Juan Sebastián Elcano: Difference between revisions

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'''Juan Sebastián Elcano''' ([[1476]]-[[1526]]) was a [[Spain|Spanish]] explorer. He commanded back home the first successful expedition to [[Circumnavigation|circumnavigate]] the [[earth|globe]].

A merchant ship captain from [[Getaria]] (Spanish [[Guetaria]]), Elcano violated Spanish law by surrendering a ship of his to [[Genoa]]n bankers in repayment of a debt. Seeking a pardon from the King ([[Charles V of the, Holy Roman EmpireEmperor]]), he signed on, as a low level officer, to [[Ferdinand Magellan]]'s expedition to circumnavigate the globe. Spared from execution by Magellan after taking part in a failed mutiny, Elcano went on to take command of the fleet when the legendary explorer was killed in the Philippines.

On September 6, [[1522]], Elcano sailed into [[Sanlúcar de Barrameda]], Spain, aboard the Victoria, along with 17 other survivors of the 265 man expedition. The profits of the [[spice]]s they carried made them rich though. The king conceded him a [[coat of arms]] picturing a globe with the motto: ''Primus circumdedisti mihi'' (in Latin, "You went around me the first"). In fact, it was an East Asian native who was a servant of Magellan, that became the first man to circumnavigate the world when the fleet arrived to his home country.