A Journey To The Time of Elcano

2. Who were the first people to circumnavigate the world?

A Spanish navigator who was born in Getaria, in the Basque Country, captained the carrack Victoria in 1522. He took 17 European and three indigenous crew members with him, as well as another 12 sailors who were captured a few months later in Cape Verde. The significance of his achievement can be viewed within the context of the beginning of the Early Modern Age, with its new understanding of the world and the universe. It is therefore important to look at the context in which the first circumnavigation of the world took place, was organized, and was achieved, as well as its consequences.

3. What is the Age of Discovery?

The great explorations had different agendas: merchants and explorers were interested in money, while monarchies and leaders were motivated by politics. The fall of Constantinople saw the closure of the silk route, and in Atlantic Europe, Portugal and the Crown of Castile began to look for ways of reaching the much-coveted Spice Islands.

Several Castilian expeditions set sail in search of a western passage. These included Magellan's expedition, in which Elcano took part. In 1494, the Treaty of Tordesillas divided up the oceanic route to the Indies with two different, separate routes for Portugal and the Crown of Castile.

4. Why did they go in search of spices on the other side of the world?

At that time, spices were treasured for their commercial value. They were extremely valuable: one pound of cloves had the same value as a quarter of an ounce of the purest gold. The 524 quintals (or hundredweight) of spices brought back by the carrack Victoria on its return to Seville would have been more than enough to cover the cost of the entire expedition. They also brought back pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, and sandalwood.

It was for this reason that Charles V presented Elcano with a shield decorated with spices (cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon), as well as a motto in recognition of his achievement: Primus circumdedisti me (You were the first to circumnavigate me).

5. What was the Basque Country like 500 years ago?

Maritime life was omnipresent in the Basque Country, even inland. Several commercial routes lay across it, from north to south. Iron, linen, whale oil, wood for shipbuilding, charcoal for ironworks, and cider for expeditions linked rural areas and Basque ports.

The Basque Country also had its own laws, and a well-organized business sector with links to the world of politics. The strength of its business class lay in relationships built on trust, family, neighbors, and culture, all of which made the 16th-century Basque Country a maritime power.

6. How was the journey organized, and who took part in it?

After 1492, the presence of the Basque fleet in the port of Seville became larger and more powerful. Powerful Basque groups played a significant role in the governance of the House of Commerce (Casa de Contratación), which was created in 1503.

European merchants and bankers helped finance it, attracted by its profit-making possibilities. The Crown ordered the purchase of ships and provisions, including weapons and numerous items made of iron, from Biscay. It also hired almost 250 people to work on the five ships. The group included Castilians (who were the majority), and men from Portugal, Greece, France, Italy, Belgium (Flanders), England, Germany, and a large group of 34 from the Basque Country.

7. Did any women go with them?

No, there were no women on board. Women in 16th-century society lived very restricted lives. However, in the absence of men in maritime areas, women worked in a variety of jobs, under close supervision. There were also female shipowners and merchants who were very highly respected.

In Basque ports, women worked as netmakers, fishwives, small-scale fish sellers, and hagglers. They worked as stevedores (dockworkers) in Bilbao, and as river workers who transfer passengers in Errenteria, transporting iron and wood. In Pasaia, women rowed boats from one side of the bay to the other, from at least the 16th century onward. How could these women, who played such a key role, have been left out of Basque maritime history?

8. How many people from the Basque Country took part in the expedition?

Juan Sebastián Elcano set sail for the Maluku Islands in 1519 as master of the Concepción. He was accompanied by 33 other men from the Basque Country. Most were from Biscay (a total of 20, of whom seven were from Bermeo and six from Bilbao); 10 were from Gipuzkoa and one from Getaria. There were also three men from Navarre. Needless to say, on board the so-called Spice fleet there was much talking, arguing, praying, and singing in the Basque language. There is even testimony suggesting that the young king of Tidore learned Basque!

9. What do we know about Elcano and his family?

He was born in Getaria in 1487 and the first documents in which his name appears were accounting entries in the House of Commerce (Casa de Contratación) in 1519, when he was 32. They show us the names of his parents: Domingo Sebastián Elcano and Catalina del Puerto. The family was financially well-off, according to the 1500 census for Getaria. Four of their sons were sailors, as was one of Elcano's brothers-in-law. Very little is known about Juan Sebastián's early life. He owned a 200-tonel carrack (masted sailing ship), and seems to have traded between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. He also spent time in the service of the king in the Levant and in Africa.

10. What do we know about the ships?

In the 13th century, the Basque fleet was very active in the routes that lay between the northern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Trade was the answer to the problems of an otherwise poor region. It led to the development of the most up-to-date naval technology of the time. Basque navigators were extremely highly regarded, and their ships were the most efficient of their time, accounting for 80% of the ships that left Seville for the Americas in the 16th and 17th centuries.

11. How was work on board ship organized?

The captain, master, and pilot had ultimate authority on board ship. While the post of captain was often honorary and reserved for nobles, the master ran the ship and his knowledge meant that he could stand in for the pilot, who was in charge of steering the vessel. The boatswain oversaw the crews' maneuvers, according to the orders received. The sailors were experienced seamen. Cabin boys were young apprentices, aged between 17 and 20. Servant boys were even younger: between 8 and 15 years old. They worked day and night, carrying out the orders of cabin boys and sailors.

Ship's carpenters and caulkers were specialist technicians. Their work was essential on board the carrack and they therefore earned 50% more than the sailors. Barber surgeons took care of the crew's health as best they could. The storekeeper was in charge of food and drink, and there were people in charge of security, such as a bailiff and an artilleryman. In total, there would have been around 50 people on board each ship.

12. What was life like on board the ships? What did they eat?

Those 50 people on board the ship had around 1615 square feet in which to work, eat, and sleep. The captain, master, and pilot would probably have had their own cabin, but the others slept when they could on a mat on the floor. Water was in short supply. They took wine to drink and ate in groups. They ate ship's biscuits (a type of hard cracker made from flour) with meat or fish, beans, chickpeas, rice, or cheese—until their supplies had run dry.

The storekeeper had to ensure that fire did not break out: a fire was as dangerous as a leak. Officers ate separately and their food was slightly better. Blisters, wounds, growths, and fractures were common ailments, but the biggest threat they faced was scurvy, caused by a lack of vitamin C. It was common on long sea journeys. Leisure time was limited and consisted of music, reading, and games (but no gambling). Religious worship was ever-present, and homosexuality was forbidden and punished.

13. How many stages were there on the journey?

Magellan's expedition and the subsequent circumnavigation of the globe led by Elcano took place between 1519 and 1522. The principal milestones were:

1519: departure from Seville with five ships in August 1519; reaching the open sea at Sanlúcar de Barrameda in September; arrival in Brazil in November.

1520: a long stay in Argentina; entering the Strait of Magellan at Chile in October–November, thus placing the Strait on the world map.

1521: crossing the Pacific in 100 days and arriving in the Philippines in March; the death of Magellan in battle in April; the appointment of Elcano as captain of the Victoria in September; reaching their destination, the Maluku Islands, in November.

1522: the eight months that it took the carrack Victoria to cross the Indian and the Atlantic Oceans, stopping off just once in Cape Verde; the arrival of the surviving crew in Sanlúcar on September 6 and in Seville on September 8, 1522.

14. Did they see any curious things on their voyage?

In the Atlantic, they saw sharks and flying fish; in Brazil they tasted pineapples and saw parrots, peccaries and collared peccaries, and roseate spoonbills. In Patagonia, they saw foxes, ostriches, penguins, sea lions, and guanacos. They saw Patagonians, dressed in animal skins and taller than the explorers; they captured some of them, who later died. In the Strait of Magellan, they ate mussels and sardines. They were astonished to see indigenous people sailing with fires lit on their canoes.

They ate coconuts and oranges and drank palm wine on some of the Pacific islands, and rice and chicken in the Philippines. The indigenous people sailed in junks and praos. In Borneo, they had elephant meat and drank rice wine, and clove and cinnamon tea in porcelain cups. They saw crocodiles and ate tortoise. They loaded up with cloves, nutmeg, and ginger in the Maluku Islands, and the king gave them several desiccated birds of paradise as a gift.

15. How did they find their way without GPS or machines?

They were dependent on winds and currents, unsure whether violent storms or weeks of calm was worse. The ship had a small vessel which it either carried on board or attached to the stern. This small vessel was essential for maneuvering, which would have been very difficult without it. Up to the 15th century, sailors traveled along the coast: this was known as cabotage. They used an hourglass (or marine sandglass) and a compass to work out their position.

At sea, however, technical requirements led to revolutionary developments in the art of sailing. The pilot compared the information in astronomical tables or almanacs with the information obtained using a quadrant or astrolabe (the altitude of the sun or a pole star). This made it possible to find out the latitude, or north-south position. Knowing the longitude (east-west position) was essential for locating the Maluku Islands on the Castilian or Portuguese side of the Treaty of Tordesillas. However, it was not possible to calculate longitude until the mid-18th century, using a marine chronometer.

16. What changed after the expedition?

These historical events had far-reaching consequences in a whole range of areas: economics, food, geography, and ways of thinking. The world had changed forever. With the dawning of the Early Modern Age, staples such as corn and potatoes began to reach Europe. The expedition created a more accurate picture of the spherical nature of the Earth, and of its human and geographical diversity. Scientific advances meant that people could travel longer distances in a shorter space of time. Science and knowledge took a leap forward, toward freedom of thought.

The entire globe was connected for the first time, and people, ideas, and goods could travel around it more easily. However, in the first step toward globalization, humans made their mark on the environment and on cultural and natural diversity, and the impact was not always positive. As well as celebrating or judging the past, remembering and understanding the first circumnavigation of the globe is a wonderful opportunity for individual and collective reflection on the challenges that we face in today's society.