Magellan and South America: He Sailed Along, Not To

Ferdinand Magellan's 1519–1522 expedition **sailed down the east coast of South America**, discovering the **Strait of Magellan** (52°S) to enter the Pacific. He did not "sail to a country" in the modern sense—South America was a continent, not a nation—and his landings were along the Atlantic coastline (Brazil, Río de la Plata, Patagonia) before the strait crossing.