Victoria ship traveling around Europe and the UK is quite a unique attraction – and if you happen to be in a city where it is currently docked, try to visit it!
Nao Victoria is the exact historical replica of the ship of the same name that was the very first to circumnavigate the globe in the early 16th century! The Magellan expedition, consisting of 5 ships – Trinidad, San Antonio, Concepción, Victoria, and Santiago – departed from Seville, Spain, on 20 September 1519 – 270 men were recruited for it.
Magellan himself died in 1521 during the voyage on the shores of today’s Philippines near Cebu, and the circumnavigation was completed under the guidance of Juan Sebastián Elcano, one of the crew members.
The Victoria ship is the only one surviving out of five that returned to Spain in 1522, finalising the first recorded trip around the Earth – with only 18 people on board.
It’s absolutely mind-blowing how such a small ship with just a few dozen people on board could bravely fight all the uncertainties and dangers of such a voyage five centuries ago, without modern navigation tools, modern medicine, and with limited knowledge of the shores – just remember that the Magellan Straits in South America were discovered during this trip!
The Nao Victoria you see today was constructed in 1991 in Spain after a detailed study of the documents describing the original ship’s size, various characteristics and equipment. In 2004 – 2006, following the original Magellan’s itinerary, it also circumnavigated around the globe.
Don’t miss this chance to see the ship for yourself! It’s docked at the St Katarina docks close to the Tower Bridge till the 12th of July.
More about the Great Britain here.
I hope you liked my new blog!
Yours,
Anna xxx
