ferdinand magellan sets sail from spain on a voyage that will take his ship around the world.

Ferdinand Magellan set sail from Spain on September 20, 1519, leading an expedition of five ships with about 270 men. The purpose of the voyage was to find a western sea route to the Spice Islands (the Moluccas) in present-day Indonesia. The fleet departed from Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain, then crossed the Atlantic Ocean, sailed down the eastern coast of South America, and passed through the Strait of Magellan into the Pacific Ocean. Magellan named the Pacific "Mar Pacifico" for its calm waters. The expedition continued across the Pacific, eventually reaching Guam, the Philippines—where Magellan died in battle—and ultimately the Spice Islands. Though Magellan himself did not complete the circumnavigation, the remaining crew, led by Juan Sebastián Elcano, completed the first-ever circumnavigation of the Earth when they returned to Spain on September 6, 1522. This voyage revealed the vast scale of the Earth and proved that a global sailing route was indeed possible by traveling westward from Spain.