When did the first circumnavigation of the world take place? First trip around the world

Every educated person can easily remember the name of the one who made the first trip around the world and crossed the Pacific Ocean. This was done by the Portuguese Ferdinand Magellan about 500 years ago.

But it should be noted that this formulation is not completely correct. Magellan thought through and planned the route of the voyage, organized it and led it, but he was destined to die many months before it was completed. So Juan Sebastian del Cano (Elcano), a Spanish navigator with whom Magellan had, to put it mildly, not friendly relations, continued and completed the first trip around the world. It was del Cano who eventually became captain of the Victoria (the only ship to return to her home harbour) and gained fame and fortune. However, Magellan made great discoveries during his dramatic voyage, which will be discussed below, and therefore he is considered the first circumnavigator.

The first trip around the world: background

In the 16th century, Portuguese and Spanish sailors and merchants vied with each other for control of the spice-rich East Indies. The latter made it possible to preserve food, and it was difficult to do without them. There was already a proven route to the Moluccas, where the largest markets with the cheapest goods were located, but this route was not close and unsafe. Due to limited knowledge about the world, America, discovered not so long ago, seemed to sailors as an obstacle on the way to rich Asia. No one knew whether there was a strait between South America and the hypothetical Unknown South Land, but the Europeans wanted there to be one. They did not yet know that America and East Asia were separated by a huge ocean, and they thought that opening the strait would provide quick access to Asian markets. Therefore, the first navigator to circumnavigate the world would certainly have been awarded royal honors.

Career of Ferdinand Magellan

By the age of 39, the impoverished Portuguese nobleman Magellan (Magalhães) had visited Asia and Africa several times, was wounded in battles with the natives and collected a lot of information about his travels to the shores of America.

With his idea of ​​getting to the Moluccas by the western route and returning the usual way (that is, making the first trip around the world), he turned to the Portuguese King Manuel. He was not at all interested in Magellan’s proposal, whom he also disliked for his lack of loyalty. But he allowed Fernand to change his citizenship, which he immediately took advantage of. The navigator settled in Spain (that is, in a country hostile to the Portuguese!), acquired a family and associates. In 1518, he obtained an audience with the young king Charles I. The king and his advisers became interested in finding a shortcut for spices and “gave the go-ahead” to organize the expedition.

Along the coast. Riot

Magellan's first voyage around the world, which was never completed for most of the team members, began in 1519. Five ships left the Spanish harbor of San Lucar, carrying 265 people from different European countries. Despite the storms, the flotilla relatively safely reached the coast of Brazil and began to “descend” along it to the south. Fernand hoped to find a strait into the South Sea, which should have been located, according to his information, in the region of 40 degrees south latitude. But in the indicated place it was not the strait, but the mouth of the La Plata River. Magellan ordered to continue moving south, and when the weather completely deteriorated, the ships anchored in the Bay of St. Julian (San Julian) to spend the winter there. The captains of three ships (Spaniards by nationality) mutinied, seized the ships and decided not to continue the first trip around the world, but to head for the Cape of Good Hope and from there to their homeland. People loyal to the admiral managed to do the impossible - recapture the ships and cut off the rebels' escape route.

Strait of All Saints

One captain was killed, another was executed, the third was put ashore. Magellan pardoned the ordinary rebels, which once again proved his foresight. Only at the end of the summer of 1520 did the ships leave the bay and continue searching for the strait. During a storm, the ship Santiago sank. And on October 21, the sailors finally discovered a strait, more reminiscent of a narrow crevice between the rocks. Magellan's ships sailed along it for 38 days.

The admiral called the coast remaining on the left hand Tierra del Fuego, since Indian fires burned on it around the clock. It was thanks to the discovery of the Strait of All Saints that Ferdinand Magellan began to be considered the one who made the first trip around the world. Subsequently, the Strait was renamed Magellan.

Pacific Ocean

Only three ships left the strait for the so-called “South Sea”: “San Antonio” disappeared (simply deserted). The sailors liked the new waters, especially after the turbulent Atlantic. The ocean was named Pacific.

The expedition headed northwest, then west. For several months the sailors sailed without seeing any signs of land. Starvation and scurvy caused the death of almost half the crew. Only at the beginning of March 1521 did ships approach two yet undiscovered inhabited islands from the Mariana group. From here it was already close to the Philippines.

Philippines. Death of Magellan

The discovery of the islands of Samar, Siargao and Homonkhon greatly pleased the Europeans. Here they regained their strength and communicated with local residents, who willingly shared food and information.

Magellan's servant, a Malay, spoke fluently with the natives in the same language, and the admiral realized that the Moluccas were very close. By the way, this servant, Enrique, ultimately became one of those who made the first trip around the world, unlike his master, who was not destined to land on the Moluccas. Magellan and his people intervened in an internecine war between two local princes, and the navigator was killed (either with a poisoned arrow or with a cutlass). Moreover, after some time, as a result of a treacherous attack by savages, his closest associates, experienced Spanish sailors, died. The team was so thin that it was decided to destroy one of the ships, the Concepcion.

Moluccas. Return to Spain

Who led the first voyage around the world after Magellan's death? Juan Sebastian del Cano, Basque sailor. He was among the conspirators who presented Magellan with an ultimatum at San Julian Bay, but the admiral forgave him. Del Cano commanded one of the two remaining ships, the Victoria.

He ensured that the ship returned to Spain loaded with spices. This was not easy to do: the Portuguese were waiting for the Spaniards off the coast of Africa, who from the very beginning of the expedition did everything to upset the plans of their competitors. The second ship, the flagship Trinidad, was boarded by them; sailors were enslaved. Thus, in 1522, 18 expedition members returned to San Lucar. The cargo they delivered covered all the costs of the expensive expedition. Del Cano was awarded a personal coat of arms. If in those days someone had said that Magellan made the first trip around the world, he would have been ridiculed. The Portuguese only faced accusations of violating royal instructions.

Results of Magellan's journey

Magellan explored the eastern coast of South America and discovered a strait from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. Thanks to his expedition, people received strong evidence that the Earth was indeed round, they were convinced that the Pacific Ocean was much larger than expected, and that sailing on it to the Moluccas was unprofitable. Europeans also realized that the World Ocean is one and washes all continents. Spain satisfied its ambitions by announcing the discovery of the Mariana and Philippine Islands, and laid claim to the Moluccas.

All the great discoveries made during this voyage belong to Ferdinand Magellan. So the answer to the question of who made the first trip around the world is not so obvious. In fact, this man was del Cano, but still the main achievement of the Spaniard was that the world generally learned about the history and results of this voyage.

The first round-the-world voyage of Russian navigators

In 1803-1806, Russian sailors Ivan Kruzenshtern and Yuri Lisyansky made a large-scale journey through the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. Their goals were: exploring the Far Eastern outskirts of the Russian Empire, finding a convenient trade route to China and Japan by sea, and providing the Russian population of Alaska with everything they needed. The navigators (set off on two ships) explored and described Easter Island, the Marquesas Islands, the coast of Japan and Korea, the Kuril Islands, Sakhalin and Yesso Island, visited Sitka and Kodiak, where Russian settlers lived, and also delivered an ambassador from the emperor to Japan. During this voyage, domestic ships visited high latitudes for the first time. The first round-the-world trip of Russian explorers had a huge public resonance and contributed to increasing the prestige of the country. Its scientific significance is no less great.

CIRCUMSTANCES AND TRAVELS, expeditions around the Earth, during which all meridians or parallels of the Earth intersect. Circumnavigation of the world took place (in different sequences) through the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans, initially in search of new lands and trade routes, which led to the Great Geographical Discoveries. The first circumnavigation in history was made by a Spanish expedition in 1519-22 led by F. Magellan in search of a direct western route from Europe to the West Indies (where the Spaniards were heading for spices) under the command of six rotating captains (the last one was J. S. Elcano) . As a result of this most important voyage in the history of geographical discoveries, a gigantic water area called the Pacific Ocean was identified, the unity of the World Ocean was proven, the hypothesis of the predominance of land over water was questioned, the theory of the sphericity of the Earth was confirmed, irrefutable data appeared to determine its true dimensions, and the idea arose about the need to introduce a date line. Despite the death of Magellan on this voyage, he should be considered the first circumnavigator around the world. The second voyage around the world was carried out by the English pirate F. Drake (1577-80), and the third by the English pirate T. Cavendish (1586-88); They penetrated through the Strait of Magellan into the Pacific Ocean to plunder Spanish-American port cities and capture Spanish ships. Drake became the first captain to completely circumnavigate the world. The fourth circumnavigation of the world (again through the Strait of Magellan) was carried out by the Dutch expedition of O. van Noort (1598-1601). The Dutch expedition of J. Lemaire - W. Schouten (1615-17), equipped with competing compatriot merchants to eliminate the monopoly of the Netherlands East India Company, paved a new route around Cape Horn discovered by it, but company agents seized their ship off the Moluccas, and the survivors sailors (including Schouten) completed their circumnavigation of the world as prisoners on her ships. Of the three voyages around the world by the English navigator W. Dampier, the most significant is the first, which he completed on different ships with long breaks in 1679-91, collecting materials that allowed him to be considered one of the founders of oceanography.

In the 2nd half of the 18th century, when the struggle for the seizure of new lands intensified, Great Britain and France sent a number of expeditions to the Pacific Ocean, including the first French expedition around the world under the leadership of L. A. de Bougainville (1766-69), which discovered in Oceania a number of islands; Among the participants in this expedition was J. Baret, the first woman to circumnavigate the world. These voyages proved, although not completely, that in the Pacific Ocean, between the parallels of latitude 50° north and latitude 60° south, east of the Asian archipelagos, New Guinea and Australia, there are no large land masses except New Zealand. The English navigator S. Wallis, in his circumnavigation of the world in 1766-68, was the first to quite accurately determine the position of the island of Tahiti, several islands and atolls in the western and central parts of the Pacific Ocean using a new method of calculating longitudes. The English navigator J. Cook achieved the greatest geographical results in three voyages around the world.

In the 19th century, hundreds of voyages around the world took place for trade, fishing and purely scientific purposes, and discoveries continued in the Southern Hemisphere. In the 1st half of the 19th century, the Russian sailing fleet played an outstanding role; During the first circumnavigation of the world, accomplished on the sloops “Nadezhda” and “Neva” by I. F. Kruzenshtern and Yu. F. Lisyansky (1803-06), inter-trade countercurrents in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans were identified, and the reasons for the glow of the sea were explained. The subsequent dozens of other Russian circumnavigations connected St. Petersburg with the Far East and Russian possessions in North America through a relatively cheap sea route, and strengthened Russian positions in the North Pacific Ocean. Russian expeditions made a major contribution to the development of oceanography and discovered many islands; O. E. Kotzebue, during his second circumnavigation of the world (1815-18), first made a correct assumption about the origin of coral islands. The expedition of F. F. Bellingshausen and M. P. Lazarev (1819-21) on the sloops “Vostok” and “Mirny” on January 16, February 5 and 6, 1820 almost came close to the coast of the previously mythical Southern Earth - Antarctica (now Bereg Princess Martha and Princess Astrid Coast), identified an arched underwater ridge 4800 km long and mapped 29 islands.

In the 2nd half of the 19th century, when sailing ships were replaced by steamships and the main discoveries of new lands were completed, three circumnavigations took place, which made a great contribution to the study of the topography of the bottom of the World Ocean. The British expedition of 1872-76 on the corvette Challenger (captains J. S. Nares and F. T. Thomson, who replaced him in 1874) in the Atlantic Ocean discovered a number of basins, the Puerto Rico Trench, and underwater ridges around Antarctica; In the Pacific Ocean, the first determinations of depths were made in a number of underwater basins, underwater rises and elevations, and the Mariana Trench were identified. The German expedition of 1874-76 on the military corvette "Gazelle" (commander G. von Schleinitz) continued the discovery of bottom relief elements and depth measurements in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans. The Russian expedition of 1886-89 on the corvette “Vityaz” (commander S. O. Makarov) for the first time revealed the main laws of the general circulation of surface waters of the Northern Hemisphere and discovered the existence of a “cold intermediate layer” that preserves the remnants of winter cooling in the waters of the seas and oceans.

In the 20th century, major discoveries were made during circumnavigations, mainly by Antarctic expeditions that established the outlines of Antarctica, including the British expedition on the Discovery-N ship under the command of D. John and W. Carey, which in 1931-33 in the South Pacific Ocean, discovered the Chatham Rise, traced the South Pacific Ridge for almost 2000 km and conducted oceanographic surveys of Antarctic waters.

At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, voyages around the world began to be carried out for educational, sports and tourism purposes, including solo voyages. The first solo circumnavigation of the world was carried out by the American traveler J. Slocum (1895-98), the second by his compatriot G. Pigeon (1921-1925), the third by the French traveler A. Gerbaut (1923-29). In 1960, the first circumnavigation of the world took place on the submarine Triton (USA) under the command of Captain E. Beach. In 1966, a detachment of Soviet nuclear submarines under the command of Rear Admiral A.I. Sorokin made the first circumnavigation of the world without surfacing. In 1968-69, the first solo non-stop circumnavigation of the world was carried out by the English captain R. Knox-Johnston on the sailing yacht Sukhaili. The first woman to make a solo circumnavigation around the world was the Polish traveler K. Chojnowska-Liskiewicz on the yacht Mazurek in 1976-78. Great Britain was the first to introduce solo round-the-world races and make them regular (since 1982). Russian navigator and traveler F. F. Konyukhov (born in 1951) made 4 solo voyages around the world: 1st (1990-91) on the yacht Karaana, 2nd (1993-94) on the yacht Formosa, 3rd (1998-99) - on the yacht "Modern Humanitarian University", participating in the international sailing race "Around the World - Alone", 4th (2004-05) - on the yacht "Scarlet Sails". The first circumnavigation of the Russian training sailing ship Kruzenshtern in 1995-1996 was timed to coincide with the 300th anniversary of the Russian fleet.

The first trip around the world from west to east was carried out by P. Teixeira (Portugal) in 1586-1601, circumnavigating the Earth on ships and on foot. The second, in 1785-1788, was accomplished by the French traveler J. B. Lesseps, the only surviving member of the expedition of J. La Perouse. In the last third of the 19th century, after the publication of J. Verne’s novel “Around the World in 80 Days” (1872), travel around the world in record time became widespread. In 1889-90, the American journalist N. Bly circumnavigated the Earth in 72 days; in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, this record was repeatedly improved. In the 2nd half of the 20th century, circumnavigation and travel around the world were no longer considered something exotic; latitudinal ones were added to them. In 1979-82, for the first time in the history of mankind, R. Fiennes and C. Burton (Great Britain) circumnavigated the world along the Greenwich meridian with relatively short deviations to the east and west through both poles of the planet (on ships, cars, motorcars, motor boats and on foot) . Travelers contributed to the geographical study of Antarctica. In 1911-13, the Russian athlete A. Pankratov made the first trip around the world on a bicycle in history. The first round-the-world flight in the history of aeronautics belonged to the German airship “Graf Zeppelin” under the command of G. Eckener: in 1929, in 21 days, it covered about 31.4 thousand km with three intermediate landings. In 1949, the American B-50 bomber (commanded by Captain J. Gallagher) made the first non-stop flight around the world (with in-flight refueling). The first space flight around the Earth in the history of mankind in 1961 was performed by Soviet cosmonaut Yu. A. Gagarin on the Vostok spacecraft. In 1986, the British crew made the first round-the-world flight in aviation history on an airplane without refueling (D. Rutan and J. Yeager). Spouses Kate and David Grant (Great Britain) with three children traveled around the world in a van drawn by a pair of horses. They left the Orkney Islands (Great Britain) in 1990, crossed the oceans, countries of Europe, Asia and North America and returned home in 1997. Russian travelers P.F. Plonin and N.K. Davidovsky made a horseback trip around the world in 1992-98. In 1999-2002, V. A. Shanin (Russia) traveled around the world in passing cars, airplanes, and cargo ships. In 2002, S. Fossett (USA) flew around the Earth alone in a hot air balloon for the first time; in 2005, he made the first solo round-the-world non-stop flight in an airplane without refueling in the history of aviation.

Lit.: Ivashintsov N. A. Russian trips around the world from 1803 to 1849. St. Petersburg, 1872; Baker J. History of geographical discoveries and research. M., 1950; Russian sailors. [Sat. Art.]. M., 1953; Zubov N.N. Domestic sailors - explorers of the seas and oceans. M., 1954; Urbanchik A. Alone across the ocean: One hundred years of solo navigation. M., 1974; Magidovich I. P., Magidovich V. I. Essays on the history of geographical discoveries. 3rd ed. M., 1983-1986. T. 2-5; Faines R. Around the world along the meridian. M., 1992; Blon J. The Great Hour of the Oceans. M., 1993. T. 1-2; Slocum J. Alone under sail around the world. M., 2002; Pigafetta A. The Voyage of Magellan. M., 2009.

By the time of his second and most significant voyage around the world, Gagemeister Leonty Andrianovich was already an experienced navigator. He took part in hostilities, including participation in the battle of the Spanish fortress of San Pedro.

Hagemeister's first expedition ended, as indeed it began unexpectedly. “The first expedition, equipped at the expense of the RAC, set off under the command of Lieutenant Gagemeister and reached its destination, but due to the war that broke out at that time with the British, the return voyage became impossible. The ship was left in Kamchatka, and the crew returned to St. Petersburg by land.” 9

In 1816, by order of the Russian-American Trading Company, Lieutenant Commander Gagemeister was going on his second round-the-world expedition as commander of the ship Kutuzov. The second equipped ship “Suvorov” was headed by naval officer Z.I. Panafidin. The purpose of this expedition was to check the state of “Russian America” and the rule of Baranov N.A., since Baranov did not send reports on the rule, although he did send furs. There were rumors about embezzlement in the colonies.

On September 8, 1816, “Kutuzov” and “Suvorov” solemnly set off on a circumnavigation of the world. They rounded Cape Horn and made calls to the ports of Copenhagen and Rio de Janeiro. But “Suvorov” was unable to continue the expedition due to overload, and was forced to go to Novoarkhangelsk by the shortest route.

"Kutuzov" continued his voyage. He arrived in Novoarkhangelsk much later than the Suvorov on November 24, 1817, bringing the necessary cargo to the colony and moored to carry out the mission. Following the order in which Gagemeister was appointed to manage the colony, he announced that he was entrusted with replacing A. A. Baranov.

From the very first days, Gagemeister took up the task assigned with great confidence. During his ten-month reign, he took a number of energetic and effective measures, wanting to improve the situation in the colony. He put colonial paperwork in order, restored the construction of the Novoarkhangelsk fortress, and established new rules for foreign ships entering the port. In the summer of 1818, he sent the expedition of Pyotr Korsakovsky to study Alaska in detail.

In June 1818, food problems arose in the colony, then Gagemeister went to California for food, leaving Yanovsky in charge of the colony. This naval officer did not yet imagine that Russian America would change not only his career, but also leave a deep mark on his life. 10

On October 24, 1818, Gagemeister transferred control of the colony to S.I. Yanovsky. 11 Having hastily completed all his business and removed the remaining gaps in the maps of the American coast, Gagemeister sets off home. Among the passengers of the Kutuzov was the fired Baranov himself, but he did not make it home, died on the ship and was buried at sea. 12

He carried out the return passage of “Kutuzov” from Sitka to Kronstadt in an exemplary manner. He completed his second circumnavigation of the world at the Great Kronstadt roadstead on September 7, 1819.

§7. F.P.'s circumnavigation of the world Wrangel on the transport "Meek" (1825-1827)

This was already the 25th circumnavigation of Russian sailors from Kronstadt to the Far East.

The military transport “Krotky”, 90 feet long, specially built for the upcoming voyage, under the command of Captain-Lieutenant Ferdinand Petrovich Wrangel, who had already circumnavigated the world as a midshipman on the “Kamchatka” in 1817-1819, left Kronstadt on August 23, 1825.

On board the transport ship “Korotky” under the command of Wrangel there was a young researcher F.F. Matyushkin as a volunteer. At this moment, his main dream comes true - to go on a trip around the world. Admiral Golovnin, who offered Wrangel a trip around the world on the military transport “Meek” to the shores of Kamchatka: “Take Matyushkin with you. And may God grant you to glorify your fatherland with a new voyage.” 13

There he gains experience from the famous navigator, and later becomes an admiral himself.

On this kind of expedition it was mandatory to take a doctor on board; Dr. August Erich Kieber went on this round-the-world expedition. He was a talented doctor and polar explorer. August Erich Kieber was from Livonia and studied in Berlin. Later, he always accompanied Wrangel on all expeditions. By order of the Medical Department of the Ministry of the Interior, the botanist I. Stuart was sent to the expedition as an assistant to Dr. Kiber. But the main task of I. Stuart was: collecting seeds, plants and other objects of natural history under the orders of Dr. Kiber. 14

The transport was supposed to deliver goods to Petropavlovsk and Novo-Arkhangelsk. Having stopped at Portsmouth, Rio de Janeiro, and Valparaiso on the way, Wrangel decided to also stop at the port of Chichagova on the island of Nukugiva (Marquesas Islands) along the way to replenish water supplies.

Ivashintsev, in his essay on Russian voyages around the world, notes that there was so little water on the Meek that only four cups per person were issued per day. This seems a little strange. Therefore, Captain Wrangel decides to call at the nearest safe port to replenish the ship’s holds with various provisions.

“It was necessary to go to some islands of the Great Ocean, and since the Washington Islands lie closest to our direct route and, moreover, sailing to them is not subject to danger from coral reefs and low-lying islands, with which the ocean is dotted in other places, then in honor of these “For this reason, I directed our voyage to the island of Nukagiwe, where a closed bay, known as the port of Chichagova, abounds in forest, fresh water and healthy fruits.” 15

On April 7, the Meek anchored off the island of Nukagiwa. One of the rare tragedies in the history of Russian navigation occurred here. Information about how this tragedy occurred is contradictory. 16

However, in the archival documents you can find a note: “Report of the commander of the military transport “Meek,” Lieutenant Commander F.P. Wrangel". Where the incident is described in detail.

On April 16, the chief of the “Wild Ones,” 17 as he called the local population, wished them a pig as a gift. To which Wrangel agreed, and at the moment of handing over the gift, the savages opened fire using the firearms they had. The ship's mastman, Deibner, died.

It was decided to pacify the savages by force, and a boat was sent with Lieutenant Lavrov and twelve armed sailors. 18 One of the sailors was immediately killed, some managed to escape. But the savages were merciless. Under gunfire from the shore, the "Short" sailed from the port into the sea, leaving four armed sailors at the mercy of the savages. There were about four hundred savages. “At 8 o’clock we went out to sea, having lost the rope in the narrowness, and all night we heard screams and saw lights on the shore.” 19

The Englishman and the sailor abandoned the boat near the shore and swam to the ship “Korotky”. Also saved were “an Indian and one Nukagivian who remained on the “Meek”, the first three to save them from the monsters, and the last one was detained by Wrangel by force at the very beginning of the attack.” 20

Captain Wrangel decided to enlist the Indian, the Englishman and the Nukagivian among the sailors, declaring the following: “for experience has proven to me that in difficult work it is impossible to do without them.” 21

Ivashintsev writes that until April 16, “relations with the residents were constantly friendly.” 22 Only thanks to the “zeal and ingenuity of the officers and the tireless efficiency of all ranks and servants” the expedition team managed to go out to sea and escape.

Thus, the “Korotky” transport left the parking lot ahead of schedule and set off to continue the expedition. The voyage from Valparaiso to Kamchatka, as Wrangel wrote, “had no success in terms of hydrographic surveys” 23 . Subsequently, the “Meek” sailed without calling at ports for 109 days.

Now on the world map about 13 large geographical points bear the name of the outstanding Russian navigator, scientist and statesman F.P. Wrangel 24 . After all, the captain made many more lesser-known expeditions.

After returning from Irkutsk to St. Petersburg, Ferdinand Petrovich was awarded a lifelong pension in the amount of an annual lieutenant's salary, promoted to the next rank and was granted 4 years of service to receive the Order of St. George.

The significance of this expedition turned out to be very significant. As during other Russian expeditions around the world, Wrangel conducted meteorological observations and found out the inaccuracy of the data from the chronometers purchased from the French. 25 But in general, thanks to the assistance in meteorological observations of the ship’s officers, and especially Lieutenant Lavrov, the data can be considered reliable.

Important scientific material is contained in the “Daily Notes” that Wrangel kept throughout the voyage, which reflect observations of ocean currents, wind, tides, phenomenal meteorological phenomena, as well as data on the ethnography of the peoples of South America and the Pacific basin.

By land, through all of Siberia, he reached from St. Petersburg to Okhotsk and by sea headed to the capital of Russia's overseas possessions. Wrangel remained in the post of chief ruler until 1835. He explored the western coast of North America from the Bering Strait to Fort Ross. In addition, near Novoarkhangelsk he founded an observatory for constant observations of the weather and magnetic field.

The idea of ​​circumnavigating the world in Russia has been floating around for quite some time. However, the first project for a trip around the world was developed and prepared only at the end of the 18th century. The team of four ships was to be led by Captain G.I. Mulovsky, however, due to the war with Sweden, Russia canceled this expedition. In addition, its potential leader died in battle.

It is noteworthy that on the battleship Mstislav, whose commander was Mulovsky, young Ivan Kruzenshtern served as a midshipman. It was he, who became the leader of the implementation of the idea of ​​Russian circumnavigation, who would later lead the first Russian circumnavigation. At the same time as Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern, Yuri Fedorovich Lisyansky, his classmate, sailed on another battleship, which also took part in naval battles. Both sailed in the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans. Having fought on the side of the British against the French and returning to their homeland, both received the rank of lieutenant commander.

Krusenstern presented his project for a circumnavigation of the world to Paul I. The main goal of the project was to organize fur trade between Russia and China. However, this idea did not evoke the response that the captain had hoped for.

In 1799, the Russian-American Company was founded, the goal of which was to develop Russian America and the Kuril Islands and establish regular communications with overseas colonies.

The relevance of circumnavigation was due to the urgent need to maintain Russian colonies on the North American continent. Supplying food and goods to the colonists, providing settlers with weapons (the problem of frequent raids by the indigenous population (Indians), as well as potential threats from other powers) - these were pressing issues facing the Russian state. It was important to establish regular communication with the Russian colonists for their normal life. By this time it became clear that passage through the polar seas was postponed for an indefinite future. The journey by land, through all of Siberia and the Far East off-road, and then across the Pacific Ocean, is a very expensive and time-consuming “pleasure.”

From the beginning of the reign of Paul I's son Alexander, the Russian-American Company began to be under the patronage of the royal house. (It is noteworthy that the first director of the Russian-American Company was Ustyug resident Mikhail Matveevich Buldakov, who actively supported the idea of ​​circumnavigation financially and organizationally).

In turn, Emperor Alexander I supported Kruzenshtern in his desire to explore the possibilities of communication between Russia and North America, appointing him head of the first Russian round-the-world expedition.

Captains Kruzentshtern and Lisyansky, having received two sloops under their command: “Nadezhda” and “Neva”, carefully approached the preparation of the expedition, purchasing a large amount of medicines and anti-scorbutic drugs, staffing the crews with the best Russian military sailors. It is interesting that all the cargo on the ship “Neva” was managed by another Ustyuzhan (here it is - the continuity of generations of Russian explorers) Nikolai Ivanovich Korobitsyn. The expedition was well equipped with various modern measuring instruments, since its tasks included scientific purposes (the expedition included astronomers, naturalists, and an artist).

At the beginning of August 1803, with a large crowd of people, Kruzenshtern's expedition left Kronstadt on two sailing sloops - Nadezhda and Neva. On board the Nadezhda there was a mission to Japan led by Nikolai Rezanov. The main purpose of the voyage was to explore the mouth of the Amur and neighboring territories to identify convenient places and routes for supplying goods to the Russian Pacific Fleet. After a long stay near the island of Santa Catarina (the coast of Brazil), when two masts had to be replaced on the Neva, the ships crossed the equator for the first time in the history of the Russian fleet and headed south. On March 3, they rounded Cape Horn and separated three weeks later in the Pacific Ocean. From the island of Nuku Hiva (Marquesas Islands), the sloops proceeded together to the Hawaiian Islands, where they separated again.

On July 1, 1804, the Neva arrived at Kodiak Island and remained off the coast of North America for more than a year. The sailors helped the inhabitants of Russian America defend their settlements from the attack of the Tlingit Indian tribes, participated in the construction of the Novo-Arkhangelsk (Sitka) fortress, and carried out scientific observations and hydrographic work.

At the same time, “Nadezhda” arrived in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in July 1804. Then Krusenstern took Rezanov to Nagasaki and back, describing the northern and eastern shores of Terpeniya Bay along the way.

In the summer of 1805, Kruzenshtern for the first time photographed about 1000 km of the coast of Sakhalin, tried to pass in the south between the island and the mainland, but could not and mistakenly decided that Sakhalin was not an island and was connected to the mainland by an isthmus.

In August 1805, Lisyansky sailed on the Neva with a cargo of furs to China, and in November arrived at the port of Macau, where he again connected with Kruzenshtern and Nadezhda. But as soon as the ships left the port, they lost each other again in the fog. Following independently, Lisyansky, for the first time in the history of world navigation, navigated a ship without calling at ports or stops from the coast of China to Portsmouth in England. On July 22, 1806, his Neva was the first to return to Kronstadt.

Lisyansky and his crew became the first Russian circumnavigators. Only two weeks later the Nadezhda arrived here safely. But the fame of the circumnavigator mainly went to Krusenstern, who was the first to publish a description of the trip. His three-volume book “A Journey Around the World...” and “Atlas for a Journey” was published three years earlier than the works of Lisyansky, who considered his duties to be more important than the publication of a report for the Geographical Society. And Kruzenshtern himself saw in his friend and colleague, first of all, “an impartial, obedient person, zealous for the common good,” extremely modest. True, Lisyansky’s merits were nevertheless noted: he received the rank of captain of the 2nd rank, the Order of St. Vladimir of the 3rd degree, a cash bonus and a lifelong pension. For him, the main gift was the gratitude of the officers and sailors of the sloop, who endured the hardships of the voyage with him and gave him as a souvenir a golden sword with the inscription: “Gratitude of the crew of the ship “Neva.”

The participants of the first Russian round-the-world expedition made a significant contribution to geographical science by erasing a number of non-existent islands from the map and clarifying the position of existing ones. They discovered inter-trade countercurrents in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, measured water temperature at depths of up to 400 m and determined its specific gravity, transparency and color; found out the reason for the glow of the sea, collected numerous data on atmospheric pressure, ebbs and flows in a number of areas of the World Ocean.

During his travels, Lisyansky collected an extensive natural and ethnographic collection, which later became the property of the Russian Geographical Society (one of the initiators of which was Kruzenshtern).

Three times in his life Lisyansky was the first: the first to travel around the world under the Russian flag, the first to pave the way from Russian America to Kronstadt, the first to discover an uninhabited island in the central Pacific Ocean.

The first Russian round-the-world trip by Kruzenshtern-Lisyansky turned out to be practically a standard in terms of its organization, support and execution. At the same time, the expedition proved the possibility of communication with Russian America.

The enthusiasm after the return of the Nadezhda and Neva to Kronstadt was so great that in the first half of the 19th century, more than 20 circumnavigations were organized and completed, which is more than France and England combined.

Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern became the inspirer and organizer of subsequent expeditions, the leaders of which were, among other things, members of the crew of his sloop Nadezhda.

Midshipman Thaddeus Faddeevich Bellingshausen traveled on the Nadezhda, who would later discover Antarctica in 1821 on a circumnavigation of the world in high southern latitudes.

Otto Evstafievich Kotzebue sailed on the same sloop as a volunteer, under whose leadership 2 circumnavigations were carried out.

In 1815-18, Kotzebue led a round-the-world research expedition on the brig Rurik. At Cape Horn, during a storm (January 1816), a wave washed him overboard; he saved himself by grabbing a rope. After an unsuccessful search for the fantastic “Davis Land” west of the coast of Chile, at 27° S. latitude. in April-May 1816 he discovered the inhabited island of Tikei, the atolls of Takapoto, Arutua and Tikehau (all in the Tuamotu archipelago), and in the Ratak chain of the Marshall Islands - the atolls of Utirik and Taka. At the end of July - mid-August, Kotzebue described the coast of Alaska for almost 600 km, discovered Shishmarev Bay, Sarychev Island and the vast Kotzebue Bay, and in it - the Bay of Good Hope (now Goodhope) and Eschscholtz with the Khoris Peninsula and Shamisso Island (all names are given in honor of the participants in the voyage). Thus, he completed the identification of the Seward Peninsula, begun by Mikhail Gvozdyov in 1732. To the northeast of the bay, he noted high mountains (spurs of the Brooks Range).

Together with the naturalists of Rurik, for the first time in America, Kotzebue discovered fossil ice with a mammoth tusk and gave the first ethnographic description of the North American Eskimos. In January-March 1817, he again explored the Marshall Islands and discovered seven inhabited atolls in the Ratak chain: Medjit, Votje, Erikub, Maloelap, Aur, Ailuk and Bikar. He also mapped a number of atolls whose coordinates his predecessors had identified incorrectly and “closed” several non-existent islands.

In 1823-26, commanding the sloop Enterprise, Kotzebue completed his third circumnavigation of the world. In March 1824 he discovered the inhabited atoll of Fangahina (in the Tuamotu archipelago) and the island of Motu-One (in the Society archipelago), and in October 1825 - the Rongelap and Bikini atolls (in the Ralik chain, Marshall Islands). Together with naturalists on both voyages, Kotzebue made numerous determinations of the specific gravity, salinity, temperature and transparency of sea water in temperate and hot zones. They were the first to establish four features of near-surface (up to a depth of 200 m) oceanic waters: their salinity is zonal; the waters of the temperate zone are less salty than those of the hot zone; water temperature depends on the latitude of the place; Seasonal temperature fluctuations appear up to a certain limit, below which they do not occur. For the first time in the history of ocean exploration, Kotzebue and his companions made observations of the relative transparency of water and its density.

Another famous navigator was Vasily Mikhailovich Golovnin, who, having traveled around the world on the sloop "Diana", in 1817 led an expedition on the sloop "Kamachtka". Many members of the ship's crew in the future became the colors of the Russian fleet: midshipman Fyodor Petrovich Litke (later captain of the circumnavigation), volunteer Fyodor Matyushin (later admiral and senator), junior watch officer Ferdinand Wrangel (admiral and Arctic explorer) and others. In two years, "Kamchatka" passed the Atlantic Ocean from north to south, rounded Cape Horn, visited Russian America, visited all significant groups of islands in the Pacific Ocean, then passed the Indian Ocean and the Cape of Good Hope, and returned to Kronstadt through the Atlantic Ocean.

Fyodor Litke two years later was appointed head of the polar expedition on the ship Novaya Zemlya. For four years, Litke explored the Arctic, summarizing rich expeditionary materials, and published the book “Four-time voyages to the Arctic Ocean on the military brig “Novaya Zemlya” in 1821-1824.” The work was translated into many languages ​​and received scientific recognition; sailors used the maps of the expedition for a century.

In 1826, when Fyodor Litka was not even 29 years old, he led an expedition around the world on the new ship Senyavin. The Senyavin was accompanied by the sloop Moller under the command of Mikhail Stanyukovich. The ships turned out to be different in their running characteristics (“Moller” is much faster than “Senyavin”) and almost throughout the entire length the ships sailed alone, meeting only at anchorages in ports. The expedition, which lasted three years, turned out to be one of the most successful and rich in scientific discoveries of travel, not only Russian, but also foreign. The Asian coast of the Bering Strait was explored, islands were discovered, materials on ethnography and oceanography were collected, and numerous maps were compiled. During the trip, Litke was engaged in scientific research in the field of physics; experiments with a pendulum allowed the scientist to determine the magnitude of the Earth's polar compression and make a number of other important discoveries. After the end of the expedition, Litke published “A Voyage Around the World on the Sloop of War “Senyavin” in 1826-1829”, gaining recognition as a scientist, and was elected a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences.

Litke became one of the founders of the Russian Geographical Society, and for many years was its vice-chairman. In 1873, the society established the Great Gold Medal named after. F. P. Litke, awarded for outstanding geographical discoveries.

The names of brave travelers, heroes of Russian round-the-world expeditions are immortalized on maps of the globe:

A bay, peninsula, strait, river and cape on the coast of North America in the area of ​​the Alexandra Archipelago, one of the islands of the Hawaiian archipelago, an underwater island in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk and a peninsula on the northern coast of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk are named after Lisyansky.

A number of straits, islands, capes in the Pacific Ocean, a mountain in the Kuril Islands are named after Krusenstern.

The following are named in honor of Litke: a cape, a peninsula, a mountain and a bay on Novaya Zemlya; islands: in the Franz Josef Land archipelago, Baydaratskaya Bay, Nordenskiöld archipelago; strait between Kamchatka and Karaginsky Island.

In circumnavigation of the world in the 19th century, expedition members showed their best qualities: Russian navigators, military men and scientists, many of whom became the color of the Russian fleet, as well as domestic science. They forever inscribed their names in the glorious chronicle of “Russian civilization.”

June 26th, 2015

It was a time when ships were built from wood,
and the people who controlled them were forged from steel

Ask anyone, and he will tell you that the first person to circumnavigate the world was the Portuguese navigator and explorer Ferdinand Magellan, who died on the island of Mactan (Philippines) during an armed skirmish with the natives (1521). The same is written in history books. In fact, this is a myth. After all, it turns out that one excludes the other. Magellan managed to go only half of the way.

Primus circumdedisti me (you were the first to circumvent me)- reads the Latin inscription on the coat of arms of Juan Sebastian Elcano crowned with a globe. Indeed, Elcano was the first person to commit circumnavigation.

Let's find out in more detail how this happened...

The San Telmo Museum in San Sebastian houses Salaverria's painting "The Return of Victoria". Eighteen emaciated people in white shrouds, with lit candles in their hands, staggering down the ramp from the ship onto the Seville embankment. These are sailors from the only ship that returned to Spain from Magellan's entire flotilla. In front is their captain, Juan Sebastian Elcano.

Much in Elcano’s biography is still unclear. Oddly enough, the man who first circumnavigated the globe did not attract the attention of artists and historians of his time. There is not even a reliable portrait of him, and of the documents he wrote, only letters to the king, petitions and a will have survived.

Juan Sebastian Elcano was born in 1486 in Getaria, a small port town in the Basque Country, near San Sebastian. He early connected his own destiny with the sea, making a “career” that was not uncommon for an enterprising person of that time - first changing the work of a fisherman to being a smuggler, and later enlisting in the navy to avoid punishment for his too free attitude towards laws and trade duties. Elcano managed to take part in the Italian Wars and the Spanish military campaign in Algeria in 1509. Basque mastered maritime affairs well in practice when he was a smuggler, but it was in the navy that Elcano received the “correct” education in the field of navigation and astronomy.

In 1510, Elcano, the owner and captain of a ship, took part in the siege of Tripoli. But the Spanish Treasury refused to pay Elcano the amount due for settlements with the crew. Having left military service, which never seriously attracted the young adventurer with low wages and the need to maintain discipline, Elcano decides to start a new life in Seville. It seems to Basque that a brilliant future awaits him - in his new city, no one knows about his not entirely impeccable past, the navigator atoned for his guilt before the law in battles with the enemies of Spain, he has official papers allowing him to work as a captain on a merchant ship ... But the trading enterprises in which Elcano becomes a participant turn out to be unprofitable.

In 1517, to pay off debts, he sold the ship under his command to Genoese bankers - and this trading operation determined his entire fate. The fact is that the owner of the sold ship was not Elcano himself, but the Spanish crown, and the Basque, as expected, again had difficulties with the law, this time threatening him with the death penalty. At that time it was considered a serious crime. Knowing that the court would not take into account any excuses, Elcano fled to Seville, where it was easy to get lost and then hide on any ship: in those days, captains were least interested in the biographies of their people. In addition, there were many of Elcano’s fellow countrymen in Seville, and one of them, Ibarolla, was well acquainted with Magellan. He helped Elcano enlist in Magellan's flotilla. Having passed the exams and received beans as a sign of a good grade (those who failed received peas from the examination committee), Elcano became a helmsman on the third largest ship in the flotilla, the Concepcion.

Ships of Magellan's flotilla

On September 20, 1519, Magellan's flotilla left the mouth of the Guadalquivir and headed for the shores of Brazil. In April 1520, when the ships settled for the winter in the frosty and deserted Bay of San Julian, the captains dissatisfied with Magellan mutinied. Elcano found himself drawn into it, not daring to disobey his commander, captain of the Concepcion Quesada.

Magellan energetically and brutally suppressed the rebellion: Quesada and another of the leaders of the conspiracy had their heads cut off, the corpses were quartered and the mutilated remains were stuck on poles. Magellan ordered Captain Cartagena and one priest, also the instigator of the rebellion, to be landed on the deserted shore of the bay, where they subsequently died. Magellan spared the remaining forty rebels, including Elcano.

1. The first circumnavigation in history

On November 28, 1520, the remaining three ships left the strait and in March 1521, after an unprecedentedly difficult passage across the Pacific Ocean, they approached the islands, which later became known as the Marianas. In the same month, Magellan discovered the Philippine Islands, and on April 27, 1521, he died in a skirmish with local residents on the island of Matan. Elcano, stricken with scurvy, did not take part in this skirmish. After the death of Magellan, Duarte Barbosa and Juan Serrano were elected captains of the flotilla. At the head of a small detachment, they went ashore to the Rajah of Sebu and were treacherously killed. Fate again - for the umpteenth time - spared Elcano. Karvalyo became the head of the flotilla. But there were only 115 people left on the three ships; There are many sick people among them. Therefore, the Concepcion was burned in the strait between the islands of Cebu and Bohol; and his team moved to the other two ships - Victoria and Trinidad. Both ships wandered between the islands for a long time, until, finally, on November 8, 1521, they dropped anchor off the island of Tidore, one of the “Spice Islands” - the Moluccas. Then it was generally decided to continue sailing on one ship - the Victoria, of which Elcano had recently become captain, and leave the Trinidad in the Moluccas. And Elcano managed to navigate his worm-eaten ship with a starving crew across the Indian Ocean and along the coast of Africa. A third of the team died, about a third were detained by the Portuguese, but still “Victoria” entered the mouth of the Guadalquivir on September 8, 1522.

It was an unprecedented transition, unheard of in the history of navigation. Contemporaries wrote that Elcano surpassed King Solomon, the Argonauts and the cunning Odysseus. The first circumnavigation in history has been completed! The king granted the navigator an annual pension of 500 gold ducats and knighted Elcano. The coat of arms assigned to Elcano (since then del Cano) immortalized his voyage. The coat of arms depicted two cinnamon sticks framed with nutmeg and cloves, and a golden castle topped with a helmet. Above the helmet is a globe with the Latin inscription: “You were the first to circle me.” And finally, by a special decree, the king granted Elcano a pardon for selling the ship to a foreigner. But if it was quite simple to reward and forgive the brave captain, then resolving all the controversial issues related to the fate of the Moluccas turned out to be more difficult. The Spanish-Portuguese Congress met for a long time, but was never able to “divide” the islands located on the other side of the “apple of the earth” between the two powerful powers. And the Spanish government decided not to delay the departure of the second expedition to the Moluccas.

2. Goodbye La Coruña

La Coruña was considered the safest port in Spain, which “could accommodate all the fleets of the world.” The importance of the city increased even more when the Chamber of Indian Affairs was temporarily transferred here from Seville. This chamber developed plans for a new expedition to the Moluccas in order to finally establish Spanish dominance on these islands. Elcano arrived in La Coruña full of bright hopes - he already saw himself as an admiral of the armada - and began equipping the flotilla. However, Charles I appointed as commander not Elcano, but a certain Jofre de Loais, a participant in many naval battles, but completely unfamiliar with navigation. Elcano's pride was deeply wounded. In addition, from the royal chancellery came the “highest refusal” to Elcano’s request for payment of the annual pension granted to him of 500 gold ducats: the king ordered that this amount be paid only after returning from the expedition. Thus, Elcano experienced the traditional ingratitude of the Spanish crown towards famous navigators.

Before sailing, Elcano visited his native Getaria, where he, a famous sailor, easily managed to recruit many volunteers onto his ships: with a man who has walked around the “apple of the earth,” you will not be lost in the devil’s mouth, the port brethren reasoned. In the early summer of 1525, Elcano brought his four ships to A Coruña and was appointed helmsman and deputy commander of the flotilla. In total, the flotilla consisted of seven ships and 450 crew members. There were no Portuguese on this expedition. The last night before the flotilla sailed in La Coruña it was very lively and solemn. At midnight, a huge fire was lit on Mount Hercules, on the site of the ruins of a Roman lighthouse. The city said goodbye to the sailors. The cries of the townspeople who treated the sailors with wine from leather bottles, the sobs of women and the hymns of pilgrims mixed with the sounds of the cheerful dance “La Muneira”. The sailors of the flotilla remembered this night for a long time. They were sent to another hemisphere, and they now faced a life full of dangers and hardships. For the last time, Elcano walked under the narrow arch of Puerto de San Miguel and descended the sixteen pink steps to the shore. These steps, already completely erased, have survived to this day.

Death of Magellan

3. The misfortunes of the chief helmsman

Loaiza's powerful, well-armed flotilla set sail on July 24, 1525. According to the royal instructions, and Loaysa had fifty-three in total, the flotilla was to follow the path of Magellan, but avoid his mistakes. But neither Elcano, the king's chief adviser, nor the king himself foresaw that this would be the last expedition sent through the Strait of Magellan. It was Loaisa's expedition that was destined to prove that this was not the most profitable path. And all subsequent expeditions to Asia were sent from the Pacific ports of New Spain (Mexico).

On July 26, the ships rounded Cape Finisterre. On August 18, the ships were caught in a strong storm. The main mast on the admiral's ship was broken, but two carpenters sent by Elcano, risking their lives, still got there in a small boat. While the mast was being repaired, the flagship collided with the Parral, breaking its mizzenmast. The swimming was very difficult. There was not enough fresh water and provisions. Who knows what the fate of the expedition would have been if on October 20 the lookout had not seen the island of Annobon in the Gulf of Guinea on the horizon. The island was deserted - only a few skeletons lay under a tree on which a strange inscription was carved: “Here lies the unfortunate Juan Ruiz, killed because he deserved it.” Superstitious sailors saw this as a terrible omen. The ships hastily filled with water and stocked up on provisions. On this occasion, the captains and officers of the flotilla were convened for a festive dinner with the admiral, which almost ended tragically.

A huge, unknown breed of fish was served on the table. According to Urdaneta, Elcano’s page and chronicler of the expedition, some sailors who “tasted the meat of this fish, which had teeth like a large dog, had such stomach pain that they thought they would not survive.” Soon the entire flotilla left the shores of inhospitable Annobon. From here Loaisa decided to sail to the shores of Brazil. And from that moment on, a streak of misfortune began for the Sancti Espiritus, Elcano’s ship. Without having time to set sail, the Sancti Espiritus almost collided with the admiral's ship, and then fell behind the flotilla for some time. At latitude 31º, after a strong storm, the admiral's ship disappeared from sight. Elcano took command of the remaining ships. Then the San Gabriel separated from the flotilla. The remaining five ships searched for the admiral's ship for three days. The search was unsuccessful, and Elcano ordered to move on to the Strait of Magellan.

On January 12, the ships stood at the mouth of the Santa Cruz River, and since neither the admiral's ship nor the San Gabriel approached here, Elcano convened a council. Knowing from the experience of a previous voyage that there was an excellent anchorage here, he suggested waiting for both ships, as was provided for in the instructions. However, the officers, who were eager to enter the strait as quickly as possible, advised leaving only the Santiago pinnace at the mouth of the river, burying a message in a jar under the cross on the island that the ships were heading to the Strait of Magellan. On the morning of January 14, the flotilla weighed anchor. But what Elcano took for a strait turned out to be the mouth of the Gallegos River, five or six miles from the strait. Urdaneta, who, despite his admiration for Elcano. retained the ability to be critical of his decisions, writes that Elcano’s mistake really amazed him. That same day they approached the present entrance to the strait and anchored at the Cape of the Eleven Thousand Holy Virgins.

An exact copy of the ship "Victoria"

At night a terrible storm hit the flotilla. The raging waves flooded the ship to the middle of the masts, and it could barely stay on four anchors. Elcano realized that everything was lost. His only thought now was to save the team. He ordered the ship to be grounded. Panic began on the Sancti Espiritus. Several soldiers and sailors rushed into the water in horror; everyone drowned except one, who managed to reach the shore. Then the rest crossed to the shore. We managed to save some of the provisions. However, at night the storm broke out with the same force and finally destroyed the Sancti Espiritus. For Elcano, the captain, the first circumnavigator and chief helmsman of the expedition, the crash, especially through his fault, was a big blow. Elcano had never been in such a difficult situation. When the storm finally subsided, the captains of other ships sent a boat for Elcano, inviting him to lead them through the Strait of Magellan, since he had been here before. Elcano agreed, but took only Urdaneta with him. He left the rest of the sailors on the shore...

But failures did not leave the exhausted flotilla. From the very beginning, one of the ships almost ran into rocks, and only Elcano’s determination saved the ship. After some time, Elcano sent Urdaneta with a group of sailors to pick up the sailors left on the shore. Urdaneta's group soon ran out of provisions. It was very cold at night, and people were forced to bury themselves up to their necks in sand, which also did little to warm them. On the fourth day, Urdaneta and his companions approached the sailors dying on the shore from hunger and cold, and on the same day Loaiza’s ship, the San Gabriel, and the pinassa Santiago entered the mouth of the strait. On January 20, they joined the rest of the flotilla.

JUAN SEBASTIAN ELCANO

On February 5, a strong storm broke out again. Elcano's ship took refuge in the strait, and the San Lesmes was thrown further south by the storm, to 54° 50′ south latitude, that is, it approached the very tip of Tierra del Fuego. In those days, not a single ship sailed further south. A little more, and the expedition could open a route around Cape Horn. After the storm, it turned out that the admiral's ship was aground, and Loaiza and his crew left the ship. Elcano immediately sent a group of his best sailors to help the admiral. On the same day, the Anunciada deserted. The captain of the ship, de Vera, decided to independently get to the Moluccas past the Cape of Good Hope. The Anunciada has gone missing. A few days later, the San Gabriel also deserted. The remaining ships returned to the mouth of the Santa Cruz River, where the sailors began repairing the admiral's ship, which had been battered by storms. Under other conditions, it would have had to be abandoned altogether, but now that the flotilla had lost three of its largest ships, this could no longer be afforded. Elcano, who, on his return to Spain, had criticized Magellan for staying at the mouth of this river for seven weeks, was now forced to spend five weeks here. At the end of March, the somehow patched up ships again headed for the Strait of Magellan. The expedition now consisted of only an admiral's ship, two caravels and a pinnace.

On April 5, the ships entered the Strait of Magellan. Between the islands of Santa Maria and Santa Magdalena, the admiral's ship suffered another misfortune. A boiler with boiling tar caught fire and a fire broke out on the ship.

Panic began, many sailors rushed to the boat, not paying attention to Loaiza, who showered them with curses. The fire was still extinguished. The flotilla moved on through the strait, along the banks of which on the high mountain peaks, “so high that they seemed to stretch to the very sky,” lay eternal bluish snow. At night, Patagonian fires burned on both sides of the strait. Elcano was already familiar with these lights from his first voyage. On April 25, the ships weighed anchor from the San Jorge parking lot, where they replenished their supplies of water and firewood, and again set off on a difficult voyage.

And there, where the waves of both oceans meet with a deafening roar, a storm struck Loaisa's flotilla again. The ships anchored in the bay of San Juan de Portalina. On the shore of the bay rose mountains several thousand feet high. It was terribly cold, and “no clothing could warm us,” writes Urdaneta. Elcano was on the flagship the entire time: Loaiza, having no relevant experience, relied entirely on Elcano. The passage through the strait lasted forty-eight days - ten days more than Magellan. On May 31, a strong northeast wind blew. The whole sky was overcast. On the night of June 1 to 2, a storm broke out, the most terrible that had occurred so far, scattering all the ships. Although the weather later improved, they were never destined to meet. Elcano, with most of the crew of the Sancti Espiritus, was now on the admiral's ship, which numbered one hundred and twenty people. Two pumps did not have time to pump out the water, and it was feared that the ship could sink at any moment. In general, the ocean was Great, but by no means Quiet.

4. The helmsman dies as an admiral

The ship was sailing alone; neither sail nor island were visible on the vast horizon. “Every day,” writes Urdaneta, “we waited for the end. Due to the fact that people from the wrecked ship moved to us, we are forced to reduce rations. We worked hard and ate little. We had to endure great hardships and some of us died.” Loaiza died on July 30. According to one of the expedition members, the cause of his death was loss of spirit; he was so worried about the loss of the remaining ships that he “became weaker and died.” Loayza did not forget to mention his chief helmsman in his will: “I ask that Elcano be returned the four barrels of white wine that I owe him. Let the crackers and other provisions lying on my ship Santa Maria de la Victoria be given to my nephew Alvaro de Loaiza, who should share them with Elcano.” They say that by this time only rats remained on the ship. Many on the ship suffered from scurvy. Wherever Elcano looked, everywhere he saw swollen, pale faces and heard the groans of the sailors.

From the time they left the strait, thirty people died of scurvy. “They all died,” writes Urdaneta, “because their gums were swollen and they could not eat anything. I saw a man whose gums were so swollen that he tore off pieces of meat as thick as a finger.” The sailors had one hope - Elcano. They, in spite of everything, believed in his lucky star, although he was so ill that four days before Loaisa's death he himself made a will. A cannon salute was given in honor of Elcano's assumption of the post of admiral, a position for which he had unsuccessfully sought two years earlier. But Elcano's strength was running out. The day came when the admiral could no longer get out of bed. His relatives and his faithful Urdaneta gathered in the cabin. In the flickering light of the candle one could see how thin they had become and how much they had suffered. Urdaneta kneels and touches the body of her dying master with one hand. The priest watches him closely. Finally he raises his hand, and everyone present slowly kneels. Elcano's wanderings are over...

“Monday, August 6th. The valiant Senor Juan Sebastian de Elcano has died." This is how Urdaneta noted in his diary the death of the great navigator.

Four people lift the body of Juan Sebastian, wrapped in a shroud and tied to a board. At a sign from the new admiral, they throw him into the sea. There was a splash that drowned out the priest's prayers.

MONUMENT IN HONOR OF ELCANO IN GETARIA

Epilogue

Worn by worms, tormented by storms and storms, the lonely ship continued on its way. The team, according to Urdaneta, “was terribly exhausted and exhausted. Not a day went by without one of us dying.

Therefore, we decided that the best thing for us was to go to the Moluccas." Thus, they abandoned the bold plan of Elcano, who was going to fulfill Columbus’s dream - to reach the eastern coast of Asia, following the shortest route from the west. “I am sure that if Elcano had not died, we would not have reached the Ladron (Mariana) Islands so soon, because his always intention was to search for Chipansu (Japan),” writes Urdaneta. He clearly thought Elcano's plan was too risky. But the man who first circled the “earthly apple” did not know what fear was. But he also did not know that three years later Charles I would cede his “rights” to the Moluccas to Portugal for 350 thousand gold ducats. Of Loaiza's entire expedition, only two ships survived: the San Gabriel, which reached Spain after a two-year voyage, and the Santiago, under the command of Guevara, which sailed along the Pacific coast of South America to Mexico. Although Guevara saw the coast of South America only once, his voyage proved that the coast does not protrude far to the west anywhere and that South America is shaped like a triangle. This was the most important geographical discovery of Loaiza's expedition.

Getaria, in the homeland of Elcano, at the entrance to the church there is a stone slab, a half-erased inscription on which reads: “... the illustrious captain Juan Sebastian del Cano, a native and resident of the noble and faithful city of Getaria, the first to circumnavigate the globe on the ship Victoria.” In memory of the hero, this slab was erected in 1661 by Don Pedro de Etave e Azi, Knight of the Order of Calatrava. Pray for the repose of the soul of the one who was the first to travel around the world.” And on the globe in the San Telmo Museum the place where Elcano died is indicated - 157º west longitude and 9º north latitude.

In history books, Juan Sebastian Elcano undeservedly found himself in the shadow of the glory of Ferdinand Magellan, but in his homeland he is remembered and revered. A training sailing ship in the Spanish Navy bears the name Elcano. In the wheelhouse of the ship you can see the coat of arms of Elcano, and the sailing ship itself has already completed a dozen expeditions around the world.