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Ferdinand Magellan (Fernao de Magallanes) was a Portuguese sailor and soldier who renounced his loyalty to Portugal when King Manuel I ignored the services he had rendered in the Portuguese possessions in Africa, India, and Malacca. He went to Spain to offer his services to the Spanish King. With the help of Diego Barbosa, his father-in-law, and Don Juan de Aranda, the influential head of the Spanish India House of Trade, Magellan succeeded in seeing King Charles I of Spain, in 1518. Bringing a painted globe with him, Magellan explained to the king that he could reach the Moluccas, then known as the Spice Islands, in present day Indonesia, by sailing west across the Atlantic Ocean. He added that the Moluccas belonged to the Spanish side of the demarcation line drawn according to the Treaty of Tordesillas.

The young king was impressed by Magellan’s explanation. He realized that a new route to Asia should be found so as not to pass through the territories belonging to Portugal. He agreed to send an expedition across the Atlantic to the Spice Islands under Magellan’s command.

The expedition which the king ordered prepared for Magellan consisted of five ships:

1. The flagship Trinidad, 110 tonnes
2. The San Antonio, 120 tonnes
3. The Concepcion, 90 tonnes
4. The Victoria, 85 tonnes
5. The Santiago, 75 tonnes

Accompanying Magellan were the knight Antonio de Pigafetta, from Venice, who was to write the history of the voyage; Duarte Barbosa, Magellan’s former comrade-in-arms in India, where Magellan had gone on an earlier voyage around Africa; Juan Serrano, Magellan’s cousin; Alvaro de Mesquita, Magellan’s nephew; and Enrique, Magellan’s Malay slave from Sumatra.

On August 10, 1519, Magellan and his men, about 268 in all and from various nationalities, heard Mass in the church of Santa Lucia de la Victoria. The captains and crew of the ships took an oath of loyalty to Magellan as their commander in chief and took their oath of allegiance to the Spanish king. Amidst the cheers of the people and the pealing of church bells, the ships sailed from Seville, drifting down the Guadalquivir River, to the Port of San Lucar de Barrameda. On September 20, 1519, the expedition left port and sailed southwest into the Atlantic Ocean. They reached the Canary Islands six days later and finally landed at Pernambuco, in Brazil on November 29, 1519 after much hardship and hunger.  From there, Magellan and his men continued their voyage and reached Rio de Janeiro on December 13. there they repaired some of the ships which were in poor condition. On December 27, the expedition went on and reached the mouth of the Rio de la Plata in February 1520. These men explored the river in hopes of finding a passage to the Spice Islands. Failing to find it, they continued their voyage until they reached Port St. Julian, at the southern tip of South America, on March 11, 1520. There a mutiny led by Gaspar Quesada, captain of the Concepcion, almost cost Magellan his life and the failure of the expedition. Luis de Mendoza, captain of Victoria, and Juan de Cartagena, whom Magellan had deposed as captain of the San Antonio for insubordination during the Atlantic crossing, joined the mutiny. To his lasting disgrace, Juan Sebastian del Cano also joined the mutiny. With a brilliant maneuver, Magellan suppressed the mutiny and severely punished the mutineers. Quesada was executed and Cartagena was left to die in Port San Julian. Forty mutineers, including del Cano, Magellan then pardoned.

Continuing the voyage, Magellan reached the southern end of South America. The Santiago, however, was wrecked. On October 21, 1520, he discovered the strait which now bears his name–the Strait of Magellan–at the southern tip of South America. While sailing through the strait, the San Antonio, piloted by Esteban Gomez, deserted on the night of November 20 and returned to Spain.