Portugal and Spain submitted a joint application to UNESCO’s Memory of the World programme on the first voyage of Circum-Navigation

The Permanent Missions of Portugal and Spain to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) submitted a joint application to the Memory of the World Programme. The programme aims to identify and preserve documents and archives that should be considered historical heritage of humanity.

The submission of this application is one of the main actions foreseen in the joint programme of both countries for the Commemorations of the V centenary of the First Circum-Navigation Voyage, which was signed on April 1st, 2019.

"Making the World Global. The First Circum-Navigation Voyage of Fernão de Magalhães and Juan Sebastián Elcano (1512-1522)" is the title of the initiative that combines 15 documents that describe the preparation of the voyage, show the complementarity between the Portuguese and the Castilians and include the first testimonies on the discoveries that resulted from the journey, including the diary of the official chronicler who took part in the expedition, Antonio Pigafetta.

The owners of the documents are the National Archives of the Torre do Tombo, in Portugal (5); the General Archive of the Indies, in Spain (8); the Yale University Library, in the USA (1); and the Leiden University Library in the Netherlands (1).

Portugal and Spain, represented by the Minister of State and Foreign Affairs of Portugal and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation of Spain, were the proponents of the initiative.