Today is September 6

Today is the anniversary of The Victoria becoming the first known ship to circumnavigate the world.

A detail from a map of 1590 showing Victoria

Ferdinand Magellan was placed in charge of five ships by King Charles to try to get to the East Indies by sailing westwards. He hoped to find a strait which would lead past North America and end the Portuguese domination of the Spice trade. Ferdinand Magellan and his 270 shipmates set sail in September 1519 from San Lucar, near Seville with the lead ship Trinidad, along with four other vessels – San Antonio, Santiago, Concepcion, and Victoria. On board was enough food to last two years

14 months later, the three remaining ships entered the South Pacific, having survived the wild and stormy waters that divided the Latin American mainland from Tierra Del Fuego. Magellan named the waters the Mar Pacifico (Pacific Ocean) because of its apparent stillness.

When Magellan was killed in battle in The Phillipines, the command went to a merchant ship captain. Juan Sebastián Elcano who had signed on as a subordinate officer for the voyage in order to gain the king's pardon for previous misdeeds.

When the two remaining ships reached the Spice Islands they traded with the Sultan of Tidore, a rival of the Sultan of Ternate. Elcano decided to avoid the Magellan Straits again, so they took the eastern route risking bumping into Portuguese ships who would have pirated the spices they had on board.

The Trinidad broke off and was no longer seaworthy, leaving only Victoria to continue and return to Seville.

Magellan's 18 surviving companions having sailed 30,700 miles, reached Seville on September 6, 1522, completing the return voyage under Elcano.