The first trip around the world also belongs to Porto
Ferdinand Magellan is, undoubtedly, one of our favourite portuenses. We will tell you his sea journey around the world on our Old Town Tour with great emotion, because launching out into unknown seas in the middle of the 16th century is not only one of the great discoveries of Portugal, but, above all, a history that deserves to be known. And that’s what Portugal and Spain have thought, presenting the Magellan expedition as UNESCO World Heritage candidate. The two countries of the peninsula have joined, because, to be honest, Magellan began the journey, but it was Juan Sebastián Elcano who completed the first trip around the world.
In January of 2019, the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrel, and his Portuguese colleague, Augusto Santos Silva, gave a press conference, in order to give this news that came on the 500th anniversary of the voyage.
Borrell said that this initiative was a tribute to the Iberian Peninsula and to the achievement of these seamen who opened new sea routes. According to him, it was the beginning of the globalization.
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The last details are still being outlined and the application is being prepared, but it seems that the two governments are determined that UNESCO recognize this heroic achievement, financed by the Crown of Castile. The instructions and meetings with Portuguese and Spanish ambassadors in Latin America, Africa and Asia don’t stop, as they are all united due to the first journey around the world.
This heroic deed began in Sanlúcar de Barrameda (Cadiz) in 1519, and ended in the same port three years later, in 1522.
Do you want to know all the hardships and adventures these sailors had to go through? Join our Old Town tour and let yourself be seduced by these heroes of the 16th century.
