The first single voyage of global circumnavigation is that of the ship Victoria, between 1519 and 1522, known as the Magellan–Elcano expedition.

It is a Spanish voyage of discovery, led initially by Ferdinand Magellan between 1519 and 1521, and then by Juan Sebastián Elcano from 1521 to 1522.

The voyage starts in Seville, crosses the Atlantic Ocean, and after several stopovers rounds the southern tip of South America where the expedition discovers the Strait of Magellan, named after the fleet's captain.

It then continues across the Pacific discovering a number of islands on its way, including Guam, before arriving in the Philippines.

After Magellan's death in the Philippines in 1521, Elcano takes command of the expedition and continues the journey across the Indian Ocean, round the Cape of Good Hope, north along the Atlantic Ocean, and back to Spain in 1522.

Elcano and a small group of eighteen men are actually the only members of the expedition to make the full circumnavigation.