August
10
/ 2019
On August 10, 1519, King Charles of Spain watched naval officers Ferdinand Magellan and Juan Sebastián Elcano set sail to the ‘Spice Islands’, now the Maluku Islands in Indonesia. 239 brave men boarded five ships, and to evade the Portuguese fleet, Magellan first sailed south and west from Seville. Almost exactly three years after their departure, on September 6, 1522, Elcano and just 18 men returned to Spain in one ship having navigated the entire planet. To celebrate this monumental achievement Seville is holding over 70 events during 2019-2022 which, according to Lonely Planet, range from “history and biodiversity conferences, shipbuilding events, expositions on spices and maps, film screenings, and musical performances.” The main attraction will be staged at the
