Magellan's Slave May Have Been The First Person To Truly Circumnavigate The Globe

Although the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan is frequently acknowledged as the first person to have traveled around the world, the truth of his voyage is a little more nuanced. In an epic quest to discover a western path to the spice-rich East Indies in present-day Indonesia, Magellan set sail for the first time in September 1519. He successfully commanded his crew as they crossed the Atlantic, navigated a channel in southern South America, and across the huge width of the Pacific, but he was fatally wounded in a confrontation with locals on the Philippine island of Mactan only halfway around the circuit. Although Magellan's passing prevented him from personally completing the world's circumference, his mission went on without him. One of his ships made a successful round-the-world voyage in September 1522 and safely returned to Spain. Only 18 of the 260 original crew members had made it through the dangerous three-year trek.

Enrique, the captain's personal slave who had been traveling with him since a previous trip to Malacca in 1511, was one of the most crucial crew members on Magellan's expedition. Although there are many schools of thought, many historians agree that Enrique was the first person to actually circumnavigate the earth. Enrique was taken from Malacca by Magellan during a previous expedition to the East Indies in 1511, and the Malay later served as the expedition's interpreter in the Pacific islands. Enrique had almost circled the globe and returned to his home country by the time the mission reached Southeast Asia, albeit over the course of several years and multiple voyages. Enrique had previously traveled west with Magellan from Asia to Europe before joining the voyage across the Atlantic and Pacific. Shortly after Magellan's passing in the Philippines, Enrique halted the expedition and vanished. He had traveled only a few hundred kilometers from Malacca, his starting point, at that point. Magellan's slave may have been the first person to truly circumnavigate the globe, if he ever made it back to his native country. This is so one of the interesting facts about Ferdinand Magellan that surprised many people.