Laurence Bergreen: Over the edge of the world

Who was the first man to sail round the world? We're always told it was the Portugese explorer Ferdinand Magellan although he didn't live to finish the voyage.

Juan Sebastian Elcano was in command of the surviving ship from the expedition when it returned to Seville three years later, but he rarely gets a mention, probably because he tried to mutiny and return home.

Almost certainly the first person to circumnavigate the globe was Enrique, Magellan's slave, who originated from the Philippines and returned there with the expedition, but whoever heard of him?

It is Magellan who still gets the credit because, as this marvellous book underlines, it was his vision, skill and determination. Magellan was arguably the pioneer of planned rather than accidental exploration.

Bergreen uses an array of first-hand sources, including journals of some of those who made the voyage, to illustrate the extent of Magellan's challenges and achievements.

When his plan to reach the Indies by sailing west around the world was rejected by his own king, he turned instead to rival Spain, successfully appealing to King Charles I's lust for the riches of the spice trade.

Even with the king's backing he still had to combat corruption and nepotism to prepare his five ships to the level he wanted. Then it required brilliant navigational feats to locate what are now called the Straits of Magellan and find the route to the Pacific.

But, perhaps above all, the expedition's success depended on Magellan's ruthless determination, seen most clearly when he thwarted the attempted mutiny with rare cunning, then crushed his opponents with appalling brutality.

The expedition floundered in the absence of his iron will, but was still well enough placed for one of the ships to make it back home, laden with sufficient spices to keep the sponsors happy and make the survivors rich.

It is an amazing story, and Bergreen tells it superbly, producing a book which is both a marvellous piece of scholarship and a ripping yarn.

* Jim Eagles is the Herald's travel editor.
* Harper Perennial, $29.99