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Loaísa Expedition

Type Event Region Europe Time 1525–1526

In July 1525, Spain's García Jofre de Loaísa sailed from La Coruña with seven ships, ordered to open a route via South America to the Moluccas spice …

Timeline

  1. 1525La Coruña · GaliciaLoaísa set out from La Coruña with seven ships and about 450 men, including the flagship Santa María de Victoria; the mission was to reach the Moluccas via the Strait of Magellan and rescue Spaniards stranded there.
  2. 1525Atlantic Ocean to the coast of Brazil · BrazilThe fleet repeatedly encountered storms while crossing the Atlantic; several ships were wrecked or lost, and crew members died in large numbers from scurvy and hunger. Loaísa died of illness during the voyage, and command passed first to Juan de Cartagena and then to the captain of the Santa María de Victoria.
  3. 1526Entrance to the Strait of Magellan · PatagoniaThe surviving fleet reached the entrance to the Strait of Magellan, with only a few ships still capable of continuing westward. The expedition rested there and prepared to cross the strait into the Pacific; see the event on the Pacific voyage of the Loaísa fleet for the subsequent leg.

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