The year 2019 marks the 500th Anniversary of the First Circumnavigation of the Earth by the Armada de Molucca, the fleet led by a talented Portuguese sailor, in an expedition to reach the Spice Islands sailing from Europe.Fernão de Magalhães (worldwide known as Magellan) was in charge. The Spanish Crown, formed by the Kingdom of Castile and Aragon, financed the trip. However the Spaniards on board never trusted their Portuguese captain. The origin of the sailors looked like the European Parliament, they were from all around Europe (there were no women, though).Magellan had to deal with inaccurate maps, extreme weather conditions, hostile natives, lack of food, illnesses on board, that led to many mutinies. The expedition lasted till 1522 and was completed by the Basque captain Juan Sebastian Elcano. The journey’s relevance is still visible in many places, being the Strait of Magellan the most famous one.In those days spices were as valuable as gold. Spices, particularly cloves fr
