’s petition for the payment of an annual pension granted to him of 500 gold ducats: the king ordered that this amount be paid only after returning from the expedition. So Elcano experienced the traditional ingratitude of the Spanish crown to the famous navigators.
Before sailing, Elcano visited his native Getaria, where he, a renowned sailor, easily managed to recruit many volunteers to his ships: with a man who has bypassed the “earthly apple”, you will not be lost even in the devil’s mouth, the port brethren argued. At the beginning of the summer of 1525, Elcano brought his four ships to A Coruña and was appointed helmsman and deputy commander of the flotilla. In total, the flotilla consisted of seven ships and 450 crew members. There were no Portuguese on this expedition. The last night before the sailing of the flotilla in A Coruña was very lively and solemn. At midnight on Mount Hercules, on the site of the ruins of a Roman lighthouse, a huge fire was lit. The city said goodbye to the sailors. The cries of the townspeople, who treated the sailors with wine from leather bottles, the sobs of women and the hymns of the pilgrims mixed with the sounds of the cheerful dance “La Muneira”. The sailors of the flotilla remembered this night for a long time. They went to another hemisphere, and now they faced a life full of dangers and hardships. For the last time, Elcano walked under the narrow archway of Puerto de San Miguel and descended the sixteen pink steps to the beach. These steps, already completely worn out, have survived to this day.
Death of Magellan
3. Misfortunes of the chief helmsman
The powerful, well-armed flotilla of Loaysa put to sea on July 24, 1525. According to the royal instructions, and Loaisa had fifty-three in total, the flotilla was to follow the path of Magellan, but avoid his mistakes. But neither Elcano - the king's chief adviser, nor the king himself foresaw that this would be the last expedition sent through the Strait of Magellan. It was the Loaisa expedition that was destined to prove that this was not the most profitable way. And all subsequent expeditions to Asia departed from the Pacific ports of New Spain (Mexico).
July 26 vessels rounded Cape Finisterre. On August 18, the ships were caught in a severe storm. On the admiral's ship, the mainmast was broken, but two carpenters sent by Elcano, risking their lives, nevertheless got there in a small boat. While the mast was being repaired, the flagship collided with the Parral, breaking its mizzen mast. Swimming was very difficult. There was a lack of fresh water and provisions. Who knows what the fate of the expedition would have been if on October 20 the lookout had not seen the island of Annobón in the Gulf of Guinea on the horizon. The island was deserted - only a few skeletons lay under a tree on which a strange inscription was carved: "Here lies the unfortunate Juan Ruiz, killed because he deserved it." Superstitious sailors saw this as a formidable omen. The ships hastily filled with water, stocked up with provisions. On this occasion, the captains and officers of the flotilla were summoned to a festive dinner with the admiral, which almost ended tragically.
A huge fish of an unknown breed was served on the table. According to Urdaneta, Elcano's page and chronicler of the expedition, some sailors who "tasted the meat of this fish, whose teeth were like big dog, their bellies ached so much that they thought they would not survive. Soon the whole flotilla left the shores of the inhospitable Annobon. From here, Loaysa decided to sail to the coast of Brazil. And from that moment on, the Sancti Espiritus, Elcano's ship, began a streak of misfortune. Without having time to set the sails, the Sancti Espiritus almost collided with the admiral's ship, and then generally lagged behind the flotilla for some time. At latitude 31º, after a strong storm, the admiral's ship disappeared from sight. Elcano assumed command of the remaining vessels. Then the San Gabriel separated from the flotilla. The remaining five ships searched for the admiral's ship for three days. The search was unsuccessful, and Elcano ordered to move on to the Strait of Magellan.
On January 12, the ships stopped at the mouth of the Santa Cruz River, and since neither the admiral's ship nor the San Gabriel came here, Elcano convened a council. Knowing from the experience of the previous voyage that this was an excellent anchorage, he suggested waiting for both ships, as was the instructions. However, the officers, who were eager to enter the strait as soon as possible, advised leaving only the Santiago pinasse at the mouth of the river, burying in a jar under a cross on an island a message that the ships were headed for the Strait of Magellan. On the morning of January 14, the flotilla weighed anchor. But what Elcano took for a strait turned out to be the mouth of the Gallegos River, five or six miles from the strait. Urdaneta, who despite his admiration for Elcano. retained the ability to be critical of his decisions, writes that such a mistake by Elcano struck him very much. On the same day they approached the real entrance to the strait and anchored at the Cape of the Eleven Thousand Holy Virgins.
An exact copy of the ship "Victoria"
At night, a terrible storm hit the flotilla. Raging waves flooded the ship to the middle of the masts, and it barely kept on four anchors. Elcano realized that all was lost. His only thought now was to save the team. He ordered the ship to be grounded. Panic broke out on the Sancti Espiritus. Several soldiers and sailors rushed into the water in horror; all drowned except one who managed to make it to shore. Then the rest crossed to the shore. Managed to save some of the provisions. However, at night the storm broke out with the same force and finally smashed the Sancti Espiritus. For Elcano - the captain, the first circumnavigator and chief helmsman of the expedition - the crash, especially through his fault, was a big blow. Never before has Elcano been in such a difficult position. When the storm finally subsided, the captains of other ships sent a boat for Elcano, offering him to lead them through the Strait of Magellan, since he had been here before. Elcano agreed, but took only Urdaneta with him. He left the rest of the sailors on the shore ...
But failures did not leave the exhausted flotilla. From the very beginning, one of the ships almost ran into the rocks, and only the determination of Elcano saved the ship. After some time, Elcano sent Urdaneta with a group of sailors for the sailors left on the shore. Soon, Urdaneta's group ran out of provisions. It was very cold at night, and people were forced to burrow up to their necks in the sand, which also did not warm much. On the fourth day, Urdaneta and his companions approached the sailors dying on the shore from hunger and cold, and on the same day, the Loaysa ship, the San Gabriel, and the pinnace Santiago entered the mouth of the strait. On January 20, they joined the rest of the ships of the flotilla.
JUAN SEBASTIAN ELCANO
On February 5, a severe storm broke out again. The Elcano ship took refuge in the strait, and the San Lesmes was driven further south by the storm, to 54 ° 50 ′ south latitude, that is, it approached the very tip of Tierra del Fuego. Not a single ship went south in those days. A little more, and the expedition would be able to open the way around Cape Horn. After the storm, it turned out that the admiral's ship was aground, and Loaysa and the crew left the ship. Elcano immediately sent a group of the best sailors to help the admiral. On the same day, the Anunsiada deserted. The captain of the ship de Vera decided to independently get to the Moluccas past the Cape of Good Hope. The Anunciad has gone missing. A few days later, the San Gabriel also deserted. The remaining ships returned to the mouth of the Santa Cruz River, where the sailors began to repair the admiral's ship, which was badly battered by storms. Under other conditions, it would have had to be abandoned altogether, but now that the flotilla had lost three of its largest ships, this could no longer be afforded. Elcano, who, on his return to Spain, criticized Magellan for having lingered at the mouth of this river for seven weeks, now he himself was forced to spend five weeks here. At the end of March, somehow patched up ships again headed for the Strait of Magellan. The expedition now included only the admiral's ship, two caravels and a pinnace.
On April 5, the ships entered the Strait of Magellan. Between the islands of Santa Maria and Santa Magdalena, another misfortune befell the admiral's ship. A cauldron of boiling tar caught fire, a fire broke out on the ship.
Panic broke out, many sailors rushed to the boat, ignoring Loaysa, who showered them with curses. The fire was still put out. The flotilla moved on through the strait, along the banks of which, on high mountain peaks, “so high that they seemed to stretch to the very sky,” lay eternal bluish snow. At night, the fires of the Patagonians burned on both sides of the strait. Elcano already knew these lights from the first voyage. On April 25, the ships weighed anchor from the San Jorge anchorage, where they replenished their water and firewood supplies, and again set off on a difficult voyage.
And where the waves of both oceans meet with a deafening roar, the storm again hit Loaisa's flotilla. The ships anchored in the bay of San Juan de Portalina. Mountains several thousand feet high rose on the shore of the bay. It was terribly cold, and “no clothes could warm us,” writes Urdaneta. Elcano was on the flagship all the time: Loaysa, having no relevant experience, completely relied on Elcano. The passage through the strait lasted forty-eight days - ten days more than Magellan's. On May 31, a strong northeast wind blew. The whole sky was covered with clouds. On the night of June 1-2, a storm broke out, the most terrible of the former so far, scattering all ships. Although the weather later improved, they were never to meet again. Elcano, with most of the crew of the Sancti Espiritus, was now on the admiral's ship, which had one hundred and twenty men. Two pumps did not have time to pump out water, they feared that the ship could sink at any moment. In general, the ocean was Great, but by no means Pacific.
4 Pilot Dies Admiral
The ship was sailing alone, neither sail nor island could be seen on the vast horizon. “Every day,” writes Urdaneta, “we waited for the end. Due to the fact that people from the wrecked ship moved to us, we are forced to reduce rations. We worked hard and ate little. We had to endure great hardships and some of us died.” On July 30, Loaysa died. According to one of the expedition members, the cause of his death was a breakdown in spirit; he was so upset by the loss of the rest of the ships that he "became weaker and died." Loays did not forget to mention in the will of his chief helmsman: “I ask that Elcano be returned four barrels of white wine, which I owe him. The biscuits and other provisions that lie on my ship, the Santa Maria de la Victoria, shall be given to my nephew Alvaro de Loays, who must share them with Elcano. They say that by this time only rats remained on the ship. On the ship, many were ill with scurvy. Everywhere Elcano looked, everywhere he saw swollen pale faces and heard the groans of sailors.
Thirty people have died from scurvy since they left the channel. “They all died,” writes Urdaneta, “due to the fact that their gums were swollen and they could not eat anything. I saw a man whose gums were so swollen that he tore off pieces of meat as thick as a finger. The sailors had one hope - Elcano. They, in spite of everything, believed in his lucky star, although he was so ill that four days before the death of Loaysa he himself made a will. In honor of Elcano's assumption of the position of admiral - a position which he unsuccessfully sought two years ago - a cannon salute was given. But Elcano's strength was drying up. The day came when the admiral could no longer get up from his bunk. His relatives and faithful Urdaneta gathered in the cabin. By the flickering light of the candle, one could see how thin they were and how much they had suffered. Urdaneta kneels and touches the body of her dying master with one hand. The priest watches him closely. Finally, he raises his hand, and everyone present slowly falls to their knees. Elcano's wanderings are over...
“Monday, 6 August. The valiant lord Juan Sebastian de Elcano has died." So Urdaneta noted in his diary the death of the great navigator.
Four people lift the body of Juan Sebastian, wrapped in a shroud and tied to a plank. At a sign from the new admiral, they throw him into the sea. There was a splash, drowning out the priest's prayers.
MONUMENT IN HONOR OF ELCANO IN GETARIA
Epilogue
Exhausted by worms, tormented by storms and storms, the lone ship continued on its way. The team, according to Urdaneta, “was terribly exhausted and exhausted. Not a day went by that one of us didn't die.
Therefore, we decided that the best thing for us is to go to the Moluccas.” Thus, they abandoned the bold plan of Elcano, who was going to fulfill the dream of Columbus - to reach the east coast of Asia, following the shortest route from the west. “I am sure that if Elcano had not died, we would not have reached the Ladrone (Marian) Islands so soon, because his constant intention was to search for Chipansu (Japan),” writes Urdaneta. He clearly considered Elcano's plan too risky. But the man who for the first time circumnavigated the "earthly apple" did not know what fear was. But he also did not know that in three years Charles I would cede his “rights” to the Moluccas to Portugal for 350 thousand gold ducats. Of the entire Loaysa expedition, only two ships survived: the San Gabriel, which reached Spain after a two-year voyage, and the Santiago pinasse under the command of Guevara, which passed along the Pacific coast of South America to Mexico. Although Guevara saw only once the coast of South America, his voyage proved that the coast does not protrude far to the west anywhere and that South America has the shape of a triangle. This was the most important geographical discovery of Loaisa's expedition.
Getaria, in the homeland of Elcano, at the entrance to the church there is a stone slab, a half-erased inscription on which reads: “... the glorious captain Juan Sebastian del Cano, a native and resident of the noble and faithful city of Getaria, the first to circumnavigate the globe on the ship Victoria. In memory of the hero, this slab was erected in 1661 by Don Pedro de Etave y Asi, Knight of the Order of Calatrava. Pray for the repose of the soul of the one who first traveled around the world. And on the globe in the San Telmo Museum, the place where Elcano died is indicated - 157º west and 9º north latitude.
In the history books, Juan Sebastian Elcano undeservedly found himself in the shadow of the glory of Ferdinand Magellan, but he is remembered and revered in his homeland. The name of Elcano is a training sailboat in the composition Naval Forces Spain. In the wheelhouse of the ship, you can see the coat of arms of Elcano, and the sailboat itself has already managed to carry out a dozen round-the-world expeditions.
Ask any schoolchild about who was the first to circumnavigate the world, and you will hear: “Of course, Magellan.” And few people doubt these words. But after all, Magellan organized this expedition, led it, but could not complete the voyage. So who is the first navigator to make
Journey of Magellan
In 1516, the little-known nobleman Ferdinand Magellan came to the Portuguese king Manuel I with the idea to carry out Columbus' plan to reach the Spice Islands, as the Moluccas were then called, from the west. As you know, Columbus was then “interfered” by America, which appeared on his way, which he considered to be the islands of Southeast Asia.
At that time, the Portuguese were already sailing to the islands of the East Indies, but bypassing Africa and crossing the Indian Ocean. So new way they did not need to these islands.
History repeated itself: Magellan, ridiculed by King Manuel, went to the Spanish king and received his consent to organize the expedition.
On September 20, 1519, a flotilla of five ships left the Spanish port of San Lucar de Barrameda.
Moons of Magellan
Nobody disputes that historical fact that the first trip around the world was made by an expedition led by Magellan. The vicissitudes of the path of this dramatic expedition are known from the words of Pigafetta, who kept records all the days of the journey. Its participants were also two captains who had already visited the East Indies more than once: Barbosa and Serrano.
And especially on this campaign, Magellan took his slave, the Malay Enrique. He was captured in Sumatra and served Magellan faithfully for a long time. On the expedition, he was assigned the role of an interpreter when the Spice Islands were reached.
Expedition progress
Having lost a lot of time crossing and passing through a rocky, narrow and long strait, which later received the name of Magellan, the travelers came to a new ocean. During this time, one of the ships sank, the other went back to Spain. A conspiracy against Magellan was uncovered. The rigging of the ships was in need of repair, and supplies of food and drinking water were running low.
The ocean, called the Pacific, first met with a good fair wind, but subsequently it became weaker and, finally, completely calmed down. People deprived of fresh food did not only die of hunger, although they had to eat both rats and skin from masts. The main danger was scurvy - a thunderstorm for all sailors of that time.
And only on March 28, 1521, they reached the islands, whose inhabitants answered with amazement the questions of Enrique, who spoke his native language. This meant that Magellan and his companions arrived on the islands of the East Indies from the other side. And it was Enrique who was the very first traveler to circumnavigate the world! He returned to his homeland, circumnavigating the globe.
End of expedition
April 21, 1521 Magellan was killed, intervening in the internecine war of local leaders. It had the most bad consequences for his companions who were forced to simply flee the islands.
Many of the sailors were killed or wounded. Of the 265 crew members, only 150 remained, they were only enough to manage two ships.
On the islands of Tidore, they were able to rest a bit, replenish food supplies, take spices and golden sand on board.
Only the ship "Victoria" under the control of Sebastian del Cano set off on the return journey to Spain. Only 18 people returned to the port of Lukar! These people are the ones who made the first trip around the world. True, their names were not preserved. But Captain del Cano and the chronicler of Pigafetta's journey are known not only to historians and geographers.
The first Russian round-the-world trip
The head of the first Russian round-the-world expedition was. This voyage took place in 1803-1806.
Two sailing ships - "Nadezhda" under the command of Krusenstern himself and "Neva" headed by his assistant Yuri Fedorovich Lisyansky - left Kronstadt on August 7, 1803. The main goal was to study Pacific Ocean and especially the mouth of the Amur. It was necessary to identify convenient places for the parking of the Russian Pacific Fleet and the best routes for supplying it.
The expedition not only had great importance for the formation of the Pacific Fleet, but also made a huge contribution to science. New islands were discovered, but a number of non-existent islands were erased from the ocean map. For the first time, systematic studies were started in the ocean. The expedition discovered the trade wind countercurrents in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, measured the temperature of the water, its salinity, determined the density of the water ... The reasons for the glow of the sea were clarified, data were collected on the tides, on the components of the weather in different regions of the World Ocean.
Significant adjustments were made to the map of the Russian Far East: parts of the coast of the Kuril Islands, Sakhalin, and the Kamchatka Peninsula. For the first time, some of the Japanese islands are marked on it.
The participants of this expedition became those of the Russians who were the first to circumnavigate the world.
But for most Russians, this expedition is known by the fact that the first Russian mission led by Rezanov went to Japan on the Nadezhda.
Great second (interesting facts)
The Englishman became the second person to circumnavigate the world in 1577-1580. His galleon "Golden Doe" for the first time passed from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific through the stormy strait, later named after him. This path is considered much more difficult than through because of the constant storms, floating ice, and sudden changes in the weather. Drake was the first person to circumnavigate the world around Cape Horn. Since then, among the sailors, a tradition has gone to wear an earring in the ear. If he passed leaving Cape Horn on the right, then the earring should have been in the right ear, and vice versa.
For his services he was personally knighted by Queen Elizabeth. It is to him that the Spaniards owe the defeat of their "Invincible Armada".
In 1766, Frenchwoman Jeanne Barré became the first woman to sail around the world. To do this, she disguised herself as a man and got on the ship of Bougainville, which went on a round-the-world expedition, as a servant. When the deception was revealed, despite all her merits, Barre was landed in Mauritius and returned home on another ship.
The second Russian round-the-world expedition led by F.F. Bellingshausen and M.P. Lazareva is famous for the fact that Antarctica was discovered during it in January 1820.
CIRCUITS AND TRAVELING, expeditions around the Earth, during which all the meridians or parallels of the Earth are crossed. Round-the-world voyages passed (in different sequences) through the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans, were made initially in search of new lands and trade routes, which led to the Great geographical discoveries. The first circumnavigation of the world in history was made by a Spanish expedition in 1519-22 led by F. Magellan in search of a direct western route from Europe to the West Indies (where the Spaniards went for spices) under the command of six successive captains (the last - J. S. Elcano) . As a result of this most important navigation in the history of geographical discoveries, a giant water area called the Pacific Ocean was revealed, the unity of the World Ocean was proved, the hypothesis of the predominance of land over water was questioned, the theory of the sphericity of the Earth was confirmed, irrefutable data appeared to determine its true size, the idea arose of the need for an international date line. Despite the death of Magellan in this voyage, it is he who should be considered the first navigator around the world. The second round-the-world voyage was carried out by the English pirate F. Drake (1577-80), and the third - by the English pirate T. Cavendish (1586-88); they penetrated through the Strait of Magellan into the Pacific Ocean to plunder Spanish-American port cities and capture Spanish ships. Drake became the first captain to complete a full circumnavigation of the world. The fourth round-the-world voyage (again through the Strait of Magellan) was carried out by the Dutch expedition of O. van Noort (1598-1601). The Dutch expedition of J. Lemer - V. Schouten (1615-17), equipped by competing compatriot merchants to eliminate the monopoly of the Netherlands East India Company, paved a new route around the Cape Horn discovered by it, but the company's agents seized their ship off the Moluccas, and the survivors sailors (including Schouten) completed their circumnavigation already as prisoners on her ships. Of the three round-the-world voyages of the English navigator W. Dampier, the most significant is the first, which he performed on different ships with long breaks in 1679-91, collecting materials that made it possible to consider him one of the founders of oceanography.
In the 2nd half of the 18th century, when the struggle for the seizure of new lands intensified, Great Britain and France sent a number of expeditions to the Pacific Ocean, including the first French expedition around the world under the leadership of L. A. de Bougainville (1766-69), which discovered in Oceania a number of islands; among the participants of this expedition was J. Bare - the first woman to circumnavigate the world. These voyages proved, though not completely, that in the Pacific Ocean, between the parallels 50° north latitude and 60° south latitude, east of the Asian archipelagos, New Guinea and Australia, there are no large land masses other than New Zealand. The English navigator S. Wallis, in his circumnavigation of 1766-68, for the first time, using a new method of calculating longitudes, quite accurately determined the position of the island of Tahiti, several islands and atolls in the western and central parts of the Pacific Ocean. The English navigator J. Cook achieved the greatest geographical results in three round-the-world voyages.
In the 19th century, hundreds of round-the-world voyages were made for commercial, fishing and purely scientific purposes, and discoveries were continued in the Southern Hemisphere. In the first half of the 19th century, the Russian sailing fleet played an outstanding role; during the first round-the-world voyage made on the sloops "Nadezhda" and "Neva" by I. F. Kruzenshtern and Yu. Dozens of other Russian round-the-world voyages that followed connected St. Petersburg with the Far East and Russian possessions in North America by a relatively cheap sea route, and strengthened Russian positions in the North Pacific Ocean. Russian expeditions made a major contribution to the development of oceanography and discovered many islands; O. E. Kotzebue during his second circumnavigation (1815-18) was the first to make a correct assumption about the origin of coral islands. The expedition of F. F. Bellingshausen and M. P. Lazarev (1819-21) on the sloops "Vostok" and "Mirny" on January 16, February 5 and 6, 1820 almost came close to the coast of the hitherto mythical South Earth - Antarctica (now the Coast Princess Martha and Princess Astrid Coast), revealed an arc-shaped underwater ridge 4800 km long, mapped 29 islands.
In the 2nd half of the 19th century, when sailing ships were supplanted by steamships and the main discoveries of new lands were completed, three round-the-world voyages took place, which made a great contribution to the study of the topography of the ocean floor. The British expedition of 1872-76 on the Challenger corvette (captains J. S. Nares and F. T. Thomson, who succeeded him in 1874) discovered a number of basins in the Atlantic Ocean, the Puerto Rico trench, and underwater ridges around Antarctica; in the Pacific Ocean, the first determinations of depths were made in a number of underwater basins, underwater uplifts and hills were identified, the Mariana Trench. The German expedition of 1874-76 on the military corvette "Gazelle" (commander G. von Schleinitz) continued to discover bottom relief elements and measure depths in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. The Russian expedition of 1886-89 on the Vityaz corvette (commander S. O. Makarov) for the first time revealed the main laws of the general circulation of surface waters in the Northern Hemisphere and discovered the existence of a “cold intermediate layer” that preserves the remnants of winter cooling in the waters of the seas and oceans.
In the 20th century, major discoveries were made during round-the-world voyages, mainly by Antarctic expeditions, which established in in general terms contours of Antarctica, including the British expedition on the ship "Discovery-N" under the command of D. John and W. Carey, which in 1931-33 discovered the Chatham Rise in the South Pacific Ocean, traced the South Pacific Ridge for almost 2000 km and conducted an oceanographic survey of Antarctic waters.
At the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, round-the-world voyages began to be carried out for educational, sports and tourist purposes, including solo ones. The first solo circumnavigation was carried out by the American traveler J. Slocum (1895-98), the second by his compatriot G. Pidgeon (1921-1925), the third by the French traveler A. Gerbaud (1923-29). In 1960, the first round-the-world voyage took place on the Triton submarine (USA) under the command of Captain E. Beach. In 1966, a detachment of Soviet nuclear submarines under the command of Rear Admiral A. I. Sorokin made the first round-the-world voyage without surfacing to the surface. In 1968-69, the first solo non-stop circumnavigation of the world was carried out on the sailing yacht Suhaili by the English captain R. Knox-Johnston. In 1976-78, the Polish traveler K. Chojnowska-Liskiewicz was the first woman to circumnavigate the world by herself on the Mazurek yacht. Great Britain was the first to introduce round-the-world single races and made them regular (since 1982). The Russian navigator and traveler F.F. Konyukhov (born in 1951) made 4 solo round-the-world voyages: the 1st (1990-91) - on the Karaana yacht, the 2nd (1993-94) - on the Formosa yacht, 3rd (1998-99) - on the yacht "Modern Humanities University”, participating in the international sailing race “Around the World - Alone”, 4th (2004-05) - on the yacht “Scarlet Sails”. The first round-the-world voyage of the Russian training sailboat Kruzenshtern in 1995-1996 was timed to coincide with the 300th anniversary of the Russian fleet.
The first round-the-world trip from west to east was made by P. Teixeira (Portugal) in 1586-1601, circumnavigating the Earth on ships and on foot. The second in 1785-1788 was made by the French traveler J. B. Lesseps, the only surviving member of the expedition of J. La Perouse. In the last third of the 19th century, after the publication of J. Verne's novel Around the World in 80 Days (1872), round-the-world travel in record time became widespread. In 1889-90, the American journalist N. Bly circumnavigated the Earth in 72 days; in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, this record was repeatedly improved. In the 2nd half of the 20th century, round-the-world voyages and travels no longer seemed something exotic, latitudinal ones were added to them. In 1979-82, for the first time in the history of mankind, R. Fiennes and C. Burton (Great Britain) made a round-the-world trip along the Greenwich meridian with relatively short deviations to the east and west through both poles of the planet (by ships, cars, motor narts, motor boats and on foot) . Travelers contributed to the geographical study of Antarctica. In 1911-13, the Russian athlete A. Pankratov made the first ever round-the-world trip on a bicycle. The first round-the-world flight in the history of aeronautics belongs to the German airship "Graf Zeppelin" under the command of G. Eckener: in 1929, in 21 days, he overcame about 31.4 thousand km with three intermediate landings. In 1949, the American B-50 bomber (commanded by Captain J. Gallagher) made the first non-stop round-the-world flight (with in-flight refueling). The first space flight around the Earth in the history of mankind was performed in 1961 by the Soviet cosmonaut Yu. A. Gagarin on the Vostok spacecraft. In 1986, the British crew made the first round-the-world flight in an airplane without refueling in the history of aviation (D. Rutan and J. Yeager). Husbands Kate and David Grant (Great Britain) with their three children traveled around the world in a van drawn by a pair of horses. They left the Orkney Islands (Great Britain) in 1990, crossed the oceans, countries of Europe, Asia and North America, and in 1997 returned to their homeland. A horseback round-the-world trip in 1992-98 was made by Russian travelers P.F. Plonin and N.K. Davidovsky. In 1999-2002, V. A. Shanin (Russia) traveled around the world in passing cars, airplanes, cargo ships. In a balloon, S. Fossett (USA) first flew around the Earth alone in 2002, and in 2005 he made the first solo round-the-world non-stop flight in an airplane without refueling in the history of aviation.
Lit .: Ivashintsov N. A. Russian travels around the world from 1803 to 1849, St. Petersburg, 1872; Baker J. History of geographical discoveries and research. M., 1950; Russian sailors. [Sat. Art.]. M., 1953; Zubov N. N. Domestic navigators - explorers of the seas and oceans. M., 1954; Urbanchik A. Alone across the ocean: One hundred years of solo navigation. M., 1974; Magidovich IP, Magidovich VI Essays on the history of geographical discoveries. 3rd ed. M., 1983-1986. T. 2-5; Fiennes R. Around the world along the meridian. M., 1992; Blon J. The great hour of the oceans. M., 1993. T. 1-2; Slocum J. One under sail around the world. M., 2002; Pigafetta A. Journey of Magellan. M., 2009.
February 12, 1908 in New York launched the first in the world round-the-world rally- a very bold and risky event in the spirit of that era of great technical discoveries and achievements. But adventurers have always existed - they lived before 1908, they were after it, they feel great in our time. And today we will talk about history of travel around the world, ranging from Magellan to modern brave knights of the compass and map.
Magellan's circumnavigation of the world (1519-1522)
Already at the very beginning of the sixteenth century, it became clear that the lands discovered by Christopher Columbus were neither India nor China. But it was assumed that Asia, with all its many riches, was not so far from America. The point is small - to find the strait, swim across the "South Sea" (the so-called reservoir in those days, which became known as the Pacific Ocean) and get to the desired lands full of spices and silks. The Portuguese and Spanish navigator Ferdinand Magellan took up this business.
On October 20, 1519, five ships under his command left the Spanish port of Sanlúcar de Barrameda. On board the ships there were a crew of more than two hundred people. The expedition led by Magellan, indeed, managed to go around the American continent from the south, overcome the Pacific Ocean, get to the Moluccas (Spice Islands) and return on September 6, 1522 to Seville.
But during the circumnavigation of the world, the expedition lost four ships, and out of 235 people personnel only thirty-six returned to Spain (18 on the last remaining ship and as many more in different ways over the following months and even years). Magellan himself and most of the commanders died in skirmishes with the natives. And the expedition was completed by Captain Juan Sebastian Elcano, the only surviving officer.
Round the world by bicycle (1884-1886)
Thomas Stevens became the first person to circumnavigate the world by bicycle. And you should understand that it was not a bike in the modern sense - light, sporty, ergonomic, but the standard "penny and farthing" for those times (when the front wheel is eight times larger than the rear). And the situation with the roads was much more complicated.
Starting his journey in San Francisco, Stevens crossed all of America from west to east to New York. Then he traveled a lot in his native England, drove through Europe, Ottoman Empire, spent the winter in Tehran as a personal guest of the Shah, visited Afghanistan, returned to Istanbul, sailed by sea to India, checked in China and Japan, and then returned to the starting point of the trip, having spent more than two and a half years on the trip.
Round the world trip on a yacht (1895-1898)
Joshua Slocum's legendary world tour began on April 25, 1895 in Boston. The 10-meter yacht Sprey, on which the Canadian-American traveler and adventurer sailed alone, first crossed the Atlantic Ocean, approaching the Iberian Peninsula, then passed along the west coast of Africa, again crossed the Atlantic, passed through the Strait of Magellan, reached Australia, visited New Guinea, rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and on June 27, 1898 finished in Newport, Rhode Island.
But the traveler did not wait for magnificent honors upon his return to the USA. The American-Spanish War, which was raging at that time, drew all the attention of the press and the public. So the achievement of Slocum was talked about only after the conclusion of peace. And in 1900 he published the book "Sailing Alone Around the World", which became a worldwide bestseller and is still being reprinted.
Joshua Slocum went missing while sailing on a yacht in the Bermuda region in 1909, which was one of the reasons for the legend of the Bermuda Triangle.
First circumnavigation of the world (1908)
On February 12, 1908, the first round-the-world rally started, organized by the American newspaper The New York Times and the French Matin. This event was timed to coincide with the 99th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln. It was planned that 13 crews would take part in it, but seven of them withdrew at the very last moment, before the start of the trip.
The main problem of the first weeks of the run was the cold. Cars of those times were not equipped with heaters, and some had no roof at all. At the same time, it was originally planned that the crews would move from the United States to Russia through the frozen Bering Strait. But the terrible weather conditions in the North forced us to change the route - the cars were loaded onto a ship in Seattle and transported to Vladivostok.
The participants of the rally crossed the whole of Eurasia. The first to reach the finish line in Paris was a German crew in a Protos car. It happened on July 11, 169 days after the start. But it turned out that the Germans violated the conditions of the competition, for which they received a fine of 15 days. So the winners were the Americans in a Thomas Flyer car, who arrived at the last point exactly on July 26th. For the American participants, the race became round the world - after the triumph in Paris, they returned to New York, thus closing the circle.
Airplane trip around the world (1924, 1957)
It is now possible to fly around the globe on an airliner in just over a day. And in 1924, it took four Douglas World Cruisers almost half a year. Rather, four aircraft took off from Seattle on April 6, and only two returned on September 28 - the rest crashed along the road.
And the first non-stop round-the-world flight was made in January 1957, spending 45 hours and 19 minutes on it. Along the way, they replenished their fuel supplies from a refueling aircraft three times.
Walking around the world (1970-1974)
On June 20, 1970, brothers David and John Kunst left their home in Waseka, Minnesota and set out on a hiking trip around the world. They reached New York, where they boarded a ship to Lisbon. Then they crossed all of Europe on foot and reached Afghanistan. But there they were attacked by bandits, John was killed, and David ended up in the hospital for four months.
Having recovered, Kunst continued his campaign exactly from the place where his relative died. But now their third brother, Peter, has joined him. However, he traveled for "only" a year - he had to return home to work.
David Kunst returned to his native Minnesota on October 5, 1974, having traveled about 25 thousand kilometers on the way, becoming a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, breaking down 21 pairs of shoes and meeting Australian teacher Jenny Samuel, who first became his travel companion, and then in life .
Non-stop round-the-world balloon flight (1999)
At the end of the twentieth century Balloons practically ceased to exist. Only those that were used for advertising, tourism, sports and scientific (stratospheric) purposes remained. But there were also balloons created specifically for setting records. For example, the Breitling Orbiter 3, on which in March 1999 Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones made a non-stop round-the-world flight with a length of 45,755 kilometers and a duration of 19 days, 21 hours and 47 minutes.
But this record is not enough for Picard! An adventurer worthy of his grandfather, father and uncle is going to make the first-ever round-the-world flight in 2015 in an aircraft powered solely by solar panels installed on it.
Even from the lessons of school geography, we remember that the first round-the-world trip in the history of mankind was made by the flotilla of the outstanding navigator Ferdinand Magellan. This fact is so well known that the question, posed briefly and clearly: who made the first circumnavigation of the world? - surely the answer will follow, not without a share of surprise: how - who? Magellan!
But, despite the certainty of such an answer, it is nevertheless not true! If you look at a world map or a globe, you can easily find the Philippine Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. And, again, without difficulty, make sure that this archipelago lies almost exactly halfway through any ship that sets off from Europe to circumnavigate the world: after crossing the Atlantic Ocean and passing through the Strait of Magellan at the southern tip of the American mainland, the ship will enter the vast expanses of the Pacific Ocean and after some time will come to the Philippine Islands. This is exactly the path that the flotilla under the command of Admiral Magellan made. But in order to complete the voyage around the world, it is still necessary to cross the vast expanse of the Indian Ocean, go around Africa from the south, re-enter the Atlantic Ocean and, having traveled thousands of miles, finally reach the European shores, from where the voyage began.
Why do we mention this in such detail? Just to remind you of one more fact - sad but indisputable: Ferdinand Magellan could not travel around the world, because he was killed halfway - precisely in the Philippines, on one of the islands in a skirmish with the inhabitants.
However, there is nothing unfair in the fact that the first round-the-world trip in our memory is firmly associated with the name of Magellan: this unprecedented expedition was organized and carried out according to his plan. Another thing is unfair - the fact that for almost four hundred years the name of the person who completed the work conceived by Magellan was consigned to complete oblivion - the name of the person who first flew his ship around the globe and thereby, in particular, proved in practice the sphericity of the Earth. Well, really, try to remember: does the name Elcano tell you anything? Meanwhile, it is he - Juan Sebastian Elcano - who is the first navigator in the history of mankind to circumnavigate the world.
And it was like this...
A hereditary fisherman and sailor, a Basque from Gipuzkoa of the Spanish province, the owner and captain of a large ship, a participant in the sea campaigns of the generals Gonzalo de Cordova and Cisneros - you must agree that from this cursory listing the image of a courageous and gray-haired sea wolf arises. And yet, this "sea wolf" was barely twenty when he brought his ship from the last campaign to Algiers, where the Spaniards inflicted a crushing defeat on the Moors. Led to ... disappear for almost ten years. Why? For one simple reason: at all times, royal persons made the most tempting promises with extraordinary ease, and when the time came to fulfill them, they forgot about them with the same ease. So it happened this time: the Spanish king Ferdinand, who promised to generously reward the participants in the Algerian campaign, as you might guess, was not going to remember his promises. If we were talking about him alone, the young captain Juan Sebastian Elcano might have come to terms with this blow - in any case, after a decade and a half, he did so, having again experienced the "generosity" of the monarch. But this time it was about the whole team, which had to be paid honestly earned money. And Captain Elcano did an act that was not only fair, but also extremely courageous: he sold the ship and, having bailed out the required amount, paid the crew the due salary. Wait, you might say, of course, this is a fair deed, but what does courage have to do with it?
The fact is that by royal decree it was strictly forbidden to sell ships to the Portuguese - Spain's successful rivals at sea. Such a punishment awaited the violator that Elcano, having sold his own ship and paid off the crew, was forced, as we have already said, to disappear for almost ten years, and not only from the field of view of alguacils (policemen), but also historians: about this period in Unfortunately, we know little about the life of the future great navigator. More precisely - nothing specific. But still, we can confidently assume the main thing: he remained a sailor, and ten years did not pass in vain - by the age of thirty he was already an experienced and well-known sailor in his circle.
Such an accurate and significant fact allows us to assume this: when in 1518 Magellan began to recruit people for his ships, which had an unparalleled voyage, Elcano was among the team of one of the caravels. The seriousness of the offense of ten years ago has not diminished at all, for the royal decree knew no leniency. And the fact that King Ferdinand died a long time ago, and King Charles, who simultaneously became the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, sat on the Spanish throne, did not change matters, because no one canceled the long-standing royal decree and Elcano still remained a criminal in the eyes of the law. And yet, he was taken by Magellan. And this means only one thing: Elcano was a real sailor, and the admiral was ready to look through his fingers at a long-standing misdeed. Moreover, Juan Sebastian was taken not by a simple sailor, but by a boatswain; that is, a person in those days obliged to take an active part in the preparation of the expedition. And just a few months later, even before sailing, Elcano was appointed navigator of one of the ships of the Magellan flotilla. Of course, only a person whose qualities - nautical talent, experience and fearlessness - were indisputable could make such a rapid rise.
And the fact that these qualities were indisputable is evidenced, albeit indirectly so far, by another fact. It is known that the voyage from the very beginning was overshadowed by constant conflicts between the Spanish captains and the Portuguese flotilla commander. These conflicts escalated into an open rebellion, the purpose of which was to remove Magellan. The admiral managed to suppress the rebellion and deal with the rebels in full accordance with the harsh laws of that time: one of the captains was executed, the other was landed on the deserted coast of Patagonia, which also meant death, only slow.
Dozens of rebellious sailors were put in chains. Among them was the former navigator of the Concepción caravel, Juan Sebastian Elcano ... But barely six months had passed, and the ship's blacksmith removed the chains from the rebellious navigator, because Admiral Magellan, to use a modern expression, "reinstated him in his position." It is impossible to suspect Magellan of kindness - according to contemporaries, he was a man of such severity that it often reached cruelty, he was a true son of his time, when a person's life was valued no more than one maravedi, or, in our words, broken penny. And at the same time, it was the time of the Great Geographical Discoveries, when the qualities with which the Basque sailor Elcano was so generously endowed began to acquire true value.
It is difficult to overestimate the wisdom of Magellan's decision: we do not know if he would have been able to complete this unprecedented voyage around the world if he had not died ridiculously halfway, but we know for sure that it would have ended ingloriously after his death, if not for Elcano.
After the death of the admiral, captain-generals Espinosa and Carvalho, who successively replaced him, took the last two surviving ships to the shores of Borneo, where they embarked on a real robbery. Only six months later the ships reached the Moluccas. And here one of the caravels of the flotilla - "Trinidad" - had to be put in for repairs, without which she could not continue her journey. Thus, from the entire flotilla of Magellan there was one single ship - the Victoria caravel, and the captain on it was none other than Juan Sebastian Elcano.
The meaning of this fact is this: it was at this moment that the ... round-the-world trip began! Let me ask you, how can this be? After all, swimming began a year and a half ago!
True, and yet ... But in order for everything to become clear, let's return to Magellan. And let's start with the fact that the goal of the expedition was not to circumnavigate the world at all.
Her goal was cloves, black pepper and other spices, so valued in the aristocratic circles of Europe and valued literally worth their weight in gold. The whole trouble was that these spices grew very, very far away, on the islands of the Indian Ocean. Rather, it was half the trouble, because the sailors of that time managed to get on their wretched boats even to the Moluccas - the main region of spices. The trouble - for the Spaniards - was that on the sea route from Europe to southeast Asia the undivided primordial opponents and rivals - the Portuguese, who drowned, without hesitation, any alien ship that dared to set sail for the Moluccas, were in charge.
Thus, for the Spanish spice hunters, the route from Europe to the south along Africa and further, from its southern tip to the east, was booked. Magellan came up with the idea to try to reach the Moluccas not from the east, but from the west. This idea was rejected by the Portuguese king, whom Magellan served - why look for some other western path if the Portuguese completely own the beaten eastern path? It was then that Magellan offered his idea and his services to the Spanish king Charles. And, as we would say today, there was nowhere to go: spices were needed, but the road to them was inaccessible. And Magellan got the opportunity to equip the flotilla and set sail, the main and only purpose of which was to find a western route to the Moluccas. This path, as we know, was found at the cost of incredible suffering and hardship. Magellan himself did not sail to the Moluccas, having died, as you remember, a little earlier. But if this did not happen and if he himself reached the main goal of the voyage, what would happen next? In other words, would he have taken his ships further, to the west, so that, having circled Africa by the already known eastern route, to return to Europe, or would he have turned back?
It's hard to say, but guess big share probabilities are as follows. So, the main goal of the voyage - the opening of the western route to the Moluccas - was achieved. This path existed, the Portuguese had no idea about it, so that it was possible to return home safely without any risk of meeting them through the already newly discovered path. That is why we have the right to assume that Magellan, having loaded the ships with the spices so desired by His Majesty Charles, would have turned back - across the Pacific Ocean.
But if we cannot know exactly what decision Magellan would have made, we know Elcano's decision: he did not turn back, but moved his ship further. The second stage of the voyage began, namely the circumnavigation. Avoiding meetings with the ships of the Portuguese, Elcano led the Victoria much south of the well-known eastern route. In other words, he led and brought his ship to Europe in a way that no one had traveled before!
On September 7, 1522, the ship Victoria, which was dilapidated in a three-year voyage, somehow kept afloat, anchored off the coast of Spain. On one ship that survived from the entire flotilla, only eighteen surviving sailors returned. These eighteen people circled the globe for the first time, and proved the sphericity of the planet and the fact that there is a single World Ocean.
How were these people met at home, having accomplished a feat unprecedented in the history of navigation? It’s hard to believe, but it was like this: Elcano and his comrades were subjected to weeks of interrogation, the purpose of which was to find out: was the entire cargo of spices taken in the Moluccas surrendered to royal officials or did the sailors conceal part of this cargo? Can you imagine, this was the most important thing for the king of Spain, the emperor of the "Holy Roman Empire" Charles V and his officials! And the fact that for the first time in history a round-the-world voyage was made, that nine-tenths of the flotilla crew died during this three-year trip across four oceans, unprecedented in terms of difficulties and trials, - all this absolutely did not matter!
When the authorities were finally convinced, not without surprise, that the precious cargo from the Moluccas had been delivered and handed over in complete integrity, the king-emperor decided to generously reward Elcano. And do you know what that reward was? Charles V forgave the great navigator for that offense of thirteen years ago, to which the previous king forced the young captain with his “generosity”! In addition, in an impulse of the same generosity, Charles V had appointed Juan Sebastian a pension of 500 escudos, but he immediately came to his senses and delayed its payment until Elcano returned from the second voyage to the Moluccas. It is unlikely that Juan Sebastian was surprised by this decision, which testified to the “generosity” of the emperor, because any Spanish sailor knew the bitter words of Columbus, spoken by him shortly before his death: “After twenty years of hard work and dangers, I don’t even have my own shelter in Spain” . Such was the fate of many outstanding navigators, and not only navigators, and Elcano was no exception ...
On July 24, 1525, a flotilla of seven ships under the command of Captain-General Loaysa and the great helmsman Elcano set off on a new voyage to the Moluccas - a voyage from which Juan Sebastian was not destined to return. Emperor Charles retained his five hundred escudos ... Elcano's health was undermined by the most severe trials, and on August 6, 1526, the courageous captain, who was not yet forty, died on his flagship ship Santa Maria de la Victoria ... The grave of him, the great navigator, who circumnavigated the globe for the first time in the history of mankind, is located in the middle of the great Pacific Ocean ...
For many years the name and feat of the world's first circumnavigator were consigned to oblivion and remained unknown to posterity for more than four centuries.
Agree, reader, that you did not know everything that was said before. Many did not even hear the name Elcano, and the question of who made the first round-the-world trip was answered with complete confidence; Magellan!
