5th Centennial of the First Circumnavigation

The Spanish Ministry of Defense –in collaboration with the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports, and with the Castilla and Leon Regional Government– organizes the International Congress ‘Primus Circumdedisti Me: Keys for the First Globalization’. This Congress will be held in the ‘Miguel Delibes’ Cultural Center in Valladolid, from 20 to 22 March, as part of the commemorative events for the 5th Centennial of the first circumnavigation, initiated by Fernando de Magallanes in 1519 and, after his death, culminated by the Spaniard sailor Juan Sebastian de Elcano in 1522.

This Congress –directed by Professor Carlos Martinez Shaw– aims to establish a thorough historical review of the first circumnavigation, taking as the starting point the Capitulations signed in Valladolid, the events under which the expedition took place that, definitely, opened the way to the first globalization, as well as to generate awareness on the Spanish sailor Juan Sebastian de Elcano and his achievements.

On 22 March, 1518, King Carlos I and Portuguese sailor Ferdinand Magellan signed the Capitulations in Valladolid, the settlement agreement through which the Monarch placed at his disposal a fleet of five ships to search and discover the Land of Spices, while being granted the title of Captain of this armada, Governor and ‘Adelantado’ of the lands he could discover.

According to the division agreed in the Tordesillas Treaty, Magellan believed that the Maluku Islands were located within the Spanish part and not inside Portuguese domains and, consequently, the monopoly of spices should correspond to the Kingdom of Spain.