Juan Sebastián Elcano (also seen as del Cano or Elkano) (Getaria, Gipuzkoa, Spain, 1476 – Pacific Ocean, August 4 1526) was a Basque explorer serving the Spanish Empire. He commanded the first successful expedition to circumnavigate the globe in 1522.

A merchant ship captain, Elcano violated Spanish law by surrendering a ship of his to Genoan bankers in repayment of a debt. Seeking a pardon from the Spanish King Charles I, he signed on, as a subordinate officer, to Ferdinand Magellan's expedition to circumnavigate the globe. Spared from execution by Magellan after taking part in a failed mutiny, Elcano was made captain of Concepción, one of five vessels. Elcano went on to take command of the fleet when Magellan was killed in the battle of Mactan, the Philippines, on April 27 1521.

On March 18, 1522, Elcano discovered Île Amsterdam in the southern Indian Ocean (now Southern Ocean), but did not name the island.

On September 6, 1522, Elcano sailed into Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain, aboard the Victoria, along with 17 other European survivors of the 265 man expedition, and 4 (survivors out of 13) Tidorese Asians aboard. The profits resulting from the spices they carried made them rich. The king conceded him a coat of arms picturing a globe with the motto: Primus circumdedisti me (in Latin, "You went around me first"). In fact, it was a Southeast Asian native who was a servant of Magellan, who became the first man to circumnavigate the world when the fleet arrived to his home country.

In 1525, Elcano was a member of the Loaísa Expedition. He was appointed along with García Jofre de Loaísa as sea captains, who commanded 7 ships and sent to claim the East Indies for Spanish king Charles I. Both Elcano and Loaísa died of malnutrition in the Pacific Ocean while attempting a second circumnavigation of the world.

See also

• The Juan Sebastián Elcano is the school ship of the Spanish Navy.
• List of explorers
• Antonio Pigafetta
• Maximilianus Transylvanus
• Jeanne Baret

1476 births | 1526 deaths | Basque explorers and conquistadores | Explorers of the Pacific | Spanish explorers and conquistadores | History of the Basque Country | Juan Sebastián Elcano | Juan Sebastián de Elcano | Juan Sebastián Elcano | Juan Sebastián Elcano | Juan Sebastian Elkano | Juan Sebastian del Cano | Juan Sebastián Elcano | フアン・セバスティアン・エルカーノ | Juan Sebastián Elcano | Juan Sebastián Elcano | Juan Sebastián de Elcano