Magellan's Expedition Enters the Pacific

From a Strait Into Open Water

On November 28, 1520, ships under Ferdinand Magellan emerged from the passage now called the Strait of Magellan and entered the Pacific. They had spent weeks working through a maze of channels and anchorages near the southern end of South America. The expedition sailed for the Spanish Crown and was seeking a westward route to the spice-producing islands of Asia. Reaching another ocean was an achievement in navigation, but it did not answer the next question: how much ocean lay between the strait and a place where the crews could obtain fresh supplies? Their success in finding a passage exposed them to a far longer crossing than they expected.

Why the Passage Took Weeks

A narrow channel can offer shelter from the sea and still be difficult for sailing ships. Changing winds, currents and branching waterways made it necessary to scout and check whether a route continued. The fleet had already lost the Santiago earlier in the voyage. During the passage the San Antonio turned back toward Spain, leaving three ships to continue into the Pacific. The expedition that emerged was therefore smaller than the one that had sailed from Europe. A map showing one uninterrupted line through the strait cannot convey the uncertainty at each branch or the loss of supplies and manpower when a ship departed.

A Calm Name for a Severe Crossing

The ocean appeared comparatively calm as the expedition entered it, an impression associated with the name Pacific. Calm conditions did not provide food or shorten the distance. The ships crossed a huge stretch of water before making useful contacts and obtaining provisions. Antonio Pigafetta's account preserves the hardships of shortages and illness. It is especially valuable because few written records by participants survive, although it remains the account of one observer writing from within the expedition. The ocean had long been traveled by Pacific peoples; the route was new to the European voyagers, rather than a first human encounter with those waters.

Who Completed the Voyage

Magellan was killed in the Philippines in 1521, during a local conflict on Mactan. The expedition continued, and Juan Sebastián Elcano commanded the Victoria on its return to Spain in 1522. The achievement of circumnavigation therefore belongs to the surviving expedition and its crew, not to Magellan as a person who traveled the entire circuit. November 28 marks a particular transition in that larger voyage. Finding the western exit of the strait demonstrated a connection between oceans. Crossing the Pacific then tested whether ships, provisions and people could endure the distances that connection made possible.