On 6 September 1522, Juan Sebastián Elcano and the remaining crew of Ferdinand Magellan’s expedition arrived in Sanlúcar de Barrameda in Spain aboard the vessel Victoria, almost exactly three years after they departed.

The purpose of the expedition was to secure a maritime trade route with the Moluccas, or Spice Islands, in present-day Indonesia. Funded by King Charles I of Spain it set off on 20 September 1519 with 5 ships and 270men.

There were countless hardships, a mutiny, and the inevitable deaths, including that of the Captain. The crew included :

• 139 Spaniards
• 31 Portuguese
• 26 Italians,
• 9 Greeks,
• 5 Flemish,
• 4 Germans,
• 2 Irish
• 1 English.

There were also 2 black slaves, 2 “mestizos” (unidentified/unknown role ), 1 Indian from Goa (also a slave) and 1 Malaysian (Magellan’s slave Enrique of Malacca)

When the Victoria returned the remaining crew then sailed upriver to Seville, and from there overland to Valladolid, where they appeared before the Emperor. It was the first circumnavigation of the Earth, only 18 men out of the original 270 were on board. In addition to the returning Europeans, the Victoria had aboard three Moluccans who came aboard at Tidore