Explorers - Ferdinand Magellan and Sanlucar

Sanlucar - Ferdinand Magellan

All about Sanlúcar de Barrameda and Explorer Ferdinand Magellan.

Ferdinand Magellan> (c. 1480 - 27 April 1521) was a Portuguese explorer who organised the Spanish expedition to the East Indies from 1519 to 1522, resulting in the first circumnavigation of the Earth, completed by Juan Sebastián Elcano. 

After having his proposed expeditions to the Spice Islands repeatedly rejected by King Manuel of Portugal, Magellan turned to Charles I, the young King of Spain (and future Holy Roman Emperor). Under the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas, Portugal controlled the eastern routes to Asia that went around Africa. Magellan instead proposed reaching the Spice Islands by a western route, a feat which had never been accomplished, the so-called route to the west that Christopher Columbus had sought. The important was a route that always traveling Castilian seas (according to the Treaty of Tordesillas).

Magellan's fleet consisted of five ships, carrying supplies for two years of travel. The crew consisted of about 270 men. Most were Spanish, but around 40 were Portuguese.   More about Ferdinand Magellan >

On August 10, 1519 the fleet of five ships departed from Seville, captained by Ferdinand Magellan, and sailed down the Guadalquivir, reaching Sanlúcar de Barrameda (Cádiz). During the following weeks the fleet took on supplies and prepared for the voyage. Magellan must have returned to Seville, as on August 24 he wrote his will there, naming his son Rodrigo and the unborn child or children caried by his pregnant wife.  On September 20, the expedition sailed from Sanlúcar de Barrameda, stopping at the Canarias, passing by Cabo Verde islands and the coast of Sierra Leona, sailing west across the Atlantic toward South America.

Ferdinand Magellan route in Sanlucar

To celebrate the 500th aniversary Sanlucar town hall has identified 12 locations in Sanlucar that are connected to Ferdinand Magellan. More>

Avenida Bajo de Guía
Biblioteca Municipal de Sanlúcar de Barrameda
Iglesia de la Santísima Trinidad
Convento Regina Coeli
Iglesia de San Jorge
Parroquia de Santo Domingo
Castillo Santiago
Calle Escuelas
Parroquia Nuestra Señora De La O
Palacio ducal de Medina Sidonia
Covachas
Monasterio Madre de Dios M. M. Dominicas

Ferdinand Magellan route in Seville

To celebrate the 500th aniversary Seville town hall has also identified 15 locations in Seville that are connected to Ferdinand Magellan. More>

Map

Destinations

Living in Andalucia