Today in Philippine History (Philatelic Edition Series 3):
SEPTEMBER 8, 1522
The ship Victoria arrived in Seville, Spain on September 8, 1522. Two days earlier, she was at Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain, and completed the first circumnavigation of the world.
In August 1519, the Port of Seville saw the departure of five ships (Trinidad, San Antonio, Concepcion, Victoria, and Santiago) under the command of Ferdinand Magellan, to Sanlúcar de Barrameda and then west on a journey to search for the Spice Islands.
Magellan, a Portuguese navigator proposed his project to reach the Moluccas to obtain spices for King Manuel I of Portugal in 1518 but was turned down. He then proposed it to King Charles I of Spain, who gave him the money to charter five ships with 270 men.
The voyage crossed the Atlantic Ocean, and after some stops, rounded the southern tip of South America, which the expedition named as the Strait of Magellan. The ships sailed across the Pacific and discovered islands that included Guam and finally arrived in the Philippines.
Unfortunately, Magellan was killed in the Battle of Mactan in 1521. Juan Sebastian Elcano, with the remaining crew left the Philippines and arrived back in Seville bringing with them lots of spices. Of the 270 men, only 18 survived including Elcano.
Their journey back was hard and they all suffered from hunger, scurvy and were harassed by Portuguese ships. Elcano completed the first circumnavigation of the globe.
Emperor Charles V received the survivors at Valladolid and rewarded Elcano with 500 gold ducats and granted him a crest depicting a globe with the motto Primus circumdedisti me (You were the first to circumnavigate me).
The Magellan Expedition also called the Magellan-Elcano Expedition was among the highlights during the 2021 Quincentennial Commemorations in the Philippines (2021 QCP) which was a series of observances to mark the 500th anniversary of various events in the Philippines.
It highlighted the introduction of Christianity in the Philippines, the role of the country in the Magellan–Elcano circumnavigation, and the victory of Lapulapu in the Battle of Mactan.
(Design, concept, stamps and research: Richard Allan B. Uy) All rights reserved
Photo credit: wikipedia.org
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