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By the time the Magellan expedition
reached Guam on March 6, 1521, there were only
three ships left of the original five: Trinidad,
Magellan's flagship; Concepcion; and Victoria. It
was not a memorable first encounter between the
Europeans and the Chamorros. Later, after Magellan
was killed in the Philippines, the three ships
separated.
Eventually,
only the smallest ship, Victoria, completed the
circumnavigation of the globe under the command of
Sebastian Elcano, who was hailed a hero. Magellan
was essentially forgotten.
The
circumnavigation of the globe took three years
(Sept. 1519 to Sept. 1522). Of the original crew of
265, only 18 completed the journey. Of the five
ships, only the prophetically named Victoria could
claim victory.
In
1960, the U. S. Navy's largest submarine at the
time, USS Triton, powered by the atom, entered the
history books by circumnavigating the globe in
Magellan's wake in two months - submerged!
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