Juan Sebastián Elcano (1486, Getaria, Gipuzkoa, Spain — 4 August 1526, Pacific Ocean) was a Basque Spanish explorer who completed the first circumnavigation of the world. As Ferdinand Magellan's second in command, Elcano took over after Magellan's death in the Philippines.
Elcano was born to Domingo Sebastián Elcano I and Catalina del Puerto. He had three brothers: Domingo Elcano II, a Christian priest, Martín Pérez Elcano, and Antón Martín Elcano. He fought in the war under orders of Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba in Italy, and in 1509 he joined the Spanish expedition organized by Cardinal Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros against Algiers. He later settled in Seville and became a merchant ship captain. After violating Spanish laws by surrendering a ship to Genoan bankers in repayment of a debt, he sought a pardon from the Spanish king Charles I, by signing on as a subordinate officer for the Magellan expedition to the East Indies. He was spared by Ferdinand Magellan after taking part in a failed mutiny in Patagonia, and after five months of hard labour in chains, he was made captain of the galleon.
Elcano served as a naval commander of Charles I of Spain and took part of the expedition to the Philippines. They set sail with five ships, the Concepción, San Antonio, Santiago, Trinidad and Victoria with a fleet of 241 men from Spain in 1519. Dissatisfaction and severe weather plagued the voyage from the beginning and hostility among the Spaniards and Portuguese grew rapidly which led to the mutiny of some of his crew members. The Santiago was later destroyed by a storm. The fleet sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to the eastern coast of Brazil and into Puerto San Julián in Argentina. Several days later they discovered a passage known as the Strait of Magellan located in the southern tip of South America and sailed through the strait. The crew of the San Antonio mutinied and returned to Spain. On 28 November 1520, three ships set sail for the Pacific Ocean and about 19 men died before they reached Guam on 6 March 1521. Conflicts with the nearby island of Rota prevented Magellan and Elcano from resupplying their ships with food and water. They eventually gathered enough supplies and continued on with their journey to the Philippines and remained there for several weeks. Close relationship developed between the Spaniards and the islanders. They took part on converting the Cebuano tribes into Christianity and became involved in tribal warfare between rival Filipino groups in Mactan Island.