Mark West: Stories

Although Magellan is the name most associated with the first circumnavigation of the world, he was killed in the Philippines. The man who completed the 3 year voyage was Juan Sebastian Elcano. The details of Elcano's life are scarce. This is an imagined account of Elcano's life combined with known facts.

This account by Elcano sheds new light on the voyage, on the tensions that existed among the participants, on the sights they saw, on the hardships and disasters they endured. It is a unique account written by the man who succeeded in circumnavigating the globe in a small wooden ship at a time when half the world had not been explored by Europeans, and when it was not even sure that it might be possible to sail around the globe. It concludes with the death of Magellan in the Philippines.