The Ship's Pharmacy of the Magellan-Elcano Expedition

The first historically documented circumnavigation took place between 1519 and 1522
The epic expedition was led by Ferdinand Magellan and, after his death, by Juan Sebastián Elcano
The astounding original inventory of the ship's pharmacy provides information about the medicines carried on board

The Ship's Pharmacy of the Magellan-Elcano Expedition

Contratación, 3255, libro I, ff. 96v-97v Archivo General de Indias (Seville, Spain)

Description

The Ship's Pharmacy of the Magellan-Elcano Expedition

It is probably one of the most famous seafaring stories of all time: the first circumnavigation of the world under Ferdinand Magellan (c. 1480–1521) and Juan Sebastián Elcano (1486/87–1526), which even cost the two explorers and most of the crew their lives. On September 20, 1519, the five participating ships set sail from Spain to find a lucrative western route to the Spice Islands on behalf of the Spanish crown. Of course, on such a long and arduous voyage, a well-stocked pharmacy on board was essential. Although four of the five ships did not make it back to Spain, the original three-page inventory of the remedies carried on board, which were used to treat the crew in cases of illness and injury, has surprisingly been preserved. It even provides information about the supplier of the medicines: this was Juan Bernal, a pharmacist with remarkable professional and economic connections in 16th century Seville. He set up the ship's pharmacy on July 26, 1519.

Codicology

Alternative Titles: La Botica en la Expedición de Magallanes y Elcano
Relación de las Medicinas Adquiridas para la Armada de Fernando de Magallanes
Die Schiffsapotheke auf der Magellan-Elcano-Expedition
Type: Manuscript on paper
Size / Format: 3 pages / 30.0 × 21.0 cm
Origin: Spain
Date: 1519
Epochs: Late Middle Ages Onwards
Style: Renaissance
Genre: Medicine
Other Secular Works
Language: Spanish
Script: Escritura cortesana
Content: Inventory of medicines taken on board on Magellan's and Elcano's expedition of 1519 (circumnavigation of the world)
Artist / School: Juan Bernal

Available facsimile editions:

Single Page

The Ship's Pharmacy of the Magellan-Elcano Expedition

List of Medicines and Preserves

Juan Bernal procured a whole range of remedies, ointments, tinctures, lotions, oils, and other substances for the historic expedition to maintain the health of the crew. He meticulously noted the exact quantity of each remedy as well as the prices he paid for them. The latter are listed in the narrow column on the right.

On the first page, following a short introduction at the top, there is a slightly indented list of six revitalizing “aguas,” or waters, with various herbal additives. These are the “cordiales” mentioned in the introduction. Cordials were alcohol-based, distilled herbal tonics that, depending on their ingredients, were supposed to help with all kinds of physical ailments, but were also taken for general well-being or as aphrodisiacs in the 16th century. They were the precursors of what we know today as liqueur and apparently played a special role in the ship's pharmacy. Listed below are a number of ointments, plasters, and tinctures.