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Juan Sebastián Elcano (1476 – 4 August 1526) was a Basque

Elcano died 490 years ago.

explorer who completed the first circumnavigation of the Earth. After Magellan's death in the Philippines, Elcano took command of the nau Victoria from the Moluccas to Sanlúcar de Barrameda in Spain.

Elcano fought in the Italian Wars under the command of Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba in Italy, and in 1509 he joined the Spanish expedition organized by Cardinal Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros against Algiers.

Elcano settled in Seville and became a merchant ship captain. After breaking Spanish laws by surrendering a ship to Genoan bankers in repayment of a debt, he sought a pardon from the Spanish king Charles I, by signing on as a subordinate officer for the Magellan expedition to the East Indies.

Magellan-Elcano voyage.

On 27 April 1521, Magellan was killed and the Spaniards defeated in the Battle of Mactan in the Philippines. The surviving members of the expedition could not decide who should succeed Magellan. The men finally voted on a joint command with the leadership divided between Duarte Barbosa and João Serrão. Within four days these two were also dead having died by being betrayed by a massacre at a feast at the hands of Rajah Humabon. The mission teetering on disaster, João Lopes de Carvalho took command of the fleet and led it on a meandering journey through the Philippine archipelago.

During this six-month listless journey after Magellan died, and before reaching the Moluccas, Elcano's stature grew as the men became disillusioned with the weak leadership of Carvalho. The two ships, Victoria and Trinidad finally reached their destination, the Moluccas, on 6 November. They rested and re-supplied in this haven, and filled their holds with the precious cargo of cloves and spice. On 18 December, the ships were ready to leave. Trinidad sprang a leak, and was unable to be repaired. Carvalho stayed with the ship along with 52 others hoping to return later.

Magellan.

The Victoria, commanded by Elcano along with 17 other European survivors of the 240 man expedition and 4 (survivors out of 13) Timorese Asians continued its westward voyage to Spain crossing the Indian and Atlantic Ocean. They eventually reached Sanlúcar de Barrameda on 6 September 1522.

Ferdinand Magellan (1480 – 27 April 1521) was a Portuguese explorer who organised the Castilian (Spanish) expedition to the East Indies from 1519 to 1522, resulting in the first circumnavigation of the Earth.