Famous historical “firsts” tend to be controversial as a rule, and the world’s first circumnavigation is no exception. Ferdinand Magellan is often celebrated as the first person to sail around the world, but is that actually true?  In many ways the expedition that is given credit for completing the first circumnavigation may have actually been one of the era’s most disastrous sea-voyages. Who really deserves the title of “first person to circle to globe?” Tune in and find out how the flat earth, an island of people with no heads, and a retirement plan based on cloves all play a role in the story!

Works Cited

Bergreen, Laurence. Over the Edge of the World: Magellan’s Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe. London: Harper Perennial, 2005. Print.

Mandeville, Jean De, and Charles William Reuben Dutton Moseley. The Travels of Sir John Mandeville. London: Penguin . Penguin Classics, 2005. Print.

Pigafetta, Antonio. Magellan’s Voyage around the World. Cleveland: A.H. Clark, 1906. Print.

Quirino, Carlos, “The First Man Around the World Was a Filipino” In: Philippines Free Press, 28 December 1991.

Torodash, Martin. “Magellan Historiography.” The Hispanic American Historical Review 51.2 (1971): 313. Print.

Zweig, Stefan. Conqueror of the Seas: The Story of Magellan. Bronx, NY: Ishi International, 2010. Print.