John Jordan, age 12, of Saint Paul, Minnesota, for his question:
Who first sailed around the world?
A short answer to this question is likely to start a heated dispute especially in Portugal, Spain or England. You would think that history could supply the name of the first person who sailed around the world. But opinions differ. Some say that he was a renowned Portuguese navigator. Others give the credit to a crew of Spanish sailors. Englishmen insist that the first captain who circumnavigated the globe was their Sir Francis Drake.
The trouble with this innocent looking question is that it can be given three different meanings. Ile can award the credit to the crew of ordinary sailors who first sailed clear around the world. Or we can name the first captain who navigated a complete voyage around the globe. Or, and this is rather complicated, we can award the honors to a captain who went halfway around in one direction, then made a later voyage halfway around in the opposite direction.
Each of these claims to fame has a different answer. However, we can be sure of one thing. Ile know what ship first voyaged clear around the world and returned safely back home. She was the Spanish sailing vessel the Victoria.
On September 20, 1519, five Spanish ships sailed from Spain with 240 men. Only 18~men and one ship, the Vittoria, returned. This most famous expedition was captained by the renowned Portuguese navigator, Ferdinand Magellan. He was employed by Spain to find a westbound ocean route to the East Indies.
From the Atlantic, he sailed through the hazardous Strait of Magellan into the Pacific Ocean. The voyage took a heavy toll but three ships managed to reach the Philippines. There Magellan became involved in a local skirmish and was killed. The voyage ahead cost more lives and two more ships. Finally, on September 6, 1522, the victory, captained by Juan Sebasian del Cana with a crew of 17 survivors, returned to Spain.
There is no doubt that del Cana and the surviving crewmen of the Vittoria were the first to voyage clear around the world. But, to many old time mariners, the only sailors worth mentioning were the captains who navigated ships. On a previous eastbound voyage to the East Indies, Magellan had crossed the longitudes of the Philippines. The too voyages overlapped. Hence many people claim that he was the first to sail around the world though he completed the circle in two sections.
Not so, say the British. This great honor goes to Sir Francis Drake, the first captain who circumnavigated the globe on a single voyage. Drake left England on December 13, 1577. After a leisurely voyage all the way around the world he returned home on September 26, 1580.
There are as you see, three possible answers and you can take your pick. Some people still give the credit to i4agellan, who made the round trip in two overlapping voyages. The English favor Drake, whose single voyage circled the globe. Both these claims tend to forget del Cano and his few surviving ordinary sailors. They sailed all the way around the world half a century before Francis Drake set sail from England.