On September 6, 1522, the 'Victoria' arrived in Spain, completing the first-ever circumnavigation of the globe. The expedition had been led by Ferdinand Magellan, who set out three years earlier with five ships to find a western route to the Spice Islands (Maluku Islands). Magellan himself did not survive the journey; he was killed in a skirmish in the Philippines. Of the original 270 crew members, only 18 returned on the single remaining ship. The voyage was a monumental feat of navigation, proving that the Earth was much larger than previously thought and that all the world's oceans were connected. It also led to the discovery of the 'Strait of Magellan' at the tip of South America, providing a vital, albeit dangerous, passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.