Magellan's Expedition Enters the Pacific
Ferdinand Magellan's expedition emerged from the strait at the southern end of South America into the Pacific on November 28, 1520.
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The Event
Ferdinand Magellan's expedition emerged from the strait at the southern end of South America into the Pacific on November 28, 1520.
The Wider Story
The passage gave the expedition access to an ocean far larger than its crews understood. Hunger and difficult navigation lay ahead during the crossing.
Putting the Event in Perspective
The ocean was already traveled by Indigenous peoples across its many regions.
Reading the Historical Record
The date marks a European expedition's passage, not the discovery of an empty sea or the completion of the first circumnavigation.
About the Historical Recreation
The accompanying visual is an illustrative reconstruction: sixteenth-century sailing ships emerging from a rugged southern strait into open ocean. It is not authentic archival footage, an eyewitness record or additional evidence for the event.
Sources
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