The Results of Magellan's World-Rounding Mission:

To chart the globe and create a Galleon trade route, the Spanish king Charles V hired the Portuguese
explorer Ferdinand Magellan in 1519 to find the quickest path to the Philippines as well as to
circumnavigate the globe.

With a crew of 270 men, Magellan's five ships—the Trinidad (under his command), the San Antonio, the
Victoria, the Conception, and the Santiago—left port on August 10, 1519.

The crew of Magellan went from Spain to Brazil and down the South American coast in quest of the
rumored waterway, which became known as the Strait of Magellan, that would allow them to reach the
Pacific side without having to go around Cape Horn.

It took them 38 days simply to clear the strait, following which they emerged in the Pacific ocean in
November 1520. The first Europeans to view this ocean were members of Magellan's crew.

Magellan's ships were ill-equipped for the voyage because he miscalculated the vastness of the Pacific
Ocean. At sea, the Santiago ship went missing. While looking for land, many crew members died from
starvation. Just the Trinidad, Victoria, and Conception remained after the San Antonio's crew turned
back and abandoned the expedition.