Even from the lessons of school geography, we remember that the first round-the-world trip in the history of mankind was made by the flotilla of the outstanding navigator Ferdinand Magellan. This fact is so well known that, in response to the question, posed briefly and clearly: who did the first circumnavigation? - surely the answer will follow, not without a share of surprise: how - who? Magellan!

But, despite the certainty of such an answer, it is nevertheless not true! If you look at a world map or a globe, you can easily find in the South Pacific Ocean elongated chain Philippine Islands. And, again, without difficulty, make sure that this archipelago lies almost exactly halfway through any ship that sets off from Europe to circumnavigate the world: having overcome Atlantic Ocean and passing through the Strait of Magellan at the southern tip of the American mainland, the ship will enter the vast expanses of the Pacific Ocean and after some time will come to the Philippine Islands. This is exactly the path that the flotilla under the command of Admiral Magellan made. But in order to complete the voyage around the world, it is still necessary to cross the vast expanse of the Indian Ocean, go around Africa from the south, re-enter the Atlantic Ocean and, having traveled thousands of miles, finally reach the European shores, from where the voyage began.

Why do we mention this in such detail? Just to remind you of one more fact - sad but indisputable: Ferdinand Magellan could not travel around the world, because he was killed halfway - precisely in the Philippines, on one of the islands in a skirmish with the inhabitants.

However, there is nothing unfair in the fact that the first round-the-world trip in our memory is firmly associated with the name of Magellan: this unprecedented expedition was organized and carried out according to his plan. Another thing is unfair - the fact that for almost four hundred years the name of the person who completed the work conceived by Magellan was consigned to complete oblivion - the name of the person who first flew his ship around the globe and thereby, in particular, proved in practice the sphericity of the Earth. Well, really, try to remember: does the name Elcano tell you anything? Meanwhile, it is he - Juan Sebastian Elcano - who is the first navigator in the history of mankind to circumnavigate the world.

And it was like this...

Hereditary fisherman and sailor, Basque from Gipuzkoa, Spanish province, owner and captain big ship, a participant in the sea campaigns of the commanders Gonzalo de Cordoba and Cisneros - you must agree that from this cursory listing the image of a courageous and gray-haired sea wolf in battles arises. And yet, this "sea wolf" was barely twenty when he brought his ship from last trip to Algiers, where the Spaniards inflicted a crushing defeat on the Moors. Led to ... disappear for almost ten years. Why? For one simple reason: at all times, royal persons made the most tempting promises with extraordinary ease, and when the time came to fulfill them, they forgot about them with the same ease. So it happened this time: the Spanish king Ferdinand, who promised to generously reward the participants in the Algerian campaign, as you might guess, was not going to remember his promises. If we were talking about him alone, the young captain Juan Sebastian Elcano might have come to terms with this blow - in any case, after a decade and a half, he did so, having again experienced the "generosity" of the monarch. But this time it was about the whole team, which had to be paid honestly earned money. And Captain Elcano did an act that was not only fair, but also extremely courageous: he sold the ship and, having bailed out the required amount, paid the crew the due salary. Wait, you might say, of course, this is a fair deed, but what does courage have to do with it?

The fact is that by royal decree it was strictly forbidden to sell ships to the Portuguese - Spain's successful rivals at sea. Such a punishment awaited the violator that Elcano, having sold his own ship and paid off the crew, was forced, as we have already said, to disappear for almost ten years, and not only from the field of view of alguacils (policemen), but also historians: about this period in Unfortunately, we know little about the life of the future great navigator. More precisely - nothing specific. But nevertheless, we can confidently assume the main thing: he remained a sailor, and ten years did not pass in vain - by the age of thirty he was already an experienced and well-known sailor in his circle.

Such an accurate and significant fact allows us to assume this: when in 1518 Magellan began to recruit people for his ships, which had an unparalleled voyage, Elcano was among the team of one of the caravels. The seriousness of the offense of ten years ago has not diminished at all, for the royal decree knew no leniency. And the fact that King Ferdinand died a long time ago, and King Charles, who simultaneously became the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, sat on the Spanish throne, did not change matters, because no one canceled the long-standing royal decree and Elcano still remained a criminal in the eyes of the law. And yet, he was taken by Magellan. And this means only one thing: Elcano was a real sailor, and the admiral was ready to look through his fingers at a long-standing misdeed. Moreover, Juan Sebastian was taken not by a simple sailor, but by a boatswain; that is, a person in those days obliged to take an active part in the preparation of the expedition. And just a few months later, even before sailing, Elcano was appointed navigator of one of the ships of the Magellan flotilla. Of course, only a person whose qualities - nautical talent, experience and fearlessness - were indisputable could make such a rapid rise.

And the fact that these qualities were indisputable is evidenced, albeit indirectly so far, by another fact. It is known that the voyage from the very beginning was overshadowed by constant conflicts between the Spanish captains and the Portuguese flotilla commander. These conflicts escalated into an open rebellion, the purpose of which was to remove Magellan. The admiral managed to suppress the rebellion and deal with the rebels in full accordance with the harsh laws of that time: one of the captains was executed, the other was landed on the deserted coast of Patagonia, which also meant death, only slow.

Dozens of rebellious sailors were put in chains. Among them was the former navigator of the Concepción caravel, Juan Sebastian Elcano ... But barely six months had passed, and the ship's blacksmith removed the chains from the rebellious navigator, because Admiral Magellan, to use a modern expression, "reinstated him in his position." It is impossible to suspect Magellan of kindness - according to contemporaries, he was a man of such severity that it often reached cruelty, he was a true son of his time, when a person's life was valued no more than one maravedi, or, in our words, a broken penny. And at the same time, it was the time of the Great Geographical Discoveries, when the qualities with which the Basque sailor Elcano was so generously endowed began to acquire true value.

It is difficult to overestimate the wisdom of Magellan's decision: we do not know if he would have been able to complete this unprecedented voyage around the world if he had not died ridiculously halfway, but we know for sure that it would have ended ingloriously after his death, if not for Elcano.

After the death of the admiral, captain-generals Espinosa and Carvalho, who successively replaced him, took the last two surviving ships to the shores of Borneo, where they embarked on a real robbery. Only six months later the ships reached the Moluccas. And here one of the caravels of the flotilla - "Trinidad" - had to be put in for repairs, without which she could not continue her journey. Thus, from the entire flotilla of Magellan there was one single ship - the caravel "Victoria", and the captain on it was none other than Juan Sebastian Elcano.

The meaning of this fact is this: it was at this moment that the ... round-the-world trip began! Let me ask you, how can this be? After all, swimming began a year and a half ago!

True, and yet ... But in order for everything to become clear, let's return to Magellan. And let's start with the fact that the goal of the expedition was not to circumnavigate the world at all.

Her goal was cloves, black pepper and other spices, so valued in the aristocratic circles of Europe and valued literally worth their weight in gold. The whole trouble was that these spices grew very, very far away, on the islands of the Indian Ocean. Rather, it was half the trouble, because the sailors of that time managed to get on their wretched boats even to the Moluccas - the main region of spices. The trouble - for the Spaniards - was that on the sea route from Europe to southeast Asia the undivided primordial opponents and rivals - the Portuguese, who drowned, without hesitation, any alien ship that dared to set sail for the Moluccas, were in charge.

Thus, for the Spanish spice hunters, the route from Europe to the south along Africa and further, from its southern tip to the east, was booked. Magellan came up with the idea to try to reach the Moluccas not from the east, but from the west. This idea was rejected by the Portuguese king, under whom Magellan served - why look for some other western path if the Portuguese completely own the beaten eastern path? It was then that Magellan offered his idea and his services to the Spanish king Charles. And, as we would say today, there was nowhere to go: spices were needed, but the road to them was inaccessible. And Magellan got the opportunity to equip the flotilla and set sail, the main and only purpose of which was to find a western route to the Moluccas. This path, as we know, was found at the cost of incredible suffering and hardship. Magellan himself did not sail to the Moluccas, having died, as you remember, a little earlier. But if this did not happen and if he himself reached the main goal of the voyage, what would happen next? In other words, would he have taken his ships further, to the west, so that, having circled Africa by the already known eastern route, to return to Europe, or would he have turned back?

It is difficult to say, but the following can be assumed with a high degree of probability. So, the main goal of the voyage - the opening of the western route to the Moluccas - was achieved. This path existed, the Portuguese had no idea about it, so that it was possible to return home safely without any risk of meeting them through the already newly discovered path. That is why we have the right to assume that Magellan, having loaded the ships with the spices so desired by His Majesty Charles, would have turned back - through Pacific Ocean.

But if we cannot know exactly what decision Magellan would have made, we know Elcano's decision: he did not turn back, but moved his ship further. The second stage of the voyage began, namely the circumnavigation. Avoiding meetings with the ships of the Portuguese, Elcano led the Victoria much south of the well-known eastern route. In other words, he led and brought his ship to Europe in a way that no one had traveled before!

On September 7, 1522, the ship Victoria, which was dilapidated in a three-year voyage, somehow kept afloat, anchored off the coast of Spain. On one ship that survived from the entire flotilla, only eighteen surviving sailors returned. These eighteen people circled the globe for the first time, and proved the sphericity of the planet and the fact that there is a single World Ocean.

How were these people met at home, having accomplished a feat unprecedented in the history of navigation? It’s hard to believe, but it was like this: Elcano and his comrades were subjected to weeks of interrogation, the purpose of which was to find out: was the entire cargo of spices taken in the Moluccas surrendered to royal officials or did the sailors conceal part of this cargo? Can you imagine, this was the most important thing for the king of Spain, the emperor of the "Holy Roman Empire" Charles V and his officials! And the fact that for the first time in history a round-the-world voyage was made, that nine-tenths of the flotilla crew died during this three-year trip across four oceans, unprecedented in terms of difficulties and trials, - all this absolutely did not matter!

When the authorities were finally convinced, not without surprise, that the precious cargo from the Moluccas had been delivered and handed over in complete integrity, the king-emperor decided to generously reward Elcano. And do you know what that reward was? Charles V forgave the great navigator for that offense of thirteen years ago, to which the previous king forced the young captain with his “generosity”! In addition, in an impulse of the same generosity, Charles V had appointed Juan Sebastian a pension of 500 escudos, but he immediately came to his senses and delayed its payment until Elcano returned from the second voyage to the Moluccas. It is unlikely that Juan Sebastian was surprised by this decision, which testified to the “generosity” of the emperor, because any Spanish sailor knew the bitter words of Columbus, spoken by him shortly before his death: “After twenty years of hard work and dangers, I don’t even have my own shelter in Spain” . Such was the fate of many outstanding navigators, and not only navigators, and Elcano was no exception ...

On July 24, 1525, a flotilla of seven ships under the command of Captain-General Loaysa and the great helmsman Elcano set off on a new voyage to the Moluccas - a voyage from which Juan Sebastian was not destined to return. Emperor Charles retained his five hundred escudos ... Elcano's health was undermined by the most severe trials, and on August 6, 1526, the courageous captain, who was not yet forty, died on his flagship ship Santa Maria de la Victoria ... The grave of him, the great navigator, who circumnavigated the globe for the first time in the history of mankind, is located in the middle of the great Pacific Ocean ...

For many years the name and feat of the world's first circumnavigator were consigned to oblivion and remained unknown to posterity for more than four centuries.

Agree, reader, that you did not know everything that was said before. Many did not even hear the name Elcano, and the question of who made the first round-the-world trip was answered with complete confidence; Magellan!

The discoveries of Russian travelers are amazing. Let's go in chronological order short descriptions seven most significant round-the-world trips of our compatriots.

The first Russian round-the-world trip - Kruzenshtern and Lisyansky's round-the-world expedition

Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern and Yuri Fedorovich Lisyansky were combat Russian sailors: both in 1788-1790. participated in four battles against the Swedes. The voyage of Kruzenshtern and Lisyansky is the beginning of a new era in the history of Russian navigation.

The expedition started from Kronstadt on July 26 (August 7), 1803 under the leadership of Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern, who was 32 years old. The expedition included:

• Three-masted sloop Nadezhda. The total team size is 65 people. Commander - Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern.
• Three-masted sloop "Neva". The total number of the ship's crew is 54 people. Commander - Yury Fedorovich Lisyansky.

The sailors were all Russians - this was Kruzenshtern's condition

In July 1806, with a difference of two weeks, the Neva and Nadezhda returned to the Kronstadt raid, making the whole trip in 3 years 12 days. Both of these sailboats, like their captains, have become world famous. First Russian round the world expedition was of great scientific importance worldwide.
As a result of the expedition, many books were published, about two dozen geographical points were named after famous captains.

On the left is Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern. Right - Yuri Fedorovich Lisyansky

Description of the expedition was published under the title "Journey around the world in 1803, 1804, 1805 and 1806 on the ships Nadezhda and Neva, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Kruzenshtern", in 3 volumes, with an atlas of 104 maps and engraved paintings, and has been translated into English, French, German, Dutch, Swedish, Italian and Danish.

And now, answering the question: "Which of the Russians was the first to circumnavigate the world?", You can easily answer.

Discovery of Antarctica - round-the-world expedition of Thaddeus Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev

Aivazovsky's work "Ice Mountains in Antarctica", based on the memoirs of Admiral Lazarev

In 1819, after a long and very thorough preparation, the southern polar expedition set off from Kronstadt on a long voyage, consisting of two sloops of war - Vostok and Mirny. The first was commanded by Thaddeus Faddeevich Bellingshausen, the second - by Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev. The crew of the ships consisted of experienced, seasoned sailors. There was a long journey to unknown countries. The expedition was given the task of how to fully penetrate further to the south in order to finally resolve the question of the existence of the southern mainland.
The expedition members spent 751 days at sea, covered more than 92 thousand kilometers. 29 islands and one coral reef have been discovered. The scientific materials she collected made it possible to form the first idea of ​​​​Antarctica.
Russian sailors not only discovered a huge continent located around South Pole, but also carried out the most important research in the field of oceanography. This branch of spiders was just in its infancy at that time. F. F. Bellingshausen for the first time correctly explained the reasons causing sea ​​currents(for example, Canaries), the origin of the algae of the Sargasso Sea, as well as coral islands in tropical areas.
The discoveries of the expedition turned out to be a major achievement of Russian and world geographical science of that time.
And so January 16 (28), 1820 is considered - opening day of Antarctica. Bellingshausen and Lazarev, despite dense ice and fogs, passed around Antarctica at latitudes from 60 ° to 70 ° and irrefutably proved the existence of land in the region of the south pole.
Strikingly, the proof of the existence of Antarctica was immediately recognized as an outstanding geographical discovery. However, later scientists argued for more than a hundred years what was discovered. Was it the mainland, or just a group of islands covered by a common ice cap? Bellingshausen himself never spoke about the discovery of the mainland. It was possible to finally confirm the continental character of Antarctica only in the middle of the 20th century as a result of lengthy studies using sophisticated technical means.

Cycling around the world

On August 10, 1913, the finish of the round-the-world bicycle race took place in Harbin, which was passed by a 25-year-old Russian athlete Onisim Petrovich Pankratov.

This journey lasted 2 years 18 days. Pankratov chose a rather difficult route. The countries of almost all of Europe were included in it. Leaving Harbin in July 1911, the courageous cyclist arrived in St. Petersburg at the end of autumn. Then his path ran through Koenigsberg, Switzerland, Italy, Serbia, Turkey, Greece and again through Turkey, Italy, France, Southern Spain, Portugal, Northern Spain and again through France.
The Swiss authorities considered Pankratov crazy. No one would dare to cycle through the snow-covered rocky passes, which are accessible only to experienced climbers. Overcoming the mountains for a cyclist cost no small effort. He crossed Italy, passed through Austria, and Serbia, and Greece and Turkey. He had to sleep just under the starry sky, from food he often had only water and bread, but he still did not stop the journey.

Crossing the Pas de Calais by ship, the athlete crossed England on a bicycle. Then, having also got to America on a ship, he again got on a bicycle and traveled the entire American mainland, adhering to the route New York ─ Chicago ─ San Francisco. And from there by ship to Japan. Then he crossed Japan and China on a bicycle, after which Pankratov reached the initial point of his grandiose route ─ Harbin.

On a bicycle, a distance of more than 50 thousand kilometers was covered. To make such a trip around the earth, Onesimus was offered by his father

Pankratov's round-the-world trip was called great by his contemporaries. The Gritsner bicycle helped him to circumnavigate the world, during the trip Onisim had to change 11 chains, 2 handlebars, 53 tires, 750 spokes, etc.

Around the Earth - the first space flight

At 9 o'clock. 7 min. Moscow time, the Vostok satellite took off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Having made a flight around the globe, he returned safely to Earth after 108 minutes. On board the spacecraft was a major pilot-cosmonaut.
The weight of the spacecraft-satellite is 4725 kilograms (excluding the last stage of the launch vehicle), the total power of the rocket engines is 20 million horsepower.

The first flight took place in automatic mode, in which the astronaut was, as it were, a passenger of the ship. However, at any moment he could switch the ship to manual control. Throughout the flight, two-way radio communication was maintained with the astronaut.

In orbit, Gagarin conducted the simplest experiments: he drank, ate, made notes with a pencil. "Putting" the pencil next to him, he accidentally discovered that he instantly began to float away. From this, Gagarin concluded that it is better to tie pencils and other objects in space. He recorded all his feelings and observations on the on-board tape recorder.
After the successful completion of the planned research and the completion of the flight program at 10 o'clock. 55 min. Moscow time, the Vostok satellite made a safe landing in a given area of ​​the Soviet Union - near the village of Smelovka, Ternovsky District, Saratov Region.

The first people who met the astronaut after the flight were the wife of a local forester Anna (Anikhayat) Takhtarova and her six-year-old granddaughter Rita. Soon the military from the division and local collective farmers arrived at the scene. One group of military men guarded the descent vehicle, while the other group took Gagarin to the location of the unit. From there, Gagarin reported by phone to the commander of the air defense division:

I ask you to tell the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force: I completed the task, landed in a given area, I feel good, there are no bruises or breakdowns. Gagarin

The charred descent module of Vostok-1 was covered with a cloth immediately after Gagarin's landing and taken to Podlipki, near Moscow, to the regime territory of the Royal Design Bureau-1. Later, it became the main exhibit in the museum of the rocket and space corporation Energia, which grew out of OKB-1. The museum was closed for a long time (it was possible to get into it, but it was rather difficult - only as part of a group, by prior letter), in May 2016 the Gagarin ship became publicly available, as part of the exhibition.

First round-the-world voyage of a submarine without surfacing

February 12, 1966 - a successful round-the-world cruise of two nuclear submarines of the Northern Fleet started. At the same time, our boats passed the entire route, the length of which exceeded the length of the equator, in a submerged position, not surfacing even in the little-studied regions of the Southern Hemisphere. The heroism and courage of the Soviet submariners were of outstanding nationwide importance and became a continuation of the combat traditions of the submariners of the Great Patriotic War.

25 thousand miles were covered and at the same time the highest degree of secrecy was shown, the duration of the voyage took 1.5 months

To participate in the campaign, two serial production submarines were allocated without any modifications. Project 675 K-116 missile boat and the second Project 627A K-133 boat with torpedo armament.

In addition to its enormous political significance, it was an impressive demonstration of the scientific and technological achievements and military power of the state. The campaign showed that the entire World Ocean has become a global launching pad for our nuclear submarines, armed with both cruise and ballistic missiles. At the same time, it opened up new opportunities for maneuvering forces between the Northern and Pacific Fleets. More broadly, it can be said that at the height of the Cold War, the historical role of our fleet was to change the strategic situation in the oceans, and Soviet submariners were the first to do this.

The first and only voyage in the history of solo circumnavigations, made on a pleasure dinghy 5.5 meters long

On July 7, 1992, Evgeny Alexandrovich Gvozdev on the Lena yacht (micro class, only 5.5 meters long) from Makhachkala set off on his first solo circumnavigation. On July 19, 1996, the journey was successfully completed (it was 4 years and two weeks). This set a world record - the first and only voyage in the history of single circumnavigation of the world, made on an ordinary pleasure dinghy. Evgeny Gvozdev set out on a long-awaited round-the-world trip when he was 58 years old.

Surprisingly, the ship did not have an auxiliary engine, walkie-talkie, autopilot and stove. But there was a coveted "sailor's passport", which the new Russian authorities issued to the yachtsman after a year of struggle. This document not only helped Yevgeny Gvozdev to cross the border in the direction he needed: in the future, Gvozdev traveled without money and without visas.
On his journey, our hero experienced a severe psychological shock after a collision with treacherous Somali "partisans", who robbed him cleanly at Cape Ras Hafun and almost shot him.

His entire first trip around the world can be summed up in one word: "contrary". The chance of survival was too small. Yevgeny Gvozdev himself sees the world differently: it is a world similar to a single brotherhood of kind people, a world of complete disinterestedness, a world without barriers to global circulation ...

In a balloon around the Earth - Fedor Konyukhov

Fedor Konyukhov was the first in the world to circle the Earth in a balloon (on the first attempt). A total of 29 attempts were made, and only three of them were successful. During the trip, Fedor Konyukhov set several world records, the main of which is the duration of the flight. The traveler managed to fly around the Earth in about 11 days, 5 hours and 31 minutes.
The balloon was a two-level design that combined the use of helium and solar energy. Its height is 60 meters. A gondola was attached below, equipped with the best technical devices, from where Konyukhov piloted the ship.

I thought that I committed so many sins that I would burn not in hell, but here

The journey took place under extreme conditions: the temperature dropped to -40 degrees, the balloon fell into a zone of strong turbulence with zero visibility, and a cyclone with hail and strong wind passed. Due to difficult weather conditions, equipment failed several times and Fedor had to manually troubleshoot.

During the 11 days of the flight, Fedor hardly slept. According to him, even a moment of relaxation could lead to irreversible consequences. In moments when it was no longer possible to fight sleep, he took a wrench and sat down over an iron plate. As soon as the eyes were closed, the hand let go of the key, which fell on the plate, making a noise, which caused the aeronaut to instantly wake up. At the end of the journey, he did this procedure regularly. He almost exploded at a great height when he mistakenly began to interfere with various types of gas. It's good that I managed to cut off the ignited balloon.
During the entire route, air traffic controllers from various airports around the world helped Konyukhov as best they could, clearing air space. So he flew over the Pacific Ocean in 92 hours, crossed through Chile and Argentina, rounded the storm front over the Atlantic, passed the Cape of Good Hope and safely returned to Australia, from where he began his journey.

Fedor Konyukhov:

I flew around the Earth in 11 days, it is very small, it must be protected. We have no idea about this, we, people, are only at war. The world is so beautiful - explore it, learn

February 12, 1908 in New York launched the first in the world round-the-world rally- a very bold and risky event in the spirit of that era of great technical discoveries and achievements. But adventurers have always existed - they lived before 1908, they were after it, they feel great in our time. And today we will talk about history of travel around the world, ranging from Magellan to modern brave knights of the compass and map.

Magellan's circumnavigation of the world (1519-1522)

Already at the very beginning of the sixteenth century it became clear that discovered by Christopher The Columbus lands are neither India nor China. But it was assumed that Asia, with all its many riches, was not so far from America. The point is small - to find the strait, swim across the "South Sea" (the so-called reservoir in those days, which became known as the Pacific Ocean) and get to the desired lands full of spices and silks. The Portuguese and Spanish navigator Ferdinand Magellan took up this business.

On October 20, 1519, five ships under his command left the Spanish port of Sanlúcar de Barrameda. On board the ships there were a crew of more than two hundred people. The expedition led by Magellan, indeed, managed to go around the American continent from the south, overcome the Pacific Ocean, get to the Moluccas (Spice Islands) and return on September 6, 1522 to Seville.

But during the round-the-world voyage, the expedition lost four ships, and out of 235 personnel, only thirty-six returned to Spain (18 on the last remaining ship and the same number in different ways over the following months and even years). Magellan himself and most of the commanders died in skirmishes with the natives. And the expedition was completed by Captain Juan Sebastian Elcano, the only surviving officer.

Round the world by bicycle (1884-1886)

Thomas Stevens became the first person to circumnavigate the world by bicycle. And you should understand that it was not a bike in the modern sense - light, sporty, ergonomic, but the standard "penny and farthing" for those times (when the front wheel is eight times larger than the rear). And the situation with the roads was much more complicated.

Starting his journey in San Francisco, Stevens crossed all of America from west to east to New York. Then he traveled a lot in his native England, drove through Europe, Ottoman Empire, spent the winter in Tehran as a personal guest of the Shah, visited Afghanistan, returned to Istanbul, sailed by sea to India, noted in China and Japan, and then returned to the starting point of the trip, having spent more than two and a half years on the trip.

Round the world trip on a yacht (1895-1898)

Joshua Slocum's legendary world tour began on April 25, 1895 in Boston. The 10-meter yacht Sprey, on which the Canadian-American traveler and adventurer sailed alone, first crossed the Atlantic Ocean, approaching the Iberian Peninsula, then passed along west coast Africa, again crossed the Atlantic, passed through the Strait of Magellan, reached Australia, visited New Guinea, rounded the Cape Good Hope, and on June 27, 1898 finished in Newport, Rhode Island.

But the traveler did not wait for magnificent honors upon his return to the USA. The American-Spanish War, which was raging at that time, drew all the attention of the press and the public. So the achievement of Slocum was talked about only after the conclusion of peace. And in 1900 he published the book "Sailing Alone Around the World", which became a worldwide bestseller and is still being reprinted.

Joshua Slocum went missing while sailing on a yacht in 1909 in the area Bermuda, which was one of the reasons for the appearance of the legend of the Bermuda Triangle.

First circumnavigation of the world (1908)

On February 12, 1908, the first round-the-world rally started, organized by the American newspaper The New York Times and the French Matin. This event was timed to coincide with the 99th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln. It was planned that 13 crews would take part in it, but seven of them withdrew at the very last moment, before the start of the trip.

The main problem of the first weeks of the run was the cold. Cars of those times were not equipped with heaters, and some had no roof at all. At the same time, it was originally planned that the crews would move from the United States to Russia through the frozen Bering Strait. But creepy weather in the North they were forced to change the route - the cars were loaded onto a ship in Seattle and transported to Vladivostok.

The participants of the rally crossed the whole of Eurasia. The first to reach the finish line in Paris was a German crew in a Protos car. It happened on July 11, 169 days after the start. But it turned out that the Germans violated the conditions of the competition, for which they received a fine of 15 days. So the winners were the Americans in a Thomas Flyer car, who arrived at the last point exactly on July 26th. For the American participants, the race became round the world - after the triumph in Paris, they returned to New York, thus closing the circle.

Airplane trip around the world (1924, 1957)

It is now possible to fly around the globe on an airliner in just over a day. And in 1924, it took four Douglas World Cruisers almost half a year. Rather, it took off from Seattle on April 6 four aircraft, and only two returned on September 28 - the rest crashed along the road.

And the first non-stop round-the-world flight was made in January 1957, spending 45 hours and 19 minutes on it. Along the way, they replenished their fuel supplies from a refueling aircraft three times.

Walking around the world (1970-1974)

On June 20, 1970, brothers David and John Kunst left their home in Waseka, Minnesota and set out on a hiking trip around the world. They reached New York, where they boarded a ship to Lisbon. Then they crossed all of Europe on foot and reached Afghanistan. But there they were attacked by bandits, John was killed, and David ended up in the hospital for four months.

Having recovered, Kunst continued his campaign exactly from the place where his relative died. But now their third brother, Peter, has joined him. However, he traveled for "only" a year - he had to return home to work.

David Kunst returned to his native Minnesota on October 5, 1974, having traveled about 25 thousand kilometers on the way, becoming a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, breaking down 21 pairs of shoes and meeting Australian teacher Jenny Samuel, who first became his travel companion, and then in life .

Non-stop round-the-world balloon flight (1999)

At the end of the twentieth century Balloons practically ceased to exist. Only those that were used for advertising, tourism, sports and scientific (stratospheric) purposes remained. But there were also balloons created specifically for setting records. For example, the Breitling Orbiter 3, on which in March 1999 Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones made a non-stop round-the-world flight with a length of 45,755 kilometers and a duration of 19 days, 21 hours and 47 minutes.

But this record is not enough for Picard! An adventurer worthy of his grandfather, father and uncle is going to make the first-ever round-the-world flight in 2015 in an aircraft powered solely by solar panels installed on it.

We were taught at school that the Spanish captain Fernando Magellan (1480–1521) was the first to circumnavigate the world. This answer is incorrect. The fact is that Magellan was the admiral of the squadron of Spanish ships that left Spain and circled America in order to reach the Spice Islands. Now they are called the Moluccas. On this path, among other things, the Spaniards discovered the Philippine Islands, which they named after the Spanish king Philip II. It was here that the natives killed Fernando Magellan in 1521. So Magellan did not finish his round-the-world trip. But the sailors of that single ship from Magellan's squadron, which returned to Spain in 1522, having circumnavigated the globe and spent 3 years sailing, were also not the first people to circumnavigate the world. Then who was the first?

Most of us don't know his name. His name was Enrique de Malacca or Black Enrique. It was a black slave of Magellan, whom he bought at a slave market in the city of Malacca. It is located in the south of the Malay Peninsula. This is what is now Malaysia. Hence the nickname: "de Malacca", "from Malacca".

How did Fernando Magellan get to such a distance? And he got there in those years when he was still a subject of the Portuguese king and his name was Fernand de Magalhash. Fernand participated in the expedition of Admiral Afonso de Albuquerque (Afonso de Albuquerque) (1453-1515) to the Spice Islands. Because when the Portuguese, led by Vasco da Gamma, went around Africa and, having overcome Indian Ocean, ended up in India, Goa city, they discovered that not all the spices that were brought to Europe from India grow in India. Yes, black pepper was grown here, but other valuable spices, cloves and nutmeg, were brought here from afar by Chinese merchants. According to them, they bought spices very cheaply on the islands, which were far to the east. In 1511, the de Albuquerque squadron set out to search for these islands. On the way there, they stormed Malacca. Here Magillaish bought himself a slave, a dark-skinned boy, whom the merchants, who, as expected, did not disdain piracy, stole somewhere on the island of Sumatra.

Magillais christened the slave, gave him the name Enrique, and took him with him to Lisbon. When Magillais, who, in his opinion, was deprived of awards for the discovery of India, moved to neighboring Spain in 1517, Black Enrique naturally left with him. Having settled down in Spain, where he became Fernando Magellan, the adventurer offered the Spanish king to capture the Spice Islands. How to do it? Elementary! Magellan offered to get to the Moluccas from the side where the Portuguese "guests" did not expect, from the east, by circumnavigating the globe. True, for this it was necessary to go around America. The Spaniards have already successfully mastered this continent. However, they had no idea about its length to the north and south.

The king approved the plan, but did not indulge the expedition with finances. Only two years later, in September 1519. a squadron of five ships set sail, in fact, not even imagining that this voyage would continue for three years. Enrique de Malaca was on the flagship "Trinidad" with the owner.

Fernand de Magalhaish by this time in his homeland was declared a traitor. Any Portuguese captain who captured him was charged with the duty of hanging Magellan on a yardarm. Therefore, the squadron of F. Magellan far rounded the coast of Brazil, where the Portuguese were in charge.

Magellan was lucky three times, but once he was not lucky. The first luck - he did not get caught by the Portuguese. The second is that he was able to go around America, finding a strait connecting two oceans. And finally, he sailed for almost four months on a hitherto unknown ocean, and all this time he was accompanied by clear weather. But four months - it was at the limit of human strength and capabilities. Food and water were running out. Crews mowed down the disease.

Off the coast of the Philippines, the great captain died in a skirmish with the natives. According to his will, he freed Black Enrique after his death. But Juan Sebastian Elcano (1486–1526), ​​who became admiral of a fairly depleted squadron after the death of F. Magellan, began to slow down the release of Enrique. And then the former slave ran away. On one of the Philippine islands, Cebu, he heard the conversation of local residents. They spoke in a dialect familiar to Enrique from childhood. From the island of Cebu, Enrique returned to his native Sumatra. Thus, he made a round-the-world trip before the only ship from F. Magellan's flotilla, which survived three years of difficult adventures, returned to Seville.

Ask anyone, and he will tell you that the first person to circumnavigate the world was the Portuguese navigator and explorer Ferdinand Magellan, who died on Mactan Island (Philippines) during an armed clash with the natives (1521). The same is written in history books. Actually, this is a myth. After all, it turns out that one excludes the other.
Magellan managed to go only half way.

Primus circumdedisti me (you circumvented me first) - reads the Latin inscription on Juan Sebastian Elcano's coat of arms topped with a globe. Indeed, Elcano was the first person to circumnavigate the world.

The San Telmo Museum in San Sebastian houses Salaverria's painting "The Return of the Victoria". Eighteen emaciated people in white shrouds, with lighted candles in their hands, staggering down the ladder from the ship to the embankment of Seville. These are sailors from the only ship that returned to Spain from the entire flotilla of Magellan. In front is their captain, Juan Sebastian Elcano.

Much in the biography of Elcano has not yet been clarified. Oddly enough, the man who circumnavigated the globe for the first time did not attract the attention of artists and historians of his time. There is not even a reliable portrait of him, and of the documents written by him, only letters to the king, petitions and a will have survived.

Juan Sebastian Elcano was born in 1486 in Getaria, a small port town in the Basque Country, not far from San Sebastian. He early linked his own fate with the sea, making a “career” that was not uncommon for an enterprising person of that time - first changing his job as a fisherman to a smuggler, and later enrolling in the navy to avoid punishment for his too free attitude to laws and trade duties. Elcano took part in the Italian Wars and the Spanish military campaign in Algeria in 1509. Bask had mastered maritime business quite well in practice when he was a smuggler, but it was in the navy that Elcano received the “correct” education in the field of navigation and astronomy.

In 1510, Elcano, the owner and captain of a ship, took part in the siege of Tripoli. But the Spanish Treasury refused to pay Elcano the amount due for settlements with the crew. After leaving the military service, which never seriously attracted the young adventurer with low wages and the need to maintain discipline, Elcano decides to start new life in Seville. It seems to Basque that a bright future awaits him - in a new city for him, no one knows about his not entirely impeccable past, the navigator atoned for his guilt before the law in battles with the enemies of Spain, he has official papers that allow him to work as a captain on a merchant ship … But the trade enterprises, in which Elcano becomes a participant, turn out to be unprofitable as one.

In 1517, in payment of debts, he sold the ship under his command to the Genoese bankers - and this trading operation determined his entire fate. The fact is that the owner of the sold ship was not Elcano himself, but the Spanish crown, and the Basque is expected to again have difficulties with the law, this time threatening him with the death penalty. At that time it was considered a serious crime. Knowing that the court would not take into account any excuses, Elcano fled to Seville, where it was easy to get lost, and then take refuge on any ship: in those days, the captains were least interested in the biographies of their people. In addition, there were many Elcano fellow countrymen in Seville, and one of them, Ibarolla, was well acquainted with Magellan. He helped Elcano to enlist in Magellan's flotilla. Having passed the exams and received beans as a sign of a good grade (those who did not pass received peas from the examination board), Elcano became the helmsman on the third largest ship in the flotilla, the Concepcione.

On September 20, 1519, Magellan's flotilla left the mouth of the Guadalquivir and headed for the coast of Brazil. In April 1520, when the ships settled down for the winter in the frosty and deserted bay of San Julian, the captains, dissatisfied with Magellan, mutinied. Elcano was drawn into it, not daring to disobey his commander - the captain of the "Concepción" Quesada.

Magellan vigorously and brutally suppressed the rebellion: Quesada and another of the leaders of the conspiracy were cut off their heads, the corpses were quartered and the mutilated remains were stumbled on poles. Captain Cartagena and one priest, also the instigator of the rebellion, Magellan ordered to be landed on the deserted shore of the bay, where they subsequently died. The remaining forty rebels, including Elcano, Magellan spared.

1. The first ever circumnavigation of the world

On November 28, 1520, the remaining three ships left the strait and in March 1521, after an unprecedentedly difficult passage through the Pacific Ocean, they approached the islands, which later became known as the Marianas. In the same month, Magellan discovered the Philippine Islands, and on April 27, 1521, he died in a skirmish with local residents on the island of Matan. Elcano, stricken with scurvy, did not participate in this skirmish. After the death of Magellan, Duarte Barbosa and Juan Serrano were elected captains of the flotilla. At the head of a small detachment, they went ashore to the Raja of Cebu and were treacherously killed. Fate again - for the umpteenth time - spared Elcano. Karvalyo became the head of the flotilla. But there were only 115 men left on the three ships; many of them are sick. Therefore, the Concepcion was burned in the strait between the islands of Cebu and Bohol; and his team moved to the other two ships - Victoria and Trinidad. Both ships wandered between the islands for a long time, until, finally, on November 8, 1521, they anchored off the island of Tidore, one of the "Spice Islands" - the Moluccas. Then, in general, it was decided to continue sailing on one ship - the Victoria, whose captain shortly before that was Elcano, and leave the Trinidad on the Moluccas. And Elcano managed to navigate his worm-eaten ship with a starving crew through the Indian Ocean and along the coast of Africa. A third of the team died, about a third was detained by the Portuguese, but still, on September 8, 1522, the Victoria entered the mouth of the Guadalquivir.

It was an unprecedented, unheard-of passage in the history of navigation. Contemporaries wrote that Elcano surpassed King Solomon, the Argonauts and the cunning Odysseus. The first ever circumnavigation of the world has been completed! The king granted the navigator an annual pension of 500 gold ducats and knighted Elcano. The coat of arms assigned to Elcano (since then del Cano) commemorated his voyage. The coat of arms depicted two cinnamon sticks framed with nutmeg and cloves, a golden padlock surmounted by a helmet. Above the helmet is a globe with a Latin inscription: "You were the first to circle me." And finally, by special decree, the king announced forgiveness to Elcano for selling the ship to a foreigner. But if it was quite simple to reward and forgive the brave captain, then it turned out to be more difficult to resolve all the controversial issues related to the fate of the Moluccas. The Spanish-Portuguese congress sat for a long time, but was never able to “divide” the islands located on the other side of the “earthly apple” between the two powerful powers. And the Spanish government decided not to delay sending a second expedition to the Moluccas.

2. Goodbye A Coruña

A Coruna was considered the safest port in Spain, which "could accommodate all the fleets of the world." The importance of the city increased even more when the Chamber of Indies was temporarily transferred here from Seville. This chamber developed plans for a new expedition to the Moluccas in order to finally establish Spanish domination on these islands. Elcano arrived in A Coruña full of bright hopes - he already saw himself as an admiral of the armada - and began to equip the flotilla. However, Charles I did not appoint Elcano as commander, but a certain Jofre de Loais, a participant in many naval battles, but completely unfamiliar with navigation. Elcano's pride was deeply wounded. In addition, the “highest refusal” came from the royal office to Elcano’s petition for the payment of an annual pension granted to him of 500 gold ducats: the king ordered that this amount be paid only after returning from the expedition. So Elcano experienced the traditional ingratitude of the Spanish crown to the famous navigators.

Before sailing, Elcano visited his native Getaria, where he, an illustrious sailor, easily managed to recruit many volunteers to his ships: with a man who has bypassed the "earthly apple", you will not be lost even in the devil's mouth - the port brethren argued. At the beginning of the summer of 1525, Elcano brought his four ships to A Coruña and was appointed helmsman and deputy commander of the flotilla. In total, the flotilla consisted of seven ships and 450 crew members. There were no Portuguese on this expedition. last night before the departure of the flotilla in A Coruña it was very lively and solemn. At midnight on Mount Hercules, on the site of the ruins of a Roman lighthouse, a huge fire was lit. The city said goodbye to the sailors. The cries of the townspeople, who treated the sailors with wine from leather bottles, the sobs of women and the hymns of the pilgrims mixed with the sounds of the cheerful dance “La Muneira”. The sailors of the flotilla remembered this night for a long time. They went to another hemisphere, and now they faced a life full of dangers and hardships. For the last time, Elcano walked under the narrow archway of Puerto de San Miguel and descended the sixteen pink steps to the beach. These steps, already completely worn out, have survived to this day.

3. Misfortunes of the chief helmsman

The powerful, well-armed flotilla of Loaysa put to sea on July 24, 1525. According to the royal instructions, and Loaisa had fifty-three in total, the flotilla was to follow the path of Magellan, but avoid his mistakes. But neither Elcano - the king's chief adviser, nor the king himself foresaw that this would be the last expedition sent through the Strait of Magellan. It was the Loaisa expedition that was destined to prove that this was not the most profitable way. And all subsequent expeditions to Asia departed from the Pacific ports of New Spain (Mexico).

July 26 vessels rounded Cape Finisterre. On August 18, the ships were caught in a severe storm. On the admiral's ship, the mainmast was broken, but two carpenters sent by Elcano, risking their lives, nevertheless got there in a small boat. While the mast was being repaired, the flagship collided with the Parral, breaking its mizzen mast. Swimming was very difficult. Not enough fresh water, provisions. Who knows what the fate of the expedition would have been if on October 20 the lookout had not seen the island of Annobón in the Gulf of Guinea on the horizon. The island was deserted - only a few skeletons lay under a tree on which a strange inscription was carved: "Here lies the unfortunate Juan Ruiz, killed because he deserved it." Superstitious sailors saw this as a formidable omen. The ships hastily filled with water, stocked up with provisions. On this occasion, the captains and officers of the flotilla were summoned to a festive dinner with the admiral, which almost ended tragically.

A huge fish of an unknown breed was served on the table. According to Urdaneta, Elcano's page and chronicler of the expedition, some sailors, "who tasted the meat of this fish, which had teeth like a big dog, got so sick in their stomachs that they thought they would not survive." Soon the whole flotilla left the shores of the inhospitable Annobon. From here, Loaysa decided to sail to the coast of Brazil. And from that moment on, the Sancti Espiritus, Elcano's ship, began a streak of misfortune. Without having time to set the sails, the Sancti Espiritus almost collided with the admiral's ship, and then generally lagged behind the flotilla for some time. At latitude 31º, after a strong storm, the admiral's ship disappeared from sight. Elcano assumed command of the remaining vessels. Then the San Gabriel separated from the flotilla. The remaining five ships searched for the admiral's ship for three days. The search was unsuccessful, and Elcano ordered to move on to the Strait of Magellan.

On January 12, the ships stopped at the mouth of the Santa Cruz River, and since neither the admiral's ship nor the San Gabriel came here, Elcano convened a council. Knowing from the experience of the previous voyage that this was an excellent anchorage, he suggested waiting for both ships, as was the instructions. However, the officers, who were eager to enter the strait as soon as possible, advised leaving only the Santiago pinnace at the mouth of the river, burying in a jar under a cross on an island a message that the ships were heading for the Strait of Magellan. On the morning of January 14, the flotilla weighed anchor. But what Elcano took for a strait turned out to be the mouth of the Gallegos River, five or six miles from the strait. Urdaneta, who despite his admiration for Elcano. retained the ability to be critical of his decisions, writes that such a mistake by Elcano struck him very much. On the same day they approached the real entrance to the strait and anchored at the Cape of the Eleven Thousand Holy Virgins.

An exact copy of the ship "Victoria"
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At night, a terrible storm hit the flotilla. Raging waves flooded the ship to the middle of the masts, and it barely kept on four anchors. Elcano realized that all was lost. His only thought now was to save the team. He ordered the ship to be grounded. Panic broke out on the Sancti Espiritus. Several soldiers and sailors rushed into the water in horror; all drowned except one who managed to make it to shore. Then the rest crossed to the shore. Managed to save some of the provisions. However, at night the storm broke out with the same force and finally smashed the Sancti Espiritus. For Elcano - the captain, the first circumnavigator and chief helmsman of the expedition - the crash, especially through his fault, was a big blow. Never before has Elcano been in such a difficult position. When the storm finally subsided, the captains of other ships sent a boat for Elcano, offering him to lead them through the Strait of Magellan, since he had been here before. Elcano agreed, but took only Urdaneta with him. He left the rest of the sailors on the shore ...

But failures did not leave the exhausted flotilla. From the very beginning, one of the ships almost ran into the rocks, and only the determination of Elcano saved the ship. After some time, Elcano sent Urdaneta with a group of sailors for the sailors left on the shore. Soon, Urdaneta's group ran out of provisions. It was very cold at night, and people were forced to burrow up to their necks in the sand, which also did not warm much. On the fourth day, Urdaneta and his companions approached the sailors dying on the shore from hunger and cold, and on the same day, the Loaysa ship, the San Gabriel, and the pinnace Santiago entered the mouth of the strait. On January 20, they joined the rest of the ships of the flotilla.

JUAN SEBASTIAN ELCANO
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On February 5, a severe storm broke out again. The Elcano ship took refuge in the strait, and the San Lesmes was driven further south by the storm, to 54 ° 50 ′ south latitude, that is, it approached the very tip of Tierra del Fuego. Not a single ship went south in those days. A little more, and the expedition would be able to open the way around Cape Horn. After the storm, it turned out that the admiral's ship was aground, and Loaysa and the crew left the ship. Elcano immediately sent a group of the best sailors to help the admiral. On the same day, the Anunsiada deserted. The captain of the ship de Vera decided to independently get to the Moluccas past the Cape of Good Hope. The Anunciad has gone missing. A few days later, the San Gabriel also deserted. The remaining ships returned to the mouth of the Santa Cruz River, where the sailors began to repair the admiral's ship, which was badly battered by storms. Under other conditions, it would have had to be abandoned altogether, but now that the flotilla had lost three of its largest ships, this could no longer be afforded. Elcano, who, on his return to Spain, criticized Magellan for having lingered at the mouth of this river for seven weeks, now he himself was forced to spend five weeks here. At the end of March, somehow patched up ships again headed for the Strait of Magellan. The expedition now included only the admiral's ship, two caravels and a pinnace.

On April 5, the ships entered the Strait of Magellan. Between the islands of Santa Maria and Santa Magdalena, another misfortune befell the admiral's ship. A cauldron of boiling tar caught fire, a fire broke out on the ship.

Panic broke out, many sailors rushed to the boat, ignoring Loaysa, who showered them with curses. The fire was still put out. The flotilla went further through the strait, along the banks of which at high mountain peaks, "so tall that they seemed to stretch to the very sky," lay eternal bluish snow. At night, the fires of the Patagonians burned on both sides of the strait. Elcano already knew these lights from the first voyage. On April 25, the ships weighed anchor from the San Jorge anchorage, where they replenished their water and firewood supplies, and again set off on a difficult voyage.

And where the waves of both oceans meet with a deafening roar, the storm again hit Loaisa's flotilla. The ships anchored in the bay of San Juan de Portalina. Mountains several thousand feet high rose on the shore of the bay. It was terribly cold, and “no clothes could warm us,” writes Urdaneta. Elcano was on the flagship all the time: Loaysa, having no relevant experience, completely relied on Elcano. The passage through the strait lasted forty-eight days - ten days more than Magellan's. On May 31, a strong northeast wind blew. The whole sky was covered with clouds. On the night of June 1-2, a storm broke out, the most terrible of the former so far, scattering all ships. Although the weather later improved, they were never to meet again. Elcano, with most of the crew of the Sancti Espiritus, was now on the admiral's ship, which had one hundred and twenty men. Two pumps did not have time to pump out water, they feared that the ship could sink at any moment. In general, the ocean was Great, but by no means Pacific.

4 Pilot Dies Admiral

The ship was sailing alone, neither sail nor island could be seen on the vast horizon. “Every day,” writes Urdaneta, “we waited for the end. Due to the fact that people from the wrecked ship moved to us, we are forced to reduce rations. We worked hard and ate little. We had to endure great hardships and some of us died.” On July 30, Loaysa died. According to one of the expedition members, the cause of his death was a breakdown in spirit; he was so upset by the loss of the rest of the ships that he "became weaker and died." Loays did not forget to mention in the will of his chief helmsman: “I ask that Elcano be returned four barrels of white wine, which I owe him. The biscuits and other provisions that lie on my ship, the Santa Maria de la Victoria, shall be given to my nephew Alvaro de Loays, who is to share them with Elcano.” They say that by this time only rats remained on the ship. On the ship, many were ill with scurvy. Everywhere Elcano looked, everywhere he saw swollen pale faces and heard the groans of sailors.

Thirty people have died from scurvy since they left the channel. “They all died,” writes Urdaneta, “due to the fact that their gums were swollen and they could not eat anything. I saw a man whose gums were so swollen that he tore off pieces of meat as thick as a finger. The sailors had one hope - Elcano. They, in spite of everything, believed in his lucky star, although he was so ill that four days before the death of Loaysa he himself made a will. In honor of Elcano's assumption of the position of admiral - a position which he unsuccessfully sought two years ago - a cannon salute was given. But Elcano's strength was drying up. The day came when the admiral could no longer get up from his bunk. His relatives and faithful Urdaneta gathered in the cabin. By the flickering light of the candle, one could see how thin they were and how much they had suffered. Urdaneta kneels and touches the body of her dying master with one hand. The priest watches him closely. Finally, he raises his hand, and everyone present slowly falls to their knees. Elcano's wanderings are over...

“Monday, 6 August. The valiant lord Juan Sebastian de Elcano has died." So Urdaneta noted in his diary the death of the great navigator.

Four people lift the body of Juan Sebastian, wrapped in a shroud and tied to a plank. At a sign from the new admiral, they throw him into the sea. There was a splash, drowning out the priest's prayers.

MONUMENT IN HONOR OF ELCANO IN GETARIA
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Exhausted by worms, tormented by storms and storms, the lone ship continued on its way. The team, according to Urdaneta, “was terribly exhausted and exhausted. Not a day went by that one of us didn't die.

Therefore, we decided that the best thing for us is to go to the Moluccas.” Thus, they abandoned the bold plan of Elcano, who was going to fulfill the dream of Columbus - to reach east coast Asia, following the shortest route from the west. “I am sure that if Elcano had not died, we would not have reached the Ladrone (Marian) Islands so soon, because his constant intention was to search for Chipansu (Japan),” writes Urdaneta. He clearly considered Elcano's plan too risky. But the man who for the first time circumnavigated the "earthly apple" did not know what fear was. But he also did not know that in three years Charles I would cede his “rights” to the Moluccas to Portugal for 350 thousand gold ducats. Of the entire Loaysa expedition, only two ships survived: the San Gabriel, which reached Spain after a two-year voyage, and the Santiago pinasse under the command of Guevara, which passed along the Pacific coast of South America to Mexico. Although Guevara saw only once the coast of South America, his voyage proved that the coast does not protrude far to the west anywhere and South America has the shape of a triangle. This was the most important geographical discovery expeditions of Loaysa.

Getaria, in the homeland of Elcano, at the entrance to the church there is a stone slab, a half-erased inscription on which reads: “... the glorious captain Juan Sebastian del Cano, a native and resident of the noble and faithful city of Getaria, the first to circumnavigate the globe on the ship Victoria. In memory of the hero, this slab was erected in 1661 by Don Pedro de Etave y Asi, Knight of the Order of Calatrava. Pray for the repose of the soul of the one who first traveled around the world. And on the globe in the San Telmo Museum, the place where Elcano died is indicated - 157º west and 9º north latitude.

In the history books, Juan Sebastian Elcano undeservedly found himself in the shadow of the glory of Ferdinand Magellan, but he is remembered and revered in his homeland. The name Elcano is a training sailboat in the Spanish Navy. In the wheelhouse of the ship, you can see the coat of arms of Elcano, and the sailboat itself has already managed to carry out a dozen round-the-world expeditions.