HISTORY
Firsts
First Circumnavigation of the Globe by Watercraft
This list features the first people to circumnavigate the globe by watercraft.
RANK | INDIVIDUAL | NATIONALITY | DURATION | DESCRIPTION |
1 | Ferdinand Magellan / Juan Elcano | Spanish | 1519–1522 | First circumnavigation of the globe. |
2 | García Jofre de Loaísa | Spanish | 1525–1536 | Second circumnavigation; none of seven ships completed. |
3 | Francis Drake | English | 1577–1580 | First English circumnavigation. |
4 | Martín Ignacio de Loyola | Spanish | 1580–1584 | Completed significant travel eastward. |
5 | Thomas Cavendish | English | 1586–1588 | Circumnavigated in the ship Desire. |
6 | João da Gama | Portuguese | 1584/1585–1590 | Early eastward circumnavigation. |
7 | Jacques Mahu | Dutch | 1598–1601 | Only one ship returned. |
8 | Olivier van Noort | Dutch | 1598–1601 | Only one ship returned. |
9 | Francesco Carletti | Italian | 1594–1602 | First to travel all legs as a passenger. |
10 | Joris van Spilbergen | Dutch | 1614–1617 | Circumnavigation from Holland. |
11 | Willem Schouten / Jacob Le Maire | Dutch | 1615–1617 | Discovered Cape Horn. |
References
