In 1519, Fernando Magellan put together an expedition that was to take 237 men to the Indies via the western route. Under his command, 5 ships left Seville on 21 September 1519, but after 3 years of escapades, only 18 sick and dying sailors sailed back up the Guadalquivir River. They had just achieved the first-ever round-the-world journey. Miraculously, the onboard chronicler, Antonio Pigafetta, was among them.  He brought back a handwritten book in which he had recorded every day of this fabulous odyssey.