talent and courage Magellan John and Juan Sebastian Elcano On September 8, 1522, they completed the first circumnavigation of the world, leading Spain to rewrite history. This historic event marks the fifth centennial this year. But it was five years ago, in 2017, Alicante engineer Tomas MazónPassionate about the history of Spain, heard that the original Elcano logbook exists. She called him and discovered “an astonishing and enviable fact that no one told me”.
This is Mazón a reference in the study The world’s first circumnavigator and writer elcano journey into history in 2020, which is now being republished but expanded with new contributions and data on the occasion of the fifth centennial, 250 to 400 pages.
During this time, he created a website where he described what he discovered in his research and gave a detailed explanation. map showing the route of the expedition from day to dayhas already reached one million views. “It’s actually a very unknown story, and once you learn about it, you realize the value of these people,” he says. “The ships they sail, pioneer of the technology of the momentAlthough the method of navigation with these boats and low-precision wooden tools seems completely primitive to our eyes, look what they did».
His interest grew, researching original sources, archives, and testimonies of crew members. This is how the book, now complete and expanded with new data, came about. “I basically focused on what is before and after, and these are very interesting topics. Before a problem arises, a Conflicting situation between Magellan and the king because he appointed Juan de Cartagena as captain to control him and gave him the same level of command. But Magellan’s merit was that he knew where the Spice Islands were, but didn’t tell anyone. This sparked a riot.”
heroes
Contributions to this new expanded edition, let people know“I tried to focus on the heroes themselves,” he emphasizes. On the other hand, “During the trip I made hypotheses about how certain events might unfold, which I hope are correct.” For example, “defend that Elcano decided to choose the return route he had taken. because what he was looking for from the other side of the world was the first circumnavigation. There were many factors in favor of taking a path other than himself, and returning from the path he took also shows that there was a motivation, he did not come back from the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic because it felt more comfortable to him. On the contrary, it was more difficult, and he did it anyway.
Because, according to his hypothesis, he wanted to do something that would go down in history. “When he returns, he writes to the king and tells him that, after fulfilling the purposes of the expedition, they discovered the whole roundness of the earth, which would be most respected.”
Receiving the Casa Asia Award and the Magallanes and Elcano Culture and History Award for his website, Mazón assures that it is his human approach that stands out in his book. “Focusing on the things that put people aside is skipping the best part of these stories. They are people whose personal stories we find unknown and worth knowing.
For this researcher, Magellan and Elcano «They are first order numbers, both are of tremendous value”, although he justifies Elcano “because it deserves to be known more, because it was he who decided to turn the expedition into the world’s first circumnavigation; He takes a lot of risk in the decisions he makes to achieve that.” Magellan’s merit “is the tremendous courage to locate a strait in South America and, based on the knowledge of that time, to continue across the Pacific Ocean towards Asia, and from the knowledge of that time they knew it would be enormous, and even more.”
Mazón is now preparing an article on it. Captain Gonzalo de Espinosa, who is back again after five years. When Magallanes died, he took his place and they sent him back to the Spicemaker. His life is fascinating to me.”
ELCANO’S HERITAGE IN SANTA FAZ MONASTERY
“We don’t know why Elcano knew about the Convent of the Holy Face. Saint Veronica of Alicante, we know from other symptoms it’s in the city,” says Mazón. But the thing is, when The testament made before he died in the Pacific in 1526they left in writing that they were sent 24 ducats to the convent of Alicante. “I can’t and I promised,” he said in his last wishes. But there is no evidence that this wish has come true. “It was apparently forgotten and his will was not fulfilled in the 1940s when the director of the Madrid Naval Museum discovered the will.”