In keeping with the nautical theme I accidentally adopted this month, I'll be exploring the rather misleading story of sixteen century Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan this week. Magellan's claim to fame is being the first person to circumnavigate the globe, to sail all the way around the Earth, a full circle. That really is Magellan’s only claim to fame. Except for one thing. He never even did that. Did you know that, despite claiming all the credit posthumously, Magellan only made it about three quarters of the way around the world? One of his five ships did return to Spain after a mostly disastrous voyage but Magellan was no longer on board. So who should really claim the credit? Who was the first person to circumnavigate the Earth? Let’s fix that.

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Sources:

History.com "Why the Magellan Expedition Was So Treacherous"
Encyclopedia Britannica "Ferdinand Magellan"
BBC "Ferdinand Magellan"
History Skills "Magellan was NOT the First Person to Sail Around the World..."
History.com "Was Magellan the First Person to Circumnavigate the Globe?"

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