Juan Sebastian del Cano
Basque navigator Juan Sebastián del Cano (c. 1476 — 1526) completed the first circumnavigation of the Earth after sailing as master of the Concepción, one of Ferdinand Magellan’s five-ship fleet, which sailed west from Europe in 1519 looking to reach the Spice Islands (the Moluccas) in the East Indies.
After Magellan died in the Philippines in April 1521, Cano took charge of one of the two surviving ships, the Victoria, and brought her home despite scurvy, starvation, and harassment by the Portuguese, arriving on 6 September 1522.
Cano was appointed chief pilot on García Jofre de Loaisa’s 1525 expedition to the Moluccas. Both Cano and Loaisa lost their lives as the expedition crossed the Pacific.
Links to add:
García Jofre de Loaisa
