Zhc Morlb'6 (Breat lEypIorere
anb Bi^plorattons.
Edited by J. Scott Keltie, Librarian, Royal Geographical Society ;
H. J. Mackinder, M.A., Reader in Geography at the University
of Oxford; and E. G. Ravenstein, F.R.G.S.
FEEDINAND MAGELLAN.
The World's Great Explorers and Explorations.
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Ferdinand Magellan.
{From a Portrait in the Versailles Collection.)
THE LIFE OF
FEKDINAND MAGELLAN
AND THE
FIRST CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.
1480 I52I.
BY
F. H. H. (^UILLEMAED, M.A, M.D., Cantab.
LATE LECTURER IN GEOGRAPHY AT THE UNIVERSITY
OF CAMBRIDGE.
LONDON:
GEORGE PHILIP & SON, 32 FLEET STREET;
LIVERPOOL : 45 to 51 SOUTH CASTLE STREET.
1890.
HISTORr I
-j^-i.^Z"^/
PREFACE.
It is a curious circumstance that, while the world is
year by year presented with biographies of persons who
cannot lay claim to a tithe of the renown so justly
accorded to Magellan, no life of the great circumnavi-
gator has yet been written in English, or indeed — if
we make one exception — in any other language. The
exception is Snr. Diego de Barros Arana's Vida y
Viages de Hernando de Magallanes, which in 1881 was
translated into Portuguese by Snr. F. de Magalhaes
Villas-Boas, with the addition of an original appendix.
This work, although accurate, does not aim at detail,
and Magellan's early life in India under Almeida and
Albuquerque is dismissed in five pages. Students de-
sirous of a further knowledge are forced to gather it as
best they can from the pages of Navarrete, or to tread
the thorny paths of the old chronicles and the docu-
ments of the Torre do Tombo and Simancas.
Under these circumstances I have been led to depart
somewhat from the plan upon which this series was
instituted. While striving to offer the present volume
in such guise as may not be unacceptable to the general
346847
viii PREFACE.
reader, I have thought it advisable to treat my subject
as thoroughly as it deserves, or, more accurately, as
thoroughly as space permits me. I have, therefore,
sacrificed some of the trivial details of the voyage as
related by Pigafetta and others, which are accessible to
the English reader in Lord Stanley of Alderley's " First
Yoyage round the World," and endeavoured not only to
render the account of Magellan's earlier life as complete
as possible, but to leave no detail of the more important
questions and difficulties unconsidered. The solution of
the latter has not always been an easy task, and has
necessitated the perusal of a much larger mass of mate-
rial than, from the size of the present volume, might be
inferred. In the ensuing pages I have given my autho-
rities — wherever it seemed necessary — together with
the discussion of all points of a technical nature, in the
footnotes. In consulting the old Spanish documents
relating to the subject, t have come across much of
interest which want of space has prevented me from
using. I can only trust that I may not be considered
to have made a wrong selection.
F. H. H. G.
Cambridge, September 1890.
CONTENTS.
CHAP. PAGE
I. INTRODUCTORY I
II. EARLY LIFE AND INDIAN SERVICE . . .I?
IIL SERVICE WITH ALBUQUERQUE AND IN MOROCCO —
DENATURALISATION 53
IV. MAGELLAN'S PROJECT AND ITS ADOPTION BY
CHARLES V 87
V. PREPARATIONS FOR THE VOYAGE . . . IIO
VL THE LAST VOYAGE. I. SOUTH-EAST AMERICA AND
THE MUTINY IN PORT ST. JULIAN . . . I42
VIL THE LAST VOYAGE. IL THE DISCOVERY OF THE
STRAIT 175
VIII. THE LAST VOYAGE. IIL THE PASSAGE OF THE STRAIT 1 99
IX. THE LAST VOYAGE. IV. THE LADRONES AND THE
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 2l8
X. THE LAST VOYAGE. V. BATTLE OF MACTAN AND
DEATH OP MAGELLAN 246
XI. THE LAST VOYAGE. VI. ARRIVAL AT THE MOLUCCAS
AND RETURN TO SPAIN 262
XIL THE LAST VOYAGE. VII. THE FATE OP THE
"TRINIDAD" 298
APPENDICES :—
I. GENEALOGY OF THE FAMILIES OF MAGELLAN AND
BARBOSA 315
II. Magellan's wills 316
IIL PERSONNEL OF MAGELLAN'S ARMADA . . . 326
IV. STORES AND EQUIPMENT OF THE FLEET . -329
V. THE FIRST CIRCUMNAVIGATORS OF THE GLOBE . 336
INDEX 341
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Portrait of Magellan .... Frontispiece
CoAT-OF- Arms and Autograph of Magellan . p. 21
Tower of Belem to face page 32
Portrait of Albuquerque .... „ 62
Malacca {from Correa) P- ^5
Lisbon Harbour (/row Z>e -Br^) . . . to face page 120
Native of Patagonia ^ „ 180
Cape Virgins p. 201
Port Famine, Magellan's Strait ... p. 207
Magellan passing his Strait {from De Bry) to face page 210
Admiralty Sound, Magellan's Strait . . j3. 214
A Scene in Sebu to face 'page 236
Monument to Magellan in Mactan ... p. 255
The City OF Brunei to face page 2^0
Tidor Volcano from Tern ate ... „ 27S
Coat-of-Arms and Autograph of Del Cano . p. 308
Statue of Del Cano p. 309
1 For this illustration the Publishers are indebted to the kindness of the
South Araerican Missionary Society.
LIST OF MAPS.
MAPS IN TEXT.
1. The East Coast of Patagonia
2. TiERA DE Patagones (Bibero) .
3. The Southern Ladrone Islands .
4. The Moluccas ....
5. Timor and Flores Islands .
v- 157
2\ 160
p. 224
p. 276
p. 290
COLOURED MAPS.
I. Portuguese Dominions in the East Indies to face page 34
n. Map Illustrating the Track of Magellan's Fleet „ 142
III. Magellan's Strait m i99
IV. The Philippine and Molucca Islands . . ,, 226
TO ILLUSTRATE THE PROGRESS OF DISCOVERY
IN THE NE W -WORLD.
V. Behaim's Globe of 1492 .
VL HyDROGRAPHIA PORTUGUESA, I504-I513
viL Ruysch's Mappamundi, 1507
Leonardo da Vinci's America, 15 15
The Hauslab Globe, 15 . .?
Schoner's First Globe, 1515 .
Schoner's Globe of 1520
X. Schoner's Globe of 1523 .
XI. DiOGO Ribero's Mappamundi, 1529 .
VIII
IX.
at end of Volume.
to face page 192
at end of Volume.
LIFE OF MAGELLAN.
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTORY.
Ere we begin the story of Magellan's life, we must
consider for a moment the condition of geographical
knowledge at the time when he first appeared upon the
world's stage as an explorer. Himself destined to im-
mortality, a chapter-writer in the history of the world,
the First Circumnavigator, he witnessed in his lifetime
the three most distinguished deeds of geographical dis-
covery — the rounding of the Cape by Bartholomew Diaz,
the first voyage to India byVasco da Gama, and the
discovery of America by Columbus. It is remarkable
that all these, together with his own great voyage,
should have occurred within the limits of so short a
period, but that they were the natural outcome of pre-
ceding work is evident enough if we glance at the
history of the Peninsula during the fifteenth century.
As in most sciences, so in geography, a great dis-
covery is rarely sudden. It is foreshadowed and led
up to by a train of minor facts which are for the most
part lost sight of in the edat of the greater. Had we
to assign a definite date to the commencement of the
2 LIF]d: OF MAGELLAN.
Renascence in geography, it should, perhaps, be placed at
the period when Prince Henry the Navigator, removing
from the court, gave himself heart and soul to the adding
of new lands to the crown of Portugal. But even before
his time some part of the African seaboard had been
coasted — the end of the clue grasped which, when
followed up, was to lead those who held it to India, the
Moluccas, and Cathay.
If we turn to the map and consider the geographical
position of the Peninsula, and to the pages of history
and make ourselves acquainted with the events preced-
ing the culmination period just mentioned, we realise
how inevitable was it that the deeds of exploration and
conquest which made Spain and Portugal the greatest
countries in the world should have been undertaken
and carried out by them. Hardly less easy, too, would
have been the prediction of their rapid effeteness and
downfall, but with this we have nothing to do. In the
present volume we are concerned only with their rise,
and though this was brought about by the coincidence
of many factors, it is probable that the most permanent
of them, namely geographical position, was the strongest
determinant of the result. With the Portuguese this
was especially the case. Hemmed in on the landward
side by a power with whom it was useless at that time
to cross swords, the sea was manifestly theii* metier.
Their long coast-line, their good harbours, and the
broad Atlantic, made them perforce a race of sailors.
Yet they had no Mediterranean, as had the Spaniards,
to set natural bounds and limits to their voyages.
Almost within sight, and, as it were, in their own waters,
lay the shoulder of the vast continent of Africa, tempt-
ing them onwards with its unbroken coast-line. It
INTRODUCTORY. 3
was a period, moreover, when expansion and commercial
activity were inevitable. The centuries of Moorish
oppression had ended. Not only had the Portuguese
driven their former masters from the country, but they
were pushing them hard in Morocco itself. The desire
of conquest had been aroused in them, and the advent
of Prince Henry was the final term in a series of events
which led them, a few years later, to become so great a
maritime nation that no one can read their history with-
out wonder and admiration.
Prince Henry, then, was the true mainspring of
Portuguese activity at the time of which we speak.
His whole life was given up to the encouragement of
discovery and navigation. Renouncing the pleasures
of court, he remained in almost complete retirement
at Cape St. Vincent, in the constant companionship of
those learned in cosmography and kindred sciences. At
this date the Canaries had long been known. Bethen-
court had conquered them, and Spain and Portugal had
squabbled over them, as indeed was their wont upon
the occasion of each fresh discovery. Their trade was
making itself felt at Seville, and Prince Henry doubtless
had it in mind when he fitted out his first expedition.
Cape Non — " the impassable " — had at length been
passed. Cape Bojador, however, though scarcely beyond
the Canaries, was the furthest southern point then
reached by European ships, and it was with the inten-
tion of doubling it that the Prince, in the year 141 8,
despatched Zargo and Tristao Vaz in a single ship with
orders to carry their explorations as far southwards as
was possible. They met with the happiest of failures.
Driven out of their course by a gale, they sighted an
unexpected island in mid-Atlantic, and from Porto
4 LIFE OF MAGELLAN.
Santo — thus named from the welcome shelter it afforded
them — Madeira revealed itself as a matter of course.
The settlement and administration of the latter turned
attention for some time from the west coast of Africa,
and it was not until 1432 that Gil Yanez finally succeeded
in passing Cape Bojador.
Year by year, little by little, the coast thus became
known and charted. Hitherto, as each promontory was
rounded, some other beyond it was deemed to be im-
passable. Now, as they approached the equator, the
old fables of the impossibility of existence beneath its
heats were retold, and this difficulty appeared more
formidable than any previously encountered. Never-
theless, the navigators pressed onwards. Expeditions
left Portugal nearly every year, and the leader of each
was able to add his quota of discovery to the work of
his predecessor. In 1446 Diniz Fernandez reached
Cape Yerde, and in the following year Nuno Tristao
passed it and met his death at the hands of the natives
beyond the Gambia, Despite the early Spanish settlement
of the Canaries, and certain occasional voyages of the
Dieppe caravels, the Portuguese so thoroughly identified
themselves with the work of exploration on the African
coast that their claims were recognised by the Pope,
and a grant was made to the crown of Portugal of all
lands then and at any future time to be discovered which
lay between Cape Non and India.
Hard as he had worked in the cause. Prince Henry
was destined to see no world-renowned exploit or sub-
stantial benefit result from his efforts. At his death,
indeed, no one had yet reached the equator, and ten
years or more elapsed before it was actually crossed.
With him perished, for the moment, the interest in
INTRODUCTORY. 5
geographical exploration which he had aroused. But it
was only for the moment, for Joao II. proved well-nigh
as ardent an advocate and supporter of the cause as
Henry, and under his rule the Portuguese passed through
the comparative stage of their fame as navigators and
discoverers, to reach its culminating term in the reign of
his successor, Dom Manoel.
Joao, although not fated to witness the conquest of
India and the mastery of the spice trade, saw two of the
four great geographical events of history, and was him-
self the instigator of one of them. The third, and
greatest, laj' within his grasp, but he failed to seize the
opportunity. When Columbus expounded his views
before the king's junta of geographers they were laughed
at as impossible, and he was called a boasting Italian.
But it must be remembered that Joao sneered in good
company — for Henry YII., to whom Columbus also
applied, held the same opinion — and even if he were
not gifted enough to foresee the discovery of America,
he was at least thoroughly alive to the importance of
following up the work already begun upon the coast of
Africa. To this he turned his whole attention. More-
over, as we shall see, he had a definite plan in so doing.
The progress made was rapid enough. In 1484 Diogo
Cao discovered the mouth of the Congo, and pushed
on till he reached a river in the neighbourhood of the
Tropic of Capricorn. Settlements were established upon
the Guinea Coast, and trade encouraged in many places,
but these were not the limits of Joao's aims. His com-
mercial horizon lay beyond the ivory and palm-oil of the
West Coast, and held within its boundaries the spices
of the Indies. The procuring of information concerning
these far distant countries and their products was at
6 LIFE OF MAGELLAN.
that time no easy matter. To obtain it Jofio despatched
two trusty envoys, Pedro de Covilhao and Affonso de
Payva, to the kingdom of Prester John.
On the extended wanderings of these two travellers
we need not dwell. There being no Prester John, and
therefore, demonstrably, no kingdom belonging to him,
it is needless to say that they never attained their des-
tination. But they got to Abyssinia — in those days
accounted much the same thing — and Covilhao was
sufficiently fortunate and adventurous to reach Goa and
Calicut. Payva died in Cairo, and Covilhao remained a
prisoner in the hands of the Abyssinians, but he was
able on more than one occasion to send letters to his
sovereign. They contained accounts of the cities he had
visited in India and of their trade, together with important
information concerning the route thither. The southern
promontory of Africa, he wrote, could be rounded with-
out fear, and, once at Sofala, the course across the
Indian Ocean to the shores of Hindostan was easy. All
this information, however, came too late. By the time
it reached Portugal the task had already been accom-
plished.
It would serve no purpose to discuss here the authen-
ticity of the doubling of the Cape of Good Hope by the
ancients. It is sufficient to say that there is a pro-
bability of such a feat having been really accomplished,
but the evidence is so brief, and the date of its supposed
occurrence so far distant, that the credit attaching to
Bartholomew Diaz as the first person to perform the
exploit in modern times is in no way touched by it.
Diogo Clio's discovery of the Congo and Angola led him
far down the coast. Indeed, as we have seen, he pene-
trated so far south as nearly to pass beyond the Tropic.
INTRODUCTORY. 7
Thence to the Cape is no great distance, and two years
later Dom Joao sent Diaz on the expedition which
brought it to the actual knowledge of the Portuguese,
and rendered its discoverer's name imperishable. The
voyage was performed with extraordinary rapidity ; but
having once rounded the Cape, Diaz preferred to bring
home the intelligence of his success with all speed rather
than press his explorations further. The furthest point
reached by him was that now known as Algoa Bay.
From the violent gales experienced Diaz named his dis-
covery the Cape of Storms (Cabo Tormentoso), but Dom
Joao refused, for obvious reasons, to adopt his nomencla-
ture. As the finger-post of the route to India it was
worthy of a more auspicious title, and at his order it
became the Cape of Good Hope.
It is difficult to explain why, after this success, no
further action should have been taken for so long a
period. Possibly the discovery of Columbus had not a
little to do with it, for the effect of his news was to
direct all eyes westward. Joao's reign, moreover, was
drawing to a close. Whatever may have been the
cause, ten years passed ere the Cape was again sighted
by European ships. This time the Portuguese pushed
far beyond it, and in May, 1498, Gama anchored his
ships in Indian waters.
The Cape once rounded, the attaining of India was
found an easy matter, as Covilhao had written ; and
Vasco da Gama secured immortality upon terms as easy,
perhaps, as any ever granted, either before or since.
Guided by the pilot who had accompanied Bartholomew
Diaz, he reached and named Natal on Christmas Day,
1497. Keeping northwards along the coast he arrived
at Melinda. From this place— and indeed from many
8 LIFE OF MAGELLAN.
others on the east coast of Africa — a long-established
trade existed across the Indian Ocean to the Malabar
coast, and Gama found no difficulty in obtaining an Arab
pilot experienced in the navigation of those seas to bring
him to Calicut. At the cost of Uttle danger and less
trouble he found himself famous. When Camoens sang
his deeds his fame became immortal.
The reign of Dom Manoel, in which the " discovery
period " of history, as we may term it, reached its
height, was well inaugurated by Vasco da Gama's
exploit. The results of the voyage became almost im-
mediately apparent. Gama found the trade of the East
entirely in the hands of the Arabs. The produce of
Malaysia and the China seas found its way, as it does
now, through the Straits of Malacca. Upon this city
all western- directed lines of trade converged, and there
the Arabs met, ordered, and controlled it. On both sides
of the Indian Ocean alike they, and they alone, were
the merchants through whose hands the exports of the
different countries passed. Finally, everything, whether
ivory from Africa, silks from India and Cathay, or the
yet more coveted spices of the Malay Islands, entered
Europe by way of the Red Sea and Egypt, or — though
to a very much less degree — by the Persian Gulf. It
was evident from the very moment of Gama's success that
a great struggle was impending — the struggle between
the Portuguese and Arabs for supremacy in the East.
We must here leave our sketch of the gradual advance
of the Portuguese upon the Eastern gate of the Pacific.
How they reached and passed it we shall presently see.
In the ensuing chapters the story of the establishment
of Lusitanian rule in the Indies is dwelt upon more
fully, for Magellan served for seven years under the
INTKODUCTORY. 9
two great Viceroys, Almeida and Albuquerque, and the
history of his life at this period is but the history of the
period itself. But before we commence it we will pass
for a moment to the other side of the Pacific.
Five years before Yasco da Gama's exploit, Columbus
sailed upon his first great voyage, and returned as the
discoverer of the West Indies. We know with what
enthusiasm the exploration of the New World was
carried out, and how expedition after expedition sailed
in search of its riches. The track followed, however,
was in almost every case influenced by that of the great
admiral himself, and it was Central, not South America,
which became earliest known. Nevertheless, in those
days, when men were possessed with a hunger for ex-
ploration — or for the results of it — so fierce and insa-
tiable that to our cool nineteenth-century eyes they
appear hardly other than madmen, Brazil at least was
not likely to remain long undiscovered. Nor did it.
Vicente Yanez Pinzon, one of the captains of Columbus
in his first voyage, led the van, and in 1499 carried out
an extended reconnaissance of the northern shores of
South America, and viewed the coast as far south as
lat. 8°, where Pernambuco now stands. Hardly three
months later mere chance led .the Portuguese to nearly
the same spot. Cabral, in command of the outward-
bound Indian fleet, who had kept a more westerly course
than usual in his passage down the Atlantic, was driven
still further towards America by stress of weather, and
woke on the morning of the 22nd February, 1500, to find
a vast, and to him unknown, continent under his lee.
The work he had in hand did not permit him properly
to explore it, and he was forced to leave his discovery
to be followed up by others.
10 LIFE OF MAGELLAN.
If we compare the time occupied in the tracing of
the coast-line of the two opposite shores of Africa and
South America the difference is astonishing. While
the Portuguese took innumerable expeditions and a
hundred years to double the Cape, the neighbourhood of
the Strait of Magellan was reached in less than a decade
by the work of a bare half-dozen of explorers. We need
not enter into the consideration of Vespucci's voyages
on this coast, concerning which much controversial ink
has been shed, but will confine ourselves to surer
ground. With the advent of the sixteenth century the
knowledge of this part of the world advanced by leaps
and bounds. Almost contemporaneously with Cabral's
accidental visit, Diego de Lepe was taking up Pinzon's
work, and pushing still further to the south. But the
name of the latter, together with that of Juan de Solis,
must ever remain most linked with the history of South
American discovery. In 1508 these two navigators
visited the Rio Negro in lat. 41° S., working beyond
the Rio de la Plata, which was yet un visited. Indeed,
a great peculiarity in the mapping out of this coast was
the fact that its most distant parts became earlier known
than those nearer home. We shall have, later, to con-
sider the voyages of Gonzalo Coelho and Christovao
Jaques. It is sufficient here to say that they were
undertaken in 1501 and 1503, and that they made
known to Europeans the coast of Patagonia, if not to
the Strait of Magellan itself, at least to some point at
no very great dit-tance from it.
So much for the approaches of the Pacific. The
existence of that ocean itself, or rather the existence of
a sea of some description upon the other side of Central
America, was known to Columbus in 1503 from the
INTRODUCTORY. 11
accounts of the natives of that region, but, as we all
know, he never reached its shores. It was the happy
fate of Yasco Nunez de Balboa first to view it, and,
sword in hand, to march into its waters and claim them
and the unknown lands they laved for the crown of
Castile. Ten years, however, had meanwhile intervened,
and discovery had marched with such giant strides that
the question of ownership of the new countries, of their
boundary lines, and other kindred matters, which for a
long time past had been exercising the minds of monarchs
and cosmographers alike, became yet more complicated.
For a period of nearly fifty years the two great maritime
nations of the world were engaged not only in finding
out new lands but in squabbling over them when
found.
The Hispano-Portuguese difficulty, as we may term
it, was so intimately connected with Magellan's work
that an account of his life would be incomplete without
some reference to its leading features. It was histori-
cally expressed by four great facts : the Bull of Pope
Alexander YI. in 1493; the Tordesillas Agreement of
the following year; the Badajoz Junta of 1524; and
the Cession of the Moluccas in 1529. A lengthy con-
sideration of these would be . impossible here, but to
comprehend the action of Magellan and others at this
period a rough outline of the political results of the
wonderful discoveries which electrified Europe at the
beginning of the sixteenth century is necessary.
The first differences between the two countries arose
in 147 1 concerning the right of ownership of the gold
mines on the coast of Guinea, but they soon passed
over. The discoveries of Columbus, however, immedi-
ately renewed them. It was at once realised that vast
12 LIFE OF MAGELLAN.
possibilities lay open to the European world — countries
of unknown extent and riches, and of easy access, having
the additional advantage of being peopled by mild and
well-disposed natives. It was not likely that the Por-
tuguese would submit without protest to the annexation
of these by the sister power. The Pacific was unknown,
or at least only considered as a part of Ptolemy's Sinus
Magnus, and they regarded, or pretended to regard, the
Spaniards as poaching in their waters. It fell to the
spiritual head to settle matters. At that time Alexander
VI,, the father of Cesar and Lucrezia Borgia, and a
native of Valencia, was Pope, and his sympathies were
of course in favour of Spain. Portugal, as the greatest
maritime power of the Roman Catholic world, was never-
theless not to be ignored. Accordingly, on the 4th May,
1493, a Bull was promulgated which divided the world
into two halves — giving to Spain the Western Hemi-
sphere, and to Portugal the Eastern. The line of de-
marcation was drawn from pole to pole, passing 100
leagues to the west of the Azores and Cape Verde
Islands.^
So far as Spain and Portugal were concerned this
arrangement was an equitable one. Roughly speaking,
the line thus drawn passed north and south through
mid- Atlantic, and gave to each Power the countries they
had been concerned in discovering. Had it remained
unaltered, the whole of America would have fallen to
Spain, and Malaysia, Papua, and even Australia to
Portugal. But it did not, for from the moment of its
1 "Qu8o Hnea distet a qualihct insularum qua vulgariter nuncupan
tur de los Azores et Cabo Verde centum leucas versus Occidentem."
This lack of exactness concerning its position was one of the chief
sources of dispute at the Badajoz Junta in 1524.
INTKODUCTORY. 13
publication the latter Power remonstrated, fearing —
although at the time nothing was of course known —
that no share of the riches of the New World would
fall to her. Dom Joao II. appealed to have the line
shifted 300 leagues further to the west, and his appeal
was partially heard. On the 7th June, 1494, was
granted the Tordesillas Capitulacion, by which the raya,
as it was termed, was fixed 370 leagues west of the
Cape Yerdes — 30 leagues short of the claim of the
Portuguese monarch.
Brazil was at that time undiscovered. After Pinzon
and others had brought it to the knowledge of Europeans
the raya was considered to fall through the western
mouth of the Amazon in the north, while in the south
its position was supposed to be beyond the Kio de la
Plata. If we turn to the map we see that in the former
case it would be in long. 50° W., in the latter in 60° or
thereabouts — a difference of ten degrees or more. Such
uncertainty was only to be expected at that period,
when no proper means for estimating longitude existed.
The very poiyit de depart of their reckoning was vague
to a degree. The Azores and Cape Yerde Islands were
presumed to be in the same meridian ! By the words
of the Papal Bull, moreover, any island might be chosen
from which to measure, so that the position of the line
— even had accurate instruments been available — could
by no possibility have been fixed within several hundreds
of miles.
Up to this time it had only been the settlement of
the home line of demarcation which had presented any
features of interest to the contending parties. But with
Magellan's voyage matters assumed quite a different
complexion. The Moluccas, not the New World, now
14 LIFE OF MAGELLAN.
became the prize at which each aimed. But if the fixing
of the Atlantic line had been a matter of dispute, it may
be imagined that that of the Antipodes presented ten
times greater dijSiculties. When the safe arrival of the
Victoria with her cargo of cloves roused Charles V. at
once to set about the despatch of another armada to the
" Spicery," Dom Manoel protested. The Portuguese not
only claimed the islands by right of discovery, for Fran-
cisco Serrao had resided there since the fall of. Malacca,
but also asserted that they fell within their boundary —
as, indeed, we now know to be the case. The Spaniards
were no less confident of the justice of i^eir claim.
This time it was agreed that the matter should be settled
without the intervention of Papal authority, and even-
tually, in the spring of 1524, the celebrated Badajoz
Junta commenced its sittings.
Each country was represented by its Jueces de Pose-
sion, Jueces de Propriedad, Advocates, Fiscals, and
Secretaries, and several of the most renowned pilots
and cartographers of the day. Juan Sebastian del Cano
was in attendance, and Ferdinand Columbus, son of the
admiral — both being Jueces de Propriedad. Sebastian
Cabot, Estevao Gomes, who had so basely deserted in
the S. Antonio, Nuno Garcia, who constructed the charts
for Magellan's armada, and Diego Ribero, the great
cosmographer, were also present. The meetings were
held alternately on either side of the frontier, one day
in Badajoz, and the next in Elvas, and thus they re-
mained for several weeks of daily wrangling — porfiando
terribilisimamente, as Gomara tells us.
We need not follow these arid discussions at length.
After two months of squabbling the Junta was dissolved.
While in 1494 the aim of the Portuguese had been to
INTKODUCTORY. 15
get the dividing-line placed as much as possible to the
west lest they should be shut out from the prospective
benefits of the New World, it was now their object to
insure their inclusion of the Moluccas. Unwilling to
give up the slice of Brazil that had fallen to them, they
were at the same time afraid that their i8o degrees
would hardly bring them far enough eastward, and that
the spice-trade would come into the hands of their
opponents. Their policy, therefore, was that of obstruc-
tion, and their object that no conclusion should be
arrived at. In this they were partially successful. At
the dissolution of the Junta the Spanish Jueces de Pro-
priedad, taking the best globe, drew a line 370 leagues
from San Antonio, the most western island of the Cape
Verdes, and pronounced their decision upon the bridge
of Caya. The Portuguese could not, of course, hinder
them from doing this, but they refused to consent to the
adjudication, alleging that the facts were not sufficiently
established to admit of it, and departed, threatening
with death any Spaniard whom they should find in the
Moluccas.
In this state of uncertainty matters remained until
the year 1529, when an arrangement was made between
the two sovereigns. It was facilitated by the family
connection then subsisting. Charles Y. had married
Doiia Isabel, sister of Dom Joao, while the latter in his
turn had married the emperor's sister, Doiia Catalina.
Anxious, therefore, to get rid of all sources of dispute
between the two nations, Charles agreed to cede what he
considered his rights for the sum of 350,000 gold ducats,
and the Moluccas accordingly passed into Portuguese
hands. It had been originally intended to grant a lease
only, but from some unexplained cause, no exact period
16 LIFE OF MAGELLAN.
was fixed, and the matter was tacitly regarded as settled.
In 1548 the Procuradores de Cortes besought the emperor
to recall the lease, but he refused. " At this some mar-
velled and others grieved," says an old historian, " but
all held their peace."
CHAPTER II.
EARLY LIFE AND INDIAN SERVICE,
Of the deeds of the great adventurers and explorers who
drew their swords for Spain and Portugal at the period
of the Renascence, the archives of those countries have a
tolerably ample record. The Castle of Simancas contains
a collection of documents so enormous as to be well-nigh
beyond the possibility of order ; the archives of Seville are
almost equally rich ; and beneath the dust of the shelves
of the famous Torre do Tombo in Lisbon there still
exists, despite the great earthquake, a mass of histori-
cal papers of almost equal importance with anything that
Spain can show. Until the end of the last century these
treasures remained almost unknown. Now, although
much of the greatest interest is doubtless still inedited,
a number of them have been given to the world ; for it
was into this Augean stable of literature that the his-
torian Munoz adventured himself in search of material
for his Historia del Nuevo Mundo — a work hardly begun
ere ended by his death. His mantle fell upon Don Martin
Fernandez de Navarrete, and in 1837 was published the
Coleccion de los Viages, a rich fund of historical material
from which the student of Spanish conquest and explora-
tion draws his chief information.
In this work there is much concerning Magellan of
which earlier historians had left us in ignorance ; many
17 B
18 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. ii.
documents, given in extenso, wLich provide us with
the fullest information on certain periods of the ex-
pedition which has stamped him as the greatest of the
world's explorers. But they relate almost exclusively
to the last three years of his existence. Over the earlier
part of his career the iniquity of oblivion blindly scat-
tereth her poppy. We know the name of the youngest
cabin-boy who sailed with him, of the humblest sailor
before the mast. We know how many dozen of darts
were taken upon the voyage, and the exact number of
fish-hooks provided. But, interesting as are even these
minutiae, how gladly would we give our knowledge of
them, and how much more beside, for a fuller knowledge
of the man himself — some further scrap of information,
however trivial, of his youth or childhood ! Of this
period the irony of history has left us in comparative
ignorance. The lapse of four centuries has bequeathed
to us a singularly unequal portrait of his life, — the
foreground startling in the clearness of its outline — the
distance so dim and blurred as to be almost indistin-
guishable.
Fernao de Magalhaes was-ijaiai^ about the year 1480 —
we do not know the precise date — at Sabrosa, near
Chaves, in the provi nce of Traz-os-Monte s, one of the
wildest districts of Portugal. Separated from the tamer
seaboard province of Entre Douro e Minho by the bold
Serra de Marao, the country presents few features of
attraction to the ordinary traveller. Its inaccessibility,
the roughness of the accommodation, and the lack of
anything of interest save a certain gloomy grandeur in
its scenery, do not invite a visit. Nor has its climate
anything to offer. There is even a proverb anent it,
to which, despite the general untrustworthiness of such
1480.] EARLY LIFE AND INDIAN SERVICE. 19
dicta, a certain amount of truth must be allowed, " Kove
mezes de inverno, e tres de inferno." Situation and
climate have been not without their effect upon the
people, who present the characteristics that a natural
law teaches us to look for from the co-existence of two
such factors as mountain and isolation. Obstinate,
gloomy, and as superstitious as Scandinavians, they are
also, like the Scandinavians, honest and faithful to a
degree, and possessed of all their determination and
power of physical endurance. The waves of innova-
tion that sweep over and change the face of a Pays-
bas but lap the feet of a country such as this. The
inhabitant of the Traz-os-Montes of to-day can differ
little, if at all, from his ancestor of four hundred years
ago.
It could not be but that Magellan should inherit some
of these qualities so characteristic of the land of his birth.
It is true that he left it in his youth, and that we hear
nothing of his return ; that his short life seems, after a
brief period of attendance at court, to have been spent
in a swift succession of intoxicating successes with sword
and compass — a ceaseless medley of fighting and explora-
tion, which can have left little time for home-thoughts,
and none for the strengthening of home-ties and friend-
ships. But the influence of his childhood's surroundings
was there. As we follow his life step by step, we are
not left long in doubt as to the character of the man.
Its leading feature is what his enemies would term an
overweening confidence in his own powers — an obstinacy!
without an equal. Others would name it differently.
His faults, if faults they were, were those of strength. \
If men have been termed men of iron, Magellan may
fairly be said to have been of steel. For him difiiculties
20 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap.it.
were made only to be disregarded, dangers only to be
despised. Through the barriers of an impossibility
he passed confident and unmoved. With almost every
one against him, the India House, the ambassador of the
King of Portugal, and his own friend, he started upon
his voyage. With a mutiny but half repressed and
starvation imminent, he pressed southward till he found
his long-hoped-for straits. With his captains' advice to
the jDontrary ringing in his ears, he went to his death.
The story of his life is full of such traits, and it is hard
not to ascribe them in some measure to the influence of
the country in which his boyhood was passed.
Other reasons, it may be, lay in his birth ; for Magellan
was of noble family — " of the oldest in the kingdom,"
as he himself tells us.^ There were at that period five
grades of nobility in Portugal, to the fourth of which
the family of Magalhaes belonged — the " fidalgos de
cota de armas e gera^ao que tern insignias de nobreza " -
— a rank to which we have in England no equivalent.^
Of those who bore it before the great navigator we
have no such clear account. Various names have been
given by Antonio de Lima and other genealogists as
those of his father and grandfather, but as they do not
agree, we are forced to reject them and to fall back upon
surer evidence. Of this there is something, though un-
fortunately far less than we desire. In a receipt for
1 In his will Magellan leaves his property to his brother-in-law:
*• com a obriga^So que o dito meu cunhado ha de juntar ao brasao das
snas armas o de MagalhSes, que e de meus av6s, e por ser muito dis-
tincto, e dos melhores c mais antigos do reino."
2 De Barros Arana, Vida e Viagens de F. de Magalhaes, cap. i.
p. TI.
3 This coat-of-arms we know. On a field argent three bars cheeky,
gules and argent ; the crest an eagle, wings displayed.
COAT-OF-ARMS AND AUTOGRAPH OF 3IAGELLAN.
22 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. ii.
his salary as " 111090 fidalgo " in the king's service, ^
dated June 12, 151 2, Magellan describes himself as
^' filho de Pedro de Magalhaes ; " but this appears to be
the sum total of our certain knowledge of his forbears.
Even of his own family we know little. He seems to
have had but one brother. We learn incidentally, from
the mention of their names in his wills, of the existence
of two sisters, Isabel and Thereza, who married a certain
Joao da Silva Telles, of whom we shall hear more pre-
sently. A shadowy Ginebra figures as a third sister,
but her existence, at all events in that relationship, is
doubtful. His own two children dying as infants, the
family of Magalhaes became extinct in his father's liije.^
The name, however, appears frequently in the old
chroniclers at the early part of the sixteenth century.
A certain Martin de Magalhaes accompanied the navi-
gator in his great voyage, and the deeds of two brothers,
Antonio and Pero Barreto de Magalhaes, who were
doubtless members of his family, are many times re-
corded. Both served under the first Viceroy of India,
Don Francisco d 'Almeida, and both fell in battle — the
former in the noble defeat of Don Lour en zo by the
Turks under Mir Hoseyn and Malik Jaz at Chaoul, the
latter by the side of the Viceroy himself, when he and
sixty-five of his men perished in a skirmish with the
Kafirs of Saldanha Bay.^ Of yet another, Christovao
de Magalhaes, we hear as accompanying Alfonso d' Albu-
querque in his expedition to Ormuz ; but beyond the fact
1 Liv. de Moradias da CasaRcal, vi. fol. 47, v; Navarreto, Cokccion
de los Viages, iv. p. Ixxiii.
2 For the genealogy of the family of Magalhaes see Appendix L,
p. 315.
3 DamiSo de Goes, Chronica de Dom Manocl, 2da parte, fols. 14,
44, and 75-
1480.] EARLY LIFE AND INDIAN SERVICE. 23
that, together with many other of the Viceroy's captains,
he was badly wounded in an engagement with the Per-
sians at Lara, we know nothing. ^
Magellan lost his father and succeeded to the estates
when still comparatively young, for in his first will,
made at Belem before sailing for India under Almeida,
we find him bequeathing the Sabrosa property, in which
parish he owned the Quinta de Souta. He makes no
mention of the Casa da Pereira, which, from a most
curious and interesting document not long since brought
to light, we know to have also belonged to him.^ In
this — which is the will of Magellan's great nephew,
Francisco da Silva Telles — the testator inveighs in the
most vehement terms against his ancestor, ordering that
thenceforward over his house in Sabrosa (the Casa da
Pereira) no heir or descendant soever should restore the
coat-of-arms of the family, " since I desire that it should
for ever remain obliterated, as was done by order of my
lord the king, as a punishment for the crime of Ferdi-
nand Magellan, in that he entered the service of Castile
to the injury of this kingdom, and went to discover new
lands, where he died in the disgrace of our king."
To understand this, it is necessary to anticipate.
Magellan, unable to obtain a recognition of his services
at the hands of his sovereign, i)om Manoel, did what a
triad of great navigators — Columbus, Cabot, and Ves-
pucci — had already done before him, and what was at
that period by no means unusual : he left his country
and offered his sword to Charles V. These others have
1 Caspar Correa, Lendas da India. Ed. da Acad. Real das Sciencias,
torn. i. pt. ii, p. 883.
2 This document is in the possession of Dr. A. M. Alvares Pereira
de AragSo, of Villa Flor, the present representative of the family of
Magalhaes.
24 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. ii.
escaped with hardly a word of blame, but, owing to a
combination of circumstances which will have presently
to be considered, a quadruple obloquy appears to have
fallen upon Magellan. The result we have partly seen.
The King of Portugal, furious at the rise of Spanish
influence in the Moluccas, commanded that the arms of
Magellan should be erased from the gateway of his house.
The effect of an order such as this in a remote village
like Sabrosa may be imagined, and we can understand,
even though we may not be able to forgive, the animus
of Magellan's heii'. We know that no man is a prophet
in his own country. His fellow-townsmen forgot his
years of faithful service in the East ; forgot the coldness
of his king ; forgot that the glorious exploit in which he
met his death made him one of the world's greatest men,
and remembered him only as a renegade, whose heirs
and their belongings were to be treated as they would
have treated him. Every sort of insult was offered to
Francisco da Silva; his name was execrated, and stones
were thrown at him in the streets. Ultimately he was
compelled to leave the country, and it was in the far-off
province of Maranham, in Brazil, that he dictated the
will to which allusion has just been made.
The house, deserted by its owners, fell eventually to
ruin. The family remained for long expatriated. It
was not until much later — towards the end of the seven-
teenth century, in fact — that any of its members resumed
the name. About that time Don Pedro II. gave the
title of Visconde de Fonte Arcada to a certain Pedro
Jaques de Magalhaes. But the family appear never to
have returned to Sabrosa. The old house, or rather its
ruins, passed into other hands. A modern building has
taken its place, constructed in part from the stones of
1495.3 EAELY LIFE AND INDIAN SERVICE. 25
the older mansion. One of these was that bearing the
coat-of-arms " rasadas por ordem de EL Rey" Torn from
its place over the doorway, it now occupies an ignoble
position at the corner of the house.
Of Sabrosa and its belongings little more need be
said. Upon Magellan's actual life there history is
silent. We can picture him amid his native moun*-
tains, riding the horses for which the district is still so
famous, and hunting the game with which its woods
abound. We feel that in some such way his youth
must have been spent, in active and vigorous exercises
such as these, for, as we shall see, action and vigour
were^the two most marked features. of kjs ^temperament.
But however probable the assumption, it will never
pass within the domain of proof, for even Correa — most
diffuse and garrulous of historians — treats us to no
details of this period of his life.
Neither student nor courtier by nature, it was never-
theless Magellan's fate to become both in the course of
his career. From the wilds of the Traz-os-Montes he
was early transplanted to the capital. As in other
courts, so in that of Portugal it was the custom at that
period for the heirs of noble families to receive their
education under the eye of their sovereign, their studies
directed by him, and their successes rewarded by his
approval. " Criose Magallanes en seruicio de la Reyna
dona Leonor," Argensola briefly tells us ; ^ and from
the Anales de Aragon of Qurita we learn that he was
brought up as one of the pages of this queen, the widow
of D. Joao II., '' the Perfect."
He did not long retain the post. In 1495 the King
Dom Manoel, first of the House of Yizeu, came to the
1 Argensola, Conquitta de las Mulucas, liv. i. p. 6.
26 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. ir.
throne, and young Ferdinand Magellan passed into his
service. In the whole course of the history of Portugal,
no one — alone excepting Prince Henry the Navigator
— had more to do with the foundation of her mari-
time power and the extension of her dominion than
this king. His idee mere was to establish Portuguese
influence in the East. In the half century immediately
preceding, the aim and object of Prince Henry's work
had to some extent been lost sight of. Exploration had
indeed been going on, but in a more desultory manner.
Bartholomew Diaz, it is true, had doubled the Cape of
Good Hope, but eight long years had already elapsed
when Dom Manoel came to the throne, and no action
had as yet followed upon that event. Dom Joao II., a
great geographer, a prince of the widest views upon, the
foreign policy of Portugal, and one of the most intel-
lectual of her rulers, was, however, less a man of actiop
than Dom Manoel. With the advent of the latter the
half-awakened energies of the Portuguese leapt suddenly
into life, and within the short space of two decades the
nation had reached the zenith of its glory, and had
become the greatest maritime power of Europe.
Even at the present day, habituated as we are to the
rapid march of events, and with the remembrance of the
presto-like unfolding of the secrets of an almost unknown
continent fresh in our memory, we find it hard to gi^asp
the suddenness of this development of the Portuguese
dominion ; still harder, perhaps, to realise the bound-
less enthusiasm which it must have created. Let us
turn for a moment to the consideration of actual facts —
to a list of the expeditions despatched about this period
from the shores of the mother country. Vasco da Gam a,
passing the Cape ten years after Bai-tholomew Diaz,
1500-4.] ExVRLY LIFE AND INDIAN SERVICE. 27
had brought India from the shadowy regions of romance
into those of vivid reality, and the Peninsula w^as ring-
ing with his fame. Cabral, sailing for India in 1500,
had discovered Brazil, and Gaspar Cortereal, almost at
the same time, was coasting Labrador. In the follow-
ing year the fleet of Joao da Nova discovered St. Helena,
and in 1502 the second expedition of Yasco da Gama
left the Tagus for India, combined with the fleet of
Vicente Sodre. Two months later a second Indian
expedition was despatched under Estevao da Gama, and
when the season was sufiiciently advanced, ships were
sent to the " Terra de Bacalhaos " and Labrador to
carry on the work of exploration, and to search for the
missing Cortereals. In 1503 Alfonso and Francisco
d' Albuquerque captained another armada for the East,
and Gonzalo Coelho ventured far southwards along the
unknown coasts of South America. From year to year
this activity increased rather than diminished, and in
1504 no less than three great expeditions were de-
spatched ; an armada of thirteen ships proceeded to
India under Lopo Soarez d'Alvarenga; Don Joao de
Meneses headed an expedition against the Moors of
Larache; and Antonio de Saldanha left the kingdom
a few weeks later with another Indian fleet.
Such, in a few words, is the bare list of expeditions
which must have been fitted out and despatched under
the very eyes of Magellan at the most impressionable'
period of his life. Of their coming and going, of their
many victories and rare defeats, of their successful ven-
ture or disastrous loss, how much he must have heard !
The whole country was seething with excitement. The
new worlds, alike of the East and of the West, held out
a brilliant picture of infinite possibilities to the humblest
28 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. ii.
in rank. The dockyards rang with the sound of axe
and hammer, and the ships were barely launched ere
they sailed for the lands that were to bring riches and
distinction to every one — to every one, at least, who lived.
One had but to be equipped with youth, and health, and
ambition. Men left their country in shoals, careless
of danger, heedless of death-rates, mindful only of the
possible glory that awaited them. We can imagine the
effect that experiences such as these must have had upon
one so adventurous as Magellan. At such a time, when
all around him were up and doing, it was impossible
that he should remain a mere spectator. He did not
hesitate for long. Applying to his sovereign for leave
of absence, he bade adieu to court life, and at the end of
I ^04 enlisted as a volunteer in the great armada of Dom
Francisco d' Almeida, at that time preparing to sail for
India.
Almeida's fleet was the largest that had hitherto set
out for that promised land. Successful as other expedi-
tions had been upon the whole, they had from time to
time met with such difficulties and opposition as had
served to warn Dom Manoel that a stronger hand would
be advisable, and that the time had come for the appoint-
ment of a resident official who should hold the reins of
government. The distance of the mother country from
her Eastern possessions was indeed so great and the
latter so scattered, that this had become an impera-
tive necessity. The King's choice fell upon Francisco
d' Almeida,^ son of the first Conde d'Abrantes, and it would
1 Dom Manoel had at first selected Tristan da Cunha for the post,
but owing to his having become suddenly afflicted with complete blind-
ness, he was unable to accept it. Castanheda, Historia do Dcscohri-
rnento e Conquista da India pelos Portugueses, liv. ii. chap. i. ; and
Correa, op. cit., tom. i. pt, ii. cap. i.
1504.] EAKLY LIFE AND INDIAN SEKVICE. 29
have been hardly possible to make a better selection.
To him, as first Yiceroy of India, fell the task — Hercu-
lean in difficulty — of organising and ruling countries
and peoples as yet almost unknown to their conquerors,
and nobly he fulfilled it. His name — extinguished by
the greater glory claimed for his successor, Albuquerque
— is unfamiliar to many of us, but few, if any, have left
the East with cleaner hands and a record more unsullied
than Almeida. " Much did they love him," says Correa,
" as being one blameless in his actions ... a man
without a shadow of deceit." ^ Such a man naturally
attracted to him persons of like qualities, and his ships
were not long in being manned. From all parts of the
kingdom there flocked to him *' many fidalgos and cava-
liers, and people of distinction," says Correa — ** many
gallant men and cavaliers experienced in war," another
writer tells us. Magellan could not well have begun
his Indian experiences under better auspices or with
better comrades.
The preparations made for Dom Francisco's fleet in
the way of stores and outfit were in keeping with the
importance of the expedition. Never before had things
been done upon a larger scale. Of the exact number of
ships of which the armada itself consisted, the historians
1 " Muyto amauao o Visorey, por ser homem muy perfeito en suas
cousas, e de muy nobre condi9ao, e muyto inclinado a grandezas, homem
sem nenhum engano, e que muyto estimaua e louvaua os seruicos dos
homens ; homem manso, prudente, e muyto sezudo, e de bom saber con
que governauaa India." — Correa, op. cit., vol. i. p. 790. Nor is Pedro
de Mariz less laudatory : " Era D. Francisco homem de graue & honrada
presensa, bom caualleyro, & muyto prudente & sagaz, em quanto andou
na India, onde ha materia de muytos vicios, foy castissima, nunqua
Ihe ninguem sentio cobiga, senao de honra." — Pedro de Mariz, Dia-
logos de varia HUtorla, dial. iv. chap, xxv.
30 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. ii.
of the period have left us in doubt. ^ There were, how-
ever, at least twenty. Correa speaks of them as eight
large ships (naos) for cargo, six of smaller size {nauetas),
and six caravels ; and in addition wood was carried —
already shaped into the necessary planks and beams —
for two galleys and a " bargantym," which w^ere to be
constructed on the arrival of the fleet in India. They
bore fifteen hundred men-at-arms, two hundred bom-
bardiers, and four hundred seamen as supernumeraries
for Indian commissions. Artisans of almost every kind
were taken, and among them many carpenters, rope-
makers, and blacksmiths. The artillery and ammuni-
tion were " em muyta abastanza " — in great plenty — as
indeed might be expected, for Yasco da Gama, in virtue
of his new appointment as Admiral of India, gave to
them his especial supervision. The daily presence of
the King stimulated the labours of his subjects. The
preparations advanced with great rapidity, and almost
before the winter was over the ships were ready for
sea.
In those days the departure upon an expedition such
as this was looked upon as a serious matter. The most
limited acquaintance with the historians of that date
leaves no cause for wonder upon the subject. Sword and
fever on land, and scurvy and shipwreck at sea thinned
the ranks in a manner that was positively appalling. It
would be' interesting to know the usual percentage of
survivors in these armadas. In some cases we do know
it — in the final voyage of Magellan, for example, when
1 " A armada que foy de quinze naos c seis carauelas." — CaHaiiheda,
liv. ii. cap. i. "Dezaseis naos, & seis carauellas." — Damiao de Goes,
Chronica de Dom Manocl, 2da parte, fol. i. Osorius is silent upon
the subject, and Correa gives twenty as tlie number.
150.1.] EARLY LIFE AND INDIAN SERVICE. 31
we find that for every man who returned, six, or nearly
six, perished. And so we scarcely wonder at the solem-
nities which custom demanded of those who took part in
them — at the special confession and mass, at which
attendance was enjoined. On this present occasion the
ceremony was invested with a more than ordinary inte-
rest, for the standard of the Viceroy of India, after
having been blessed by the bishop, was to be formally
presented to Almeida by the King. Correa relates the
function at some length, in words quaint and bald enough
even for the days in which he wrote, but quite as power-
fully descriptive, perhaps, as those from some more florid
pen. We have little difficulty in realising the scene : —
the cathedral, filled almost to the doors with the mem-
bers of the expedition alone ; the king-at-arms " clad in
his rich habit," holding above Dom Manoel the " royal
flag of white damask with Christ's cross in crimson satin
bordered with gold ; " Almeida kneeling at the King's
feet and receiving it into his solemn care and keeping ;
his silent prayer before the high altar with the standard
in his hand ; and finally, the loud-voiced proclamation
by the herald, " Dom Francisco d' Almeida, Governor,
Viceroy of India for our lord the King. " ^ Upon a mind
like that of Magellan, in which religion had taken deep
root, the scene must have made a strong impression, not
less from the fact that it was the last day he was destined
to spend upon his native soil for some time to come —
for seven long years it actually proved.
Things temporal were nevertheless not entirely ex-
cluded from Magellan's mind by the pomp and cere-
monial of religion, and before leaving Portugal he
executed the will to which allusion has already been
1 Correa, op. cit., vol. i, pt. ii. p. 532 et seq.
32 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. ii.
made. In it he makes his sister, Dona Thereza, wife
of Joao da Silva Telles, his sole heir, with instructions
for the saying of twelve masses yearly at his altar of
Our Lord Jesus in the Church of Santo Salvador at
Sabrosa. He speaks of the " pouquidade dos bens que
tenho " — of the smallness of his property — but there
is little else of interest in the document save at the
beginning, where he desires that his funeral " shall be
conducted as that of an ordinary sailor, giving to the
chaplain of the ship my clothes and arms to say three
requiem masses."^
The blessing of the flag over, the fleet dropped down
the river to Belem, and anchored off the church for
which it was then, as now, so famous — a building in-
separably connected with the memories of the great
Portuguese explorers. Here, in the days of Prince
Henry the Navigator, and erected by him, stood a little
chapel, much favoured by sailors, in which — only eight
years before — ^Vasco da Gama had prayed for his success
ere starting on his memorable voyage. Now the pile of
florid Gothic, built in gratitude therefor, had usurped
its place, white and new from the builder's hands, the
last monument upon which the sailor's eye would rest on
leaving his native land. Within it the bones of Gama,
of Camoens who sang his successes, and of Dom Manoel
who inspired them, were destined ultimately to rest.
It was an ideal spot for the start of such an expedition.
Next day — the 25th March 1505 — the final departure
took place. The King came down in state from the
city and went on board the Viceroy's ship; anchors
were then weighed and the whole fleet proceeded slowly
towards the bar, the King accompanying them, "going
* See Appendix I.
1505.] EAELY LIFE AND INDIAN SERVICE. 33
from ship to ship and speaking to the captains, taking
leave of them and wishing them a prosperous voyage." ^
Clearing the mouth of the Tagus, the fleet proceeded
southwards and touched at Port Dale on the Guinea
Coast, where they took water and lay at anchor nine
days. Here the Viceroy, finding that some of the ships
were much more speedy than the others, divided the
fleet into two squadrons. They crossed the line the 29th
April,^ and continuing their voyage, passed the Cape as
far south as lat. 40° S., where they encountered severe
weather and underwent great hardships. ^ On the 20th
June, Almeida, estimating that they had cleared the
meridian of the Cape, shaped his course northward.*
They had already met with one misfortune, for the ship
of Pero Ferreira had foundered in the equatorial calms,
and now, on reaching the Indian Ocean, Lopo Sanchez
1 Castanbeda, op. cit., lib. ii. cap. i, relates an amusing incident
tbat took place at the moment of departure, wbich is at the same
time interesting as possibly marking the date of the introduction of
the words larboard {hombordo) and starboard {estrihordo) into the
Portuguese navy. It appears that on weighing anchor, and on the
pilots giving their orders larboard or starboard to the helmsmen, the
latter were "greatly embarrassed in their minds, as not being as yet
learned in such expressions," and in consequence got into difficulties
owing to the number of craft around them. Upon which Joao Homem,
captain of one of the caravels, "ordered the pilot that he should
speak to the sailors in a language that they could understand, and
that when he wished to steer starboard, he should say 'garlic,' and
when to larboard, ' onions,' and on either side (of the helm) he ordered
a string of these things to be hung."
2 Dannao de Goes, op. cit., 2da parte, cap. ii, fol. 3 ; but Castan-
beda gives the 20th of April as the date.
3 Osorius, De Rebus Emmanuelis Gestis, lib. iv. fol. 116 v. : "Faciebat
densa caligo, et imbres immodici, et nines immenste, quae nostris
intolerandis frigoribus grauissimam molestiam exhibebant."
4 In the account given by Castanbeda the fleet are said to have gone
to lat. 44° S (" passando alamar ceto k setenta & cinco legoas "), and to
have passed the meridian of the Cape on the 26th June. Lib. ii. cap. i. p. 5.
C
31 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [ciiAP. ii.
was forced to run his vessel ashore, after having in vain
tried to overcome a leak. The survivors, although many
perished on the way, eventually reached Mozambique in
safety, where they were picked up by their countrymen.
Before leaving Portugal, the fullest instructions had
been given as to the disposal and action of the fleet ;
instructions which show how gigantic was the scale upon
which the subjugation of India and Eastern Africa had
been planned. Arriving at Sofala, a fortress was to be
erected and garrisoned ; and this done, the fleet was to
sail for Quiloa without loss of time. Here the same
steps were to be taken, but, in addition, two ships — a
caravel and a " bargantym " — were to remain, in order
to patrol the coast north and south of the port. Pro-
ceeding then to the farther shores of the Indian Ocean,
the Viceroy was instructed to build a strong fortress upon
the island of Anchediva. The two galleys — the timbers
of which had been brought in the fleet — were to be put
together here, and two caravels were appointed to patrol
the coast around the station, which was regarded as
of great importance. Hence they were to pass south-
wards along the coast to Cochim, seeking for ships of the
King of Calicut, " with whom the King for ever waged
bitter war ; " and visiting Coulao, were by every means
in their power to obtain leave to make a fortified settle-
ment in that city. Finally, after the despatch of the
annual homeward-bound fleet, an expedition was to be
sent to the kingdom of Ormuz and the mouth of the
Red Sea, to seek a site for a fortress which should act
in some degree as a check upon the stream of Arab
trade, which at that time bore not only the gold and
silks of Hindostan but the spices of the Farther East to
Mecca and the " Sultan of Babylonia."
1505.] EARLY LIFE AND INDIAN SERVICE. 35
Such were the orders under which Almeida sailed.
If we reflect that less than six years previously India
was a terra incognita, and the Cape only known by the
fierceness of its storms, they appear marvellous in their
comprehensiveness. We see, too, how wise was the
policy that dictated them. Short as was Dom Manoel's
acquaintance with the new world into which he adven-
tured himself so boldly, it would seem that he had made
himself master of the situation almost at a glance. The
traffic of the East was to pour into Europe through the
gates of the Lisbon Alfandega, and in order that this
object might be attained, it was necessary that the fiirst
blow should be struck at Arab influence. Gama, in
the course of his memorable voyage, had found these
*' Mouros" in every city, and had not noted their riches
and the extent of their influence in vain. The more
important of the native monarchs, therefore, were to be
conciliated with the special view of obtaining leave to
build strong fortresses, which, connected by cruising
bargantyms and caravels, should form a chain of nuclei
of Portuguese influence. The *' Mouros," when too
strong, were to be temporised with ; but, for the most
part, the ^^ ote-toi, que je m\j mette^' policy was that
adopted. From the very beginning Dom Manoel recog-
nised the enormous importance of mastering the en-
trance and the exits of the Indian Ocean. It was reserved
for Albuquerque to conquer Malacca, but Almeida was
charged to reduce Ormuz and gain possession of the
strongholds round the Straits of Bab-el-Mandeb without
loss of time. It was the outgoing streams of traffic that
first demanded attention.
Upon the deeds of the Viceroy and his captains at
this period we can only touch lightly. So rapid was the
36 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. it.
succession of events, and so packed with incident the
history of his administration, that volumes, not pages,
would be necessary to record them. It is not often that
we hear of Magellan. Amid so large a company of dis-
tinguished men, of "fidalgos e cavalleiros experimen-
tados na guerra," of whom many had already served
under Gama, it could hardly be otherwise. His post
could only have been a subordinate one, and we do not
even know in which ship he sailed. But that he made
the best use of his opportunities is evident from the fact
that he eventually became a most expert navigator.^
Later, when his name appears more frequently in the
pages of the historians of that epoch, it is generally
mentioned in connection with some distinguished act of
bravery.
On the 22nd July the ships arrived off the bar of
Quiloa. They were received badly, and the king declin-
ing to meet the Viceroy, the latter landed his forces and
stormed the city, which was taken without the loss of
a single Portuguese. No time was wasted, and the
construction of the fort was begun upon the following
day, the Viceroy himself personally aiding. On the 8th
August, 2 a large garrison having been left to complete
the work, and the rightful king, Mohammed Anconi,
restored to his throne, the fleet started for Mombaza.
The city of Mombaza was one of the most important
on the coast of Africa ; it carried 011 a large trade with
the interior, and was strongly fortified. Such a nut
was no easy one to crack. The excuse for the attempt,
1 *'Tinba muyto saber n'arte de nauega^So, e espirito quo se lan^ou
a ysso." — Correa, ii. pt. i. p. 28.
2 Manoel de Faria y Sousa, Asia Portvgueza, vol. i. pt. i. cap. 8.
Correa, vol. i. pt. ii. cap. 2, tells us that the fleet left on the 13th.
1505.] EARLY LIFE AND INDIAN SERVICE. 37
however, was not long wanting, for the ships were fired
upon as they arrived. Two days later the city was
stormed, and the Moors, although numbering ten thou-
sand men, were overpowered by the superior skill and
courage of their enemies. The fighting was severe, and
the Portuguese had a very large number of wounded.
Dom Louren9o, the only son of the Viceroy, first made
himself famous at the assault. His great strength and
extraordinary courage combined to make him almost
worshipped by the men he led. Short as was his career,
for he died in battle only two years later, his name
became even more renowned throughout the East than
did, later, that of Albuquerque ; and there is little doubt
that the Portuguese owed their success in many cases to
his personal influence and to their enemies' belief in his
invincibility. After the fall of the city the king formally
tendered his submission, agreeing to pay a yearly tribute
of 10,000 serafins, and a column of white marble was
erected by the Viceroy to commemorate the event. ^
Victors and vanquished became firm friends, and the
king, "for the great love he bore Dom Louren90," pre-
sented him with a valuable sword and a collar of pearls,
V7orth 30,000 cruzados, upon his departure.
It was the Viceroy's wish to visit both Melinde and
Magadoxo, but the season being now so far advanced.
^ The custom of setting up a cross or a column in the countries
visited or conquered was early adopted by the Portuguese. " Porque
mandou El Rey ao Visorey que em todas as terras que conquistasse, e
metesse a sua obediencia, pusesse huma columa pera lembran^a e
sinal que erao de sua conquista." — Correa, op. cit., vol. i. pt. ii. p. 559.
They had always been of wood, but in the early part of his reign
Dom JoSo n. gave orders that they should be constructed of stone,
and the first was ei-ected at the mouth of the Congo in the year 1484.
Faria y Sousa, Asia Purtugueza, vol. i. pt. i, cap. 3.
38 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. ii.
the pilots were strongly opposed to such a step. The
plan was accordingly relinquished, and the fleet shaped
its course across the Indian Ocean to the island of Anche-
diva, whither they arrived on the 13th September. The
fame of their successes had preceded them, and the
Viceroy found letters from the King of Cananor in-
forming him that there were 20,oco quintals of spice
in his port ready for the homeward-bound ships, and
that three rich Mecca galleons were daily expected in
Calicut. Almeida began work, as usual, without the
loss of a moment's time. The very next day after his
arrival, the construction of the fortress was commenced ;
ships were sent off to cruise in search of the Mecca
squadron ; the keels of a galleon and two " bargantyms "
were laid down, and letters were sent to Cananor, Cochim,
and Coulao to make known the Viceroy's advent. In
twenty days the fortress was completed. The loot taken
at Mombaza was sold by public auction, and the money
handed to the treasurer of the fleet.
The King of Onor, a. province lying about thirty miles
to the south, had already made a treaty of peace with
the Viceroy. Its duration was, however, of no great
length, for being unwise enough to send an insolent
message in reply to a request made to him by the
Viceroy, the latter at once brought his fleet against him,
and entering the river on the i6th October, burnt his
ships and took the town with a readiness which soon
brought the monarch to his senses. Dom Louren90 took
his wonted place at the head of the storming party, but
he had little opportunity of displaying his prowess, for
the enemy yielded almost without striking a blow, and
the Portuguese lost only one man in the assault. The
king, whose sin had been that of cupidity rather than
1505.] EAELY LIFE AND INDIAN SERVICE. 39
an open defiance of the Viceroy, made a most ample
submission, and the latter behaved so generously to his
adversary, that all former differences were forgotten in
the friendship thus begun.
The rapidity of Almeida's movements, although char-
acteristic of the man himself, owned at the same time
another cause. The winter was fast approaching, and
with it the north-east monsoon, whose favouring gales
■svere to waft the home- returning fleet upon their voyage.
But as yet the Viceroy had not reached Cananor, still
less Cochim, where he was to assume the reins of govern-
ment. There was, therefore, no time for delay at Onor,
and leaving this port as soon as possible, the fleet pro-
ceeded southwards to Cananor and came to anchor off
the town on the 22nd October. The Portuguese had been
upon the most friendly terms with the king of this
country since the time of Gama's first visit, and the
Viceroy's arrival was welcomed with the greatest enthu-
siasm. The armada entered " gay with flags and stan-
dards, discharging salvos of artillery, the larger vessels
remaining outside, but those of lesser draught anchoring
in the bay, the galleys and the bargantym rowing — a
sight that many people came to see, for in India they
had not as yet seen galleys, the which are rowed with a
great precision in the stroke." ^
The usual visits of ceremony having been paid, Almeida,
who had hitherto called himself Governor, assumed th6
full rank and title of Viceroy. Next day he received an
embassy from the powerful King of Narsinga, who was
desirous of making a treaty with him. Learning from
the resident Portuguese factor that nothing could be
done in Cananor without a fortress — for the Arab
1 Correa, op. clt, i. pt. 2, cap. vi. p. 580.
40 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. ii.
merchants of the city had become greatly incensed with
the growing influence of the new-comers, and had ah-eady
plotted to kill the king — he sought leave to construct
one. It was at once granted to him, and in five days,
with the assistance of the natives, the erection of its
walls, together with bastions to carry cannon, were com-
pleted. A day or two later it received its name — the
Fort Saint Angelo — and Lourengo de Brito, with a gar-
rison of 150 men, entered into possession. ^
Delaying a bare five days at Cananor — where two
caravels were left to guard the coast — the fleet of
Almeida, now much reduced in numbers, at length
arrived at Cochim. Of the meeting between King
Nambeadora and the Viceroy Correa gives us a long
account : — the '' king on his elephant with its trappings,
and much people, the which the Viceroy left the fort
to receive, accompanied by all his men, and before him
his guard with trumpets and kettledrums, his captains
dressed very gaily, the Viceroy himself clad in a coat of
red satin, with a narrow black sash worked with gold,
black buskins, a round cap, and an open black damask
cassock, which formed a train, as was then the custom." ^
Almeida next day publicly crowned the king with the
greatest display of ceremonial that lay within his power.
With the neighbouring states in a condition of hostility,
overt or covert, it was of the utmost importance to lose
no chance of strengthening the bonds of alliance with
so powerful a prince. Almost at this moment, indeed,
news arrived of the rising of the Moors at Coulao — a
1 Damiao de Goes, op. cit., 2da parte, cap. vii. fol. 12 v. ; but Correa
gives a very different account, stating that only a ditch and palisade
were made, and this almost surreptitiously, " isto fisesse douagar per
milhor dissimula(jao. "
2 Correa, op. cit., i. pt. ii. cap. 10, p. 606.
1506.] EAKLY LIFE AND INDIAN SERVICE. 41
port some sixty miles farther south — and the murder of
the Portuguese garrison, an act which the Viceroy was
not the man to leave long unpunished. The duty de-
volved upon Dom Lourengo, and he performed it with
his usual quickness and success. In two or three days
he returned to Cochim, having burnt twenty-seven ships
and killed numbers of the enemy without the loss of a
single man.
Meanwhile the Viceroy was busy with the despatch
of the homeward-bound squadron under Fernao Soariez.
Having loaded all the pepper and spices in the Cochim
factories, the ships proceeded to Cananor, and took the
remainder of their cargo from that port, which they
left on the 2nd January, 1506, taking with them only
sufficient men for the navigation of the vessels ; for, with
the daily losses by fighting and disease, and the scat-
tered disposition of their forces, every sword was of
importance. The voyage was noteworthy from the fact
that the eastern coast of Madagascar was discovered for
the first time. "They arrived," says Goes, "off a land
which not one of the pilots had ever seen before, . . .
and having sailed in sight of it for seventeen days, they
cleared it on the i8th February — the which, although at
that time it was not known, they found afterwards to be
an island which the old cosmographers call Madagascar,
and the Moors the Island of the Moon."i The ships
arrived safely in Lisbon on the 23rd May, 1506.
With the departure of the homeward-bound fleet, and
the reduction of Coulao, the Viceroy doubtless looked
forward to a more peaceful period in which to consider
the many political questions that presented themselves
for solution. He was not destined to enjoy it either
1 Damiao de Goes, op. cit., 2da parte, fols. 13 v, 14.
42 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. ii.
then or indeed at any future time, for at the very
moment when he least expected it, a danger greater than
any hitherto encountered menaced the Portuguese power
in India. The advent of the Viceroy's fleet, the uniform
success that had attended him in Africa, and the almost
superhuman strength and courage with which Dom
Louren^o was credited, had filled both the Moors and
the Zamorim of Calicut with consternation. It was
felt that if action was to be taken at all, it should be
taken then. The homeward fleet had started, the Por-
tuguese were considerably reduced in numbers, and no
reinforcements were possible before the onset of the
south-west monsoon. If a decisive blow could only be
struck, if the fleet of the hated infidels could once be fairly
annihilated, it might put an end for ever to their power
in India. It was at all events worth trying. The Arabs
saw ruin staring them in the face, and neither their
creed nor their feelings inclined them to tame submission.
The Zamorim of Calicut accordingly summoned a
meeting of all the leading Moors. Opinion was divided
as to the course to be pursued. Some, recognising the
formidable strength of the enemy, and mindful of the
almost uninterrupted series of successes they had ob-
tained, counselled alliance with the King of Portugal.
They were overruled. It was felt that the time for this
had passed, and that no alternative now lay before them
but to cross swords. It was resolved, therefore, that a
great armada should be equipped, which should attempt
the conquest of Cochim itself, the very stronghold and
seat of government of their enemies. Measures were
accordingly taken to inform the Moors at every port of
the plot and to request their aid. The vessels thus
raised were to collect in Calicut.
1506.] EARLY LIFE AND INDIAN SERVICE. 43
Such a design could not long remain concealed. Dom
Louren9o, being in Cananor, was visited by a man in the
habit of a Moor, who, on being granted a private inter-
view, revealed himself as an Italian, one Ludovico Var-
tema, a great traveller — " qui studio orbis terrarum
cognoscendi multas regiones peragravit," as Osorius tells
us.^ This man had escaped from Calicut, and hastened
to bring the news of the preparation of the armada.
Unexpected and harassing as it was, Dom Louren9o did
not lose heart. Despatching Yartema without loss- of
time to the "Viceroy, who was then at Cochim, he set
about the organisation of his own forces. The orders
sent back by the Yiceroy were not other than he had
expected; that he was to fight "for the Catholic faith
and for his honour, and bear himself as a Christian and
his son."
The battle that ensued was one of the most celebrated
of the many fought by the Portuguese in India. The
armada, which was composed of 209 vessels — 84 being
1 Osorius, op. cit., lib, iv. fol. 130 v, Luigi di Vartema (Luis
Vuartman or Barthema, or Luis Patricio, as he is variously called) was
a Roman who left Europe in 1502 to wander for man)' years in the
East. His travels were published in 1510 in Italian, and were after-
wards given to the world by Ramusio in his Navigationi et Viaggi.
In them he speaks at some length of the incidents here narrated
(edit, of Venice, 1613, fol. 170 et seq.). Both the traveller and his
narrative, however, are interesting on other grounds. It is to him
that we owe the first description of Borneo, and he also visited the
Moluccas, There is every probability that the Portuguese at this
time obtained from him the information which led Albuquerque five
years later to despatch Abreu's expedition— in which Magellan is sup-
posed to have sailed — to these islands. Vartema was knighted by
Almeida after the fight at Calicut, and returned to Portugal in the
fleet of Tristao da Cunha, He arrived at Lisbon in July, 1508, and
receiving confirmation of his knighthood from Dom Manoel, returned
to Rome. DamiSo de Goes, op. cit., 2da parte, cap, xxiv, fol, 41 v.
Ramusio, Navigationi, fol. 174,
44 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. ii.
ships and the rest large praus — encountered Dom Lou-
ren9o's valiant little fleet on the i6th March, 1506, a
short distance to the north of Cananor. " It seemed,"
says Vartema, " like some huge forest, from the great
masts of the ships." But so little did Dom Lourengo
fear the result, that he permitted his adversaries to pass
until they were off Cananor — ■" per mostrarli quantoera
I'animo de' Christiani." It was not until they were
within a bombard-shot of the town that he commenced
the engagement.
Against such an overwhelming force the Portuguese
could bring only eleven ships.^ They were manned, how-
ever, by men as brave as they were experienced, — " all
distinguished men, educated at the King's court — very
noble men," Correa tells us. And very nobly indeed did
they bear themselves. '^ For really, to say the truth, I
have been in many a fight in my day, and seen many a
fierce encounter," says Yartema, '^ but never have I seen
braver men than these Portuguese." ^ They had need
of their courage, for they were but eight hundred fight-
ing men against some thousands. The great ship of
Rodrigo Rebello, in which sailed Dom Lourengo and the
flower of his men, led the van, and turning neither to
the right nor left, made straight for the enemy's flag-
ship. Three times did she grapple with her, and three
times were her grappling-irons cast off. At length their
attempts were successful, and the Portuguese sprang on
1 Catsanheda, Osorius, De Goes, and Vartema (who was himself pre-
sent at the engagement) all state that the number of D. Louren^o's
force was only eleven ships, but Correa gives it as twenty-eight. The
accounts of the affair are in other ways differently given by the old
historians ; but that of Vartema, as being an eye-witness, has been
chiefly followed in the present narrative.
3 Itineravio di Ludovico Barthenm, lib. vi. cap. xxxvii.
1506] EAKLY LIFE AND INDIAN SEKVICE. 45
board, headed by their beloved chief, who " fought with
his little halberd." The result was for the moment
doubtful, for they found themselves engaged with six
hundred of the enemy. It was not for long. Louren9o's
valour bore everything before it, and ere many minutes
had elapsed, every man of the six hundred had been
killed or driven into the sea.
Meanwhile the others had not been idle. Joao Serrao,
brother to the Francisco Serrao who afterwards became
the great friend of Magellan, was fighting as he never
fought before, his ship attacked by more than fifty praus,
from which he eventually shook himself free, though at
the price of having almost all his men wounded. Simon
Martins, the most daring of the Viceroy's captains, was
in an even more desperate case, his low sloop being
surrounded by four much larger vessels, who poured in
a galling fire, until the Portuguese — their men all dead
or wounded, and all their powder expended — were com-
pelled to take refuge below deck. The Moors boarded,
thinking she had struck, but they were quickly unde-
ceived, for the captain, making a sally at the head of
the survivors, cut down seven of them with his own
hand, and the remainder were quickly driven overboard.
"While these two desperate struggles were continuing,
Dom Louren^o had laid his ship alongside a second
antagonist. She proved to be a heavier craft than his
first prize, and carried over fifteen hundred men. Their
very number was probably against them, and Nuilo Yaz
Pereira boarding at the same time on the other side of
the ship, the Moors found themselves between two fires,
and were very soon overpowered. The enemy perceiving
their two largest vessels taken, and many others either
disabled or sunk, resolved on flight. The delight of the
46 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. il.
Portuguese was unbounded, for the victory, however
much anticipated, was by no means safely within their
grasp. *' God be praised," exclaimed Dom Louren^o;
** let us follow up our victory over these dogs ; " and the
order was at once given. A scene of the most frightful
slaughter ensued. Quarter was neither given nor asked.
The sea was dyed with blood, and the bodies washed
ashore next day '' formed as it were a hedge " upon the
beach. More than 3600 of them were counted.
Upon the Portuguese side between seventy and eighty
fell, and over two hundred were wounded. Among the
latter was Magellan, who, indeed, appears to have been
habitually unfortunate in this respect, to judge from the
expression used by Gaspar Correa — " and at the affair
with the Turks, and always in the armadas, and in
Calicut, was he much wounded." ^ He was cared for,
no doubt, at the hospital at Cananor, whither, we are
told, all the wounded were brought. The dead were
buried at sea, in order that the Moors might not dis-
cover the extent of their antagonists' losses.
A victory so decisive was not without its effect, not
only upon the Moors, but upon the native rulers, and
matters now appearing more settled, Dom Louren90 was
despatched at the head of a small squadron to the
Maldives. Owing to bad navigation, they missed their
destination, but sighting Cape Comorin, eventually came
to anchor off Point de Galle, and for the first time rela-
tions were established between Portugal and Ceylon.
Magellan, meanwhile, was sent to Sofala under Nufio
Vaz Pereira.2 As has already been stated, Dom Manoel's
1 **E foy no feito dos Rumes, e sempre nas armadas, e em Calicut,
ix)uyto ferido." — Correa, ii. cap. iv. p. 28.
=» Faria y Sousa, Asia Portugneza, torn. i. pt. i. cap. x. § 6.
1507.] EARLY LIFE AND INDIAN SERVICE. 47
orders on the Viceroy's departure were that a fortress
should be constructed in this city, but it will be remem-
bered that the first port the latter entered in Eastern
Africa was Quiloa. This was through no disobedience
on the Viceroy's part, but the ship of Pero d'Anhaia,
who accompanied Almeida as the future captain of
Sofala, having gone ashore at the very moment of the
sailing of the Viceroy's fleet, her officers and crew were
forced to defer their voyage. Ultimately Sofala was '
reached and the fortress built, but Pero d'Anhaia's
administration was a short one, for he was killed in the
following year by the Moors.
Nuno Vaz sailed with instructions to take over the
command. His orders, however, were that he should
first visit Quiloa. In that port the greatest disorder
prevailed, owing to a dispute as to the succession to the
throne, and on his arrival he had to decide upon the
merits of the two claimants. Sailing thence for Sofala,
he established himself as captain of the settlement, but
his term of office was even shorter than that of his pre-
decessor. On the 8th September, 1507, the fleet of Vasco
Gomez d'Abreu arrived from Lisbon, and he had to resign
his post. A few days later he left for Mozambique in
the ship of Rui Gongalvez de Valadares. The pestilen-
tial climate of the coast had told terribly upon his men,
and he landed with a great number of sick. So nume-
rous were they, indeed, that his first care was to build an
hospital. The captains themselves took turns in attend-
ance upon the patients. Correa naively describes the
treatment adopted : " Much did they occupy themselves,'*
he tells us,i " with the care and healing of the sick, to
whom they gave many marmalades and conserves, in
1 Correa, op. cit., i. pt. ii. 1507, cap. i. p 785.
48 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. it.
the eating of which they were greatly benefited." The
season being now far advanced, and the north-east mon-
soon established, Nufio Yaz Pereira and his comrades,
unable to return to India, were forced to prolong their
stay in Mozambique. They occupied themselves in
building a church, and, it is needless to say, a fortress.
Upon the change of the monsoon they sailed for Cochim,
leaving a mere handful of men in charge under afeito?:^
Upon their arrival in India, Magellan and his comrades
found the aspect of affairs much altered. They had left
the country soon after a defeat of the most crushing
kind had been inflicted upon their enemies. The power
of Portugal seemed by it to have been fairly established
in the East, and some of the lesser potentates, whose
action appeared at one time doubtful, had formally
acknowledged the Viceroy. Now all was changed. The
fortress of Anchediva, which had cost them so much
anxiety and so many lives, had been given up and razed
to the ground. The King of Cananor, who had been
most friendly, had been replaced by a successor whose
sympathies were with the Zamorim of Calicut, and the
Portuguese had undergone a siege of many months in
their fortress, and suffered unusual hardships. But a
far more serious danger confronted them. Hitherto the
Moors had been the only foemen worthy of their steel.
Now they were suddenly brought face to face with other
enemies, who, at the very first rencontre, had put to flight
their ships and slain their beloved leader, Dom Lourenfo.
1 From this fact it is evident that Macfellan could not have been
present at the defeat of Dom Louren^o by Mir Hoseyn and Malik Jaz
at Chaul in the spring of 1508. The expression ah-eady alluded to,
that he was wounded "no feiio dos Rumes," *'in the affair with the
Turks," must therefore refer to the great battle off Diu, in which D.
Francisco d'Almeida avenged the death of his beloved son.
1507.] EAELY LIFE AND INDIAN SERVICE. 49
Their new foe was the Sultan of Egypt, or rather his
admiral, Mir Hoseyn. The Moors, finding themselves
powerless to cope unaided with their adversaries, sought
help from Cairo. It was readily afforded them. Not
only were the Sultan's revenues affected by the check in
the stream of traffic that poured into the Mediterranean
through his dominions, but the enemy was at his very
gates, and action of some kind had become an imperative
necessity. Unprovided, however, with a fleet in the Red
Sea, and without wood wherewith to build it, he was forced
to cut the latter in Asia Minor^ and transport it on camels
from Alexandria to Suez. Despite these difficulties, a fleet
of ten ships was constructed at this port ; it was placed
under the command of the Emir Hoseyn, and at the
end of December, 1507, it came to anchor off the great
city of Diu, at the mouth of the Gulf of Cambay. Here
the Emir joined forces with Malik Jaz, the governor of
Diu, and a few weeks later the armada sailed for Chaul,
in which river the Portuguese fleet under Dom Lourengo
was at that time lying. The action that ensued, albeit a
defeat for the Portuguese, was one of which they might
justly be proud. Dom Lourengo, cut off from the rest
of his fleet, and with his leg shattered by a cannon-ball,
fought his sinking ship until her decks were nearly level
with the water, and perished with the flower of his men,
his end a fitting termination to a life brilliant in its
untarnished honour, and conspicuous for deeds of the
coolest daring.
Against these reverses the Portuguese would have
found it hard to make headway, had it not been that
upon the northern shores of the Indian Ocean the name
of Affonso d' Albuquerque had already become a terror
to the Mussulmans. Albuquerque had left Portugal
D
50 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. ii.
with the understanding that he was eventually to super-
sede Almeida as Viceroy, and having finished his cruise
upon the coasts of Arabia, turned southwards to India
to deliver his papers. The two great captains met at
Cananor on the 5th December, 1508, but Almeida refused
to hand over his seal of ofiice until he should have taken
his revenge on Hoseyn and Malik Jaz — with which end
in view he was then sailing for Diu — and Albuquerque
had na alternative but to give way.
Nuiio Yaz Pereira — and with him, no doubt, Magellan
— had meanwhile returned safely from Mozambique to
India in the summer, and had been almost immediately
despatched to Ceylon. Whether Magellan went thither
with him or not we do not learn from the records of con-
temporary historians, but it is more than probable that
he accompanied his old commander, who got back from
Ceylon just in time to join Almeida's avenging fleet.
On the 12 th December the armada sailed. It consisted
of nineteen ships,^ which carried thirteen hundred Por-
tuguese and four hundred Malabaris. On his way, the
Viceroy, after touching at Baticala and Onor, made a
descent upon Dabul, and so completely destroyed the
city, that the action passed into a proverb, " May the
vengeance of the Franks overtake you, as it overtook
Dabul."
Arriving off Diu on the 2nd February, 1509, the Vice-
roy found both Mir Hoseyn and Malik Jaz awaiting
him. The former, thinking that the open sea offered
the best chances of success, crossed the bar to meet the
enemy. An engagement followed which advantaged
neither party, and on the approach of night Mir Hoseyn
^ De Goes, op. cit., 2nda parte, fol. 63 ; but Correa, vol. i. pt. ii. p.
924, saj's, "partio .... com vinto e umavelas armadas."
1509.] EARLY LIFE AND INDIAN SERVICE. 51
retired to the harbour, resolving there to await the
renewal of the Viceroy's attack. Next day the Por-
tuguese boldly entered the river and the two fleets
engaged. Almeida found opposed to him a force number-
ing over a hundred sail, which bore eight hundred Mame-
lukes, and many Christian soldiers, Venetian and Sclav,
all of whom were clad in chain-armour. A large num-
ber of Malabaris from Calicut and the formidable con-
tingent of Malik Jaz crowded the smaller vessels. The
Viceroy wished personally to engage the ship of Mir
Hoseyn, but, at the earnest entreaty of his officers,
allowed himself to be dissuaded, and deputed the
task to his beloved captain Nuno Vaz Pereira. With
him, there is little doubt, went Magellan, in company
with many of the most distinguished of the Viceroy's
lieutenants. Thus manned, the Holy Ghost led the van,
and fought her way to the great galleon of Mir Hoseyn.
Desperate as was the struggle that ensued, the issue was
not for long doubtful. The Egyptian admiral, boarded
on both sides, was soon forced to yield, and the loss of
the flag-ship so disheartened the captains of his other
vessels, that the battle was from that moment practically
decided. The ship of Malik Jaz, owing to her unusual
strength, for a long time bade djefiance to the Portuguese,
but she was at length sunk by a broadside from the large
bombards. The slaughter was even greater than on the
occasion of the defeat of the Zamorim of Calicut. Be-
tween three and four thousand men were killed, and of
the eight hundred Mamelukes but twenty-two survived.
The victory was decisive ; Malik Jaz submitted, and Diu
was entered in triumph by Almeida. But it was not
without its cost. Nuno Vaz Pereira fell, shot in the
throat, and other brave souls with him. Great numbers,
52 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. ii.
too, were wounded, and among them, Correa" tells us,
was Magellan. The engagement over, and a treaty of
peace having been signed with Malik Jaz, the Viceroy
returned with the fleet to Cochim. The power of the
Portuguese in India was now fairly and indisputably
established.
CHAPTER III.
SERVICE WITH ALBUQUERQUE AND IN MOROCCO
—DENATURALISATION.
Almeida, who had not yet delivered the seal of office to
Albuquerque, returned to Cochim on the 8th March, 1509,
and found his successor awaiting him. After his years
of loyal service, after having at length brought security
and success almost within measurable distance, he was
called upon to resign his post. He had borne the burden
and heat of the day, and now another was to reap the
benefit of his toil. The trial was a most bitter one for
him, and the differences in which he soon found himself
involved with Albuquerque were not without excuse.
Instead of resigning, he placed Albuquerque under arrest,
and sent him to Cananor.
Whether Magellan joined with others in openly ex-
pressing disapproval of this action we do not know, but
there is some reason to believe that he did so. On the 2.Tst
April there arrived at Cochim from Lisbon an armada
destined for the reconnaissance of Malacca, under the com-
mand of Diogo Lopes de Sequeira. Almeida affected to
think that this force was insufficient, and added another
vessel, with a crew of seventy men, under the command
of Garcia de Sousa, with whom he was not upon the best
of terms. Some of the officers are mentioned by Barros
and De Goes ; among them Nuno Yaz de Castellobranco,
who was sent " on account of the differences between
53
54 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. hi.
liim and the Viceroy; " and we learn that Magellan and
Francisco Serrao, who later became his bosom friend,
also sailed in the same vessel, ^
The little fleet, consisting of four ships of about 150
tons, and a ^^ taforea" — a sort of barge — sailed from
Cochim on the 19th August,^ and sighting Ceylon upon
the 2ist, made for Sumatra. Sequeira was now in
unknown seas — seas, at least, which had never before
been navigated by European vessels. His first port was
Pedir, at the northern extremity of Sumatra, and having
made a treaty of peace with the king both of this place
and of the neighbouring city of Pacem, he proceeded
without loss of time to Malacca, and anchored in the
port on the nth September, 1509.
Malacca had been for years a familiar name to the
Portuguese as the great mart for all the merchandise of
the far East. Now that they had at last reached it,
they found that it in no way fell short of their expec-
tations. Hither, Barros tells us, had gathered Arabs,
Persians, Gujaratis, Bengalis, Burmese, Liu-kiuans,
Javanese, Chinese, and natives of the Philippines ; and
1 De Barros Arana, op. cit., p. 14, speaking of Magellan, says, "Em
principios de 1508 estava elle de volta em Portugal," and tells us that
he sailed from Lisbon with Sequeira ; but Barros {Decadas da Asia,
Dec. ii. liv, iv. cap. iii. ) concurs with De Goes, who writes : " Por Ihe
pare^er que leuaua pouca gete pera hum tamanho nego^io, ihe deu
hna taforea com sesseta homes, capitao Garcia de Sousa, com que iha
Fernao de Magalhaes & Fragisco Serrao." Barros uses nearly the
same words. If Magellan accompanied Nuno Vaz Pereira to the East
African coast in October 1506, and went with him the following year
to Mozambique, and if he was " no feito dos Rumes " in the beginning
of 1509, as we gather from Faria y Sousa {Asia Port, vol. i. pt. i. cap.
X.) and Correa (ii. cap. iv. p. 28), he certainly could not have returned
to Portugal at the date mentioned by Arana.
2 " Partido Diogo Lopes de Cochij a oito de Setembro," says Barros,
Dec. ii. bk. iv. cap. iii., thus differing from Castanheda and De Goes.
1509.] SERTICE WITH ALBUQUERQUE. 55
the city, although not of any great depth, extended
along the coast for a vast distance. The port was
crowded with shipping, and the enormous trade carried
on with all parts of the world was evinced by the busy
scenes upon its quays. The advent of the Europeans,
whose deeds in India were not unknown, was productive
of a temporary panic. Confidence was soon restored,
and on the third day the king formally received the
envoys of Dom Manoel, and appeared desirous of show-
ing them the greatest kindness and respect. His atti-
tude was nevertheless intended to conceal his real desigrns,
which were to seize Sequeira's fleet at the first oppor-
tunity, and inflict such a decisive blow upon the Portu-
guese as should effectually check their threatened move
upon the gates of the Pacific.
Sequeira, it must be confessed, did his best to further
them. No one ever adventured himself more confidingly
into a nest of hornets. Warned that the Malays were
not to be trusted by some friendly Chinese captains and
again by a Persian woman, of whom one of the Portu-
guese was the lover, he persisted in ignoring the advice,
and his men visited the city and the natives Sequeira's
ships " as though they had been at anchor off the city
of Lisbon." The king's first, plot was to invite the
Captain-general and a large number of his people to a
banquet, and, their forces thus weakened, simultaneously
to attack his guests and the ships. Even Sequeira,
however, declined to fall into so transparent a trap, and
another ruse had to be adopted.
The Portuguese had expressed their desire of leav-
ing as soon as they could get their cargo of spices, in
order that they might not miss the monsoon for their
homeward voyage. Taking advantage of this, the king
56 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. hi.
informed Sequeira that he had got together a large quan-
tity of pepper and other goods, which he would deliver
to him if he would send all his boats ashore on the fol-
lowing day, together with plenty of men to load them.
The Captain- general gladly acceded. Francisco Serrao
in command of a large party, and with all the boats
except that of the ^^taforea" proceeded ashore, and the
strength of the fleet being thus reduced, the natives
crowded to the ships with the ostensible purpose of
trading, and awaited the signal for a general onslaught,
which was to be given from the citadel.
Garcia de Sousa, more quick-witted than his com-
mander, was not long in realising the impending danger.
Without the loss of a moment's time, he drove the
Malays out of his ship, and sent Ferdinand Magellan in
the only remaining boat to the flag- ship to put Sequeira
on his guard. Magellan found the Captain-general
playing at chess, surrounded by eight Malays, even
then unwilling to believe that any treachery was con-
templated. Hardly taking his eyes from the board,
Sequeira merely ordered one of the sailors into the main-
top to see if all were well with the shore party, and
Magellan at the same moment left the ship. While
aloft, the sailor chanced to look down, and saw a Malay
standing behind Sequeira with his kris half drawn,
while a comrade in front motioned to him not to strike,
as the signal had not then been given. At the same
moment Francisco Serrao and two or three others were
seen running for their lives to the beach, and the puff
of white smoke — the signal for the massacre — floated
from the summit of the citadel. The sailor's warninfj
cry of " Treachery ! treachery ! " came not an instant too
soon. Sequeira bounded from his seat, and escaping
1509.] SEEVICE WITH ALBUQUEEQUE. 57
the blow from the kris of his would-be murderer, ran
to arms. The Malays, seeing themselves outnumbered,
jumped overboard. Serrao meanwhile, in a small skiff
and almost unarmed, was making desperate efforts to
shake himself clear of a number of boats by which he
was hard pressed. Already one of his men had been
severely wounded, and the enemy had boarded their craft,
when Magellan and Nuno Yaz de Castelbranco came to
their rescue. Although a bare handful of men, they;
fought so desperately that the Malays were driven over-
board, and the Portuguese reached their ship in safety.
It is not too much to believe that the courage and
presence of mind of Magellan on this occasion greatly
strengthened the bond of friendship between him and
Serrao, and to this friendship, as we shall see later, the
great voyage of the greatest of navigators was more or
less due.
The situation of the Portuguese at this moment was
critical. Not only had the greater number of those on
shore been captured or murdered, but a second party,
who had landed upon a little island hard by, had also
been cut off. Sequeira had hardly reallsed'his position,
when a large fleet of armed praus was seen rounding a
corner and making for the vessels of the Portuguese.
However great his folly, the Captain- general was no
coward. Instant action was necessary, and he took it.
Slipping his cables, he at once bore down upon the
enemy, and so well were his guns served that the Malays
were soon only too glad to retire, many of their ships
being sunk and others hopelessly crippled.
Sequeira waited a day or two in the hope of ransom-
ing some of his men. Sixty were missing, and although
many were known to have been killed, he had reason to
58 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. ill.
suspect that as many as thirty were prisoners. His
efforts were fruitless, and accordingly, putting ashore
two of his captives with an arrow through their brains
and a message affixed to their bodies that *' thus the
King of Portugal avenged the treason of his enemies,"
he sailed for India.^
The homeward voyage of the fleet was signalised by
the capture of several "junks. In one of these actions
Magellan again distinguished himself in the same
manner as at Malacca ; for the Portuguese of Nuiio
Godin's ship being almost overpowered, Castelbranco
and himself, with only four sailors, went to their
assistance in the small boat of the " taforea,''^ and
brought the fight to a successful issue. ^ In January,
1 510, the fleet arrived at Travancore, reduced to three
vessels — one having gone ashore in the Straits, and one
having been purposely burnt. In this port they learned
the news of Almeida's departure from India, -^ where-
upon Sequeira, who had sided with him in his quarrel
with Albuquerque, thought it better to sail direct for
Portugal. Teixera's ship and the "ifa/orea," bearing
Magellan and his friend Serrjio, proceeded on their
course, and anchored a few days later in the harbour
of Cochim.
1 Correa's account of the Malacca difficulties dififers in toto from
the above, which, with the exception of a few unimportant details, is
that given by all the other old historians. In the Lctidas da India
the Portuguese are attacked by night in a small fortress which they
had previously obtained permission to erect.
2 Castanheda, op. cit., liv. ii. cap. cxvi.
3 Almeida, "the enemy of avarice," a great man in the best sense
of the term, was destined never to reach home. Landing a small
party in Saldanha Bay in search of water and provisions, a fracas
occurred with the Kafirs, and in an attempt to revenge themselves
next day (Max'ch i, 15 10), the Portuguese lost sixty-five men, among
whom were eleven captains and their beloved chief.
1510.] SERVICE WITH ALBUQUERQUE. 59
Magellan and his comrades must have reached that
capital almost simultaneously with Albuquerque. How-
ever great a failure Sequeira's expedition had been,
that of the Viceroy to Calicut, whence he was now
returning, had been even greater. Upon the 2nd
January he had arrived off the city with a large
armada. A few days later he left it, himself badly
wounded, seventy-eight of his beSt men killed, and over
three hundred liors de combat, with no advantage, save
the slaughter of a large number of Moors, accruing to
his side. Neither his w^ounds nor his defeat, however,
prevented Albuquerque from busying himself in the exe-
cution of his projects; He at once ordered an armada
to be got ready to proceed against the cities at the
entrance of the Red Sea, and despatched the rest of
the homeward-bound fleet — the first part of which had
already sailed — to Portugal vid Mozambique.
The three vessels of which this second division of the
fleet was composed left Cochim about the middle of
January.^ One ship, commanded by Gomes Freire,
sailing a little before her companions, had a prosperous
i The chronology of this period of Magellan's history is a little
obscure. After the fight at Calicut, Albuquerque is mentioned by
Correa (vol. ii. pt. i. cap. iii. p. 25) as sending Rebello thence to Cananor
on the loth January, and the historian adds, " gouernador esteue no
porto de Calecut dous dias, despachando as cousas como ja disse, e se
partio pera Cochym, " It is probable, therefore, that he arrived at
the latter city about the 14th, But De Goes {3ra parte, cap. iii. fol. 5
V.) tells us that "partio Afonso dalbuquerque de Cochim na fim de
Janeiro "—a not impossible date, since we know that he occupied Goa
February 17th. If Magellan was with the Viceroy in his first descent
upon Goa, as Arana {op. cit., p. 17) states, there is little enough of
intervening time left for the preparation and despatch of the home-
ward fleet, the wreck upon the Padua Bank, the reaching of the
mainland in the boats, the sending of the caravel to succour the
shipwrecked party, and their return to Cananor. Most probably
Magellan was not present at the first occupation of Goa.
60 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. hi.
voyage, reaching Mozambique in safety, but the others
— in one of which Magellan sailed — ran at night upon
a shoal of the Great Padua Bank,^ and remained. The
weather was good, and though the ships filled, they
did not break up, and the captains, Sebastian de Sousa
and Francisco de S4, were able to save not only suffi-
cient provisions, but a good deal of the cargo also. The
crews landed with their belongings upon a small island
which was close at hand, and at daybreak a discussion
took place as to the course to be pursued. It was
resolved to make for the coast of India — distant about
a hundred miles — in the boats, but owing to the want
of room ''there was much contention among them con-
cerning which of them should go first. The captains,
fidalgos, and persons of position desired so to do, but
the sailors said that they should not unless they went
also. "2 In this state of affairs Magellan came to the
rescue, promising, with the ready coolness which, as we
learn later, was so characteristic of him, that he would
remain with the crews if they would swear to him that
assistance should be sent immediately on the arrival of
the boats in India. This was done, and the boats de-
parted, reaching Cananor in eight days. Sebastian de
Sousa kept his word, and sent Antonio Pacheco to their
1 The Padua Bank or Pedro Reef has now twenty-one fathoms as its
minimum depth of water, and it would naturally be concluded that the
ships went ashore at some other place in the Lakadivhs ; more espe-
cially from the fact that, according to one writer, the crew landed on
an isknd or rock close at hand. But it appears that the banks off
this part of the coast are gradually sinking. On the Elicapeni Bank,
in lat. 11° 12' N., long. 73° 58' E., there is now from 8-15 fathoms,
while in 1835 Captain Byrom foiiiid only 3^-9 fathoms. Such a rapid
alteration renders it quite possible for the wreck to have occurred on
the " Bassas de Pedro."
- Ilerrera, Dec. ii. lib. ii. cap. xix.
1510.] SERVICE WITH ALBUQUERQUE. 61
relief in a caravel without loss of time. Crew and
cargo were safely got on board, and eventually the coast
was reached with little more loss than that of the two
vessels.
From Barros we learn one possible reason for Magel-
lan's action on this occasion — that there was a friend
whom, " since he was a person of no great importance,"
the captain was about to leave behind. We are not told
his name, but there is little doubt that it was Francisco
Serrao, and that it w^as his loyalty to him as a friend
that prevented Magellan from considering his own
safety.^ Whatever may have been the case, however,
the deed was that of a cool, unselfish man, and it is
recognised as such even by historians so adverse to him
as Barros and Castanheda.^
At the moment of the rescue of Magellan and his
comrades, Albuquerque was bound northwards with an
armada of twenty-three ships for Ormuz, touching at
Cananor and other neighbouring ports on his voyage.
Whether the shipwrecked crews were incorporated with
1 This incident is related by Herrera (Dec. ii. ]ib. ii. cap. xix.),
Barros (Dec. iii. lib. iv. cap. i. ), Castanheda (lib. iii. cap. v. ), and
Damiao de Goes (2da parte, cap. xliii. fol. 73), but the latter does
not mention Magellan. Correa (vol. ii, pt. -i. cap. iv. p. 27) gives an
account which differs in many particulars from that of the other
historians, stating (a far from probable occurrence) that the crew-
remained in the vessels, which they shored up by means of the yards ;
that all this was arranged and ordered by Magellan ; and that Gon-
zalo de Crasto— not Pacheco- returned with the caravel. See also
Lord Stanley's Magellan. Hakluyt Soc, p. xvii.
2 It is worthy of remark that, in Herrera's laudatory comments
upon Magellan's action on this occasion, we learn one of the few
facts concerning his personal aspect to which history has treated
us : — "Albeit his appearance was not greatly in his favour, since he
was of small stature" (aunque no le ayudaua mucho la persona, por-
que era de cuerpo pequeno").
62 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. hi.
this fleet or not is uncertain, but it is by no means im-
possible that such was the case.^ The Viceroy altered
his plans en route., and leaving the siege of Ormuz for a
future occasion, made a descent upon Goa, which yielded
to him on the 17th February, 15 10, almost without strik-
ing a blow. He was not at that time, however, in a
position to hold the city against a large force, and three
months later — May 30th — was compelled to evacuate it.
It was only for a time. During his short tenure of the
place Albuquerque had realised its importance, and the
next occasion on which Magellan appears upon the scene
is at a council held by the Viceroy on the loth October,
15 10, upon questions connected with a second siege he
had then resolved on.^
The council was held at Cochim, and was composed of
'' all the captains of the King," to which rank it may be
concluded that Magellan had by this time attained. The
question for decision was whether the merchant ships —
then loading in Cochim — should assist at the intended
siege of Goa or not. Magellan, called upon to speak,
gave a very decided opinion on the subject, saying that
they " ought not to take the ships of burden to Goa,
inasmuch as, if they went thither, they could not pass
this year to Portugal, . . . and that there would not
remain time for them to lay otit their money, nor to do
anything of what was necessary for the voj^age." Albu-
querque was of a different opinion, and said that " he
1 Correa sa3's that they returned to Cochim, while Castanheda
implies that they went to Cananor. Barros, however, distinctly states
that Pacheco returned with the rescued crew to Goa, and that they
there found Alfonso d'Albuquerque.
2 The document recording this council is preserved in the Torre do
Tombo at Lisbon {Corp. Chron., pt. 2a, ma^. 23, doc. 190), and a trans-
lation appears in Loi-d Stanley's Magellan, p. xxi.
Affonso d' Albuquerque.
1510.] SERVICE WITH ALBUQUERQUE. 63
would sail with as many ships and men as he could get
together, and would go and take Goa, as he trusted in
our Saviour's Passion that He would aid him; " but he
added that he would not take any one away with him
against his will. The captains, Correa tells us, paid little
attention to this, being occupied with the profits result-
ing from the sale and embarkation of the goods which
they had to convey to Portugal.^
Magellan, we know, did not belong either actually or
in spirit to such men as these, and although we do not
find him mentioned by name in Correa's list of the
'^valentes caualleiros" who accompanied Albuquerque in
this expedition, he may well have come under the head
of the " outros caualleiros honrados " who were present.
The Viceroy arrived off Goa on the 24th November.
The fleet consisted of thirty-four sail, which carried
fifteen hundred Portuguese troops and three hundred
Malabaris. On the following day the assault took place
— a splendidly fought action, which resulted in the fall
of the city and its occupation for the second time by
Albuquerque. Under his administration order and pro-
sperity were rapidly restored. Money was coined ; the
ambassadors of the kings of Narsinga and Cambay
arrived to establish relations with the Viceroy; the
native women, embracing the Christian religion, became
1 Lord Stanley, op. cit., p. xxiv., suggests that the adverse opinion
given by Magellan on this occasion was the cause of the subsequent
coldness and ill-will of his sovereign, and hence also of the great navi-
gator's desertion of his country for Spain ; but this is hardly probable.
None of the contemporaneous historians make any adverse comment
upon the subject. An incident so trivial, unaccompanied by quarrel
of any kind, would have passed almost unnoticed in such stirring
times. The explanation of the~ King's attitude is more probably to be
found a few years later in Magellan's return from Africa without
leave.
64 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. hi.
the wives of the conquerors, and trade was once more
resumed.
Affairs once satisfactorily settled in Goa, Albuquerque,
who in energy and ambition was no whit inferior to
Almeida, determined on fitting out an armada " a buscar
hos Rumes." Not only were the ships of the Caliph —
the bitter enemy of Lusitanian influence in the East — to
be sought for and destroyed, but a fort was to be built at
Aden, and another upon the Kamaran Islands in the
Red Sea. The fleet left Goa at the end of March, 15 1 1,
but in doubling the Padua reefs they encountered such
continued bad weather that they were forced to return,
and it was ultimately settled that they should proceed to
Malacca instead. In August, therefore — just two years
subsequent to the sailing of Sequeira's expedition — an
armada of nineteen vessels left Cochim for that city, bent
on taking a full though tardy revenge for the treacherous
slaughter of Serrao's comrades. During their voyage
they captured no less than five ships from Cambay, and
having lost the galley of Simon Martins in a storm, they
touched, as before, at Pedir in Atjeh, and confirmed
their treaties with the king. At Pa9em (Passir) they
were again well received. Farther south they encoun-
tered two junks and a caravel, all of which they cap-
tured. Unwittingly they had begun their revenge, for
upon the latter sliip, after she had struck, they found
the body of Nahodabeguea, the organiser of the plot
against Sequeira.^
1 Dc Goes relates a fable concerning this occurrence, embodying a
belief which is not uncommon in many parts of the world. They find
the body hacked to pieces, but no blood flows. On his wrist is a
bracelet in which is set the " bone of a species of large cattle-^ound
in Siam, called 'Cabis.' " On pulling this off, the blood gushes out,
and Nahodabeguea dies instantly.
1511.] SEEVICE WITH ALBUQUERQUE. 65
On the ist July, 15 ii, the fleet arrived off Malacca. 1
It was not until six weeks later that the city fell.
Although unprovided with fortifications, the number of
cannon it mounted and of fighting men by whom it was
garrisoned made its reduction no easy matter. In the
history of Portuguese India the taking of Malacca by
Albuquerque is perhaps the most striking event, not
less from its political import than from the difficulty of
the task and the richness of the booty. ^ Upon the pro-
ptiWAMai) tKnyHjs
MALACCA (from Correa).
tracted struggle which ended so fortunately for the
Viceroy's forces it is unnecessary to dwell. Even at this
period Magellan had not yet fought himself into the
first half-dozen or so of distinguished captains whose
names and individual deeds were thought worthy of
mention by the chroniclers of that date. For the present,
he remained for the most part hidden in the obscurity
1 Correa states that the fleet arrived in mid-June (vol. ii. pt. i.
p. 219).
2 " Se tomou despojo de grao valor, o mor que nunqua se tomou
n'estas partes, nem outro tal tomara." — Correa, Lendas da India,
vol. ii. pt.'i. p. 248. See also Comentarios do grande Afonso d' Albu-
querque, cap. xxviii.
E
66 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. hi.
of the " outros caualleiros valentes " whose presence in
the engagements is only rarely otherwise recorded. One
writer/ however, speaks of him as " giving a very good
account of himself " on this occasion. It is only what
might have been expected from him, or indeed from any
one of the courageous band who effected the downfall
of the most important city of the East. Against the
twenty thousand fighting men, with three thousand pieces
of artillery, whose workmanship, as we learn from the
Commentaries of Albuquerque, could not be excelled
even in Portugal, the Viceroy could bring a bare eight
hundred Portuguese and six hundred Malabar archers.
They had indeed need to give a good account of them-
selves, and for a protracted period the issue hung in the
balance. " Assuredly," says Castanheda, '' from the time
we began the conquest of India until now was no affair
undertaken so arduous as this battle, . . . nor one in
which so much artillery was employed, or in which so
many were engaged in the defence."
The fall of Malacca was of greater political importance
than that of Goa. Not only was the city the key to the
Eastern gate of the Indian Ocean — the gate through
which the whole commerce of the Moluccas, the Philip-
pines, Japan, and *' far Cathay " passed on its road to
the Mediterranean — but it was at the same time one
of the largest marts in Asia. In its harbour rode the
ships of countless nations and peoples, from " Cipangu "
to Timor. It is little surprising, therefore, that the
news of Albuquerque's success spread far and wide
throughout the Eastern world, and that the sovereigns
of the neighbouring countries were anxious to solicit his
1 Herrera, op. cit., Dec. ii. liv. ii. cap. xix. p. 66: " Dando cle si
niuy buenas rauestras."
1511.] SERVICE WITH ALBUQUEEQUE. Q1
protection. The alliances concluded with them tempted
— if not to fresh conquests — at least to further explo-
rations. The Spice Islands — an Eldorado even more
glittering than the New World — had by this time
passed from the cloud of uncertainty that hung around
them, to become a reality almost within grasp. The
Viceroy and his comrades had doubtless talked over
their riches a hundred times, had met their ships and
men, and had made themselves acquainted with such
details as were possible of their navigation. But it
must have been from Luigi Yarthema, the Italian — the
first European who had ever sailed into these waters
— the traveller who had seen with his own eyes the
hitherto unknown wonders of the Moluccas — that they
derived their most trustworthy information. His
accounts of '* Maluch " and its cloves ; of Banda — the
" isola molto brutta & trista " — and its nutmegs, must
have been fresh in their memories. Little wonder,
then, that we find Albuquerque fitting out and despatch-
ing an expedition to these long-sought-for lands without
a moment's delay. The streets of Malacca were hardly
cleared of the debris of the assault, the conquerors hardly
rested from their labours, ere Antonio d'Abreu weighed
anchor with his three galleons, and sailed in quest of
the unknown islands whose perfumed products were
even more coveted than the gold of America.
The captains of the other ships were Francisco Serrao
and — according to Argensola — Ferdinand Magellan.^
The Portuguese forces had been so weakened by battle
and disease that it was impossible further to reduce
^ According to De Goes and Correa, the third vessel was commanded
by Simao Afonso Bisagudo [Chronica de D. Manoel, sra parte, cap.
XXV. fol, 51).
68 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. iit.
them to any considerable extent, and barely a hundred
European soldiers sailed. The ships, however, bore
numerous Malabaris and other mercenaries upon their
roll, in addition to their ordinary complement of sea-
men. Leaving Malacca at the end of December, 1511,^
the fleet followed a southern track, skirting the north
coast of Java. ^ They passed between that island and
Madura, and holding an easterly course, left Celebes on
their port-hand and entered the Banda Sea. The in-
structions given by Albuquerque were most explicit.
No prizes were to be taken, no vessel was to be chased
or boarded, and at every port the greatest respect was to
be shown for the authorities and customs of the country.
Further to secure their good reception, a junk preceded
them, having on board a certain Nakoda Ismael, well
versed in the navigation of these seas and in the com-
merce of their islands. Passing to the north of the
1 "Em nonembro d'este ano de 1511 " {Correa, vol. ii. pt, i. p. 265),
perhaps a more probable date, as Albuquerque left Malacca for India
December i.
2 With regard to this first voyage of the Portuguese to the Moluccas
the greatest discrepancies exist, in spite of the diffuseness of its narra-
tion by some of the contemporaneous historians, and the extreme im-
portance of the enterprise. The question is whether Magellan really
did sail with D'Abreu upon this occasion or not. Barros does not
mention his presence, nor does the almost equally prolix Castanheda,
and Correa, De Goes, and Galvao are also silent upon the subject.
Again, from a document found in the Lisbon archives, it is known
that Magellan was in that city in June, 1512. If the expedition left
Malacca for the Spice Islands in December, 1511, or even in the middle
of November, a very limited space of time is left for the completion
of its work and the return of Magellan to Portugal. On the other
hand, Argensola tells us very plainly that Magellan went as captain of
the third ship, and a few pages farther on says, " Auiendo Magallanes
passado seyscientas leguas adelante hazia Malaca, se hallaua en unas
islas desde donde se correspondia c6 Serrano " {op. cit., lib. i. p. 15).
Oviedo also, referring to Magellan, calls him " diestro en las cosas de
1512.] SERVICE WITH ALBUQUERQUE. 69
volcanic islet of Gunong A pi, they touched at Bouru,
and finally reached Amboina in safety.
The distance between Amboina and Banda is such as,
with a fair wind, might be easily accomplished in one
day, even by the clumsily -built galleons of that period.
Abreu chose, therefore, to visit this group, the home of
the nutmeg, before proceeding northward to Ternate.
Serrao's command — a Cambay ship taken at the siege
of Goa — had, however, become so unseaworthy that it
was found necessary to abandon her. Officers and crew
were taken on board the Santa Gatalina to Banda, where
a junk was purchased to take her place. So abundant
was the supply of spice in that port, that they were able
fully to lade their ships, and Antonio d 'Abreu resolved
to return to Malacca without visiting Ternate, not only
because he was unable to take more cargo, but also on
account of the weather. ^ On the return voyage Serrao
la mar, y que por vista de ojos tenia niucha noticia de la India oriental,
y de las Islas del Maluco y Espe^ieria " (Oviedo y Valdes, Hist.
General de las Indias, lib. xx. cap. i.). A still stronger argument,
perhaps, exists in Magellan's own letter to Charles V. in September
1519 (Leg. I of Molucca documents, Seville archives ; Navarrete, vol.
iv. p. 188), in which he speaks authoritatively of the geographical
position of the different islands of the Moluccas.
These arguments in their turn are open to objection. Argensola is
the least accurate of all the historians, and an obvious anachronism
occurs in the same sentence with the passage quoted. Magellan's
knowledge of the Moluccas, too, may very well have been obtained
through his friend Francisco SerrSo, who at that time had been resi-
dent in Ternate for nearly eight years. The question, having regard
to probabilities, must be answered in the negative, but it is of great
interest. For, if Magellan did reach Banda, it may be justly claimed
for him that at the period of his death in the PhiHppines he had in his
own person completed the circumnavigation of the globe — an honour
that is in general assigned to his successor, Sebastian del Cano.
1 "For culpa dos tempos Ihe ter^are mal," says Castanheda. Per-
haps the strongest argument against Magellan having sailed on this
expedition with d' Abreu is afforded us by a consideration of the
70 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. hi.
was destined again to meet with misfortune, or at least
with what appeared at the time to be such. Getting
separated from the rest of the fleet in heavy weather,
his vessel struck on the reefs of the Schildpad Islands,^
and became a total wreck.
Of Serrao's future history, romantic and interesting
as it is, it is impossible here to give a detailed account,
though, from its connection with that of his friend
Magellan, a glance at it is perhaps necessary. Thrown
upon a deserted island, famous as the resort of pirates
and wreckers who reaped the harvest of its formidable
reefs, they feared that " if they met not their death
from thirst and hunger, they might expect it from these
corsairs." The very thing they most dreaded proved
their salvation, and Serrao extricated himself from his
dangerous position by a ruse as clever as it was laugh-
able. Some pirates, having sighted the wreck, landed
to hunt down the survivors. Serrao, meanwhile, had
hidden his men close to the beach, and waiting until
the new-comers had disembarked, quietly emerged from
his place of concealment and took possession of their ship.
His antagonists, with the prospect of being left without
food or water, begged for mercy, which w^as granted
upon condition that they should repair the wrecked
junk. All reached Amboina in safety, and were well
treated by the natives. The kings of Ternate and Tidor
prevailing winds of those seas. Even had the fleet sailed in November,
and reached Amboina in a fortnight, it is extremely unlikely that an
attempt would have been made to beat back against the west monsoon.
The east monsoon is fairly established in July, and it may be said,
with a confidence approaching certainty, that such of the fleet as
returned to Malacca arranged their departure so that they might take
advantage of it.
1 The Schildpad Islands He in lat. 5° 30' S., long. 127° 40' E., and
about 140 miles W.S.W. of the Banda group.
1512.] SEKVICE WITH ALBUQUERQUE. 71
were at that time engaged in a disi^ute about their
boundaries, and not unwilling to obtain an aid of which
both were wise enough to perceive the advantages, made
overtures to the powerful foreigners, whose fame had by
this time spread to the farthest boundaries of Malaysia.
Serrao cast in his lot with that of the ruler of Ternate,
and for the remainder of his life established himself in
the Moluccas. From Ternate he wrote many letters to
his friends, and especially to Magellan, " giving him to
understand that he had discovered yet another new
world, larger and richer than that found by Vasco da
Gama." These letters, joined possibly with a personal
knowledge of those regions, formed, it may safely be
conjectured, no slight inducement to the undertaking
oTthe voyage which ended our hero's life and made his
name im mortal. ^
Whether, then, Magellan did or did not see with his
1 " Das quaes cartas come(jou este FernSo de MagalhSes tomar huns
novos conceitos que Ihe causaram a morte, e metteo este Reyno em
alguin desgosto, como logo veremos" [Barros, Dec. iii. liv. v. cap. vi.).
"Este Francisco Serrao foy o que mandou enformayao de Maluco a
Fernao de Magalhaes, que fez despois trey^ao aa casa real de Portugal,
querendolhe tirar estas ilhas da sua conquista k dalas a coroa de
Castela" [Castanheda, lib. iii. cap. Ixxxvi.). The letters written by
Magellan to Serrao were found among the papers left at the latter's
death. In them he promises "that he will be with him soon, if not by
way of Portugal, by way of Spain, for to that issue his affairs seemed
to be leading" [Navarrete, vol. iv, note v. p. Ixxiv. ; Barros, Dec. iii.
lib. V. cap. viii.). A certain mystery enwraps the prolonged stay of
Serrao in the Moluccas. It is quite possible — nay, almost certain — that
it was contrary to orders, but that on the next visit of the Portuguese
he was a person of such influence that they found it advisable to leave
him alone. This is borne out by a document found by Munoz in the
Seville archives, which says, " Francisco Serrano, grande hombre de
navegacion, y muy amigo de Magallanes ... el qual con temor y
desagrado del Rey de Portugal y de sus gentes huyo de Malaca en un
junco de los que solian ir a comerciar en Maluco" [see Navarrete,
iv. p. 371).
72 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. III.
own eyes this promised land/ one thing at least is cer-
tain, that the two friends never met again. In what
ship or by what fleet he returned to Portugal we do not
know, but that he did return about the period is con-
clusively proved, not only from the fact that the historians
give the length of his Indian service as seven years,^
but from the evidence of certain documents of the Casa
Keal de Portugal, brought to light by the historian
Munoz. It was the custom in those days that all who
belonged to the king's household — the "cria9ao de El
Rey " — should receive a stipend which, though merely
nominal in value, corresponded to their rank.^ This
stipend was known as the moradia. Magellan, borne
on the books as ''moQO fidalgo," received a monthly
pension of a milreis,* and an alqueire of barley daily,
and on the 1 2th June, 1 5 1 2, we find him signing a receipt
in Lisbon acknowledging the fact.^ It is probable that
this receipt was signed not long after his arrival in
1 Upon tlio Molucca expedition see De Goes, yea. parte, caps, xxv.
and xxviii. ; Argensola, lib. i. pp. 6 and 15 ; Barros, Dec. ii. liv. vi.
cap. vii., and Dec. iii. liv. v. cap. vi. ; Castatiheda, bk. iii. caps. Ixxv.
and Ixxxvi. ; Correa, bk. ii. pt. i. pp. 265, 267, and 280 ; GalvSo, DeS'
cohrimentos, Hakluyt Soc, p. 115.
2 Gomara, Hist. General de las Indias, cap. xci.
3 Osorio, De Rebus Emmanuelis, lib. xi. p. 327 (ed. Col. Agrip.
MDLXXVI.), tells us the origin of this stipend, " Olim erat apud
Lusitanos in more positum, ut in Regia, qui Regi serviebant ipsius
Regis sumptibus alerentur. Cim ver6 multitudo domesticorum tanta
fuisset, difficillimum videbatur cibos tantae multitudini prseparare.
Quocirca fuit d, Portugalioe Regibus statutum, ut suniptum, quem
quilibet erat in Regia facturus, ipse sibi ex regia pecunia facerot. Sic
autem factum est, ut cuilibet certa pecunite summa, singulis mensibus
assignarotur.''
4 The milreis or dollar, although at that period of considerably
greater value, is now worth about 4s. 5d, of our English money. Tha
alqueire is as nearly as possible 28 lbs.
5 Bk. vi. of Moradias da Casa Real, fol, 47 v.
1512.] SERVICE WITH ALBUQUERQUE. 73
Portugal, as from a similar document, dated one month
later (July 14, 15 12), we learn of his promotion to the
rank of ''fidalgo escudeiro," which he presumably ob-
tained for his services in the East. The increase in
his pension was, comparatively speaking, considerable
(850 reis), but of far more importance was the improve-
ment in his position at court; for, as we learn from
Osorio, " each person was esteemed the more noble
according to the amount of salary that he received."
Returned once more to his native land, Magellan
remained there for nearly a year. Whether he retired
to his estate at Sabrosa or breathed the more stirring
air of the court at Lisbon, we are not informed. But
to one of his temperament — one who for seven long years
had led a vivid life of adventure by sea and land, a life
of siege and shipwreck, of endless war and wandering —
a country existence must have become impossible. To be
with his fellows, with men who had tasted of the sweets
and bitters of the wider life, to be within reach of news
from India, to watch the preparations for further and
perhaps greater expeditions — this must have been to
him as the breath of his life, and we cannot doubt that
he remained in Lisbon. It is wonderful that he should
have remained so long. That he was not the man to
sink into inaction either of mind or body we may be
quite sure, and we can picture him perfecting himself in
the art of navigation^ or planning fresh explorations
^ Magellan's ability as a trained navigator is constantly referred to
by writers of the period. It is not actually stated that he was a
pupil of Martin Behaim, but he may quite well have been so. That
cosmographer, after completing his globe in 1492, left Nuremberg for
the Azores via Portugal, but returned to the latter country shortly
afterwards. He died in Lisbon in 1506. Between these two dates —
with the exception of a mission to Flanders— he is believed to have
74 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. hi.
or conquests in the vast island- scattered seas through
which — well-nigh spent with hunger and scurvy — he was
afterwards destined to wander for so many weary weeks.
It was to India, doubtless, that Magellan looked as the
scene of his future success — to the Farther India of which
Serrao had written to him, and of which he himself later
said that he would find his way thither, "if not by way
of Portugal, then by way of Spain." It was not, how-
ever, in India that he was next to serve. In the summer
of 1513 difficulties arose with the Moors of Azamor in
Morocco. In the time of. Dom Joao II. a treaty had
been concluded with them. Portuguese subjects resided
in the city, their ships entered the harbour free of dues,
and their goods passed the customs without charge.
The peace remained unbroken until, tired of paying
tribute, Muley Zeyam rebelled. Dora Manoel was not
the monarch to leave an insult long unavenged. An
armada was fitted out in Lisbon such as neither before
nor since weighed anchor from the shores of Portugal.^
Why so large a fleet was despatched is not clear. It
consisted, all told, of more than four hundred ships,
which bore no less than eighteen thousand men-at-arms
in addition to the cavalry and sailors. Th« command
was given by Dom Manoel to his nephew Jayme, Duke
of Braganga. Leaving Belem on the 13th August, 15 13,
the force arrived off Azamor on the 28th. A pretence
of fighting was gone through, but the Moors were wise
enough to realise that they had not sufficient strength
resided partly in Fnyal and partly in Lisbon. Magellan, as we know,
passed these years at the Portuguese capital. That the two never
met is in the highest degree improbable.
1 ^urita, Anales de Ai'agov, lib. x. cap. Ixxix. fol. 374 V. Goes,
op. cit. 3ra parte, cap. xlvi.
1513.] SEKVICE IN MOROCCO. 75
to cope with so formidable an enemy, and the city opened
its gates without further bloodshed.
Among the many distinguished captains who entered
them, we look in vain through the chronicler's list of
names ^ for that of Magellan, although we know, from
his being mentioned in the pages of Barros very shortly
after, that he must have been present. The Duke of
Braganga returned in November to Portugal, and left
Dom Joao de Meneses in command, a general noted for
valour and energy, of whom it was said that " he ceased
not for a moment from making cruel war against the
Moors." 2 The city was scarcely settled ere a series of
^^ entradas^^ or armed reconnaissances was instituted,
which, making their descent where least expected,
greatly harassed the Moors and kept the country in a
perpetual state of terror. In one of these, under the
leadership of Joao Soarez, Magellan was wounded in the
leg by a lance, which appears to have injured some
tendon behind the knee in such a manner that he re-
mained slightly lame for the rest of his life.^
Towards the end of March, 15 14, the Portuguese
received information that the kings of Fez and Mequinez
were preparing a large army for the recapture of Azamor.
On the 12th April the patrols "sent out from that city
gave notice of the approach of the advance-guard, and
Dom Joao de Meneses led his troops at once against
them. Although the Moors were completely routed,
leaving over two thousand of their men upon the field,
1 Faria y Sousa, Africa Portugueza, cap. vii. ; De Goes, op. cit.,
3ra parte, fol. 87.
2 Pedro de Mariz, Dialogos de varia Historia, dial. iv. cap. xviii.
fol. 286 V.
3 " Parece que Ihe tocou em algum nerva da juntura da curva, con
que depois manquejava hum poco. " —Barros, Dec. iii. liv. v. cap. viii.
76 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. in.
the Portuguese also suffered considerable loss, and the
advance of the enemy was unchecked. On Easter Eve
they arrived at the river of Azamor. So great were
their numbers, that seven days were occupied in the
crossing, while behind them " everything was consumed,
laid waste, and destroyed." The very size of the army
was, however, the cause of its ruin. Already au bout de
ses forces, it arrived in the neighbourhood of the city
only to find the wells destroyed and the country devas-
tated. The Portuguese had an easy task. With the
aid of their native allies the invading host was soon put
to flight. The booty was large. Over eight hundred
horses alone were captured and a thousand Moors made
prisoners.
Either on this occasion or very shortly after an inci-
dent occurred which, if we may believe the historians,
was indirectly the cause of the differences between
Magellan and his sovereign. Owing partly to his lameness
and partly to his friendship Math Joao Soarez, our hero
was selected, in company with another captain, Alvaro
Monteiro, as quadrileiro mor in charge of the booty.
Whether he had refused to wink at irregularities, and
had hence become unpopular and open to unfounded
accusations, or whether he was really guilty, it is impos-
sible with certainty to discover ; but the fact remains,
that, together with his comrade, he was accused by
certain people of selling the cattle to the Moors, and per-
mitting them to be carried off at night with his full
knowledge and connivance. It is probable that under
his old commander, Dom Joao de Meneses, he would
have had little difficulty in clearing himself, but the
sudden death of the latter and the succession of Pedro
de Sousa to the command of Azamor placed matters on
1514.] SERVICE IN MOROCCO. 77
a different footing. Magellan, desirous perhaps of per-
sonally explaining the affair, left Africa and returned to
Lisbon.
Dom Joao de Meneses had died on the 15th May, 15 14.
It must have been, therefore, at some date not far
removed from this that Magellan presented himself
before his sovereign. It is probable that he thought
little or nothing of the charge that had been brought
against him and that his conscience was clear, for we
are told that he took the opportunity of preferring his
claims for promotion on account of his long service in
the East, and petitioning for an increase of moradia.
It was perhaps not the wisest of actions. Dom Manoel
was by no means disposed lightly to regard the matter,
the more so from the fact that he had received a letter
from Pedro de Sousa informing him that Magellan h^d
left Africa without his permission. It was in vain that
the supposed culprit tried to justify himself. The King
refused to listen to him, and ordered him at once to
return to Azamor to answer the charges of wl^ioh he
stood accused.
Magellan had no alternative but to go, but on his
arrival the authorities declined to proceed against him.
No greater argument in favour of his innocence could
be adduced, and he returned without loss of time to
Portugal, bearing the documents which, he confidently
expected, would restore him to his sovereign's favour.
Doubtless he looked forward with certainty to the
coveted rise in the moradia — that minute increase
which, paltry though it was in actual value, meant so
much to those who were of the King's household.^
1 The increase of stipend for which Magellan petitioned was a half-
cruzado per month, about equivalent to 13d. of our money. " Subir
78 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. hi.
Foremost in his mind, however, must have been the
hope of a command — of a return to India. He was
doomed to disappointment. " Sempre Ihe ElRey teve
hum entejo" — "the King always loathed him," Barros
tells us.^ His reception was not more gracious than it
had been on the occasion of their last meeting. Dom
Manoel turned a deaf ear to his entreaties, and Magellan,
cruelly hurt at the ingratitude shown him after his years
of honourable service, was left to realise that, so far as
his king and country were concerned, his career was
over.
The lapse of nearly four hundred years renders it diffi-
cult, perhaps, for us to judge between the two, but there
is no doubt that such evidence as we have is in favour
of subject rather than king. Mariz, in his Dialogos de
varia Hidoria^ has treated us to a eulogy of the stereo-
typed kind upon the latter — a florid tribute which has
little genuineness in its tone. If we turn to facts, how-
ever, the story reads differently. Vasco da Gama, to
whom must at least be conceded the honour of discovering
India, whatever may be said with regard to his cruelties,
was left in obscurity by his royal master for eighteen
years, and his services only properly acknowledged on
cinco reales en dinero, es subir muchos grados en calidad," however,
as Faria y Sousa tells us [Asia Portugueza, vol. i, pt. iii. cap. v.).
That the refusal of one king to raise the pay of an old and faithful
servant thirteen shillings per annum led to endless disagreements with
another, to a great loss of profit to the first power of Europe, and to a
still greater loss of glory, is a reflection not devoid of interest. " Que
mysteries de estreitezas fazem os Reys muytas vezes era cousas que
pouco importao, sendo prodigies de prodigalidades em outras ! " re-
marks a Portuguese historian. — Fr. Luiz de Sousa, Annaes de ElRei
Dom JodoIII., lib. i. cap. x. p. 41.
1 Decadas, Dec. iii. liv. v. cap. viii.
2 Pedro de Mariz, op, cit., dial. iv. cap. xix. fol. 305 v. et seq.
1514.] SERVICE IN MOROCCO. 79
the accession of the next monarch, Dom Joao III. Lord
Stanley 1 describes Dom Manoel as " of a most niggardly
disposition, suspicious of his servants, and very jealous
of directing personally all the details of government."
That the former attribute was true there can be no
doubt, and no better instance could be given than that
on the occasion of the great defeat inflicted upon the
Calicut armada, when the Viceroy doubled the pay of
the men who had been wounded in the engagement, the
King " did not approve of his action in this matter." ^
Osorius would have us believe that Magellan's applica-
tion was refused on principle by the King ; ^ but we
gather from Barros and others that while he himself
was denied, he was exposed to the double mortification
of seeing others promoted whose success " was due to
intrigue and patronage rather than to any merit of^heir
own." The bitterness with which he felt the injustice
of his treatment was in no way mitigated by the insinua-
tion that his lameness was feigned in order to support
his claims.
Of Magellan's movements subsequent to this affair we
are unfortunately left for some time without any detailed
account ; but even without the general statement of the
historian Joao de Barros that he " was always busied
with pilots, charts, and the question of longitudes," we
should have had little difficulty in guessing his occupa-
tion. He was unemployed, and was likely always to
remain so, so long as Dom Manoel was on the throne ;
but it is probable that this fact disturbed him very little,
^ Vasco da Gama (Hakl. Soc, 1869), p. xvii.
^ Correa, vol. i. pt. ii. cap. ix. p. 604.
3 ''Rex, ne aditum ambitiosis aperiret, id negavit." — Osorius, De
Bebus Emmanuelis, lib. xi. fol. 327 v.
80 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. hi.
and that he had long decided what action he would
take. It is not by any means certain, indeed, that he
had not an alternative in his mind on the memorable
occasion of his interview with the King — a question to
which we shall have presently to return. Be that as it
may, however, his future action was probably not a little
influenced at this period by his becoming strongly united,
if not by the bonds of friendship, at least by those of
common interests, to a fellow-countryman, Ruy Faleiro.
Of Faleiro's antecedents we know little or nothing.
Of what happened to him after the paths of the two
lives diverged, we know almost less. But for two years
or more their histories were so closely linked together
that it is impossible not to feel an interest in him.
Like Magellan, though not a native of the wild Traz-os-
Montes, he too was from the highlands of Portugal,^
and like him he was in disfavour with his king. Both
had as mistress the science of cosmography. But while
Magellan — the soldier who had served under Dom Lou-
rengo, the sailor who was the first to navigate to Malacca
— was essentially the man of action, Faleiro was of a very
different stamp. Student and dreamer, a lover of books
and theories, he was little fitted for the practical life.
His reputation as an astronomer and cosmographer was
nevertheless undoubted, although his enemies declared
it to be the work of a familiar spirit.^ His knowledge
1 In an ohligacion made by Magellan and Faleiro with Aranda,
dated February 23, 1518, and now in the archives of Siniancas, the
place of residence of Faleiro is given as Cunilla. It should have been
Cubilla, as Navarreto (iv. p. no) has spelt it, which is a mere tran-
script of the Portuguese CovilhS.
2 " Ruy Falero, que mostraua ser gran Astrologo y Cosmographo ;
del qual afirmauan los Portugueses que tenia Vn demonio familiar, y
que de Astrologia no sabia nada." — Hen-era, Dec. ii. lib. ii. cap. xix.
1515.] DENATURALISATION. 81
of the principles of navigation was probably as extensive
as that possessed by anybody at that period; and his
treatise upon the means of calculating longitude was
given to Magellan on his departure, to serve as guide
and text-book throughout the voyage. Each man doubt-
less found in the other much to be admired ; but, while
Magellan benefited greatly from his companion's acquaint-
ance with the sciences, the fact that the latter did not
accompany him upon his memorable voyage is not much
to be regretted. Of uncertain temper, gloomy, and
jealous of Magellan's influence and position, his presence
would have served but to add one more difficulty to the
many with which the indomitable navigator had to
contend.
At what exact period this friendship, or rather ac-
quaintanceship, originated does not appear. It is said by
a contemporary historian ^ that the two men had pre-
viously arranged to denaturalise themselves and offer
their services to Spain, and it is therefore more than
probable that they were known to each other at the time
when Magellan's humiliation at his sovereign's hands
was still fresh in his memory. That that incident did
not consist in the mere refusal of moradia there is every
reason to believe, even had Barros not strongly implied
the contrary. 2 But he tells us that it was shortly after
his interview with the King that Magellan wrote to
Serrao in the Moluccas, to tell him that he would be
with him soon^" if not by Portugal, then by way of
Spain." There can be little or no doubt that for a long
time— perhaps for years, possibly ever since his Malaccan
1 Barros, iii. lib. v. cap. viii. ; vide Navarrete, op. cit. , vol. iv.
p, xxxiii.
2 Decadas, Dec. iii. lib. v. cap. viii. p. 627 (edit. 1777).
F
82 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [ciiAP. in.
experiences had put him in relation with the farthest
East — the project of reaching the Spice Islands by the
western route had been the idee mere of the great navi-
gator's restless brain. That it was this project that he
laid before Dom Manoel is almost certain. Whether,
like Columbus, he was laughed at as a visionary and a
f ool,i we do not know. All we know is, that his plans met
with a cold refusal. At seven-and-thirty, a born leader
of men, of varied Eastern experience, a master of the
art of navigation, his mind filled with an all-absorbing
project, Magellan found himself condemned to a life of
obscurity and inaction. The former might perhaps have
been possible to him — inaction was not. Still more in-
tolerable must have been the thought that, with his hands
thus fettered, another might come and grasp the prize
which he was now the only one to see. Already Chris-
tovao Jacques had led his ships far south along the coast
of Patagonia, and Yasco Nunez de Balboa had seen the
vast Pacific lying at his feet from the summit of the
Darien sierra. To a man of Magellan's character and
training but one course lay open, and that course he
took. Bidding adieu for ever to Portugal, he publicly
denaturalised himself, and passing into Spain, entered
the service of the Emperor Charles Y.^
This action of Magellan drew down a perfect storm of
abuse and invective, not only from Portuguese writers
1 ** Teniendo a Colon por ytaliano burlador." — Garibay, Comp. Hist,
de las Chron.
2 From Correa we learn something of the final severance-of rela-
tions between Magellan and his sovereign. The former "demanded
permission to go and live with some one who would reward his ser-
vices. . . . The King said he might do what he pleased. Upon this
Magellan desired to kiss his hand at parting, but the King would not
offer it to him." — ii. Anno de 1521, cap. xiv.
1516.] DENATURALISATION. 83
of that date, but from others to whom a more enlight-
ened age and absence of the odium patrium should have
taught broader views and a calmer judgment. With
these violent outpourings whole pages might be filled.
We have seen something of them in the will of Francisco
da Silva Telles,i and Osorius is perhaps even more
unmeasured in his language.^ Andre Thevet, borrowing
from the latter, reviles the offender as one who " imagina
en son esprit vn tel mes-contentement qu'oubliant toute
foy, piete, et religion il ne cessa iusques a ce que (entant
qu'en luy estoit) il eut trahy le Roy, qui I'avoit esleue,
le pays de sa naissance, et hazardant sa vie a de merueil-
leux dangers, eut mis I'estat en extreme danger." ^ But
all these are put into the shade by a later writer of
Portuguese history. " The two monsters Magellan and
Faleiro," he says, " traitors to the King whom it was
their duty to serve, barbarians towards the country for
which it was their duty to die, conspired to bring about
a fatal war between two neighbouring and friendly
powers."^ Manoel Faria y Sousa, and later Barbosa,
^ Vide p. 23.
2 "Abiura fidem quantum voles; perfidiam tuam publicis literis
contestare ; insignem memoriam sceleris infandi posteritati relinque ;
nullis tamen testimoniis numinis offensionem et dedecoris sempiterni
nmculam vitare poteris." — Osorius, op. cit., lib. xi. fol. 328.
3 Thevet, Les Vrais Povrtraits et Vies des Hommes lUustres, p. 528.
4 D. Antonio de Lemos Faria e Castro, Historia Geral de Portugal,
liv. xli. cap. vii. torn. xi. p. 193. The continuation of this passage is
still stronger, and possesses also the merit of being amusing. "Agora
porem, nas primeiras conferencias, os dous Portugueses — trahidores
pelas suas dimensoes geographicas e astronomicas respectivas h,s Indias
Orientaes e Occidentaes, a que o odio e a paixao langava as linhas e
formava os triangulos e angulos que (as leis da Historia me darao
licen^a para dizer) tinhao mais de agudos que de rectos — elles persua-
dirao ao Rei Carlos e ao Cardeal Ximenes que as Molucas pertenciao
k Castella."
84 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. hi.
are among the few who refused to join in this cuckoo-
cry of traitor. " The renderer of many a service to his
country," says the latter, " the owner of a name whose
glory he had made imperishable, he returned to Portugal,
where he besought from the King some increase in his
moradia. . . . The King, to the lasting injury of his
country, refused this most just request, and Magellan,
deeply hurt at his refusal, left a country so unworthy of
such a well-deserving son." ^
It is hardly necessary at the present day to offer an
apology for Magellan's act of denaturalisation, although,
were it so, the elaborate arguments of Lord Stanley of
Alderley ^ should prove more than sufficient. A great
discoverer, whether in the realms of science or cosmo-
graphy, belongs to no country, and, moreover, has no
right to permit any false ideas of patriotism to check
the advance of knowledge. That they were false ideas,
and that Magellan in no way injured Portugal, is evident.
By the Tordesillas capitulation of 1494 the world had
been divided into two halves, of which Spain was to have
one, and Portugal the other. The western line of divi-
sion had been agreed upon, but where the eastern fell
geographical knowledge was not then sufficiently far
advanced to discover. Upon which side of it the Moluccas
were situated was unknown. But his countrymen appear
to have forgotten that no action of Magellan could affect
the question. Either the islands belonged to Spain or they
did not, and the great explorer, with all his geographical
knowledge, was unable to shift their longitude one hair's-
breadth. Nor, even with the most critical eye, can we
discover any ground for the anger of the historians save
1 Barbosa, Bibliotheca Lusitana, vol. ii. p. 31.
2 First Voijage Round the World by Magellan (Hakl. Soc), p. ii.
1516.] DENATUKALISATION. 85
the extreme jealousy then existing between the two
nations. The custom of denaturalisation was fully re-
cognised ; it was not regarded as blameworthy, and it
w;as at that period a common occurrence. Among naviga-
tors especially the taking service under a foreign power
was almost as much a rule as an exception. Colum-
bus, Cabot, and Yespucci are only three of many in-
stances. But even with this, Magellan was careful not
to offend in the slightest degree against the country
which, after his long services, had treated him so cava-
lierly. ''Before consulting his own interests," says
Faria, " he first did everything that honour demanded of
him." 1 By a clause in his agreement with the Emperor
of Spain he pledged himself to make no discoveries within
the boundaries of the King of Portugal, and to do no-
thing prejudicial to his interests. He did not sail upon
his great voyage until two years after he had signed the
act of denaturalisation. Finally, it should be remem-
bered that there was a sort of tacit understanding that
the Spanish were to prosecute their discoveries to the
west and the Portuguese to the east.^ Magellan's long-
planned expedition was to lead him into occidental
waters, and it is probable that this fact was not without
its effect upon his action. ''Yet this," says Faria, "is
the man whose honour has been so fiercely assailed by
the great writers."^
1 Manoel Faria y Sousa, Comentarios a la Lusiada de Camoes, canto
X. 140.
2 "Hinc factum est, ut Castellani per meridiem in occidentem
semper nauigauerint. . . . Portugallenses uero per meridionem et
littora Hesperidum, et aequatorem, et tropicum Capricorni prteter-
euntes in Orientem nauigauerunt. " — Munster, Cosmographia Univers.,
p. 1 103.
3 Europa Portuguesa, vol. ii. pte. iv. cap. i.
86 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. iit.
But whether Magellan was justified in his action, or
whether he was not, matters little as far as regards the
result. The fact remains, that, for the second time, Por-
tugal threw away the chance that fate had offered her.
Hardly a quarter of a century before, King John II.
had ridiculed the ideas of Columbus, and regarded him
as a boasting adventurer. Now Magellan learnt from
Jiis successor that "he might do as he pleased." The
discovery of the Kew World and the circumnavigation
of the globe are the two greatest deeds of geographical
history, but Portugal, who had both within her grasp,
cannot claim the credit of either of them.
CHAPTER lY.
MAGELLAN'S PROJECT AND ITS ADOPTION BY
CHARLES V.
It was for Seville, the centre of the West Indian trade
and the busiest city of Spain, that Magellan set out
upon leaving Portugal, taking with him other navigators
" suffering from a like disorder " ^ — the neglect or enmity
of their king. Faleiro, as we have seen, came under
this head, but he was unable to travel with his friend.
On the 2oth October, 1517, Magellan arrived at his des-
tination. He found himself immediately among com-
patriots and men whose interests were of the same nature
as his own. Foremost among them was one Diogo^Bar-
bosa, also a Portuguese, a commendador of the Order
of Santiago, alcaide of the arsenal, and a person of con-
siderable importance in Seville. At his hands Magellan
received the greatest kindness and assistance. From
his personal knowledge of the" East this help was of
double value. Nor did he limit it to advice and counsel.
He persuaded Magellan to be his guest, and it appears
that the latter resided at his house until his departure,
three months later, for the Spanish court at Yalladolid.
Diogo Barbosa, although he had held his post under
the Spanish flag for nearly fourteen years, '^^ and had
1 " Levando alguns pilotos tambem doentes desta sua enfermidade."
— Burros, Dec. iii. lib. v. cap. viii.
2 We learn from an auto fiscal of the 3rd June, 1529, executed
87
88 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. iv.
"served much and well in Granada and Navarre," had
also drawn his sword for Dom Manoel and Portugal in
the far East. In 1501 he captained a ship of the fleet
of Joao da Nova, and sailed for India. 1 Although this
armada returned almost immediately, the voyage was
conspicuous for the discovery of the two islands, Ascen-
sion and St. Helena. 2 His son, Duarte Barbosa, was
even more distinguished. At what exact period he
had sailed from, and in what fleet he returned to his
native land is unknown, but he had navigated the Indian
seas for years, making notes of all he saw and heard.
These notes — Livro de Duarte Barbosa — a descrip-
tion of all the ports then visited in the Indian Ocean,
and even beyond — he finished in the year 1 5 1 6, a few
months before Ferdinand Magellan came to live beneath
his father's roof.^ Father and son were sailor-ad ven -
by a son, Jaime Barbosa, and now in the Archive das Indias (1-2-3/3),
that Diogo was made "Alcaide en los Alcazares" in 1503, and con-
tinued to hold that post until his death in 1525. Vide Medina, Coleccion
de Documentos ineditos para la Historia de Chile, 1888, vol. ,ii. p.
308.
1 According to Correa, he was only an escrivdo or clerk, and was
borne on the flag-ship. Vol. i. p. 235.
2 The former was discovered on the outward voyage, the latter on
their return home in 1502.
3 This work of Duarte Barbosa was first published, in an abbreviated
form, by Ramusio in his Navigationi et Viaggi. In 1813 the full text
was given in the Collec^do de Noticias para a Historia e Gengraphica
das Na(^oes Ultramarinas, published by the Acad. Real das Sciencias,
vol. ii. No. vii. Some time ago a MS. was discovered in Madrid with
the following title : — "Descripcion de los reinos, costas, puertos e islas
que hay en el mar de la India Oi-iental desde el Capo de Buena Espe-
ranza hasta la China, de los usos y costumbres de sus naturales ; su
gobierno, religion, comercio, y navegacion ; y do los frutos y efectos
que producen aquellas vastas regiones, con otras noticias muy curiosas ;
compuesto por Fernando Magallanes, piloto portugues que lo vio y
anduvo todo ; " but it has been conclusively proved by Varnhagon
and others to be only a copy of Barbosa's work.
1517.] MAGELLAN'S PROJECT. 89
turers born and bred, and even if no family connection
existed between them and Magellan,^ the bond uniting
them must have been of no ordinary strength. It was,
moreover, of no disadvantage to the new-comers that the
Alcaide-mor or chief of the arsenal was also a Portu-
guese, and a person of great distinction — Don Alvaro of
Portugal. A brother of the celebrated Duke of Bra-
gan^a, who was executed by Joao II., he was only one
of many such refugees ; and, all things considered,
Magellan could scarcely have met with kinder or more
influential protectors than those who welcomed him on
his arrival in the country of his adoption.
Close as was the friendship between host and guest,
the two were destined before very long to be still more
nearly connected. The life of Magellan had been, and
was yet to be, one of the most vivid interest. Full of
vigour and incident, kaleidoscopic in its change of scene,
never resting, it ended in a grand success and a great
disaster. Romantic in many ways it doubtless was, but
of romance in the present acceptation of the word little
or none has been handed down by the historians to
interest or amuse us. In the drama of life Magellan
was not one to be cast for the part of lover, although we
feel that his character, from its vigour and undaunted
tenacity of purpose, must have strongly appealed to
women's admiration. Such a role, however, it fell to
his lot at this period to play. He made the part as
short as possible. Before the year 15 17 had elapsed,
within two months of his arrival in Seville, he married
1 Such a connection, apart from that of his marriage, is suggested
by De Barros Arana (trad, de F. de M. Villas-Boas, p. 26), though
upon what grounds is not stated, Herrera (Dec. iii. lib. i. cap. ix.)
speaks of Duarte Barbosa as primo or cousin of Magellan, but the
term was sometimes used merely in the sense of relation.
90 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [CHAP. IV.
Beatriz Barbosa, the daughter of his friend and
host.i
We may finish the history of Magellan's married life
here, so short is it, and so limited our information anent
it. A year and a half later he sailed on the voyage from
which he was destined never to return. A son, Rodrigo,
had meantime been born to him, who, at the time of his
departure, was about six months old. Neither mother
nor child were fated to live much longer than the father.
In September 152 1, five months after the death of the
latter in the Philippines, Rodrigo died. In March of
the following year — " having lived in great sorrow from
the news which she had received of the death of her
husband " — Beatriz died also.^ Around the story we are
left to throw what halo of romance we please, but it
1 Although the date of Magellan's marriage is given as 15 18, there
is little doubt that it is incorrect. In his will of August 24, 15 19,
he speaks of his son being at that time six months old. This would
fix the date of the marriage at some time previous to May 1518. But
we know that from January 20th until August of that year Magellan
was with the court at Valladolid and elsewhere. The probability is, ,
therefore, that Beatriz was married in order to accompany her hus-
band thither. This is made nearly certain by the evidence of her
brother, Jaime Barbosa, on the 3rd June, 1520, "y se caso y velo con
la dicha dona Beatriz Barbosa en esta ciudad de Sevilla en un dia del
dicho ano" (1517). Vide Autos Fiacalcs de Jaime Barbosa, q. cit. ;
Archivo de Indias, Medina, op. cit, vol. ii. pp. 306-307. Gomara falls
into the mistake of making Beatriz a daughter of "Duardo" Bar-
bosa (cap. xci. p. 83). For an attempt at the genealogy of the Bar-
bosa family see Appendix I., p. 315.
2 "Porque (yo, Guioraar de Silvera) la vido viva 6 con mucha pena
por la nueva que le habia venido de la muerte del dicho su marido."
This, the evidence of a witness in support of Jaime Barbosa's claim to
Magellan's estate (ride Medina, op. cit. vol. ii. p. 322), is extremely
interesting, as showing that the news of the arrival of the Victoria
and Trinidad in the Moluccas must in some manner have reached
home vid the Portuguese Indies before March 1522. The Victoria
did not arrive in Spain until September 6th of that year.
1517.] MAGELLAN'S PROJECT. 91
seems more than probable that the loss of her husband,
child, and brother within so short a period may have
had some connection with her own untimely death.
Magellan's courtship, it is to be presumed, had little
or no effect upon his plans. These had been carefully
pre-arranged, and he lost no time in furthering them to
the best of his ability. His agreement with Faleiro
before leaving Portugal had been most explicit. Both
were to be equal ; to stand on precisely the same footing.
If anything should occur to either touching the project
they had in hand, he was bound to communicate with
his comrade within six hours, and if either desired to
renounce the arrangement and return to Portugal, he
could do so on fulfilling the same conditions. Their
project — the attempt to reach the Moluccas by way of
America — was to be revealed to no third party until the
arrival of Faleiro at Seville. However much its broad
outline might be surmised, the details and the actual
route were to remain a secret.
We have already considered the gradual development
of the Hispano-Portuguese difficult}^^ The line of divi-
sion fixed by the Bull of Pope Alexander VI. on the 4th
May, 1493, fell, it may be remembered, a hundred leagues
west of the Azores and Cape Yerde Islands. The pro-
tests of Dom Joao II. of Portugal caused it, a year
later, to be placed about 21° further to the west, and
Brazil — as yet undiscovered — fell to his country's share.
As the knowledge of the South American coast-line
gradually progressed, the continent was found to trend
westward until it was once more crossed by the dividing
line, and again became Spanish. It was to this part,
as yet dimly known from the explorations of Gon^alo
1 Vide ante, p. 11.
92 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. iv.
Coelho and Christovao Jacques, and possibly from other
sources, that Magellan and his friend Faleiro proposed
to direct their course. Columbus, as we knov/, con-
sidered his new world only as a portion of the old.
Nor did his later discoveries undeceive him. It was
only when, on the one hand, the work of Gama and
Albuquerque had begnn to give a definite outline to
the Indies, and, on the other, when each western-
sailing navigator found land at whatever latitude he
might choose to cross the Atlantic, that the European
world realised the existence of a new continent, and
realised it as a vast, interminable barrier which stretched
apparently from pole to pole. Then_came the search
for some strait by which to pass it. The inward
trend of the land at the Isthmus of Darien led later
explorers to seek it there. Others, however, had tried
before them. Columbus had attempted, upon leaving
Cuba on his fourth voyage, to navigate westward with
the idea of returning to Spain by sea. Far to the north,
too, efforts had been made, and made in vain, although
Sebastian Cabot wrote to Ramusio that he believed the
whole of North America to be divided up into islands.^
But the isthmus and the north alike proved impene-
trable, and Magellan felt, even at that date, that it was
not through the ice of a north-west passage that he was
likely to reach the Moluccas. His route lay by the far
south. Whether he actually knew of the existence of
the strait that bears his name is a question we shall
have presently to consider. One thing we do know ;
that he went for the special purpose of seeking a passage
from the Atlantic to the already known Mar del Sur, or
1 Ramusio, op. cit., vol. iii. preface, p. 6.
1517.] MAGELLAN'S PKOJECT. 93
South Sea/ and that for the discovery of that passage
he was prepared to push on to 70° S.
Magellan, we have seen, allowed nothing to delay the
execution of his plans. Although bound not to reveal
them in detail by his promise to Faleiro, he was equally
engaged to bring them before the notice of those who
had to do with Indian affairs. He offered, then, firstly
to show Spain the shortest route to the Spice Islands,
and, secondly, to prove that they lay within her legal
boundaries.^ With his introductions he had no difficulty
in gaining access to the authorities. It was to the Casa
de Contratacion that he first applied.
On the history of this body^the India Office of Spain,
and of all corporate bodies the most important at that
time — it is unnecessary here to dwell. It had, among
other rights and duties, the power of granting letters of
1 Vasco Nunez de Balboa — the man who " knew not what it was to
be deterred" ("hombre que no sabia estar parado") — was the first
European to sight the Pacific from the West. Taking with him a
picked band of 190 Spaniards, he sailed from Darien for Carreto.
Leaving some of his men in charge of the ship, he took Indian guides
and started for the Sierras. At Quarequa he was opposed by the
chief Torecha, and in the engagement which followed the latter
perished with 6cx) of his men. Leaving the sick and wounded, Vasco
Nunez continued his march with the sixty-seven soldiers remaining to
him, and reached the summit of the chain on the 25th September,
1513, where he knelt and gave thanks to God and besought help "a
conquistar esta tierra i nueva mar que descubrimos." Descending, the
little band of Spaniards reached the sea at the Gulf of San Miguel,
and it is recorded that Alonso Martin de San Benito was the first
European to adventure himself upon its surface, (Peter Martyr,
De Orbe Novo, Dec. iii. cap. i. p. 182; Gomara, op. cit., cap. Ixii. ;
Herrera, op. cit., Dec. i. lib. x. cap. i.) Balboa's reasons for calling it
the South Sea are very evident if the sharp westward turn of the
isthmus be taken into consideration. The Pacific must have appeared
as a vast ocean lying directly to the south.
2 Fr. Luiz de Sousa, Annaes de ElRei Dom Jodo III., bk. i. cap.
X. p. 41.
94 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. iv.
marque, of giving instruction in navigation, of collecting
information upon newly-discovered lands, and of settling
all legal diflficulties that might arise in connection with
these and kindred matters.^ Whether the Casa was at
that time too much taken up with other affairs — for it
was just then the most eventful period of the history of
the New World — whether it really considered Magellan's
project as that of a visionary and a faddist, or whether
it felt it unwise to adventure upon thin ice and court
misunderstandings with the sister kingdom, we do not
know. The result, however, was that the scheme, if
not actually rejected, was shelved, and but for a chance
circumstance might never have been carried out.
It happened that one of the three chief officials ^ — a
certain Juan de Aranda — was very much more astute
than his fellowsi Possibly he saw his way to a share in
the future glory of the expedition, and, as we shall see,
in its pecuniary benefits; possibly he had no interest
beyond the advancement of his country. It is not
necessary, at this distance of time, to impute motives.
The fact has merely to be recorded that he took the
earliest opportunity of questioning Magellan more
closely. Whether from his adroitness, or from the
latter's feeling that he could be trusted, does not appear,
but it was not long before he had persuaded the navi-
gator to acquaint him with every detail. They were
such as to commend the plan still more strongly to his
favour. But he was cautious. Before taking further
steps he wrote privately to certain friends in Lisbon for
1 For the first ordinances of the Casa de Contratacion (January
20, 1503), vide Navarrete, vol. ii. p. 285, and Hakluyt, Divers Voyages,
Hakl. Soc. , p. 14.
2 These, we learn fi*om the Ordinances, were a tcsorcro, a factor,
and an cscribano.
1517.] MAGELLAN'S PROJECT. 95
information about the two men.^ What he learnt was
in their favour, and from that moment he threw himself
heart and soul into the affair. He wrote instantly to
the Chancellor of Castile, warmly counselling the de-
spatch of an expedition, and recommending Magellan
as " one who might do a great service to his Highness."
Meanwhile, at the beginning of December, Faleiro
arrived in Seville. Aranda had as yet said nothing of
the letters, but he now told the two friends of the steps
he had taken. Magellan was merely vexed at his want
of straightforwardness, but Faleiro was furious, and his
anger was especially directed against Magellan, whom
he upbraided for his *' ligereza " and failure in the fulfil-
ment of his promises. It was in vain that the latter
pleaded that he. had only acted, as he thought, for the
best. Faleiro's temper, as ready to take offence as it
was slow to forgive, caused a rupture between the two,
which, though temporarily healed, was destined to break
out afresh at no very distant date. Magellan's partner-
ship with such a firebrand as Faleiro rendered his
1 " Habia escrito a Cobarrubias mercader e a Diego de Haro mer-
cader que residian en Lisboa." — Archivo de Indias. Vide Medina,
op. cit., vol. i. p. 27. Our only source of information concerning this
period of Magellan's life is this long pi-oces-verbal, in which Aranda
was arraigned for having, while an official of the Casa de Contratacion,
illegally contracted with Faleiro and Magellan to receive a certain
percentage of the profits arising from the expedition. The evidence
of the three parties in the case is given at length, followed by nine
letters from Aranda to the King, bringing forward his services, how he
had spent 1500 ducats over his two proteges, and had succeeded in
preventing their return to Portugal, and finally how he had worked
to get people to join the fleet. At a meeting of the Consejo de las
Indias in Barcelona, June 25, 1519, under the presidency of the Bishop
of Burgos, he was severely censured, and again on the 2nd July by
the King's fiscal, but it seems that the affair was subsequently allowed
to drop. The greater part of the very lengthy evidence tends to
exonerate Aranda from blame.
96 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. iv.
position most difficult, and such it remained almost up
to the moment of the departure of the expedition.
It was perhaps not the best of times to choose for
the initiation of plans such as these. Affairs in Spain
were at this period in a condition which, at best, could
not be regarded as other than uncertain. Charles V.,
who had at last made up his mind to visit his kingdom,
had set out from Flanders, and landed in Yillaviciosa,
on the north coast of Spain, on the 13th September,
15 1 7. Proceeding with the army to Santander, he
marched thence to San Yicente de la Barquera, and by
Burgos and Palencia to Tordesillas, where his unhappy
mother Joanna — for years hopelessly insane — still re-
sided. On the 1 8th November he entered Yalladolid.
Ten days previously the Regent of Castile — Cardinal
Ximenes de Cisneiros — wisest and most capable of rulers,
had ended his long life while on his way to meet and
welcome his sovereign, and with his loss the affairs of
the kingdom became yet more complicated. The King
was surrounded by Flemings, anxious only to get what
pecuniary benefit they could from their position. Him-
self hardly able to speak the language of his people, he
looked upon the country merely as a means of affording
supplies to aid him in his designs in Middle Europe.
Mistrustful of their sovereign and bitterly jealous of
his Flemish courtiers, the Cortes was summoned to
Yalladolid. It was into this mixture of nationalities
and interests, this hotbed of hriguey that Magellan and
Faleiro proposed to adventure themselves in order to
expound their views upon an obscure point in geography,
concerning which it was more than probable that no
single one of their auditors would be interested.
On the 20th January, 15 18, the two men started
1518.] MAGELLAN'S PEOJECT. 97
together to ride from Seville to Yalladolid.^ Aranda
had arranged to go also. They joined the party of Dona
Beatriz de Pacheco, Duchess de Arcos, and went by the
Toledo road. Faleiro, still unforgiving, refused to travel
in company with Aranda, and the latter, though he left
at the same time, took another route.^ He had begged
them to await the arrival of the answer to the letter he
had written to the Chancellor, but in vain. On his
journey he met it, aud finding that its tenor was in
every way favourable to his prot^g^s, he sent it on to
them, together with a letter to say that he would wait
for them at Medina del Campo, a town some thirty
miles from Valladolid. The messenger met them as
they were crossing the Sierra de Guadarrama, at Puerto
de Herradon, and Faleiro's resentment had sufficiently
cooled to permit of his acceding to Aranda's proposal.
They met at the town indicated, and went to the same
posada, and in a short time good relations were once
more established between the trio.
They were now within easy distance of the court, but
as yet Aranda had not found an opportunity of bringing
forward a proposal he had doubtless long had in view.
It was hardly to be supposed that such kindness as he
had shown them — strangers, it must be remembered,
who had no claim whatever upon him — should be entirely
disinterested. Unaided and alone, it was in the highest
degree unlikely that they would obtain the King's ear
when business of much greater moment remained un-
touched ; but to Aranda, the most important official
^ Francisco Faleiro, brother of Ruy Faleiro, went with them, and
most probably Beatriz, Magellan's wife.
2 The "Camino de la Plaza" (? the Estremadura road). Vide
Magellan's evidence in Aranda's action already alluded to.
G
98 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [CHAP. iv.
of the India House, much was possible. To ensure the
success of their scheme, he had undertaken a long and
wearisome journey, had exposed himself to frequent
rudeness at Faleiro's hands, and was now about to spend
still more time and pains in introducing them at court.
His kindness, however, did not end here. At Seville he
had offered them his purse, and he again renewed his
offer before arriving in Yalladolid. Faleiro, Magellan
tells us, had actually taken advantage of it. And so,
as the little party crossed the Duero, a few miles only
from their destination, Aranda asked them if they would
give him a share of the profits in the event of the King
deciding to despatch an armada.
The request was not an unfair one, and Magellan's
frank and generous character was ready to grant it at
once. But it was different with Faleiro. Suspicion
held in his mind the place that gratitude should have
occupied. A careless half-assent given by his comrade
again aroused his anger. Precisely what occurred it is
not easy to make out from the conflicting accounts of
the three interested parties. It seems that Aranda
suggested that he should receive one-fifth of the profits
as his share, but only upon condition that the armada
was commissioned at the expense of the King. If the
cost of it had to be borne by the two navigators and
their friends, he neither asked for nor expected any
return. Faleiro at first would not hear of anything
being promised, and his brother was of the same opinion.
Magellan, 'wiser and less mean, proposed that Aranda
should have one-tenth. The ill-temper of Faleiro, how-
ever, was such as quickly to cause a rupture. Aranda
took it with his usual good-humour. " If they did not
wish to give him anything, he did not want anything,
1518.] MAGELLAN'S PROJECT. 99
and whether they gave it him or not, he would still ad-
vance their cause to the best of his ability, since by so
doing he did a service to his sovereign." With this he
rode on alone to Yalladolid, while Magellan and his
comrade stopped at Simancas to talk the matter over.^
The result of their discussion was a resolve to offer
Aranda an eighth share. Three days later they rode
into Valladolid. Aranda came out to meet them, and
took them to his inn, where they lay that night as his
guests. Next day, anxious to be independent, they
sought another posada. Aranda lost no time. He took
them first to Sauvage, the Lord High Chancellor, who
had succeeded to that post on the death of Ximenes, and
then introduced them to the Cardinal Adrian of Utrecht
and to the Bishop of Burgos. Finally, he procured
them a personal interview with Charles V. himself. All
this, we gather, was done upon the day following their
arrival, or if not, within a very short period after it.
Aranda had gone a long way towards proving his title
as a man of business. He went still further by having
a document ready for the two navigators to sign, in
which they legally bound themselves to fulfil the oral
promises of the day before. This agreement was exe-
cuted on the 23rd February, 1518.^ In it it is worthy
1 Navarrete, vol. iv. p. xxxv. ; Medina, op. cit., vol. i. p. 21 et seq.
2 "Otorgamos e conoscemos," the text runs, "que todo el provecho
e interese que liobieremos del descubrimiento de las tierras e islas que
placiendo a Dios hemos de descubrir e de hallar en las tierras 6 limites
e demarcaciones del Rey nuestro Senor Don Carlos, que vos hayais la
octava parte, e qua vos daremos de todo el interese e provecho que
dello nos suceda en dinero, 6 en partimiento, 6 en renta, 6 en oficio, 6
en otra cualquier cosa que sea." (Navarrete, vol. iv. p. no; Medina,
op. cit., vol. i. p. 2.) The whole affair is instructive. Whatever their
motives, interested or disinterested, those who aided the armadas in
those days were apt to find their claims entirely ignored. The result
100 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. iv.
of note that Magellan has become Spanish even to his
signature. Fernao de Magalhaes has ceased to exist,
and we make acquaintance for the first time with
Fernando Magallanes.
Everything, so far, had gone well with the plans of
the two friends, and Magellan might have been excused
in feeling that success was within his grasp. Had he
known more of those with whom he had to deal, he
would not have been too sanguine. Three out of the
four were Flemings, and the fourth — Fonseca, Bishop of
Burgos — had made himself conspicuous for his bitter
enmity to Columbus and other explorers of the New
World. The Flemings were men of very unequal merit.
Far superior to the others in ability and force of character
was Charles's minister and guardian, Guillaume de Croy,
Seigneur de Chievres. A man of the court rather than
of the schools, he nevertheless encouraged Charles in the
study of history and the art of government, and, from
his early appointment as his tutor, had contrived to
gain extraordinary power over him. He exercised it
in keeping his charge as much as possible away from
Spanish influence, and, knowing and caring little for
foreign affairs other than European, was not likely to
interest himself much in projects of exploration. His
avarice, which was boundless, was perhaps the only
channel by which he might be approached. In this he
was equalled, if not excelled, by Sauvage, the newly
appointed successor to Ximenes, of whose character
little more is known.^
of this venture of Aranda was a lengthy lawsuit, a loss of all the money
he had advanced, and, as already mentioned, a public censure by the
Consejo de las Indias.
1 Of the corruption of Charles V.'s court at this time history has
given us a full account. "Everything was venal and disposed of to
1518.] MAGELLAN'S PI^CJECT. 101
The third — Cardinal Adrian of Utrecht, afterwards
Pope Adrian VI., who was made Charles's preceptor
under De Croy — was a person of no real ability. Of low
extraction, a theologian of a conventional type, and a
person of weak character, his advancement must always
be regarded with wonder. Nominally he had acted in
conjunction with Ximenes as Regent of Castile, but the
latter, though on the best of terms with his coadjutor, had
never even pretended to consult him. His opinion upon
an affair of this kind was of little importance. That of
Fonseca, Bishop of Burgos, on the other hand — the last of
the four — was of very different weight. As President
of the India House, he took an assured position as an
authority upon colonial matters. Less a prelate than
a man of business, Las Casas tells us he was well suited
for such work as the fitting out of armadas. His char-
acter, nevertheless, was a despicable one. His hatred of
Columbus has already been referred to.^ He thwarted
Las Casas upon every point in his struggle to amelio-
rate the condition of the Indians. ^ Cortez he declared
a traitor and a rabel^'and it is more than probable that
he instigated a plot to assassinate him.^ To Balboa he
was equally opposed. The most sanguine of project-
mongers would have gone to him with something more
than diffidence.
These were the men, together with a boy-sovereign
of eighteen, on whom Magellan's future depended. It
the highest bidder." (Robertson, Charles F., vol. ii. p. 58.) Peter
Martyr, who, from his position, had special means of information,
wrote that in ten months 1,100,000 ducats were remitted from Spain
into the Low Countries. (Pet. Mart., Opus Epist., Ep. 608.)
1 Irving, Columbus, Appendix, No. 34.
2 Herrera, op. cit., Dec. ii. lib. ii. cap. iii.
3 Herrera, op. cit., Dec. iii. lib. iv. cap. iii.
102 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. iv.
might be imagined that support from the Flemings was
an accidental possibility, but that none could be expected
from Fonseca. Nothing is more certain, however, than
the unforeseen. Whether the Bishop, venal and avari-
cious like his fellows, looked to the possibilities of future
profit, or whether, having lost prestige from his oppo-
sition to the projects of Columbus, he was anxious to
win it back over an expedition whose probable success
he was wise enough to foresee, we do not know, but from
the beginning he took up the cause of the two peti-
tioners. From that moment its success was ensured.
Magellan came well prepared with arguments, animate
and inanimate, to support his project. At the first
formal meeting of the King's ministers he showed the
letters from his friend Francisco Serrao, in which he
told him that if he desired to get rich he should come
to the Moluccas. He produced Vartema's account of //
his voyage to those islands ; how they lay beneath the
Equator, and far distant from Malacca. He showed a
slave whom he had bought in the latter city, and who
was a native of the Spice Islands, and a slave-girl
from Sumatra, " who understood the tongues of many
islands." "Other bids for credence did he make," we
are told by Gomara, ^ " conjecturing that the land
{i.e., South America) turned westward, in the same
manner as did that of Good Hope toward the east,
since Juan de Solis had coasted it up to 40° S., with his
course always more or less westerly. And since on the
track thus taken no passage existed, he would coast the
whole continent till he came to the cape which corre-
sponds to the Cape of Good Hope, and would discover
many new lands, and the way to the Spice Islands, as
1 Op. cit., cap. xci. p. 83.
1518.] MAGELLAN'S PROJECT. 103
he promised." Such an expedition, Gomara goes on to
say, '' would be long, difficult, and costly, and many did
not understand it, and others did not believe in it ;
however, the generality of people had faith in himj
(Magellan) as a man who had been seven years inl
India and in the spice trade, and because, being Por-j
tuguese, Ke^declared that Sumatra, Malacca, and other
Eastern lands where spices could be found belonged to
Castile." The arguments and projects of the two navi-
gators were illustrated by means of a globe that Magellan
had brought with him from Portugal. ^ Upon it were
shown the continent, as he conceived it to exist, and his
intended route. But, according to Herrera, the strait
which it was his purpose to seek was intentionally
omitted, in order that no one might anticipate him.^
Finally, when his companion had finished his demon-
strations, Faleiro took up the argument and proved to
his audience that the coveted islands lay within the line
of demarcation arranged by the Tordesillas capitulacion
of 1494.
It w^as not to be expected that the project should meet
with entire and instant approval. Some of the mini-
sters pooh-poohed it ; others took no interest in it.
But upon further discussion the advice of Fonseca pre-
vailed, and it was finally agreed to recommend the enter-
prise to the favourable consideration of the young King.
1 K planisphere according to Argensola [Conq. de las Molucas, bk. i.
p. 16).— "Vn planisferio dibuxado por Pedro Reynel."
2 "Trahia Magellanes un globo bien pintado adonde se mostrana
bien toda la tierra, y en el senal6 el camino que pensava lleuar ; y de
industria dexo el estrecho en bianco, porque no se lo pudiessen
saltear " (Herrera, Dec. ii. lib. ii. cap. xix, ). Dexar en Hanco should,
of course, be rendered "to omit," but it is amusing to note that—
probably from the presumed antithesis of the bien pintado - it has been
literally translated by one author !
104 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. iv.
We can understand the delight with which the news
of this resohition — tantamount to an actual order for
the preparation of their armada — must have been re-
ceived by Magellan and Faleiro. It only remained for
them now to lay their proposals in due form before the
King. Two ways — both commonly adopted at that time
— were open to them. They could either fit out the
expedition at their own cost, giving a certain percentage
of the profits to the Crown, or, leaving the expenses to
be borne by the King, sail as the captains of the ships,
investing a certain fixed amount in articles of barter,
and looking to their sovereign, upon their return, to
confer upon them what benefits he thought fit.
Neither of the applicants was in the position to pur-
chase and equip ships at his own expense. Faleiro was
a poor student. Magellan, though a noble and a land-
owner, had profited no whit by his seven years' residence
in the East. Most of those who survived the glorious
uncertainties of that life made money. But Magellan
was not as other men, and whatever sin might be laid
to his charge, that of greed was not one. In the East,
we are told, " perdeu a sua pobreza " — he lost the little
that he had. But there were plenty of rich and influ-
ential friends to assist him. His father-in-law, Diogo
Barbosa, was a man of position, and Aranda was willing
enough to place himself, purse and voice, at his dis-
posal. Just at that moment, moreover, he had made an
acquaintance which effectually banished all anxieties on
the score of money. His acquaintance, who afterwards
became his friend, was the great merchant Christopher
de Haro.
The Haros were an Antwerp firm of traders — the
Rothschilds of that day — who carried on an enormous
1518.] MAGELLAN'S PROJECT. 105
and most profitable business with both the East and
West Indies. In the various towns of these countries
they had agents and clerks, who kept them informed
upon every point of interest in trade, politics, and geo-
graphy. Christopher de Ilaro resided in Lisbon, and
had an agreement with Portugal concerning the Guinea
trade. For some reason which does not appear, he had
seven of his vessels sunk by the King's ships while on
the coast. He sought indemnification, but his claim was
ignored, and feeling that it would be wiser to quit a
country where so little justice could be had, returned to
Spain, his native land.^ He had but recently arrived.
Magellan's project was the one above all others to com-
mend itself to his favour. It gave him an opportunity
of indirectly revenging himself upon Portugal, and at
the same time of making a very profitable speculation.
His ships had traded to the farthest East, had even
reached China,^ and he knew what a monopoly of the
spice trade would mean. He did not hesitate to offer all
the aid that lay in his power.
Fortified with such strong support, the two Portuguese
addressed their proposals formally to the King.^ They
fell under two heads — those made with the understand-
ing that the King should charge himself with the entire
1 It appears from the letter of Maximilian Transylvanus that Haro
(who, it may be remarked, was his father-in-law's brother) corrobo-
rated Magellan's evidence before the Council as to the position of the
Moluccas. " Caesari ostenderent (M. et Haro) . . . sinum magnum et
Sinarum populos ad Castellanorum nauigationem pertinere. Hoc
item haberi longe certissimum, insulas quas Moluccas uocant ... in
occidente Castellanorum contineri."
2 *'Et tandem Sinarum populis mercaturam fecerat." — Letter of
Max. Transylvanus.
3 Arch, de Sevilla, Leg. i°, pap. d. Maluco, 1519-47 I Medina, vol. i.
p. 5 ; Navarrete, vol. iv. p. 113.
106 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. iv.
cost of the armada, and those suggested in the ease of
the expenses being borne by themselves.
In the first case they sought the concession of the fol-
lowing privileges : — That no other exploring expeditions
should be sent out to the Spice Islands for a period of ten
years, but that, if this could not be granted, they should
have the right to a twentieth share of the resulting
profits ; that of all the lands and islands discovered by
them a twentieth share of the annual profit should be
theirs ; that in this and every other succeeding expedition
they should be permitted to send goods to the value of a
thousand ducats for trading purposes ; that in the event
of the discovery of more than six islands, the Senorio
of two should be conferred upon them ; that of this first
expedition, they should have one-fifth of the net profits ;
and finally, that the title of Almirante should be con-
ferred upon them.
In the case of the armada being commissioned and
despatched at their own expense, they besought the King
to grant them the trade and ownership (sefiorio) of all the
lands discovered by them, and the privilege of the sole
right of exploration and discovery for ten years. In
return, one-fifth of the profits were to be handed to the
Crown.
The document was returned, with comments under
each section, to Magellan, leaving the matter still un-
decided ; but a few days later, on the 22nd March, 15 18,
a capitulacion was granted by Charles Y. which defi-
nitely settled the terms under w hich the two explorers
were to sail.^
They were as follows : — First, the King engaged with-
1 Seville Archives, Leg. 4°. See Navarrete, vol. iv. p. n6 ; Medina,
vol. i. p. 8.
1518.] MAGELLAN'S PKOJECT. 107
out delay to fit out an armada of five ships, provisioned
for two years, and bearing a complement of 234 officers
and crew. Under certain restrictions and reservations,
he conceded the demand that no other explorers should
be sent out for ten years. ^ He stipulated that no ex-
ploration should be prosecuted within the territories of
his *' dear and well-beloved uncle and brother the King of
Portugal." Of all the profit arising from their disco-
veries, Magellan and Faleiro should receive the twentieth
part. Henceforward they might be permitted to send
goods to the value of a thousand ducats for trading pur-
poses in every armada, but for this voyage they were to
content themselves with one-fifth of the proceeds. If
more than six islands should be discovered, they might
choose two, from which they would be permitted to receive
one-fifteenth of the profits. Of the lands discovered
they were to have the title of governors or adelantados,
which title was to be hereditary. Finally, it should rest
with the King to appoint a factor, treasurer, contador,
and clerks, who should be responsible for the accounts of
the expedition. 2
Accompanying this document was another, by which
Magellan and his comrade were appointed Captains-
general of the armada, entitled from that moinent to
1 Part of this passage is interesting : — " Pero entiendese que si Nos
quiseriemos niandar descubrir 6 dar licencia para ello a otras personas
por la via del hueste, por las partes de las islas a tierra firme e a todas
las otras partes que estan descubiertas hacia la parte que quisieremos
para buscar el estrecho de aquellns mares', lo podamos niandar."
2 By a cedula of 30th March of the following year (1519) Charles
appointed Luis de Mendoza treasurer at a yearly salary of 60,000
maravedis, and Juan de CarteigenaVeedor-general at 70,000 maravedis,
and also captain of the third ship at 40,000 maravedis. On the 30th
April Antonio de Coca was made Contador of the armada at 50,000
maravedis. Roughly speaking, 1000 maravedis were equivalent to
IIS. 6d. of our money.
108 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [CHAP. IV.
draw pay at the rate of 50,000 .maravedis per annum
from the Casa de Contratacion at Seville.
Charles, who in his bid for popularity had succeeded
but ill with the Castilians, now resolved to visit Aragon.
Summoning the Cortes of that country to meet him in
Zaragoza, he marched thither in the beginning of April.
Upon the way he stopped at Aranda de Duero, where
his brother Ferdinand was then living, a prince so great
a favourite with the Spaniards that the King's design —
which was to send him out of the country — was no ill-
advised step. But, in spite of the many intrigues and
difficulties in which he found himself involved, and the
barrier to external influences interposed by his Flemish
courtiers, Charles found time to interest himself in the
affairs of the future expedition. Magellan and Faleiro
had followed the court, and being in constant communi-
cation with the King, were enabled to escape the delays
which must otherwise inevitably have arisen. By certain
cedulas issued by Charles at this time the pay of the two
captains was raised to 146,000 maravedis, and they were
granted a sum of 30,000 maravedis to defray initial
expenses. The privilege of appointing a pilot was given
to them, with the promise that, if approved by the Casa
de Contratacion, he should have the title of ^^piloto real "
conferred upon him. Not less welcome was a grant to
the heirs of either navigator, in the event of his death,
of all the privileges and profits to which the latter was
entitled.!
Although charged to proceed to Seville in order that
1 This cedula, dated from Aranda de Duero, April 17, 1518, was
that upon which his relation, Lorenzo de MagalhSes, afterwards (1567)
founded his claim to Magellan's estate. Vide Medina, op. cit., voU
ii. p. 356.
1518.] MAGELLAN'S PROJECT. 109
they might place themselves en rapport with the officials
of the India House and forward the preparation of the
armada, Magellan and Faleiro were led to defer their
journey. Leaving Aranda de Duero, Charles proceeded
by Calatayud to Zaragoza, into which city he made a
formal entry on the 15 th May. The two friends followed
in his train, for a check had lately come upon the pro-
gress of their scheme. Against want of money and
interest, against the apathy or opposition of those in
power, they had fought for months, and fought success-
fully ; but now they were confronted by an obstacle not
less serious, though long foreseen — the silent intrigues
and loudly-expressed remonstrances of the Court of
Portugal.
CHAPTER T.
PREPARATIONS FOR THE VOYAGE.
It could hardly be otherwise than that the news of
Magellan's approaching voyage should reach Portugal.
The defection of two such well-known navigators, and the
fact that they took others with them " sick with a Hke
disorder," could not be passed unnoticed, and the subse-
quent movements of the Consejo de las Indias at Seville
were, no doubt, fully reported to Dom Manoel by the
Portuguese "factor" resident in that city. But it
happened that a special circumstance brought the matter
still more prominently forward — so prominently, in fact,
that, advanced as were the preparations, the expedition
was within an ace of being countermanded.
The question of the marriage of Dom Manoel to Dona
Leonor, sister of Charles V., was at that time under
consideration,^ and Alvaro da Costa, the ambassador of
Portugal at the court of Spain, ^ was charged with the
arrangement of the alliance. The treaty was concluded
at Zaragoza on the 22nd May, 1518, and ratified at the
same place on the i6th July. It w^as the very period
1 Eleanor became the third wife of Dom Manoel in November 1518,
although at that time only twenty years of age, and thirty years his
junior. After his death in 1521, she man-ied Francis I. of France,
who also predeceased her.
2 Alvaro da Costa was chamberlain and Guarda-roupa M6r to Dom
Manoel.
110
1518.] PREPARATIONS FOR THE VOYAGE. Ill
when Charles was most taken up with the project of
Magellan, and Da Costn, naturally, was brought much
in contact both with the affair and the principals con-
cerned. They appear to have caused him far more
anxiety than the marriage. From a letter to his sove-
reign, still existing in the Torre do Tombo, ,we get a
glimpse of the means he employed to frustrate them.
It was not the first time that the Portuguese, having
been led by their ignorance and folly wilfully to reject
one of the world's greatest chances, fought tooth and
nail to counteract its outcome. When Columbus reached
the shelter of the Tagus upon his first return from the
New World, it was suggested by some of those at court
that much future trouble with Spain would be obviated
by his assassination. Not that these methods were con-
fined to Portugal. The value of each discovery, owing
perhaps to the rapidity with which it followed upon a
previous one, was so little understood, that either of the
two countries was ready at a moment's notice to take up
an attitude of protestation, if not of something worse.
At first Da Costa confined himself to simple dissuasion.
In the course of various interviews with Magellan, he
told the latter that, if he persisted in his enterprise, not
only would he sin against God and his King, but would
for ever stain the honour of his name, and, moreover, that
he would be the cause of dissension between two kings
who would otherwise, by the approaching marriage, still
further strengthen the ties of friendship which already
existed between them. Magellan's answer was that his
first duty was to his King ; that he had pledged his word
to him, and that he too would sin against his honour and
his conscience should he break it. To Da Costa's temp-
tation of reward if he went back to Portugal he turned
112 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. v.
equally a deaf ear. Failing thus both in threats and
persuasion, the Portuguese ambassador turned his atten-
tion to the King's ministers. The Cardinal, Adrian
of Utrecht, weak and vacillating, half fearful of conse-
quences and half mistrustful of the success of the expedi-
tion, played into his hands. "The Cardinal," writes
Alvaro to his sovereign, "is the best thing here."^
Chievres, too, was hardly against him ; but Fonseca's
convictions were so strong and his influence so great,
that it was impossible to ignore them. Again foiled,
Alvaro wrote to Dom Manoel. The news was received
with renewed irritation, and discussed in various juntas
and conselhos. Some advised that Magellan should be
bribed to return ; others were against this, as affording
a bad precedent. There were not wanting those who
advised that he should be put out of the w^ay. One of
them was a bishop. Lafitau, in his Conquetes des Portu-
gais, hides, as a Jesuit, the name of this honourable
counsellor ; ^ Faria and , De Goes give it to us for eter-
nal obloquy — it was Ferdinand Yasconcellos, Bishop of
Lamego, who afterwards became Archbishop of Lisbon. ^
The news of his contemplated assassination reached
Magellan while still in Zaragoza, but he paid but slight
attention to it, and pursued his daily avocations, although
exposing himself as little as possible, and " when night
surprised them in the house of the Bishop of Burgos,"
Herrera tells us " the latter sent his servants to guard
1 ''Eu, senhor, o tynlia ja bem praticado com o cardeal que he a
millior cousa que qua ba, e Ibe nom parece bem este negocio." — Letter
uf Da Costa, Torre do Tombo, fav. i8, ma9. 8, num. 38.
2 Lafitau, op. cit, vol. ii. liv. viii. p. 35.
3 Faria y Sousa, Europa Portugneza, pt. iv, cap. i. torn. ii. p. 543.
" bispo dixe que seu parccer era que o niandasse el Rei cbamar e Ihe
fezesse merces, ou o mandasse mat&v.^—Gocs, 4ta. pte. cap. xxxvii.
151S.] PEEPARATIONS FOR THE VOYAGE. 113
them home."i Of Faleiro they made little account.
His odd manner and uncertain temper led people to the
conclusion that he was not quite of sound mind.^
There were other reasons besides those of caution
which called for the departure of the two navigators from
Zaragoza. Their presence was needed in Seville. The
Casa de Contratacion, as a body, had never been very
favourable to their scheme. Some jealousy with Aranda
possibly stood in the way ; possibly the officials really did
not believe in its chances of success. But they opposed
it, if not actively, at least with a dead wall of difficulties
which rendered the future prospects of the expedition
none of the brightest. Charles, with a quiet but firm
hand, now put all these obstacles aside. In a letter
written on the 20th July, 15 18, he informed the India
House that it was his intention to carry out the pro-
posed expedition ; that certain moneys lately arrived
from tha West Indies were to be used for the purpose of
defraying the expenses; and, finally, that he desired the
armada should be fitted out in every way in conformity
with the ideas and wishes of Magellan and Faleiro.^
But at the same time that he wrote the letter, anxious
to hasten these preparations, he intimated his wish that
the two captains should depart foT Seville without delay.
In order to mark still further his sense of the impor-
tance of the expedition and of his confidence in those
1 Herrera, Dec. ii. lib. ii. cap. xxi.
2 "Polo bacharel nom dou eu muito que anda cas fora de sen
syso." — Letter of Aharo.
3 " Y que de los 5000 pesos de oro que habian llegado para S. M.
de la Isla Fernandina gastasen hasta seis mil ducados 6 lo que fuese
necesario conforme a dicho memorial, a vista, contentamiento, y
parecer de los mismos Magallanes y Falero." — Arch, de Seville. Vide
Navarrete, vol. iv. p. 123.
H
114 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. v.
to whom he had intrusted its command, Charles signified
his intention of conferring upon Magellan and his com-
rade the honour of the Order of Santiago. They were
decorated with the cross of Comendador in the presence
of the Council, and at the same time the conditions of
the agreement concluded at Yalladolid on the 22nd
March were formally confirmed.^ A few days later-=-at
the end of July — the two Comendadores left the court
for Seville.
In answer to the remonstrances expressed by Alvaro
da Costa, Charles had written to Dom Manoel to explain
the object of Magellan's voyage. In his letter he assured
his future brother-in-law that nothing should be done
in any way to the detriment of Portugal, and that if
he had not complied with his wish, it was because the
explorations proposed would not be carried beyond the
limits of Spanish waters.^ His reasoning was in vain.
Alvaro renewed his complaints and remonstrances, and
Chievres being ill, succeeded in obtaining a private
interview with the King. The sum and substance of it
he gives in the letter addressed to Dom Manoel, and
dated from Zaragoza, September 28th, 15 18, to which
allusion has already been made.
" Sire, — Concerning Ferdinand Magellan's affair, how much I
have done and how I have laboured, God knows, as I have
written you at length ; and now, Chievres being ill, I have
spoken upon the subject very strongly to the King, putting before
him all the inconveniences that in this case may arise, and also
representing to him what an ugly matter it was, and how un-
usual, for one king to receive the subjects of another king, his
friend, contrary to his wish, — a thing unheard of among cavaliers,
1 Horrera, Dec. ii. Ub. iv. cap. ix.
2 Argensola, Anales de Aragon, i. caps. Ivii. and Ixxix.
1518.] PEJ:PAKATI0NS for the voyage. 115
and accounted both ill-judged and ill-seeming. Yet I had just'
put your Highness and your Highness's possessions at his service
in Valladolid at the moment that he was harbouring these per-
sons against your will. I begged him to consider that this was
not the time to offend your Highness, the more so in an affair
which was of such little importance and so uncertain ; and that
he would have plenty of subjects of his own and men to make
discoveries when the time came, without availing- himself of
those malcontents of your Highness, whom your Highness could
not fail to believe likely to labour more for your dis -service than
for anything else ; also that his Highness had had until now so
much to do in discovering his own kingdoms and dominions, and
in settling them, that he ought not to turn his attention to these
new affairs, from which dissensions and other matters, which
may well be dispensed with, may result. I also represented to
him the bad appearance that this would have on the year and
at the very moment of the marriage, — the ratification of friend-
ship and affection. And also that it seemed to me that your
Highness would much regret to learn that these men asked
leave of him to return,^ and that he did not grant it, the which
are two faults — the receiving them contrary to your desire, and
the retaining them contrary to their own. And I begged of him,
both for his own and for your Highness's sake, that he would do
one of two things — either permit them to go, or put off the affair
for this year, by which he would not lose much ; and means
might be taken whereby he might be obliged, and your High-
ness might not be offended, as you would be were this scheme
carried out.
"He was so surprised, sire, at what I told him, that I also was
surprised ; but he replied to me with the best words in the world,
saying that on no account did he wish to offend your Highness,
and many other good words ; and he suggested that I should
speak to the Cardinal, and confide the whole matter to him.
" I, sire, had already talked the matter over with the Cardinal,
who is the best thing here, and who does not approve of the
business, and he promised me to do what he could to get off the
affair. He spoke to the King, and thereupon they summoned the
Bishop of Burgos, who is the chief supporter of the scheme.
And with that certain two men of the Council succeeded in
1 This statement, there is every reason to believe, was a pure fiction
of Da Costa.
116 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [CHAP. V.
making the King believe that he did your Highness no wrong,
since he only ordered exploration to be made within his own
limits, and far from your Highness's possessions ; and that your
Highness should not take it ill that he should make use of two
of your subjects — men of no great importance — while your
Highness himself employed many Spaniards. They adduced
many other arguments, and at last the Cardinal told me that the
Bishop and the others insisted so much upon the subject, that
the King could not now alter his determination.
" While Chievres was well, I kept representing this business
to him, as I have just said, and much more. He lays the blame
upon those Spaniards who have pushed the King on. Withal he
will speak to the King, but on former occasions I besought him
much on this subject, and he never came to any determination,
and thus, I think, he will act now. It seems to me, sire, that
your Highness might get back FernSo de Magalhaes, which
would be a great blow to these people. As for the bachelor,^ I
do not count him for much, for he is half crazy.
" Do not let your Highness think that I went too far in what I
said to the King, for beside the fact that all I said was true,
these people do not perceive anything, nor has the King liberty
up to now to do anything of himself, and on that account his
actions may be less regarded {por iso sc deue de syntyr menos suas
cousas). May the Lord increase the life and dominions of your
Highness to His holy service. From Sarago^a, Tuesday night,
the 28th day of September.
" I kiss the hands of your Highness.
•* Aluaeo da Costa." ^
This letter was not the last of its kind, for though
the protestations of the Portuguese ceased for the time
being, they were again renewed upon the removal of the
court to Barcelona. Nor did they end until Magellan
1 Ruy Faleiro.
2 Arch, da Torre do Tombo, Gav. 18, Mago 8, No. 38. The letter
is given in the original Portuguese by De Barros Arana, p. 181, and
also by Lord Stanley in his First Voyage. Navarrete (vol. iv. p.
123) gives an excerpt, and Medina {op. cit , vol. i. p. 16) a translation
into Spanish.
1518.] PREPARATIONS FOR THE VOYAGE. 117
finally weighed anchor at S. Lucar de Barrameda, and
started on his voyage.
We must return to Seville, whither the two newly-
made knights had meanwhile arrived. Their presence was
regarded by Fonseca as likely to smooth the difficulties
made by the Casa de Contratacion. This body, although
definitely instructed by the King's cedula in March,
as we have seen, demurred somewhat to the arrangement
therein contained, and wrote again asking for a confir-
mation of a despatch signed by the Chancellor of Bur-
gundy,! expressing themselves, however, as ready to fulfil
the King's orders " if we have at the time money of his
Highness at our disposal." The reply was Charles's letter
of July 2oth already mentioned, charging them to fit out
the fleet according to the ideas and wishes of its com-
manders. It is probable that they themselves carried
this document and presented it in person.^ But what-
ever may have been the way it reached its destination,
its effect was magical. '' We are greatly pleased,"
write the officials, "at the arrangement concluded; . . .
it is a very honourable and advantageous undertaking,
as we inform the Bishop of Burgos." ^ They add that a
certain sum of money had arrived from India, and ask
whether it should be used for the expenses. Everything
seemed to be couleur de rose. But even at the hands of
the Casa de Contratacion Magellan and his friend had
yet to experience difficulties and unpleasantnesses, and
to learn that the King of Spain — despite the lengthy
titles heading his cedulas — was not all-powerful.
1 This letter is dated May 31, 1518. Vide Lord Stanley's First
Voyage, p. xxxiii.
- " Recibimos la de V.A. de 20 de julio con el Comendador Magal-
lanes." FtWe Navarrete, vol. iv. p. Ixxvi.
3 Navarre te, idem.
118 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. v.
The altered attitude of the India House, together with
the energy of Magellan, gave an impulse to the work of
preparation which must have gone far towards compen-
sating the great navigator for the months of disappoint-
ment and heart-burnings through which he had passed.
Now his way seemed clear before him, and he worked
with double vigour, writing letters to the King and the
Bishop of Burgos to inform them of the progress of
affairs. At the outset, good-natured and a hater of
quarrels, he had ceded to the fitful temper and morose
disposition of his comrade, and permitted him to take
the lead ; but when it came to practical work — to the
fitting out of a fleet and to the choice of his men, then
the experience gained by years of service in the East
necessarily placed Magellan in a position of authority
which was beyond the power of Faleiro to question. So
long as they had to bow the knee in kings' houses,
petitioners and place-seekers, they were equals ; but
upon the ship's deck in Seville, away from the flattery-
laden air of the court and almost within sound of the
sea, there was little doubt as to which meant to com-
mand. And so, little by little, it came about that
Faleiro, albeit nominally on the same footing — the " co7i-
jiLiita persona " with Magellan — fell insensibly into the
second place.
The preparations, then, were pushed on with all speed.
The King, in his letter of July 20th, 15 18, had informed
the officials of the Casa de Contratacion that since so
many articles were to be obtained both better and cheaper
in Biscay, he had sent thither to purchase them. Other
materials were apparently brought from Flanders.^ The
^ Navarre te, iv. p. 123.
1518.] PEEPARATIONS FOR THE VOYAGE. 119
ships, as we learn from documents in the Seville archives,^
were all bought at Cadiz. The duty of purchasing them
devolved upon Aranda, who was probably totally lacking
in the technical knowledge necessary for such a respon-
sible task, for we learn from the Portuguese factor
Alvarez, then residing in Seville, that they were not in the
best condition. " They are very old and patched," he says,
'' . . . and I would be sorry to sail even for the Cana-
ries in them, for their ribs are as soft as butter." ^ In
Charles's original capitulacion to the two captains he
had promised that two should be of 130 tons, two of 90,
and the fifth of 60.^ Those obtained for the expedition
were tolerably close to the promised tonnage, being in
the aggregate only twenty tons short.
The names and burden of the five vessels were as
follows : — Sa7ito Antonio, 120 tons; Trinidad, no tons;
Conce^ocion, 90 tons; Victoria, 85 tons; Santiago, 75
tons.* What they were, how rigged and masted, we do not
know. From a few chance words of Herrera ^ we learn
that the poop and forecastle of each was provided with
1 Papeles del Maluco, leg. i. Vide Navarrete, iv. pp. 162, 3.
2 " Sam muy velhos e Remedados porque os vy em monte corregeer,
ha onze messes que se correjeram e esta na agoa agora calefetam asy
nagoa eu entrey neles alguas vezes e ^ertifico a vosa alteza que ^a
canaria navegaria de maa vontade neles, porq' seus liames sam de
sebe. "— Letter of Alvarez to the King of Portugal. Vide Arana, p. 184
et seq.
3 Navarrete, iv. p. 119.
4 It is difficult to a.«sign an exact value to these " toneles de porte."
They may perhaps be taken as roughly representing the ordinary tons
of the present day. Navarrete (vol. iv, p. 3) says that toneles and
toneladas must not be confused. "The Biscayans reckoned formerly
by toneles and the Sevillians of the Indian trade by toneladas, which
measures are in the relation of five to six — ten toneles making twelve
toneladas." In Nunez's Dictionary, however, the latter measure is
said to be equivalent to two toneles.
^ Herrera, Dec. ii. lib. ix. cap. xi., and Dec. iii. lib. iv. cap. ii.
120 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. v.
high ohras muertas — with castles, in short — as was not
unusual at that period. Such vessels are seen in the
illustrations of De Bry, and indeed in Columbus's own
sketch of the Oceanica Classis. It is, however, nearly
certain that all the ships in Magellan's fleet were decked,
while but one of the three which the discoverer of America
took on his memorable voyage was thus advantaged.
The ships once obtained, Magellan occupied himself
unremittingly in overhauling them and putting them
in a seaworthy condition before starting upon his long
and dangerous voyage. It was when engaged in this
work, on the 22nd October, that an incident occurred
which once more brought forcibly before him the fact
that the emissaries of Portugal were still at work to
thwart his plans. He had no longer Alvaro da Costa
at hand to tell him that he was a renegade to his face,
and to connive at his assassination in secret, but his
place was taken by an individual even more unscrupu-
lous — Sebastian Alvarez, the factor of the King of Por-
tugal at Seville, and it was probably at his instigation
that the incident arose.
; On the day in question, Magellan had taken advantage
/of the tide to careen the Trinidad at an early hour. At
daybreak he ordered four flags bearing his own arms to
be placed upon the four capstans. In this position it
was the custom always to carry the captain's flag, while
the royal ensign and that of the vessel itself were flown
at the mast head. On this occasion these latter were not
hoisted, having been sent to be painted, and Magellan,
engaged with his work, had not noticed their absence.
As the work proceeded, a gradually increasing crowd
of idlers watched its progress. It was maliciously sug-
gested by some one that the capstan flags bore the arms
1518.] PREPARATIONS FOR THE VOYAGE. 123
of the King of Portugal, and, in the midst of consider-
able disturbance and murmuring, an alcalde arrived upon
the scene. Without consulting Magellan, he incited the
bystanders to tear them down. The crew now summoned
their captain, till then engaged below, who explained
to the oflEicial that " the arms were not those of the King
of Portugal ; that they were his arms, and that he was
a vassal of the King of Spain." Sailor and aristocrat,
Magellan was not one to bandy words with an alcalde,
and he returned to his work without further discussion.
The alcalde was not so easily satisfied, and insisted
upon the removal of the obnoxious flags, and Matienzo,i
the chief official of the India House, who arrived at
this juncture, advised Magellan to yield for the sake
of calming the mob. He agreed, but the moment was
a bitter one for him, for among the crowd he recog-
nised an agent of the King of Portugal, ^ whom he felt
to have been the instigator of the riot. Meanwhile the
alcalde had gone in search of the port- captain (teniente
del almirante), whose appearance was the signal for a
renewal of the tumult. Arriving on the scene, he called
upon his men to " arrest the Portuguese captain who
flew the ensign of the King of -Portugal," at the same
time roughly demanding of the Comendador "where
were the flags, and why were they hoisted upon the
capstans ? " Magellan's answer was that he was not
1 The learned doctor, Sancho Matienzo, a well-known person at that
period, was a Canon of Seville and a personal friend of Magellan, who
appointed him as his executor in his will of August 24th, 1519.
2 " Puesto que me era afrenta hacerlo por estar alii presente un caba-
llero del Rey de Portugal, que por su mandado vino a esta ciudad a
contratar conmigo que me volviese t Portugal, 6 a hacer otra cosa
que no fuese mi provecho."— ie^gr of Magellan to Charles V., 24th
October, 1518 ; vide Navarrete, iv. p. 125. There is little doubt that
the caballero in question was Sebastian Alvarez.
124 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. v.
responsible to him for his actions. The port-captain
instantly called upon the alguaciles to arrest him, but
Matienzo cautioned the irate official that if he laid hands
upon the King's captain he would have to answer for it
to the King. Ilis interference so enraged the alguaciles
and companions of the ieniente^ that they rushed upon
him with their drawn swords, threatening to kill him.
Seeing the highest official of the India House thus treated,
Magellan's people — or such of them, he naively remarks,
as had been paid in advance — thought it best to decamp.
The ship was at the moment in a somewhat dangerous
position. Magellan, ever ready of resource, saw in this
fact a means of strengthening his hand. He threatened
to leave it, and to make the officials responsible for any
damage that might occur. Already conscious, perhaps,
of having gone too far with Matienzo, the port-captain
thought it best to alter his tactics, and he eventually left
the ship, contenting himself with arresting some of the
crew and disarming others. The teniente del asistente,
to whom Magellan had appealed for support, refused to
interfere.
Two days later Magellan wrote a full account of the
affair to Charles V., begging him to order a searching
inquiry to be made. The fearlessness and independence
of the letter is characteristic of the man. He asks for
full satisfaction, reminding Charles that " the insult was
offered not to Ferdinand Magellan, but to one of your
Highness's captains." He requests that the principal
actors in the emeute may be punished, and that for the
future he may be secured against the recurrence of such
acts of violence.^ We have not Charles's answer, but
1 See Magellan's letter, already referred to. Herrera also gives a
detailed account of the occurrence (Dec. ii. lib. iv. cap. ix.) ; and
Argcnsola also refers to it in the Anales de Aragon, lib. i. cap. Izxix.
1519.] PREPARATIONS FOR THE VOYAGE. 125
we have Herrera's account of it. The King expressed
his regret at the incident, and his approval of Matienzo's
action. He censured the teniente del asistente and the
Sevillians for refusing to aid Magellan, and ordered the
officials who had taken the chief part in the disturbance
to be severely punished. His prompt action and readiness
to support the two Portuguese on this occasion went far
towards smoothing their difficulties for some time to come.
In January, 15 19, Charles V. left Zaragoza. He
arrived at Lerida in the beginning of February, and
entered Barcelona on the 15th of that month. Fonseca,
the staunch friend and supporter of the explorers, accom-
panied him, and kept their undertaking and its many
needs constantly before his notice. Fearing anticipation
by Portugal, he counselled the prompt despatch of the
fleet at all costs. At Seville the two treasurers of the
armada, Alonso Gutierres and Cristobal de Haro — the
great East India merchant already mentioned — were
doing their best to forward the preparations. Money
was greatly needed. The coffers of the India House
were well-nigh exhausted, and Charles, who regarded
Spain as the milch-cow of the Netherlands, was not
likely, even if it lay within his power, to replenish them
from his own pocket. At this juncture Haro offered
his purse, and we learn from the letter of Alvarez, by
which private information was giyen to the King of
Portugal of the affairs of the armada, that he advanced
four thousand ducats, the fifth part of the whole cost,^
Haro himself claims to have given 1,616,781 maravedis.^
1 " A q'nta pte desta armada he de xpovS de haroo q njla meteo iiij.
ducados." — Vide Arana, op. cit., p. 189,
2 Medina, op. cit., vol. ii. p. 235. It was not a remunerative ven-
ture. Haro met with the not uncommon fate attending those who at
126 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. V.
His coadjutor, Gutierres, also aided, and, with permission
of the Bishop of Burgos, other Seville merchants joined
in the venture. In this manner the entire cost of the
armada, 8,751,125 maravedis, or ;^5032, was finally
defrayed.^
From the court in Barcelona the King's cedulas were
now despatched in quick succession. Writing on the
loth March, 15 19, he grants to the merchants who have
advanced money the right of investing an equal sum in
the three expeditions next succeeding. ^ On the 30th of
the same month Luis de Mendoza was appointed trea-
surer to the fleet, with a salary of 60,000 maravedis per
annum during the voyage. At the same time Juan de
Cartagena was gazetted captain of the third ship and
Veedor-generalj for which he was to receive pay at the
rate of 110,000 maravedis. Gaspar de Quesada was
nominated captain of the fourth or fifth ship on the 6th
April, and a few days later Antonio de Coca was made
Contador of the armada. at 50,000 maravedis.
On the 1 8th April Charles orders that, ready or not
ready, the fleet must sail before the end of May, and on
that period were unwise enough to put their trust in princes. After
an interminaV)le lawsuit with the Crown, he at length got back his
money, with no interest or profit whatsoever, after an eighteen years'
delay. He had also been unfortunate enough to invest a nearly equal
sum in the succeeding expedition, which was also returned under the
same conditions. Vide Medina, vol. ii. p. 292. Others who had lent
money were not even so lucky as Haro. Twenty years after the expe-
dition sailed the plaint of Antonio Fucar (Fugger) and Company was
brought before the courts. They had advanced 10,000 ducats, and
liad not had a maravedi. But they were Germans, and the Consejo
had no hesitation. It declared the Crown free and quit of all liability,
" and from henceforth we decree that the said Antonio Fucar y Ca.
shall for ever hold their peace ! " — Idem. vol. ii. p. 324.
i Herreva, Dec. ii. lib. iv. cap. ix. p. 129.
2 Navarrote, o^). eit. iv. p. xlvii.
1519.] PREPARATIONS FOR THE VOYAGE. 127
the following day issues a species of sailing orders,
charging the officers and crew '' to defer to the opinion
and orders of Magellan, and to proceed straight to the
* spicery.' " ^ The despatch of a second armada by the
same route appears to have been early contemplated, for
in a cedula of the 30th April, Francisco, brother of Ruy
Faleiro, is assigned a salary of 35,000 maravedis to
reside in Seville and take in hand the affairs of the fleet
" which was to be sent after that of which Magellan
and his brother were in command." A week later, May
5th, the King desires that the number of the crew of the
squadron should be limited to two hundred and thirty-
five men, and directs that, if possible, it may further be
reduced. It was left to Magellan, " por cuanto tiene
mas experiencia," to choose his men. The captains were
directed to declare in writing the course they meant to
take, and the rules to be followed in making observa-
tions. At the same date Charles granted certain entre-
tenimientos to Magellan's wife, ordering that during the
voynge her husband's pay should be received by her.
He also offered to reward the pilots and masters accord-
ing to their services upon their return to Spain ; but
whether he yielded to the petition of the former to
raise their pay to three thousand maravedis per mensem
does not appear.
Such is the gist of some of the many cedulas that the
labour of Mufioz disinterred from the mass of papers in
the Seville archives. The last, and most lengthy of all,
was despatched from Barcelona on the 8th May, and
1 *' Pa q los del armada sigan el parecer y determynacio de Magallans
pa q anEs y p""" q a otra pt vaya a la especerya." This document
appears to have fallen into the hands of the Portuguese in Ternate
when Antonio de Brito seized the Trinidad. See Lord Stanley's First
Voyage, p. xxxiii. , and Appendix, p. xii.
128 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. v.
contains the most minute instructions for the voyage.
So minute and diffuse are they indeed, that a bare refer-
ence to the subjects touched upon can only be given
here. The document is divided into seventy-four heads,
and might with advantage have been furnished with an
index. The captains are cautioned not to overload their
ships, and to keep the orifice of their pumps well out of
the water. They are to communicate every day if the
weather permit, and to follow certain rules with regard
to lights at night, while in the case of a ship getting lost
full details are given as to the course to be pursued.
There are instructions about landing in unknown
countries, about making friends with the chiefs, about
dealing with " Moros," about prizes, and about the dis-
tribution of prize-money. The last article is specially
interesting as showing the comparative value of each
rank in the service at that time. The captains are
specially enjoined to treat their men amorosamente, to
personally visit the wounded and the sick, and to pre-
vent the surgeon from taking any fees. Stringent regu-
lations are given with regard to the rations, which are
to be issued every other day, and from time to time to
be carefully inspected. A dozen or more of the seventy-
four heads relate to trade and barter ; others guide the
morals of the crew, who are not to swear, and not to
play games of chance, such as dice and cards, *' for from
such often arise evil, and scandal, and strife." Insult
and violence offered to w^omen were to be severely
punished, but a tolerable amount of liberty appears to
have been allowed to the crew, and every one was per-
mitted to write home as he thought fit. There are wise
regulations about guarding against fire, and still wiser
anent building houses in the tropics, counselling their
1519.] PREPARATIONS FOR THE VOYAGE. 129
erection in good air, on the slopes of the mountains, and
not on marshy ground or shut-in valleys. The docu-
ment ends with a long list of the " quiritaladas " per-
mitted to the different members of the ship's company.^
Finally, while the King orders that " under no condition
whatsoever shall they touch at or explore land, or do
anything within the boundaries of the most Serene King
of Portugal," he nevertheless takes care to direct that,
in the case of a Portuguese ship being found in Spanish
waters, she should be called upon to quit the neighbour-
hood and to surrender her cargo.
Charles's strong support with regard to the emeuie
about the flags on the 22nd October had rendered in-
advisable, for the time being, at all events, any inter-
ference on the part of the agents of the King of Portugal.
It is possible that another reason existed. Gomara ^
tells us that at one time Dom Manoel was not greatly
disturbed about Magellan's projected voyage, being per-
suaded in his own mind that there was no other route
to the Spice Islands save and excepting that taken by
his own ships. But as the months passed, and the
armada approached completion, this faith became less
secure, and before long another attempt w^as made to
persuade Magellan to relinquish the expedition. The
author was Sebastian Alvarez, the Portuguese factor at
Seville, and the instigator of the disturbance just men-
tioned. A letter written by him to Dom Manoel on the
1 8th July, 15 19, is still existing. It throws a flood of
light upon the various plots surrounding the explorers.
1 The quintaJada was the free freight allowed to officers and crew.
It was permitted to every one, from captain to cabin-boj', and varied
from 8000 to 75 lbs. according to rank. It paid a duty of one-twenty-
fourth to the Crown.
2 Gomara, op. cit., cap. xci. p. 83.
130 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [CHAr. v.
After acknowledging two letters from his royal
master, from which it may be concluded that he had
not failed to keep him well informed with regard to
Seville affairs, he goes on to acquaint him of the arrival
of Cristobal de Haro and Juan de Cartagena, bringing
instructions more or less at variance with those of
Magellan. Upon this, he says, the officials of the Casa
de Contratacion summoned the latter, and demanded to
know, amongst other things, why he took so many Por-
tuguese with him. Magellan answered that, as captain
of the fleet, he should do as he chose, without rendering
an account to them. High words passed. The factors
of the India House ordered pay to be given to all
except the Portuguese, and, charged with the complaints
of both parties, a messenger was despatched at once to
Charles Y. to obtain his decision. Having put Dom
Manoel in possession of these details, Alvarez thus
proceeds : —
" And seeing the affair begun, and that it was a convenient
season for me to say what your Highness commanded, ^ I went to
Magellan's house, where I found him filling baskets and chests
with preserved victuals and other things. I pressed him, pre-
tending that, as I found him thus engaged, it seemed to me that
his evil design was settled, and since this would be the last word
I should have with him, I desired to bring back to his memory
how many times, as a good Portuguese and his friend, I had
spoken to him, dissuading him from the great mistake he was
committing. And after asking pardon of him, lest he should be
offended at what I was about to say, I reminded him how many
times I had spoken to him, and how well he had always replied
to me, and that from his replies I always hoped that in the end
he would not go, to the so great injury of your Highness. And
what I always told him was, that the path he had chosen was
beset with as many dangers as the wheel of Saint Catherine, and
1 Hence it appears certain that Alvarez acted under the King's
orders.
1519,] PREPARATIONS FOR THE VOYAGE. 131
that he ought to leave it and take that which led to Coimbra,
and return to his native land and to the favour of your Highness,
at whose hands he would always receive benefits. In our conver-
sation I brought before him all the dangers I could think of, and
the mistakes he was making. He said to me that now, as an
honourable man, he could only follow the path he had chosen.
I replied that unduly to gain honour, and to gain it with infamy,
was neither wisdom nor honour, but rather lack of wisdom and
honour, for he might be sure that the chief Castilians of this
city in speaking of him held him for a low person and of no
breeding, since, to the dis-service of his true king and lord, he
embarked in such an undertaking, and so much the more since
it was set going, arranged, and petitioned for by him. And he
might be certain that he was considered as a traitor, engaging
himself thus in opposition to your Highness's country. Here he
replied to me that he saw the mistake he made, but that he
hoped to observe your Highness's service, and by his voyage to
be of assistance to you. I told him that whoever should praise
him for such an expression of opinion did not understand it ;
for unless he touched your Highness's possessions how was he
to discover what he said ? Besides, it was a great injury to the
revenues of your Highness, which would affect the whole king-
dom and every class of people, and it was a far more virtuous
thought that inspired him when he told me that if your High-
ness ordered him to return to Portugal that he would do it without
further guarantee of reward, and that when you granted none to
him, there was Serradossa, and seven yards of grey cloth, and
some gall-nut beads open to him.^ So then it seemed to me that
his heart was true as far as his honour and conscience were con-
cerned. Our conversation was so long of duration that I cannot
write it.
" At this juncture, sire, he began to give me a sign, saying that
I should tell him more ; that this did not come from me, and
that, if your Highness commanded me, that I should tell him so,
and also the reward that you would grant him. I told him that
I was not a person of such weight that your Highness would
employ me for such a purpose, but that I said it to him as I had
1 Magellan's irony is the more amusing from the fact that it is
utterly lost upon Alvarez, who takes his alternative of a hermit's life
au pied de la lettre.
132 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [cHAr. V.
on many other occasions. Here he wished to pay me a compli-
ment, saying that if what I had begun with him was carried
on without the interference of others, your Highness would be
served, but that Nuno Ribeiro had told him one thing, which
meant nothing {q nofora nada), and Joao Mendez another, which
bound him to nothing, and he told me the favours they offered
him on the part of your Highness. He then bewailed himself
greatly, and said he was much concerned about it all, but that
he knew nothing which could justify his leaving a king who had
shown him such favour. I told him that it would be a more
certain matter, and attended with a truer honour, to do what he
ought to do, and not to lose his reputation and the favours your
Highness would grant him. And if he weighed his coming from
Portugal (which was for a hundred reals more or less of moradia
that your Highness did not grant him, in order not to break your
laws), and that there had arrived two sets of orders at variance
with his own, which he had at the hands of the King, Don Carlos,
he would see whether this insult {desprezo) did not outbalance
it — to go and do what it was his duty to do, rather than to
remain here for that for which he came.
" He was greatly astonished at my knowing so much, and then
he told me the truth, and how the messenger had left — all of
which I already knew. And he told me that certainly there was
no reason why he should abandon the undertaking, unless they
failed to fulfil anything in the terms of the agreement ; but that
first he must see what your Highness would do. I said to him,
what more did he desire to see than the orders ? — and Ruy
Faleiro, who said openly that he was not going to follow his
lantern,^ and that he would navigate to the south, or he would
not sail with the fleet ; and that he (Magellan) thought he was
going as admiral, whereas I knew that others were being sent in
opposition to him, of whom he would know nothing, except at
a time when it would be too late to save his honour.^ (And I
told him) that he should pay no heed to the honey that the
Bishop of Burgos put to his lips, and that now was the time for
him to choose his path, and that he should give me a letter to
1 The capitana or flag-ship always carried the farol or lantern.
2 "Eu sabia que avia out°» mandados em conf^iro, os quaees elle no
saberia sena a ?po que no pudese Remedea' sua onrra." From this
the previous plotting of the mutiny is evident.
1519.] PREPARATIONS FOR THE VOYAGE. 133
your Highness, and that I, out of affection for him, would go to
your Highness and plead his cause, because I had no instruction
from your Highness concerning such business, and only said what
I thought I had often said before.^ He told me that he would
say nothing to me until he had seen the answer that the mes-
senger brought, and with this our conversation finished. I will
watch the interests of your Highness to the utmost-of my power.
"... I spoke to Ruy Faleiro twice, but he replied nothing to
me, save ' how could he do such a thing against the King, his
lord, who conferred such benefits upon him ; ' and to all that I
said to him he gave me no other answer. It seems to me that
he is like a man affected in his reason, and that this his familiar
has taken away whatever wisdom he possessed. I think that if
Fernao de Magalhaes were removed that Ruy Faleiro would
follow what Magalhaes did."
The rest of the letter of Alvarez, which is one of great
length, need not be quoted. He gives the King of
Portugal information about the ships and their arma-
ment, together with a list of the Portuguese who had at
that time taken service in the fleet, A passage concern-
ing the proposed route and the charts and instruments
provided is, however, of interest : —
" The route which it is reported they are to take is direct to
Cape Frio, leaving Brazil on the right, until they pass the boun-
dary-line, and thence to sail W. and W.N.W. direct to Maluco,
which land of Maluco I have seen laid down on the globe and
chart which Fernando de Reynell made here, the which was not
finished when his father came here for him, and his father
finished the whole and marked these lands of Maluco, and on
this pattern are constructed all the charts which Diogo Ribeiro
makes. And he makes all the compasses, quadrants, and globes,
but does not sail with the fleet ; nor does he desire anything
more than to gain his living by his skill.
" From this Cape Frio to the islands of Maluco by this route
there are no lands laid down in the charts they take. May God
1 That this was a direct untruth can be seen by a reference to the
first sentence of the letter.
134 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [ciiAr. v.
the Almighty grant that they make a voyage like that of the
Cortereals,^ and that your Highness may remain at rest, and
ever be envied — as your Highness is — by all princes."
Such a letter as this gives us some idea of the diJEfi-
culties with which Magellan had to contend. They
were augmented by the relations existing between his
colleague and himself. Always of uncertain temper,
Faleiro had of late become still more difficult to deal
with. What was his real condition it is impossible to
say. Although the suggestion has been stoutly com-
bated by some historians, the balance of evidence is in
favour of the fact that he became insane. Both Acosta
and Sebastian Alvarez in their letters to Dom Manoel
already quoted speak of him as being half-crazy. From
what we know of his previous history, the supposition is
not an impossible one — is even probable, perhaps. The
contemporary writers for the most part support it.
Argensola tells us that having gone out of his mind,
he was sent to the madhouse in Seville. Gomara says
that he went mad from the fear that he would be unable
to fulfil his promise, and Oviedo speaks of him as muy
loco, having lost both his health and his reason. By
others it is hinted that the madness may have been
feigned with the idea of commanding the squadron which
was to follow that of Magellan. Barros gives a still
more ingenious story — that Ruy Faleiro, being an astro-
loger, cast his own horoscope, and finding that the voyage
would be disastrous and end in his death, he feigned
madness at the last moment to avoid sailing. 2 Herrera
1 The Cortereals sailed in Cabot's track to find a north-west passage,
and of either of them— Gaspar in 1501 and Miguel in the following
year — no tidings were ever heard.
2 Argensola, Conq. de las Molucns, lib. i. p. 16 ; Gomara, op. cit.
cap. xci. p. 83 ; Oviedo y Valdes, op. cit. Ub. xx. cap. i. ; Argens,
1519.] PREPARATIONS FOR THE VOYAGE. 135
tells us that differences arose between the two com-
manders, and it seems that Alvarez was instrumental in
fomenting them. But whatever may have been the
difficulty, the King had ultimately to dismiss Faleiro.
By a cedilla dated from Barcelona on the 26th July, 1519,
he ordered that he should remain in Seville to superin-
tend the preparations of the second fleet,i and Magellan
from this date remained practically in sole command, in
spite of Juttn de Cartagena — to whom Faleiro's ship was
given — being spoken of in some documents of the India
House as his ^^ conjunta persona.''^ His position was
further strengthened by an order from the King that
Luis de Mendoza, the captain of the Victoria, and
treasurer of the fleet, who had been insolent and in-
clined to question his authority, should render unhesi-
tating obedience. We may be sure that with this
Mendoza's hatred of Magellan was in no way mitigated.
It culminated before long, as we shall see, in the mutiny
of Port St. Julian, where a swift and terrible punish-
ment was the reward of his treason. It would have
Anales de Aragon, lib. i. cap. Ixxix. ; Barros, op. cit. Dec. iii. lib. v.
cap. viii. p. 631.
1 "Mando elRey que pues Ruy Falero no se hallaua con entera
salud, se quedasse hasta otro viage." — Herrera, Dec. ii. lib. iv. cap.
ix. Faleiro afterwards returned to Portugal, and was imprisoned
there. From prison he wrote to the Cardinal Adrian, begging that he
would interest himself with the King to procure his release. Possibly
this was done ; we know at least that he was in Seville on March 22,
1523, and that he wrote thence two letters to the King upon the
importance of retaining the spice trade, and begging that his pension
should be paid, as he had not received it, and was in want. He also
sought permission to fit out a small armada, suggesting that with his
charts and instruments he would be of great service. Both these
letters exist in the Seville archives, together with the letter to the
Cardinal, which is written in Latin. Vide Medina's Colcccion, vol. i.
p. 313. It is believed that Faleiro died in Seville in 1523.
136 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. v.
been better for him had he been dismissed his ship, as
were two mutinous Portuguese at this period. The
plots of Alvarez had already begun to work, and dis-
affection was rife long ere the ships left the Guadal-
quivir.
One of the points upon which Charles Y. had most
strongly insisted was that the number of Portuguese
borne upon the ship's books should be reduced to the
smallest possible limits. In a letter writteit from Bar-
celona on the I yth June he gives orders that under no
circumstances whatever are these to be more than five in
number. Writing again on the 5th July to Euy Faleiro,
who had sought permission for his brother to accompany
him, the permission is given, but only on condition that
he should form one of these five. On the 26th July the
same order is reiterated. Nevertheless, circumstances
brought it about that many more ultimately sailed. It
may well be imagined that there were not wanting
people who ascribed the worst of motives to Magellan
with regard to the matter. To clear himself he pre-
sented an informacion to the India House on the 9th
August, drawn up in the then customary form of ques-
tion and answer, and giving the evidence of five men of
known position and character, among whom we find the
name of Sebastian del Cano. From it we learn several
facts of interest. It tells us how in the streets and
squares and quays of Seville the public crier announced
the departure of the fleet, and called for volunteers ; how
the people said the pay was too small, and would not go ;
how the ofiicers were sent to Cadiz and Malaga and
other ports, and still could not get their complement ;
and how, finally, a number of foreigners — and among
them several Portuguese — were enrolled, with whom
1519.] PREPARATIONS FOR THE VOYAGE. 137
the captains were, nevertheless, quite satisfied. Of the
varied nationalities and tongues thus brought together
one reads with astonishment. Besides the Spaniards,
Portuguese, and Basques, there were Genoese, Sicilians,
French, Flemings, Germans, Greeks, Neapolitans, Cor-
fiotes, Negros, and Malays. One Englishman there
was, and one only, a certain Master Andrew of Bristol,
master-gunner of the flag-ship.^ Of Portuguese there
ultimately sailed no less than thirty-seven — probably
indeed even more, for our sources of information, though
wonderfully full, are not absolutely complete. ^
Despite the difficulty in obtaining men, the prepara-
tions were by this time nearly finished. From a letter
of Magellan to the India House we learn that his chief
anxiety was to obtain possession of Ruy Faleiro's book
of the various methods of taking observations. H e
desires to take Francisco Faleiro as captain in place of
his brother, but fears that even then the latter may not
see fit to put him in possession of the coveted book.
His fears, however, were groundless, for though Fran-
cisco Faleiro decided not to sail with him, but to await
the following expedition, the book upon which Magellan
so greatly depended for his observations was presented
to him by his former friend and comrade before sailing.^
Before starting upon an expedition of such magnitude
1 We cannot claim him as one of the immortals — the little band of
survivors who shared among them the glory of being the first circum-
navigators. He died on 9th March, 1521, just after the fleet had
reached the Ladrone Islands.
2 See Appendix, No. III., for this and other information concerning
the personnel of the expedition.
3 This book consisted of thirty chapters, and is referred to at some
length by Barros, in conjunction with the book of Andres de San
Martin, who practically filled his place upon the expedition. Barros,
Dec. iii. lib. v. cap. x.
138 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. v.
as this, it was the custom, as we have already seen, to
attend a solemn church service en masse. Upon this
occasion the ceremony was one of more than usual
interest. It must have been felt by all that the voyage
before them was of no ordinary character. They were
not bound for the now well-known West Indies, nor
about to sail the trite waters of the Indian Ocean.
Their very first experiences would be in almost unknown
lands and seas. And so, when the Corregidor of Seville,
Sancho Martinez de Leyva, solemnly entrusted Magellan
with the royal standard in the church of Santa Maria de
la Victoria, and received from him the oath that, as a good
subject of the King, he would carry out his enterprise,
there must have been few of the onlookers to whose
minds the difiiculties and dangers of their future path
did not present themselves. To Magellan the captains
and officials of the armada swore a like oath of allegi-
ance, promising to follow the course ordered by him and
to obey him in everything. Alas for man's sincerity
and honour ! Many of those who knelt before the altar
were at that moment pledged to join in open mutiny
against their leader directly the fitting opportunity
should arrive.
The preparations were now sufficiently far advanced to
permit the fleet to leave the quays of Seville. On Wed-
nesday the loth August, 1519, the vessels weighed and
dropped down the river to the port of S. Lucar de Bar-
rameda, at its mouth. Here they remained for more
than a month. It was now evident that, so far as the
actual start of the expedition was concerned, the efforts
of the Portuguese had failed, and their predictions
proved incorrect. To within a few months of his sailing,
Magellan had been represented to Dom Manoel as "a
1519.] PREPARATIONS FOR THE VOYAGE. 139
boaster and a man of little worth, who would not carry-
out his promises." ^ Now they formed a different
opinion. The plots and intrigues to let and hinder the
expedition did not therefore cease even with its depar-
ture. Dom Manoel sent ships to the Cape, and also to
Santa Maria in the Rio de la Plata, with - orders to
intercept their passage, and these having failed in their
object, Diogo Lopez de Sequeira was instructed to send
six ships from Cochim to the Moluccas for the same pur-
pose — an order he was unable to fulfil on account of
there being no vessels available at the time.^
Unconscious of these added dangers, Magellan worked
hard at the innumerable matters of business connected
with his immediate departure. Together with his cap-
tains, he went backwards and forwards between Seville
and the ships, supplying the various omissions which at
the last moment so frequently declare themselves. One
of his last acts was to address a memorial to Charles V.,
assigning the geographical position of various places
more or less connected with the line of demarcation —
among them the Moluccas ^ — giving as his reason " that
the King of Portugal may assert that they lie within
his limit, and that no one understands the matter as he
(Magellan) understands it."
On the 24th August he made his will. The document
is still in existence in the Seville archives. It bears
evidence of strong religious influence, if not religious
feeling. In it he desired that one-tenth part of his
1 "Dezian los Portugueses que el Rey de Castilla perderia el gasto,
porque Hernando de Magallanes era hombre hablador y de poca sus-
tancia, y que no saldria con lo que prometia." — Herrera.
2 Pigafetta, lib. iii. p. 141, Milan edit, of 1800.
3 Seville Archives, leg. i. of Molucca documents. Navarrete, iv.
p. 188.
140 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. v.
share of the profits of the expedition (which share was
to be one-fifth of the whole) should be taken and divided
into three equal shares, one of which was bequeathed to
the Convento de los Minimos of Victoria de Triana, where
he was to be buried if he died in Seville. The other two
shares were to be equally distributed between the monas-
tery of Monserrat in Barcelona, the convent of S. Fran-
cisco in Aranda de Duero, and S. Domingo de las Duenas
in Oporto. Of the effects he might die possessed of in
the fleet and of his real and personal property in Seville,
he desired that a fifth share should be expended in saying
masses for his soul.
The rule and seignorial rights of the lands he might
discover he desired should pass in regular succession, first
to his son Eodrigo, or, to the child which might be born
to him — his wife being then pregnant — or, failing direct
descent, to his brother Diogo de Sousa, or to his sister
Isabel. If the property should pass to the side branch,
the holder of the mayorazgo should, in the event of the
survival of Dona Beatriz, his wife, pay to her annually
a fourth part of the revenue and a sum of two hundred
ducats. 2
Of the 50,000 maravedis of pension conferred by the
Casa de Contratacion upon his life and that of his wife,
1 Magellan's son Rodrigo died in 1521 ; his second child was still-
born ; his wife died in 1522 ; Duarte Barbosa was killed in the sur-
prise of May I, 1521, and the father, Diogo Barbosa, dying in 1525,
the Crown took possession of the estate, which was claimed by Jaime
Barbosa and other sons of Diogo. The case, after having remained
seven years unheard, was again brought forward on the 6th June,
1540. The claimants had spent all their money and were reduced to
want, and though Magellan had given his life in the service of Spain
nineteen years before, they had not received a maravedi. What was
the ultimate result we do not learn, but knowing what we do of
Spanish justice at that period, we can guess.
1519.] PKEPARATIONS FOR THE VOYAGE. 141
the latter was to pay annually to the said sister Isabel
the sum of 5000 maravedis. His son or sons were left
residuary legatees. His heirs were to take the name
and arms of Magallanes, and to reside and marry in
Spain. -^
Magellan appointed as executors his father-in-law,
Diogo Barbosa, and Don Sancho de Matienzo, the cano-
niyo of Seville who had supported him on the occasion
of the riot instigated by Alvaiez. At the same time
that he made his will he addressed a letter to the King,
asking that the 12,500 maravedis presented to him on
the occasion of his decoration with the Order of Santiago
might be paid to the convent of Victoria de la Triana,
he having already promised it to them.
All was now ready, and the Captain-general rejoined
his ship and hoisted his pennant. Every day, Pigafetta
tells us, officers and men had gone ashore to hear mass
at the church of Nossa Senora de Barrameda, and now,
on the eve of sailing, Magellan gave orders that all
should confess, " in the which he himself showed the
way to the others." Next day, Tuesday the 20th Sep-
tember, 1 5 1 9, a favourable breeze having sprung up, he
gave the order to weigh, and n little later the ships
cleared the river and commenced the memorable voyage
which, through almost unparalleled suffering and dis-
aster, was to win an immortal name for its survivors as
the first circumnavigators of the globe.
1 See Appendix II.
CHAPTER yr.
THE LAST VOYAGE— I. S.E. AMERICA AND THE
MUTINY IN PORT ST. JULIAN.
Before entering upon the narrative of Magellan's final
expedition, the issue of which was to stamp him as the
greatest of the world's discoverers, we must turn for a
moment to consider the materials with which he was
provided. To the ships themselves allusion has already
been made. They were for the most part old, small, and
in anything but good condition. The Trinidad, though
not the largest, was the most seaworthy and most
suitable for capitana, and at her mast-head Magellan
accordingly flew his pennant. Juan de Cartagena cap-
tained the S. Antonio, the largest vessel of the fleet.
The Concppcion was commanded by Gaspar Quesada, and
the Vidoria by the traitor Luis de Mendoza, treasurer
of the armada, who had already been reprimanded by
the King for insolence to the Captain-general. The little
Santiago was given to Joao Serrao, whose long experience
in the East and great knowledge of navigation rendered
him one of the most important members of the expedi-
tion.
The command of the Santiago by Serrao was, as it
happened, an affair of no little moment to Magellan.
But for his old friend and comrade it is more than pos-
sible that the mutiny of Port St. Julian might have
proved too much for him, and the great discovery of
142
1519.] THE LAST VOYAGE— f. 143
Magellan's Straits might have been postponed to deck
another brow with laurels. Upon the Portuguese in
the fleet, despite his altered nationality, Magellan relied
even more as friends than as navigators. By the time
the squadron had crossed the bar, the originally-permitted
number of five had greatly increased. Among the 280
men, more or less, who sailed, thirty-seven, as we have
seen, were Portuguese, and of these many held most
important posts. On the Trinidad were Estevao Gomez
the pilot, Magellan's brother-in-law — Duarte Barbosa —
Alvaro de la Mezquita, and eight others. The S. Antonio
bore the cosmographer Andres de San Martin and Joao
Rodriguez de Mafra, All the pilots of the fleet, indeed,
were Portuguese, just as the gunners were foreigners;
and Joao Lopez Carvalho and Vasco Gallego navigated
respectively the Concepcion and the Victoria.
The armament of the fleet was on an extensive scale.
The artillery comprised sixty-two culverins, ten falconets,
and ten large bombards. Small firearms were not then
greatly used, and only fifty arquebuses were carried.
There were, however, a thousand lances, two hundred
pikes, ten dozen javelins, ninety- five dozen darts, sixty-
crossbows, with 360 dozen arrows, and " sundry swords
which the captain took." One hundred corselets, with
gauntlets, shoulder-pieces, and casques, appear in the
list, together with an equal number of cuirasses. Finally,
we learn that as much as 5600 lbs. of powder were put
on board.
The " instrumentos " with which the navigators were
provided were of the simplest nature. Twenty-three
parchment charts by Nuno Garcia, six pairs of compasses,
twenty-one wooden quadrants, seven astrolabes, thirty-
five compass-needles, and eighteen hour-glasses formed the
144 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. vi.
entire list ; and not all of these, we are told, were ulti-
mately taken. The number of articles for barter was,
however, very large. In the " Priuie Notes given by a
Gentleman to the Marchants of the Muscouie Com-
pany," with which Hakluyt has made us acquainted,
the importance of such expeditions being provided with
*' looking-glasses for women, great and fayre," is dwelt
upon, and Magellan's squadron was amply supplied with
these, together with 500 lbs. of "crystals, which are
diamonds of all colours." Knives, fish-hooks, stuffs,
and velvets, ivory, quicksilver (2240 lbs.), and brass
bracelets all figure largely in the list; but it appears
that bells were considered to be the most useful objects
of barter. Of these no less than 20,000 were taken.
The cost of the fleet, with its stores and armament, was
for those days considerable. From papers existing in
the Seville archives, we know the exact amount to a
maravedi. The entire expenditure was 8,751,125 mara-
vedis, or ;^5032, 6s. 3d. But some of the stores having
been left behind, the sum was reduced by 416,790 mara-
vedis, or about ;£24o. The ships, together with their
artillery, powder, and small-arms, cost ;;^2 249 ; the
victualling, £91^', the articles of barter, ;!^965, and
the instruments and minor expenses, ;^238.^ Of the
whole sum, about one quarter was supplied by Cristobal
de Haro and his friends, the rest was at the King's
expense.
Our knowledge of the events of Magellan's great yet
disastrous expedition is drawn from limited sources. Of
those persons who actually took part in it, only four
have left any description of its incidents. In Ramusio's
1 For modern money the equivalent would be about five times these
sums.
1519.] THE LAST VOYAGE— I. 145
Navigationi et Viaggi occurs an exceedingly brief account
by an unknown Portuguese, so brief, indeed, as to be
almost valueless. In the Seville archives there exists a
derrotero or log-book, supposed to be written by Fran-
cisco Albo, the contramaestre of the Trinidad, but it is
little more than a collection of nautical observations,
which, though of the greatest interest in furnishing
data for the actual course sailed by the vessels of the
fleet, tell us little or nothing of the ordinary incidents
of the voyage. A third account is that of the so-called
Genoese pilot. ^ From the fact that the manuscript is
in the Portuguese language, and, moreover, in remark-
ably pure Portuguese, it has been conjectured that the
author was not a Genoese. The narrative is tolerably
full, but it bears no evidence of having been written by
a pilot, and it is further worthy of remark that no
Genoese sailed as pilot in the fleet.
The chief source of information we have, however, is
neither of the foregoing. When the despatch of the
fleet was finally decided upon, a certain Italian gentle-
man — Antonio Pigafetta by name — a native of Vicenza,
being in Barcelona, and '* desirous of seeing the wonder-
ful things of the ocean," obtained. permission to accom-
pany Magellan on his voyage. Through the many
adventurous months of wandering that fell to his lot,
he kept his journal, finally publishing it upon his return.
In it hearsay evidence is largely mixed with personal
experience, but upon the whole it gives by far the best
and fullest account of the expedition. There are reasons
for supposing that it was originally published in French —
' — reasons too lengthy to discuss here. It was dedicated
1 Published in vol. iv. of the Colle^do de Noticias of the Lisbon
Academy.
K
146 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. vi.
to the celebrated Grand Master of Rhodes, Villiers de
risle Adam — Pigafetta himself being a Kniglit of
Rhodes — and a copy was presented by him to the
Regent, Louise of Savoy, mother of Francis I.
The most careful account written by mere historians
of the event, who had taken no part in the voyage, is
that of Maximilian Transylvanus, an under-secretary
at the court of Charles Y. This person, who had
married Cristobal de Haro's niece, was a natural son of
the Archbishop of Salzburg, and a pupil of the cele-
brated Peter Martyr. ^ Upon the arrival of the survi-
vors of the expedition at Valladolid (whither they had
gone to present themselves to the Emperor), they were
carefully interrogated by both Peter Martyr and Maxi-
milian. The former, we are told, wrote a long account
of the affair. " This viage," says Eden in his trans-
lation of the Decades,'^ "was written particularly by
Don Peter Martyr of Angleria, being one of the coun-
sayle of Themperours Indies, to whom also was com-
mytted the wrytynge of the hystorie and examination of
al suche as returned from tliense into Spayne to the
citie of Siuile in the yeare mdxxii. But sendynge it to
Rome to bee prynted in that miserable tyme when the
citie was sacked, it was lost, and not founde to this
day, or any memory remaynynge thereof, sauynge suche
as sum that redde the same haue borne in mynde."
1 Peter Martyr of Angliera, so called from having been born in the
suburb of Milan in 1455, entered the service of Ferdinand and Isabella,
and was sent by them as ambassador to Venice and Egypt. He lived
the greater part of his life in Castile, becoming secretary to Charles V.,
and dying in 1526. As protonotary of the Consejo of the Indies,
he was brought much in contact with geographical matters, and
besides the well-known Op^i^s EpistoJarum, wrote the De Navigatione
et Terris de Novo Repcrtis.
- llich. Eden, The Decades of the Newe Worlde, 1555, foL 214.
1519.] THE LAST VOYAGE— I. 147
Maximilian's account, however, remains. It was written
on the 24th October, 1522, to his father, and reached him
in Nuremberg in the following month. The description
of such a voyage naturally attracted much attention,
and the manuscript, which was in Latin, was printed
in Cologne in January of the following year^ thus pro-
bably preceding the Nauigation et Descouurement of
Pigafetta.^
In addition to these sources, both Correa and Herrera
give descriptions of the voyage which bear evidence in
a greater or less degree of first-hand information ; and
among the mass of documents in the Seville archives are
sundry informadones and other papers throwing consi-
derable light upon the mutiny and other salient incidents
of the expedition.
We must return to the squadron, whose course on
leaving Spain was shaped southward for the Canaries.
Immediately on getting to sea, Magellan instituted a
strict system of signalling at night by means of lights,
and appointed the watches, as was even at that time
customary. The admiral's ship led the van, bearing on
the poop the farol or lantern, which it was the duty of
his fleet to keep in sight. The night was divided into
three watches — the first at the beginning of night ; the
second, called the medora, at midnight ; and the third
towards daybreak. The last was known as la diane, or
1 The precise date of the publication of Pigafetta's narrative is not
known. In August, 1524, he petitioned the Doge and Council of
Venice for permission to print his book in that city, and to have the
exclusive copyright for twenty years {vide Lord Stanley's First Voyage,
Appendix, p, xiv. ). The permission was granted. But it will be seen
that ample time existed for the publication of a previous edition. The
edition for the most part referred to and used in these pages is that
of Amoretti, published in Milan in i8cx».
148 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap, vi,
the watch of the morning star. Each night they were
changed ; those who had kept the first watch kept the
second on the following day, the second the third, and
so on. In accordance, too, with the customary rules laid
down by the India House, the crew of each vessel was
divided into three companies — the first belonging to the
captain or contramaestre, who took it in turns to com-
mand ; the second to the pilot ; and the third to the
maestre. " The Captain -general, a discreet and virtuous
man, careful of his honour," says Pigafetta, ** would not
commence his voyage without first making good and
wholesome ordinances."
On the 26th September the fleet arrived at Tenerife,i
and remaining three or four days to take in wood and
water, sailed for a port called Monte Rosso on the same
island, 2 where they again delayed two days to supply
themselves with pitch, or, according to Herrera, to aM-ait
a caravel which was to bring them fish. It was while
they were in Tenerife that an incident occurred which
early brought home to the Captain-general the difficulties
which lay in his path.
Of the existence of disaffection among his crew Magel-
lan must have been well aware. Before starting, two of
his men had been dismissed for insubordination. We have
seen how, in Sebastian Alvarez' letter to Dom Manoel,
he hints at a prearranged conspiracy.^ Pigafetta tells us
that the captains of the other ships hated their leader,*
and the fact must have been patent enough. But though
he may have been fully conscious of the danger which
1 The log-book of the " Genoese pilot " gives the 29th as the date.
2 ? Punta Roxa, at the south end of Tenerife.
3 " Eu sabia que avia out^s niandados em contrairo os quaees elle n6
saheria sena a tpo que no pudese Remedear sua onrra."
4 Pigafetta, Primo Viaggio intorno al Globo, Milan, 1800, p. 8.
1519.] THE LAST VOYAGE— I. H9
threatened him, this danger had not as yet assumed de-
finite shape. Now, at the very beginning of his voyage,
at the moment of adventuring himself into unknown
seas, it was to do so. A caravel arrived bearing a secret
message from his father-in-law, Diogo Barbosa, warning
him to " keep a good watch, since it had come to his
knowledge that his captains had told their friends and
relations that if they had any trouble with him they
would kill him." ^ Argensola gives us the same story —
that " his captains had resolved not to obey him, parti-
cularly Juan de Cartagena." 2 The news — which pro-
bably was no news to Magellan — did not dishearten him
one whit. He sent back answer to Barbosa that, were
they good men or evil, he would do his work as a servant
of the Emperor, and " to this end," he added, " he had
offered his life." His letter, Correa tells us, was shown
by Barbosa to the Corregidores, " who greatly lauded
the stout heart of Magellan."
Pigafetta, ere leaving the Canaries, duly chronicles the
semi-fabulous story of the island of Hierro — old even in
those days, for Pliny records it — how its single tree is
perpetually enveloped in a cloud from which it distils an
unfailing supply of water— a story founded upon fact,
as we know now, for both in Madeira and the Canaries
the laurel and other heavy- foliaged evergreens condense
abundant water from the daily mists. The fleet left
Tenerife at midnight on the 3rd October,^ running under
foresails only until they cleared the land, when they
closed and held a south-west course until noon on the
following day, when the observations taken placed
1 Correa, Lendas da India, vol. ii. p. 627.
2 Argensola, Conq. de las Mol., lib. i. p. 16,
^ On the 2nd, according to Herrera's account.
150 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [ciiAP. vi.
them in 27° N. lat., having made a run of twelve
leagues.
From here they followed in the wake of the admiral's
ship, steering sometimes south, sometimes south by west,
and early on the following morning the >S'. Antonio^ run-
ning under the stern of the Trinidad, demanded the
course. The pilot replied that it was south by west. It
having been previously settled, Herrera tells us, that,
until they reached the latitude of 24° N., the course was
to be south-west, Juan de Cartagena demanded to know
why it was changed. Magellan replied that " he was to
follow him and not ask questions." ^ The captain of the
S. Ardonio retorted that he ought to have consulted the
captains and pilots, and not to have acted thus arbi-
trarily, and added that it was an error of judgment to
keep so near the African coast. Magellan's reply was to
the same effect as his first answer — that the squadron
must follow his flag by day and his lantern by night.
For fifteen days the fleet held good weather, passing
between Cape Verde and its islands without sighting
either, and running along the African coast. Between
the cape and Sierra Leone they encountered calms and
baffling winds for twenty days or more, during which
time they advanced only three leagues upon their way.
Provided with few or no data in physical geography,
they had chosen what we now know to be a disadvan-
tageous course. Following on the calms they had an
entire month of head winds and very heavy storms.
So heavy indeed were some of these squalls, that the
vessels dipped their yardarms, and the captains were
more than once on the point of ordering the masts to be
^ " Que lo siguisson y no lo pidiesson mas cuenta." — ffcrrcra, ii. iv.
cap. X.
1519.] THE LAST VOYAGE— I. 151
cut away. Striking all sail, they ran under bare poles at
the mercy of the wind. Pigafetta, to whom the sea and
its natural phenomena were novelties, gives us a vivid
account of the terrors of this period. *' In these tem-
pests," he says, "the Corpo Santo or St. Elmo's fire
often appeared, and in one which we experienced
on a certain very dark night, it showed itself at the
summit of the mainmast with such brightness that
it seemed like a burning torch, remaining there for a
space of more than two hours ; the which was of such
comfort to us that we wept for joy. And when it left
us, it cast such a vivid light in our eyes that for near a
quarter of an hour we remained as blind men, crying
out for mercy, for we gave ourselves up for lost." ^
For nearly sixty days they encountered rain while in
the neighbourhood of the Line, " a thing very strange
and unaccustomed to be seen," according to the ideas
prevalent at that time. Sharks often came round their
ships — " large fishes with terrible teeth " — and were
caught by hooks ; but the sailors do not seem to have
appreciated the flesh, which they pronounced, in the case
of the large ones, to be hardly fit to eat, while the smaller
fish were little better. Notes of a like naive nature
follow upon birds. 2 The men had fitted the well-known
legend of the bird-of- Paradise — heard doubtless by the
old hands in some far Eastern port — to some petrel or
diver. " They make no nest," it ran, " because they have
no feet, and the hen lays her eggs on the back of the
cock, and there hatches them."
1 Pigafetta, op. eit., p. i8.
2 "Vidimovarie specie d'uccellistrani: alcuni non hanno culo. .«. .
Altri son detti Cagassela percbe cibansi dello stereo d'altri uccelli."—
Pigafetta, op. cit., p. 14.
152 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [ciiAP. vi.
The slowness of their progress during this early part
of the voyage caused some anxiety as to the sufficiency
of provisions, and the crew were accordingly placed on
diminished rations. Four pints of water only were
allowed daily, a smaller measure of wine was given, and
the weight of bread reduced to a pound and a half. The
voyage was destined to be attended by unusual difficulties
and disasters, even for those perilous times — disasters
only equalled by the world- famed success of its issue —
and foreshadowings of the miseries awaiting the naviga-
tors in the Pacific early darkened their path.
Their troubles with regard to the insufficiency of stores
were, however, at that time of no. very great moment.
They were forgotten before a more serious difficulty than
any that had hitherto arisen. The dissensions which
had already commenced between Juan de Cartagena and
his chief had shown no sign of abatement as the voyage
progressed. Before the Line was reached they cul-
minated in open rupture. It was the custom, ordained
by the King and embodied in his letter of instructions
to Magellan,! that every evening, whenever the weather
rendered it possible, the captains should communicate
with the flagship, to salute the admiral and to take his
orders. One day the quartermaster of the S. Antonio^
hailing the Trinidad, gave as greeting, '' Dios vos salve,
sefior capitan y maestro, d buena compania." Magellan,
resenting the studied omission of his proper title of
Captain- general, informed Juan de Cartagena that he
expected to be rightly addressed in future. The latter
1 "Dareis luego por ordenanza ^los capitanes de las otras naos quo
cada dia a las tardes vos den sus salvas, segund se acostumbra hacer
k los capitanes mayores de cualquier armada." — Seville Archives^ Pap.
de Maluco, leg. i. ; Navarrete, iv. p. 131.
1519.] S.E. AMERICA. 153
replied that '' he had sent the best man in the ship to
salute him, and that another day, if he wished, he would
salute him through one of the pages." For three days,
however, he failed altogether to comply with the rule.
Magellan, though not the man tamely to submit to
insults from his subordinates, took no immediate action,
but a day or two later, a court-martial being held upon
a sailor of the Victoria, Cartagena was summoned with
the other captains to the flag-ship. The trial over, a
discussion of the course to be steered followed. Carta-
gena, emboldened by Magellan's quiescence and the
success of his former insults, renewed them without
more ado. But he had mistaken his man. The Captain-
general, seizing him by the breast, exclaimed, " You are
my prisoner." Cartagena called in vain upon those pre-
sent to aid him and to seize Magellan. No one stirred,
and he was led off in custody to the stocks, and entrusted
to the keeping of Luis de Mendoza, captain of the Vic-
toria. The command of the S. Antonio was given to
the contador, Antonio de Coca. It was a pity for the
offender that the prompt and resolute action of the
admiral upon this occasion did not serve as a warning
to deter him from future insubordination.
Steering a more westerly course, the fleet approached
the New World, and arrived off Cape St. Augustin, near
Pernambuco, on the 29th November. They continued
to hug the coast, and on December 8th were close to
land, and in only ten fathoms. Next day they found
themselves in lat. 21° 31' S., in sight of a very high
mountain near Cape St. Thomas. Rounding Cape Frio,
they anchored in Rio harbour, which, since they entered
it on the day of that saint, the 13th December, they
called the Bay' of Santa Lucia. Here they remained
If4 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. vl.
a fortnight, taking in wood and water and trading with
the natives, " a good people and numerous," as Alvo
records. Pigafetta has left a lengthy record of their stay-
here, and of the customs and peculiarities of the country
and its people, partly from his own observation, partly
from that of former voyagers, notably Yespucci. The
pine- apples — " a very sweet fruit, more tasteful than
any other " — sweet potatoes, fowls, and tapir were much
appreciated by the sailors after their reduced rations.
They were to be had in abundance and upon the
easiest terms. For a knife or a fishhook five or six
fowls might be obtained ; for a comb or mirror enough
fish for ten men, and for a little bell a large basket
full of sweet potatoes. A still better bargain was made
by Pigafetta himself, who exchanged the king from a
pack of cards for six fowls. Besides articles of food,
parrots and other birds were brought for sale by the
natives, who were ready enough to barter away their
children for an axe or a large knife. The admiral, how-
ever, forbade the purchase of any slaves, not only on
account of the difficulty of feeding them, but in order
that the Portuguese, within whose country the territory
lay, should have no ground of complaint.
It is unnecessary to dwell on Pigafetta's evidently
hearsay or borrowed account of the Indians and their
customs. He speaks of their sleeping in " nets of cotton
that they call amaclie,''^ and of their boats called canoe.
On the authority of Joao Carvalho, the pilot of the
Concepdorij who had resided with them for four years,^
1 Brazil, it must bo remembered, had been discovered twenty years
at the time of Mag-ellan's voyage, and it is worthy of record that Car-
valho took with him upon this voyage a son whom he luid by a native
wife during his former residence in Rio. We learn incidentally tliat
1519.] S.E. AMERICA. 155
he describes their cannibal customs, and dilates upon the
wonders of the country. His account of his personal
experiences is more interesting. It had not rained for
two months before the visit of the fleet, and the arrival
of the strangers coinciding with the termination of the
long drought, the people thought they had brought the
rain with them, and were easily converted to Chris-
tianity. Mass was said twice on shore while the ships
lay in the bay, and the natives assisted with the utmost
devotion at it, " remaining on their knees with their
hands joined in great reverence, so that it was a pleasure
and a pity to see them." It is remarkable that none of
the historians of the voyage mention the presence of
Portuguese in Ptio de Janeiro, although there is every
probability that some may have been there at the time,
since a trading station had been established in the bay
some years before.
The fleet, well furnished with fresh provisions, resumed
its voyage on the 26th December.^ Before doing so,
however, an attempt had been made by the cosmo-
grapher Andres de San Martin to fix the longitude of
the bay. On the 17 th December the altitude of the
moon and Jupiter were observed, and from their posi-
tion it was computed that the latter was in conjunction
with the moon at the place of observation at yh. 15m.
after noon of the previous day. The tables of Pegio-
montanus were supposed to give the time of the con-
junction at Seville. Herrera describes the observation
at some length : it led to no definite conclusion, for the
another Brazilian of somi-Earopoan parentage was borne on the rolls.
Carvalho's son never returned, having been made prisoner by Sri Pada,
King of Borneo.
1 On the 27th, " El dia de San Juan," teste Herrera, ii. iv. 10.
156 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. vi.
result obtained was evidently erroneous, and Andres
ascribed the error to the almanac.
Sailing along the coast on a W.S.W. course, the ves-
sels arrived off the Bahia de los Reyes ^ upon the last
day of the year. No landing was effected, and they
continued their route to the southward, still hugging
the coast and constantly taking soundings. They were
well acquainted, even in those days, with the art of
arming the lead, and Herrera tells us on more than one
occasion what bottom was found. On the 8th January,
being in shoal water, they anchored for the night. On
the loth^ they were passing very low land, with no
landmarks save three hummocks, which appeared to be
islands. These the pilot Carvalho declared to be Cape
Santa Maria, saying that he recognised it from the
account of Joao de Lisboa, who had been there. Losing
the land here on their then course, they ran back north-
wards in search of shelter — having met with a terrific
storm of thunder and lightning — and anchored. On the
following day they weighed and proceeded W. J N., but
the water becoming very shallow, the Santiago was sent
ahead. They were at the mouth of the great river
where Juan de Solis lost his life at the hands of the
cannibals — the Rio de la Plata of to-day.
Their exploration of the river was a careful one. The
account given of it by Herrera differs somewhat from
that of Alvo the pilot, but in general outline it is the
same. For two days they followed up the stream. The
pilots grumbled at the risk, for the greatest depth they
found was three fathoms, and Magellan gave the order
to anchor. They remained here six days, taking in water,
1 Probably the Bay of Paranagua, in lat. 25° 28' S.
2 January 11, Herrera.
1520.] S.E. AMERICA. 157
and catching great quantities of fish. Many natives
gathered in canoes, and, mindful of the fate of Juan
de Solis, the Captain-general ordered three boats to be
manned and armed, upon which the people fled ashore.
The Spaniards landed and tried to catch them, but in
vain. " They made such enormous strides," says Piga-
fetta, " that with all our running and jumping we could
EAST COAST OF PATAGONIA.
not overtake them." The country was found to be
beautiful, but without sign of habitation. At night an
Indian dressed in goat-skins came alone in a canoe and
visited the flag-ship without a sign of fear. The admiral
presented him with a cotton shirt and a jersey of coloured
cloth, at the same time showing him a silver plate, to
ascertain if he knew the metal. The native gave him
to understand that there was much of it among his
158 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. vi.
tribe, but Magellan's hopes of barter were doomed to
disappointment, for the man went away next day and
did not return.
By Alvo's log-book we learn that the vessel or vessels
sent on in advance were absent fifteen days, and that
two other ships were also sent southwards. Of these,
the aS'. Antonio was one, and in her Magellan himself
went, anxious to examine the coast with his own eyes.^
Alvo's description of this incident, especially when read
side by side with Pigafetta's account, is of great interest.
Both the reconnaissances were made with the object of
seeing if there might not by chance exist a strait leading
into the Pacific.^ Such a strait, according to the Italian,
had been rumoured, or its possibility surmised. But
twenty leagues to the south the Captain-general reached
the opposite bank of the river, and fresh water still
washed the sides of his ships. He had to do, then, w^ith
the mouth of a great river only, and with nothing more ;
and the Jine della terra, which Cape Santa Maria had
been supposed to form, was not yet.
Rejoining the other ships, and beating back against
strong head-winds to " Monte Vidi," Magellan anchored
with his squadron off the site of the present city. On
the morning of February 3rd he weighed and resumed
1 Herrera, op. cit. Dec. ii. bk. ix. cap. x.
2 "por vex* si habia pasage," "a ver si babia pasagc para pasar,"
are the two phrases used by Alvo. Lord Stanley of Alderley, in his
First Voyage (i). 214), has rendered pasar/e as "roadstead" — "to see
if there was a roadstead for staying at " ! ! Speaking of the Rio de la
Plata and Cape Santa Maria, Pigafetta says, *' Si era creduto una
volta esser questo un canale che mettesse nel mar del Sur, cioe del
mezzodi." The mere fact that Magellan sought for a strait hero (or
perhaps sought to disprove its existence) proves nothing with regard
to the great question of what he knew concerning the straits that now
bear his name.
1520.] S.E. AMERICA. 159
his voyage to the south. Next day a leak was discovered
in the S. Antonio, but it was got under after a delay of
two days, and on the 6th the course was once more
resumed. Keeping close to the coast off Cabo San
Antonio, they rounded what is now known as Cape Cor-
rientes, which, owing to its sandhills and shoals, they
called Punta de las Arenas. On the 12th February they
encountered a very severe storm of thunder and lightning
and rain, the worst of which being over, the " glorioso
cuerpo " of S. Elmo appeared to them, " the which some
call that of S. Pedro Gonzalez, others of Santa Clara, and
others again of S. Nicholas." Whichever it may have
been, it afforded them much spiritual consolation, and
" many who held the matter in derision," says Herrera,
" not only saw it, but believed in it, and affirmed its truth. "
On the 13th February they found themselves among
shoals,^ and the Victoria bumped several times, but for-
tunately did not remain. They thought it best, however,
to keep off shore, and a course w^as steered which took
them out of sight of land for two or three days. It does
not appear whether Magellan thought that during this
time he may have missed the possibility of a strait, or
whether some other reason came into play, but either on
the 22nd or the 23rd he decided partially to retrace his
steps, and a W.N. W. course was set. It brought them,
February 24th, to the mouth of the Gulf of San Matias,
which they entered " to see if there were not an outlet for
the Moluccas." 2 None appeared, and at the approach
of night, finding no proper anchorage, they again stood
out to sea. The bay received its name from its discovery
1 The "Bajos^negados" of Ribero'smap.
2 Genoese pilot. "Vieudosi h'abia alguna salida para el Maluco."
Bee also Herrera, Dec. ii. bk. ix.
160 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. vi.
upon S. Matthias' Day. It was here that they appear
to have first felt the effects of the oncoming winter.
Herrera speaks of the great cold they experienced, and
chronicles a succession of storms which separated the
ships for three or four days.
Three days later, February 37th, they arrived at an
inlet to which they gave the name of Bahia le los Patos,
TIERA de PATAGONES
^<^^ '^P ^^ f 'Y^de los -patos
"^Qi> ^'^V ^^rf ' T" de Sanson.
^>^ ^-^H, "^-^
^ ^"^ D.RIBERO
1529.
^ C.P'uiip.e Son.
TIERA DE PATAGONES (Z). Rihero, 1529).
or Duck Bay, from the number of penguins frequenting
it. A boat with six men was sent to get wood and
water, but, fearful of the natives, they went to a small
island instead of visiting the mainland. Upon it they
found so many "sea wolves"^ and penguins that they
were astounded. The whole fleet could have been laden
1 These "sea-wolves" were probably some species of the Otariidaj
or fur-seals.
1520.] S.E. AMERICA. IGl
with them. Unable to discover either wood or water,
the sailors filled their boat with these creatures, but a
storm springing up, they found themselves unable to
return, and they were forced to spend the night upon
the rock, fearing that they would either be devoured by
the "wolves" or die from the cold. Next morning a
number of men were sent to their rescue, who found
their boat upon the rocks, and concluded that they had
perished. On shouting out for their comrades, an enor-
mous number of seals sprang out, of which they killed
many ; and searching farther, they came upon the missing
men buried beneath the seals they had killed, and half
dead from cold and exposure. On their return to the
fleet another storm came on, so heavy that the cables of
the Trinidad parted, and only one held. Close to the
rocks, and horribly afraid, they promised a pilgrimag
to N.S. de la Victoria, and commended their souls
to God. With morning the storm ceased, and there
was not sufficient wind for them to get under way. But
their troubles were not over, and they had yet to learn
the meaning of autumn and winter on the shores of
Patagonia. At midnight another storm burst upon
them, lasting three days, and carrying away their fore-
castles and poops. Again they vowed pilgrimages in
their distress, and again their prayers were heard. The
three holy bodies, S. Anselmo, S. Nicholas, and S. Clara
appeared at the mastheads, and the storm ceased.
Great as their anxiety and hardships had been, it
seemed that they were destined to grow worse as the
fleet advanced. A few days later they arrived at a bay
with a narrow entrance, which appeared, since it was
roomy inside, to be suitable for them to winter in. They
entered it, and in six days encountered severer storms
L
162 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. VI,
and raa greater danger than had yet fallen to their lot.
A boat that went ashore to water upon their arrival was
unable to return, and the crew subsisted as best they
could upon shell-fish. " At last," — Herrera tells us, — " at
last it pleased God that they should leave that bay, and
they named it the Bay of Toil." ^ How long a time had
been passed in it does not appear, but considerable delay
must have occurred either in the bay itself or its imme-
diate neighbourhood, for it was not until the 3 ist March,
1520, that the fleet anchored for the winter in Port St.
Julian in lat. 49° 20' S. The weather had become too
severe for a farther advance, and, well sheltered and
abounding in fish, the harbour seemed in every way a
suitable one. But it was destined to be no haven of rest
to Magellan, for it was here that the mutiny, so long
planned and so long foreseen, at length broke out.
Upon their arrival, one of the first steps taken by
the Captain-general was to place officers and crew once
more upon diminished rations. Bearing in mind the
long winter they had before them, no wiser action could
have been taken. But such actions, however wise or
even necessary they may be, are rarely popular, and this
was no exception to the rule. The sailors grumbled, as
sailors will grumble, and, hating Magellan, and anxious
only for the failure of his expedition, it is little probable
that the Spanish captains showed much energy in check-
/ ing them. Matters grew daily worse. The extreme cold
they were beginning to experience, the frequent storms
they encountered, their disbelief in the existence of a
strait, combined to render them oblivious alike of poten-
tial honours and of duty. They openly demanded either
that they should be put on full rations, or that the home-
1 " Bahia de los trabajos " — possibly B. de los Dosvelos, in lat. 48'' 15' S.
1520.] THE MUTINY. 163
ward voyage should be at once commenced. It was evi-
dent, they said, that the land stretched without a break
to the Antarctic Pole, and that there was no hope of
finding any strait ; that the winter, from whose rigour
some had already died, was upon them; and that to
remain meant the loss of ships and men, which were of
more importance than all the cloves and spices of the
Moluccas. They alleged that it was not the intention of
the King that they should continue to seek the impos-
sible, and that it was sufficient that they had arrived at
a point whither no one hitherto had been bold enough to
penetrate, adding that if they went farther south they
would in all probability be wrecked upon some inhospi-
table coast, where every soul would perish. Ci)
Magellan's answer was such as we might expect from
him.^ Although so many were against him, nothing was
further from his intention than to yield. The voyage,
he said, was undertaken at the King's orders, and come
what might, it was imperative to push on to the termina-
tion of the continent and to the strait, which they could
not fail to fin^d.. The winter, indeed, made their task
impossible^or the moment, but upon the advent of
spring they could continue, if they pleased, to latitudes
where the days were three months long. He marvelled
that Castilians should be guilty of such weakness ; and
as for the want of provisions, there was little cause for
complaint, since in the bay in which they lay at anchor
there was plenty of wood, good water, and an abundance
of fish and birds. Neither the bread nor wine had as yet
run short, nor would they. In fine, since he himself
was determined to die rather than shamefully to turn
1 "Magellan," says Herrera, describing the incident, was "hombre
prompto, y acudia luego al remedio de qualquiera novedad."
164 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. vi.
back, he felt sure that among such comrades as em-
barked on such an expedition there could be no lack
of that spirit of valour which always animated the
Spanish nation, and he asked them, therefore, to endure
patiently until the winter should pass. The greater
their labour and privation, the greater would be ^their
sovereign's reward. They were to reveal to him, he
concluded, an unknown world abounding in gold and
spices, which would bring wealth to each and all con-
cerned in its discovery. 1
For a time, we learn, the crews were content, satisfied
with the arguments he had advanced, but it was not for
long. The treachery of his captains was at work, and
the murmurings broke out afresh. The men began to
talk to one another of the long-standing hatred between
the Portuguese and Spaniards^ and of Magellan being a
Portuguese, saying that he could do no greater service to
his country than to lose this fleet and all its sailors ; that
it was incredible that he should wish to find the Moluc-
cas even if he could, and that it would be enough if he
could delude the . Emperor for a year or two with false
hopes. Even their course, they said, was not towards
the Moluccas, but towards snow and ice and perpetual
storms. 2 This time Magellan took other measures__tp
repress the discontent. As a man of spirit and honour,
JGtQ mara tells us, he sh owfid.-his teeth, and_ seized and
1 The demands of the crew, and Magellan's speech in reply, are
almost identical in Oviedo and Herrera. Both perhaps are borrowed
from the letter'^qf Maximilian Transylvanus, which they also resemble
almost word for'"^ord. Faria y Sousa, in his Asia Portugucsa, puts
an absurdly bombastjic and most voluminous speech into Magellan's
mouth, which, it is uWecessary to state, is purely imaginary. Asia
Portuguesa, vol. i. pt. Hi. cap. v.
- Letter of Max. Tranajdvanus.
1520.] THE MUTINY. 165
punished the offenders.^ His action was, however, too
late to ward off the blow that was about to fall. An
early warning of the coming storm was afforded not
long after the arrival of the fleet in Port St. Julian.
Magellan had given orders that upon Easter Day all
should go ashore and attend mass, and that afterwards
the captains of the ships should dine at his table. Some
changes had been effected in the command. It will be
remembered that, upon the degradation of Cartagena,
Antonio de Coca had been appointed captain of the
S. Antonio. We do not learn what action of his de-
prived him in his turn of his post, but deprived he was.
Arana tells us ^ that Magellan mistrusted him. What-
ever may have been the cause, his command was con-
ferred upon Alvaro de Mesquita — a first cousin of the
Captain- general. It is not improbable that the appoint-
ment of a Portuguese was obnoxious to the Spaniards.
At any rate, both Caspar Quesada and Luis de Mendozq,
refused to attend mass, and Mesquita alone dined with
his kinsman on board the Trinidad. Magellan, we are
told, looked upon the affair as of ill augury, and his
suspicions proved only too well founded.
The blow fell the very same night. In the middle
watch Caspar Quesada, captain of the Concepcion, ac-
companied by Juan de Cartagena, Juan Sebastian del
Cano, and some thirty armed men, boarded the S.
Antonio, and entered the cabin of Alvaro de Mesquita
with drawn swords. Resistance was useless. He was
immediately put in irons, secured in the cabin of Gero-
nimo Guerra, and a guard placed over him. The dis-
turbance at once brought the maestre, Juan de Lorriaga,
1 Gomara, op. cit., ch. xcii. p. 84.
'•^ Op. cit., p. 66.
166 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. vi.
upon the scene, a faithful Basque, who had no thought
of joining the rebels, even in face of such serious odds.
He called upon Quesada instantly to leave the ship, and
upon his refusal, ordered the contramaestre, Diego
Hernandes, to summon the crew to arms. Quesada,
exclaiming, " We cannot be foiled in our work by this
fool," sprang at him and stabbed him repeatedly with a
dagger, leaving him for dead.^ The contramaestre had
meanwhile been overpowered and made prisoner. So
rapidly and unexpectedly had the affair taken place,
that the crew, deprived of their officers, had no alter-
native but to submit. They were at once disarmed, and
the arms placed in the cabin of Antonio de Coca, who
had cast in his lot with the mutineers.
Measures were next taken to secure the ship against
recapture. The command was given to Juan Sebastian
del Cano, to whose name the stain of mutiny must ever
attach, despite the honour so justly won by him at a
later period. The artilleiy was mounted, and the decks
cleared for action under his orders. Antonio Femandes
and Gonjalo Rodrigues, two Portuguese who had re-
sisted Quesada's authority, were put in irons, together
with a certain Diego Diaz, who had helped them. The
stores were broken open, and the wine, bread, and other
provisions freely distributed. In this and other matters
Antonio de Coca, the former captain of the S. Antonio^
was active in assisting Quesada, as was also Luis del
Molino, the latter's body-servant. The chaplain of the
ship, Pedro de Yalderrama, though occupied in confess-
ing the apparently dying maestre, observed them, and
mentioned the fact in his evidence before Magellan. It
obtained for Molino a sentence of death, but for lack of
1 Lorriaga died from the effects of his wounds on 15th July.
1520.] THE MUTINY. 167
an executioner his life was spared, upon the condition
that he himself should execute his master.
The ship Victoria, whose captain, Luis de Mendoza,
treasurer of the armada, had always been a bitter
enemy of Magellan, had from the beginning given in
its adherence to the mutineers, although a marked
element of loyalty existed among the crew. The siihle-
vados were therefore in a very strong position. They
held the Concepcion, the S. A^itonio, and the Victoria,
and were headed by Quesada, Juan de Cartagena,
Antonio de Coca, and Mendoza. Of the little Santiago
we hear nothing. Her captain, Serrao, was the brother
of Magellan's staunchest friend, and of her crew of
thirty-two, one-half only were Spanish. It is unlikely
that any attempt was made to interfere with her, either
by force or persuasion. Quesada and his party felt
strong enough to carry out their plans without her
assistance.
Such was the state of affairs to which Magellan woke
upon the morning of the 2nd April. The S. Antonio
had been carried so rapidly and quietly that no suspicion
of the truth had occurred to the officers of the flag-ship.
It first dawned upon them, the . chronicler Hermra tells
us, on Magellan sending a boat to the S. Antonio to pick
up some men for a watering-party. They were hailed
and told to keep off, and informed that the ship was
under the orders of Caspar Quesada, and not Magellan.
Hearing the news, and at once suspecting the serious
nature of the affair with which he had to deal, the
Captain- general ordered the boat to go round to the
ships and ask for whom they declared. Quesada's reply
was, ''For the King and for myself," and like answers
were given from all except the Santiago. Shortly after-
168 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. vi.
wards a boat arrived with a letter from Quesada. He had
seized the ships, he said, in order henceforward to do
away with the possibility of a repetition of the bad
treatment which officers and crew alike had received at
the hands of the Captain-general, but if Magellan would
agree to their demands, they were ready once more to
acknowledge his authority. Magellan, in reply, said
that he would meet them on his ship, and would hear
what they had to say; but the mutineers, fearing that
they would be seized if they ventured on board the
Trinidad^ declined to see him, excepting on the S.
Antonio.
Magellan had before him a task of which the difficulty
would have appeared to most men almost invincible.
Unless he won the day, the theories and hopes of his
lifetime were doomed to complete and final failure. With
the Santiago only the continuation of the voyage was
impossible. To return once more to the Seville quays,
having achieved nothing after so great a flourish of
trumpets at his departure, was, of course, to return to
disgrace and oblivion. At any risk and cost, therefore,
the mutiny must be suppressed, but how it should be
suppressed was another matter. We have seen enough
of Magellan's life and actions under Almeida to know
that in cool daring few men were his superiors. But
openly to attack the three revolted ships with no assist-
ance other than the little Santiago would have been
madness, and no one knew it better than he. If he was
to succeed at all, it must be hy finesse — by the exercise
of that faculty which, Herrera tells us, supplied him
with a way out of every new difficulty as it arose.
Magellan did succeed. Periculosior quies qiiam teme-
ritas seemed to him an apt motto for the occasion. His
1520.] THE MUTINY. 169
first action was to seize the boat of the S. Antonio which
brought him Quesada's message. Bearing in mind the
large proportion of foreigners upon the Victoria, and the
fact that he knew many of them to be loyal to him, he
decided to address himself first to the capture of that
vessel, hoping, if he were successful, to be mor^ than a
match for the others. The skiff, accordingly, carrying
the alguacil Gonzalo Gomez de Espinosa and five men
bearing concealed arms, was despatched with a letter to
Mendoza, summoning him at once to the flag-ship.
Mendoza smiled at its contents — as though he would
say, "no me tomard alia" — "I am not to be caught
thus." He did not calculate upon the instructions
given by Magellan. As he shook his head in refusal
Espinosa drew his dagger and stabbed him in the
throat, and at the same instant he was cut down by
another of Magellan's men. He fell dead upon the
deck. The dangerous position of the alguacil and his
handful of men had, of course, been foreseen. A boat
with fifteen picked men of the Trinidad, captained by
the trusty Duarte Barbosa, brother-in-law of Magellan,
had been kept in readiness, and almost at the moment
that Mendoza fell the Victoria was boarded with a
rush. Ha^-dly an effort at resistance was made. Either
overawed at the death of their captain or loyal in reality
to the leader of the armada, the crew surrendered at
once. Barb|osa hoisted Magellan's ensign, and, weigh-
ing anchor, /placed the captured ship in clo^e proximity
to the capitana at the entrance of the port. The Santiago
took up^a similar position upon the other hand. The
[fee ships together effectually guarded the harbour's
mouth, preventing the escape of the others, and
Magellan held the game in his own hands.
170 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. VI.
The mutineers were summoned to surrender, but re-
fused, and it was conjectured that the two ships would
attempt to escape under cover of darkness. Early in
the day the Trinidad had been cleared for action. An
order had been issued to " make a plentiful provision of
much darts, lances, stones, and other weapons, both on
deck and in the tops." The watch was now doubled;
the men were allowed a good meal, and the strictest
injunctions, were given to guard against the escape of
the vessels. A little after midnight the S. Antonio hove
in sight. She was supposed to be bearing down uj
the flag-ship, but was in reality dragging her/^chors.
Upon the quarter-deck was Gaspar Quesada, yho, armed
with lance and shield, called upon his me^. No one
stirred, and the Trinidad, opening fire with her large
bombards, grappled her and poured her boarders over
her side. At the same moment she was b({)arded on the
starboard hand by the sailors of the Victoria. Their
cry " Por quien estais 1 " met with the answer, " For the
King and Magellan." Quesada and his fellow-mutineers
were quickly seized, and the captain and pilot, Alvaro
de Mesquita and Mafra, set at liberty. Not a man was
killed; hardly a blow struck. Mafra alone had any
narrow escape of death, a ball from the flagship passing
between his legs as he sat imprisoned below deck.
The mutiny was now over. Juan de Cartagena, per-
ceiving the loss of the S. Antonio and the surrender
6f Quesada, realised that nothing was to be gained by
further resistance. When the boat from the Trinidad
came alongside and called upon him to surrender, he
obeyed the order at once. He was placed in irons and
brought back to the flag-ship, there to await his sentence.
Next day the body of Mendoza was brought ashore.
1520.] THE MUTINY. 171
He was publicly cried as a traitor, the body was drawn
and quartered, and the quarters spitted on poles. An
inquiry was then held upon the circumstances of the
mutiny, of which no details are given us. Forty men
were found guilty of treason and condemned to death ;
but partly because they were necessary for the service of
the fleet, partly because he did not wish to make him-
self unpopular by too severe measures, Magellan par-
doned them. Such a clemency, however, could not be
extended to Quesada nor Cartagena, whose insubordi-
nation had been an affair of old date. Quesada, doubly
guilty by the brutal manner in which he had stabbed
the maestre of the S. Antonio, was sentenced to be
X. executed. On Saturday, the 7th April, he was taken on
si^ore and the sentence carried out, his head being struck
off by his servant, Luis del Molino, and his body quar-
teritd, as in the case of Mendoza. No more justifiable
punishment could have been inflicted.
y A different fate was reserved for Juan de Cartagena.
-""^ Whether, since he had been directly appointed by Charles
v., Magellan did not wish to take his life, or whether
he considered that there were extenuating circumstances
connected with his case, we cannot tell. A violent death
at least was spared him, and he was sentenced to be
marooned upon the departure of the fleet. With him
the priest Pero Sanchez de E-eina suffered a like punish-
ment.^ His offence was a grave one, for he was found
1 Herrera speaks of a clerigo frances as being the culprit, leaving
it to be inferred that it was Bernardo Calmeta, the chaplain of the
S. Antonio. In the "List of Deaths in the Fleet of Hernando de
Magallanes" it is, however, distinctly mentioned that the offender
was Pero Sanchez de Reina. It is nevertheless worthy of remark that
Calmeta's name is not to be found among those who returned to
Spain, nor among those who perished in the expedition.
172 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. vi.
guilty of trying to incite the crew to mutiny for a
second time, even after the failure of the plot and the
justice executed upon its authors. No one would listen
to him, and he was soon denounced and made prisoner.
Of Antonio de Coca's punishment we hear nothing.
We know only that he reached the Ladrone Islands with
the fleet and died there. ^
Magellan's action in the mutiny of Port St,Julian
has been made the subject of the severest stricture^^
more especially by those of the school of fireside criti-
cism. His stratagem of capturing the Victoria has
been stigmatised as assassination. By one author he is
described as "a man of cruel and savage disposition^
who ''ruthlessly slaughtered his own comrades." But
such expressions are as incorrect as they are violent.
In times of mutiny, when right is no longer might, and
the loyal crew are confronted by overpowering odds,
legal measures are occasionally impossible, and fairness
worse than a mistake. Mendoza, a mutineer and ipso
facto worthy of death, only met his punishment — and
met it, it should be remembered, at the hands of an
alguacil — a few hours before it would otherwise have
been inflicted. As a mutineer, moreover, he was well
aware of the risks he ran — well aware that, if Magellan
could, he would kill him. And finally, we cannot judge
sixteenth -century matters by nineteenth-century stan-
dards. The taking of a man's life was in those days
a small matter. But in expeditions such as these, the
1 Others, among them Andres de San Martin, the cosmographer, are
said to have been punished by Magellan, but as we learn this from
the evidence of the crew of the S. Antonio, which ship deserted the
fleet a few months later, and as we know much of the evidence to
be untrue, no reliance can be placed upon the assertion. See Navar-
rete, vol. iv. p. 206.
1520.] THE MUTINY. 173
preservation of discipline was an affair of vital import-
ance. In this case, had the attempt on the Victoria
failed, the complete collapse of the work of the armada
must inevitably have followed.
Magellan has also been accused of having acted ille-
gally in the punishment of the mutineers. In the letter
of Maximilian Transylvanus this charge is brought
against him.^ But though there may be a difference of
opinion as to the justifiability of Mendoza's death, there
can be none whatever upon this question. The " Titulo
de Capitanes," granted by Charles to Magellan upon the
22nd March, 15 18, gives the latter full power over the
persons and property of those sailing with him.^ Correa,
too, is definite upon the point. '* The Emperor gave
him power ' of rope and knife ' over every person who
went in the armada," ^ and it is satisfactory to find that
the punishments of Quesada and Cartagena were as
strictly legal as they were well-deserved.
The mutiny was the turning-point of Magellan's
career. Thenceforward, whatever desire to question his
authority may have existed, it remained unexpressed.
The inflexible determination of the man, his strength of
will, his readiness of resource, showed officers and crews
alike that obedience was the best policy. Had they
known what suffering and what peril lay in their path,
it is doubtful whether the resolution and energy of any
single individual would have availed to stop their defec-
tion. But Ruy Faleiro had only cast his own horoscope ;
1 "Erant enim regii quidam ministri, in quos nemo prseter Csesarem
ipsum, ejusve senatum, capitali poena animadvertere jure potest."
2 Vide Navarrete, vol. iv, p. 122.
3 " E Ihe deu poder de bara^o e cutello em toda' pessoa que fosse
n'armada." — Covrca, ii. part ii. p. 627.
174 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. vi.
and so it happened that Magellan sailed southward to
the discovery of the strait that bears his name.^
1 It is a singular fact that of the four persons who accompanied the
expedition and wrote an account of it, two should have remained
absolutely silent upon the subject of the mutiny, and two— the
" Genoese pilot " and Pigafetta — have thought it worthy of only the
barest mention. The account of the latter is remarkable for its extra-
ordinary inaccuracy. "The Captains 0/ the other four ships," he
writes, "plotted to kill the captain-general," and he then goes on to
say that it was Cartagena who was executed and quartered, while
Gaspar Quesada was marooned. It seems incredible that an eye-
witness — which he undoubtedly was — should have failed to remember
circumstances such as these, and the fact somewhat lessens the value
of his book as a credible narrative, although we know that such parts
of the diary as were written on the spot, detailing his own experiences,
are almost always accurate. Our real knowledge of the affair is due
to three documents existing in the Seville archives — an informacion
drawn up by Magellan at the time, giving the examination of
witnesses ; a letter of the Contador Recalde to the Bishop of Burgos,
containing the evidence of the deserters of the aS^. Antonio; and,
lastly, an account of the evidence taken in Valladolid, October 18,
1522, concerning certain events of the voyage. The historian Herrera
has a tolerably full and correct account of the tragedy, but that of
Correa, though nearly as full, is inaccurate in many points, as indeed
it is often wont to be.
CHAPTER VII.
THE LAST VOYAGE~IL THE DISCOVERY OF
THE STRAIT.
Order having once more been established, Magellan
kept all hands busily at work during the remainder of
his sojourn in Port St. Julian. The vessels were careened
and caulked, and such repairs as were found necessary
were carried out. The S. Antonio especially stood in
need of them. The mutineers, in chains, were kept
working at the pumps until the carpenters had rendered
such work no longer needful. It was not until the
day of departure from the bay that they were set at
liberty.
Towards the end of April the Captain-general de-
termined to undertake a reconnaissance of the coast in
the vicinity. The fear of a more or less prolonged
inaction and its effect upon the men most probably led
him to this step. The Santiago, from her handiness
and small draught, was chosen for the work, and her
choice was the more indicated from the fact of Serrao
being her commander. Few men were so well versed in
the art of seamanship and navigation ; fewer still were
endowed with his experience. He had long used the
Eastern seas both as subaltern and captain. From the
time of his first command under Rodrigo Rabello in
1506 until his departure on the expedition, he had been
constantly in active service. As brother, moreover, of
175
176 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. vii.
Magellan's great friend, Francisco Serrao, the Captain-
general knew that every trust could be reposed in him.
He received instructions therefore to sail along the coast
to the southward, examining each bay and inlet. He
was not to carry his explorations too far, and if after a
certain time nothing worthy of note was met with, he
was to retrace his steps and once more rejoin his com-
rades in Port St. Julian.
It is to Herrera that we are indebted for an account
of the voyage. The Santiago, working slowly along
the coast, arrived on the 3rd May at the mouth of a
river of considerable size, nearly sixty miles from the
harbour whence she had set out. Serrao named it the
Rio de Santa Cruz. The fish were so abundant that he
was induced to prolong his stay for six days to lay in a
supply. The seals, or sea- wolves, as the sailors termed
them, were equally numerous, and of such large size that
the Spaniards were astounded. One of them, deprived
of the skin, head, and entrails, weighed nearly five
hundredweight. 1 Having replenished their stock of pro-
visions, the explorers continued their voyage, but they
had barely gone three leagues, when, on the 22nd May,
they encountered one of the short but violent storms
which at this season render the coast of Patagonia so
dangerous. The ship was put under storm canvas, but
the rudder having become injured by the heavy seas, she
refused to obey her helm, and a sudden squall from the
east drove her ashore. Fortunately she took the ground
in such a manner that the crew were able to save them-
selves by dropping from the end of the jib-boom, but
they had barely time to escape with their lives. In a
1 The great size of the old males of the fur seals, and their dis-
proportion to the females, is a marked feature of these creatures.
1520.] THE DISCOVERY OF THE STRAIT. 177
few minutes the ill-fated Santiago was in pieces, and
her crew, to the number of thirty-seven men, found
themselves without provisions of any kind, exposed to
the hardships of a most inclement climate, and separated
by seventy miles of pathless wilderness from the succour
of their comrades. Tha only good fortune attending
them was of a negative kind. But one life was lost —
that of the negro slave of the captain.
For eight days the castaways remained in the neigh-
bourhood of the wreck, hoping possibly to secure some
articles — of food or otherwise — which might prove of
service in the desperate journey that lay before them.
Their hopes were vain. Among the jetsam, however,
were numerous planks, and, mindful of the fact that
between them and safety lay the river they had just dis-
covered — the great Kio de Santa Cruz, a barrier three
miles in width — they started on their march laden with
sufficient of these to enable them to construct a raft
wherewith to cross it. But short as was the distance
they had to traverse, they became so exhausted by
exposure and want of nourishment that they were forced
to abandon the greater part of their load, and did not
arrive at the river until the fourth day.^ Here at least
they were safe from starvation, for, as they had previously
discovered, its waters abounded in iish. It was resolved
that the main body of the crew should encamp upon the
banks, while two of the strongest of their number should
cross in the little raft tJ&ey had constructed and endeavour
to make their way to Port St. Julian.
1 Herrera, Dec. ii. lib. ix. cap. x^. It may be wondered why such
toil and hardship were littdel'^ken when a raft might have been built
at the river-side:^ It is probable, however, that the shipwrecked men
were unprovided with axes, and that there was also insufficient wood
for the purpose.
M
178 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. vit.
How these unfortunate men eventually reached their
destination, and how severe were their sufferings on the
march, we learn from the pages of the Spanish historian
already quoted. For eleven days they struggled on,
living at one time upon roots and leaves, at another
upon such shellfish as they were able to collect upon the
shore. At first they attempted to follow the coast-line,
as affording them better means of subsistence, but they
were soon obliged to relinquish this plan, owing to the
marshes that barred their passage and forced them to
strike inland. At length the welcome harbour was
reached. So altered were they from the hardships they
had undergone, that they were recognised with difficulty
by their old comrades.
The weather continued so unsettled, that Magellan
considered it better to try and reach the shipwrecked
party by land, rather than expose another of his vessels
to the risk of loss. He accordingly at once despatched
a relief party of twenty-four men, laden with wine and
biscuit. Like their two comrades, they experienced
great hardships from the rigours of the climate and the
roughness of the country. No water was to be found on
the road, and they were forced to melt the little snow
they could discover to supply themselves with drink.
On arriving at the river, they found their companions
safe, although exhausted by exposure and privation. In
parties of two or three — for the little raft could hold no
more — the castaways were brought across the river, and
the homeward march began. It speaks well for the
courage and endurance of the Spaniards that they even-
tually reached the fleet without the loss of a single man.
Good fortune afterwards attended them with regard to
the ship's stores and artillery, the greater part of which
1520.] THE DISCOVERY OF THE STRAIT. . 179
were saved and picked up by the Captain-general on
resuming his voyage to the south. ^
Upon their return, the crew of the Santiago were
distributed among the four remaining ships, and Serrao,
who had displayed both courage and ability in his con-
duct of the shipwrecked crew, was rewarded by the
command of the Concepcion. The ultimate result of the
two disasters which had befallen Magellan was greatly
to strengthen his hand. In Heu of three disaffected and
traitorous captains — Quesada, Cartagena, and Mendoza
— the commands were held by Portuguese, in whom he
could place complete and absolute reliance. Serrao, as
we have seen, took the Concepcion, while the S. Antonio
and Victoria were captained by Alvaro de Mesquita and
Duarte Barbosa, the former of whom was Magellan's
first cousin, the latter his brother-in-law. ^
The winter was now fairly established, and the cold
became more severe. Nor was the weather they experi-
enced such as to tempt to a renewal of their explorations
along the coast. But the Captain- general, anxious to
learn something of the interior of the country, thought
it advisable to despatch a small expedition with that
object. Four men only were sent. They were well
armed, and were furnished with instructions to pene-
trate, if possible, to a distance of thirty leagues, to plant
a cross, and to put themselves upon a footing of friend-
1 Log-book of the "Genoese Pilot." Medina, vol. ii. p. 401. Correa
gives a widely different account of the shipwreck, which, as is the
case in many instances, is manifestly incorrect.
2 Gomara, and indeed Oviedo also, makes Mesquita to be the nephew
of the Captain-general. *' Alvaro de Mesquita queria entrar por el
estrecho, diciendo que por alii iba su tio Magallanes." — Gomara, ch.
xcii. p. 85. So, too, does Maximilian Transylvanus — " Una ex his cui
ipsius Magellani ex fratre nepos Aluarus Meschita prsefuit ; " and a
few lines farther the words "patruus Magellanus" are used.
180 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. vir.
ship with any natives they might happen to meet. The
nature of the country was, unfortunately, such as to
render the expedition a failure. Neither food nor water
was to be found. The men were forced to be content with
the ascent of a high mountain at some little distance
from the coast. Planting a cross upon its summit, and
giving to it the name of the Mount of Christ, they re-
traced their steps, and arrived at the ships, informing
Magellan that the country was intraversable and without
resources, and appeared to be entirely unpeopled.
It was not long before the latter piece of information
at least was proved to be incorrect. The fleet had
remained at anchor for weeks in Port St. Julian, and no
trace of natives had been seen. One morning, however,
the sailors were astonished by the appearance of a man
of gigantic stature upon the beach, who sang and danced,
pouring sand upon his head in token of amity. Magel-
lan sent a man ashore with instructions to imitate the
action of the savage, and, if possible, to make friends
with him. This he succeeded in doing, and the new-
comer was brought before the admiral. Spaniards and
native were equally surprised. The latter marvelled,
Gomara tells us, to see such large ships and such little
men, and pointing to the sky, seemed to inquire whether
they were not gods who had descended from heaven ;
while the Spaniards, wondering at the great stature of
their visitor, concluded that they had come upon a race
of giants. " So tall was this man," writes Pigafetta,
" that we came up to the level of his waistbelt. He was
well enough made, and had a broad face, painted red,
with yellow circles round his eyes, and two heart-shaped
spots on his cheeks. His hair was short and coloured
white, and he was dressed in the skins of an animal
A Patagonian.
1520.] THE DISCOVEKY OF THE STRAIT. 181
cleverly sewn together." The description given of this
animal leaves no doubt that it was the gnanaco. The
skin of the same creature served to make boots for these
people, and it was the unwieldy appearance thus given
to the feet which led Magellan to apply to the race the
name of Patagao.
The man seemed most peaceably disposed, though he
did not lay aside his arms — a short, thick bow, and a
bundle of cane arrows tipped w^th black and white
stones. Magellan treated him kindly, and ordered that
he should be given food. He was shown some of their
objects for barter, among others a large steel mirr or.
So overcome was he on catching sight of himself, says
Pigafetta, that he jumped backwards with an unex-
pectedness and impetuosity which overset four of thei
men who were standing round him. He was, neverthe-
theless, not unwilling to accept a small mirror as a
present, and some beads and bells having been added,
he was put ashore under the care of four armed men.
A companion met him upon landing, and confidential
relations having been thus established, the Spaniards
had no difficulty in persuading the natives to visit their
shipB. Others, accompanied by their wives, were not
long in showing themselves, and eventually several came
on board. ''The women," we are told,J_Lwfi3::e.loadfid by
them with all their belongings, as if they were so many
beasts of burden. We could not behold them without
wonder." They were not so tall as the men, but much
fatter, and had breasts half as long as a man's arm.
With them '' they brought four of those little beasts of
which they make their clothing, leading them with a
cord like dogs coupled together." The use of these,
they said, was to tie up and entice others within range of
182 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. vil.
the arrows of the hunter, who was hidden near. The
Spaniards were anxious to secure some of these guanacos,
and getting together eighteen of the natives, set half of
them to hunt on either side of the entrance of the har-
bour, but we are not told the result of their endeavours.
Many visits were thus paid by the natives to the fleet,
and Pigafetta was enabled to obtain a small vocabulary '
of their language. One of them, who seemed especially
tractable and pleasing, remained with the ships some
days. He was taught the Paternoster and Ave Maria,
which he pronounced well, but in an exceedingly loud i
voice, and the priest eventually baptized him with the i
name of Juan Gigante. The Captain -general gave him |
a number of presents, with which he was much pleased,
and on the following day he returned bringing a guanaco.
Magellan, hoping to obtain some more of these animals,
directed that further presents should be made him. The
man was never seen again, however, and it was suspected
that he had been murdered by his companions.
The manners and customs of the Patagonians are
described at some length by the supposed Genoese pilot
as well as by Pigafetta. The fact that they devoured
with great relish the rats which were caught on the
ships filled the sailors with astonishment, which was not
lessened by perceiving that they did not stop to skin them.
Still more astonishing was their power of thrusting arrows
down their throats without injury, which was apparently
done more as a tour de force than for any definite purpose,
although Pigafetta regarded it as a species of medical
treatment, — *' in luogho di purgarsi," as he describes it.^
1 Pigafetta and Max. Transylvanus alone mention this story, and
Oviedo borrows it from them. It is depicted in De Bry's illustration of
Magellan passing the Straits, which is represented in this yolume, p. 211.
1520.] THE DISCOVEKY OF THE STEAIT. 183
In spite of Magellan's fixed rule that the fleet should
not be burdened with useless mouths, especially now that
the rations had been reduced, he was so much struck
with the gigantes, as they termed them, that he resolved
to bring some of them back with him to Spain as a pre-
sent to the Emperor. Jt was some little time before he
was able to put his project into execution, for fifteen
days elapsed before another native was seen. At length,
upon the 28th July, four appeared upon the beach, and
were brought on board the Trinidad. Magellan was
anxious to keep the two youngest, but having an idea
that their capture might not be an easy matter, he de-
cided to use strategy rather than force. Loading them
with presents, so that their hands were full, he then
offered them a pair of irons, and, as they were unable
to take them, showed them how they fitted upon the
legs. A couple of strokes of the hammer riveted the
bolts, and the two unlucky savages were prisoners before
they realised their position. When they did so, they
became furious, invoking Setebos,^ their Great Spirit,
to their aid. Their two companions were conducted
ashore with their arms bound by a party of men who
were instructed to bring the wife of one of the captives,
*' who greatly regretted her^ as we saw by signs." The
huts of the natives were reached the same day, but as it
was late, the pilot Carvalho, who was in charge of the
party, decided on waiting till the following day. It
happened that on the road one of their charges had
attempted to escape, and in the struggle which ensued
he was wounded in the head. His companions said
1 This name is put into Caliban's mouth by Shakespeare upon two
occasions, Tempest, act i. scene 2, and act v. scene i, and was doubt-
less borrowed from Pigafetta's narrative.
184 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. vii.
nothing at the time, but next morning they spoke a few
words to the women, and immediately all took to flight.
At a little distance they halted to exchange shots with
the Spaniards, and in the encounter Diego de Barrasa,
man-at-arms of the Trinidad, was struck in the thigh
by an arrow and died immediately.
Magellan attempted to follow the Patagonians, either
with the idea of punishing them, or more probably with
the hope of capturing a woman of the tribe, but he was
unsuccessful, and it seems that — by nature a wandering
people — they disappeared for a time from the neighbour-
hood. The action of the Spaniards upon this occasion
was, of course, totally unjustifiable according to our
ideas; but it must be remembered that the humani-
tarianism of the present day was at that time not even
in its infancy. A selvaje was looked upon as hardly
other than an animal, and giants, such as these were
supposed to be,^ must have approximated them still
more closely. No doubt the Captain -general regarded
it as his duty to bring such curiosities to his Emperor,
and did not consider his breach of faith as other than a
perfectly justifiable proceeding. The two captives were
placed in different vessels, and we learn from the account
of the Genoese pilot that one arrived in Spain, brought
1 The actual height and size of the Patagonians remained for a long
time a matter of dispute. An assemblage of very tall people always
causes an over-estimation of their height, and there is no doubt that
Pigafetta's diary gives a bond fide record of the impression produced
upon the mind of himself and his comrades. Lieutenant.Musters, the
greatest authority upon the country, gives the average height of
the men as six feet, while some reach six feet four inches or more.
Their muscular development is very great. Dar^'in, moreover, in his
Voyage of the Beagle, says, " On an average their height is about six
feet, with some men taller, and only a few shorter. Their height
appears greater than it really is from their large guanaco mantles,
their long flowing hair, and general figure " (chap. xi.). ^
)
1520.] THE DISCOVERY OF THE STRAIT. 185
thither in the S. Antonio, when she deserted the rest of
the squadron in the Straits. According to other accounts,
however, he died before reaching that country.^
Weary, no doubt, of the continued inaction, and
anxious to leave a place which must each day have
brought the remembrance of the mutiny to his mind,
Magellan resolved to pass the remainder of the winter
in the Rio de Santa Cruz, which had been discovered by
Serrao in the ill-fated Santiago. The ships were now
repaired and refitted, and in good order, and the admiral
hoped to make the passage without encountering one of
the frequent storms which render this coast so dangerous
in winter. He accordingly gave orders to prepare for
sea. Before their departure, however, a sentence had to
be carried into effect — that of the marooning of Juan
de Cartagena and his fellow-culprit, Pedro Sanchez de
E«ina.2 For some reason that we do not learn, they
were put on shore nearly a fortnight before the sailing
of the fleet — on Saturday, August i ith. They were pro-
vided with " an abundance of bread and wine," Herrera
says ; ^ but it must have been a bitter punishment for
^ Herrera's account of the intercourse of the Spaniards and Pata-
gonians differs widely from the above in certain points. He relates
their first meeting differently, describes the death of Diego de
Barrasa as occurring' in a chance rencontre with the natives, and
records the despatch of a punitive expedition of twenty men as a
sequel, adding that not one of the enemy was encountered (Dec. ii.
lib. ix. caps, xiii.-xv.). In the letter of Maximilian Transylvanus
there occurs a lengthy description of a visit of seven men of the fleet
to a Patagonian hut some distance inland, followed by an attempt to
capture three of the savages. One only was caught and brought on
board, but his death occurred within a few days. Neither of these
accounts, it should be remembered, are first hand.
2 In the pay list of the voyage, published by Medina, this name
appears as Pedro Sanchez de Viena. Medina, vol. i. p. 193.
■^ Herrera, Dec. ii. lib. ix. cap. xiv.
186 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. vii.
them to watch the departure of their comrades and to
reflect how small was their chance of life — a chance
still further diminished by the altered relations of the
Spaniards with the natives. They were *' judged to be
worse off, considering the country in which they were
left, than the others who were drawn and quartered." ^
Such an opinion seems to have been held many years
later by another culprit, who, curiously enough, in iden-
tically the same locality, found himself confronted by a
like alternative. In June, 1578, when Drake!s little
squadron lay at anchor in Port St. Julian, Mr. Thomas
Boughtie was found guilty of a plot against the life of
the admiral. He was offered the choice of death, " or
to be set upon land on the main," or to return to be tried
in England. He chose the first, giving as his reason
that the shame of his return as a traitor would be worse
than death, and that he would not endanger his soul by
consenting to be left among savages and infidels.
On the 24th August, every member of the expedition
having confessed and received the sacrament, the fleet
left the bay.2 They shaped their course S.W. ^ W., and
two days later arrived off the mouth of the Santa Citiz
river. Their passage was not accomplished without
danger, for the ships were nearly lost in a heavy squall.
*'God and the Corpi Santi, however," writes Pigafetta,
''came to our aid," and they reached the shelter of the
river and anchored in safety. The latitude was fixed,
with very tolerable accuracy, at 50°. In this port, of
whose desolate character Darwin has left us a graphic
1 Letter of Eecalde. Sec Navarrete, vol. iv. p. 206.
2 Before their departure Andres de San Martin took observations to
determine the latitude. The result he obtained was 49° 18' S., which
is wonderfully correct. Hen-era, op. cit., Dec. ii. lib. ix. cap. xiv.
1520.] THE DISCOVEKY OF THE STKAIT. 187
account, 1 two months were passed. The time was spent
in provisioning the ships with such wood as could be
obtained, and with fish, of which there was abundance.
On the drying and preserving of a sufficient, supply of
these their future comfort — perhaps even their future
plans — depended, for the stores of the fleet had already
begun to reach an alarming stage of diminution. Visits
were paid to the coast to the southward, where the wreck
of the Santiago had taken place, and such articles as had
since been washed ashore were recovered.
No occurrence worthy of note befell the navigators
during their delay in the river, if we except a supposed
eclipse of the sun, recorded by the historian Herrera,
but by no single one of those actually present who have
left us an account of the voyage. In an age of writing
which erred even more in ellipsis than garrulity, this
latter circumstance could not, however, be advanced as a
conclusive proof of its non- occurrence. *' On the nth
October," we are told," 2 " while in this river, an eclipse
of the sun was awaited, which in this meridian should
have occurred at eight minutes past ten in the morning.
When the sun reached an altitude of 42^°, it appeared
to alter in brilliancy, and to change to a sombre colour,
as if inflamed of a dull crimson, and this without any
cloud intervening between ourselves and the solar body.
Not that the body of the sun, either wholly or in part,
was obscured, but its clearness appeared as it might in
Castile in the months of July and August when they are
burning the straw in the surrounding country. This
lasted till it reached an altitude of 44 J °, when it regained
its original brilliancy."
1 Voyage of the Beagle, chap, ix.
' Herrera, Dec. ii. lib. ix. cap. xiv.
188 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. vii.
What conclusion to draw from the above passage it is
difficult to decide. The haziness of the sun could only
have been due to some atmospheric cause. An annular
eclipse of the sun certainly did take place October
nth, 1520, but it was not visible upon the coast of
Patagonia, the central line crossing the meridian of
the Santa Cruz river, more than 30° north of the
Equator. 1
With the advent of October the weather improved,
and on the 18th Magellan judged the spring to be suffi-
ciently far advanced for the continuation of his voyage.
The fleet was got under way. Feeling sure that he
must ere long come upon the object of his search, the
admiral ordered the ships to keep along the coast as
before. For two days they were baffled by head-winds
and bad weather, fighting their way southward inch by
inch. At length the wind shifted to the north, and
they ran before it on a S.S. W. course for two days more.
On the 2ist October, 1520, they found themselves in
sight of land; "and there," says the pilot Alvo, "we
saw an opening like unto a bay." They were off Cabo
de las Virgenes, and Magellan had found his long-hoped-
for strait at last !
We must pause here for a moment to consider a question
of the greatest interest — a question that has never yet
been satisfactorily answered. Did Magellan know, as a
certain fact, of the existence of the strait 1 Or was his
discovery of it due to a carefully reasoned-out argument
based upon the presumed homology of the Cape of Good
Hope ? Or was it from the blindest of chances, from
1 Oppolzer's Canon der Finstemisse, published in the Denkschriften
of the Vienna Academy, vol. Hi. For this information the writer is
indebted to the kindness of Professor G. H. Darwin.
1520.] THE DISCOVERY OF THE STRAIT. 189
the sort of fortune that guides a caged bird, panting for
liberty, to the broken bar of its prison ?
In Pigafetta's account of the voyage there occurs a
very remarkable passage, so clearly and definitely ex-
pressed, that, did it only emanate from a more accurate
author, the matter would seem at once and for ever set at
rest. " We all believed," it runs, speaking of the strait,
** that it was a cul-de-sac ; but the captain knew that he
had to navigate through a very well-concealed strait,
having seen it in a chart preserved in the treasury of
the King of Portugal, and made by Martin of Bohemia,
a man of great parts." ^ The matter is also alluded to
by Gomara,2 but he throws doubt upon it, and says that
"the chart showed no strait whatever, as far as I could
learn ; " and his evidence, as that of a contemporary his-
torian, is not without weight. Herrera, speaking of the
offer made by Magellan and Faleiro at the Spanish
court, tells us that they proposed to conduct their ships
to the Moluccas " by means of a certain strait, at that
time not known of by any one," ^ and, a few lines farther
on, gives the story of Martin . Behaim's chart, and adds
that " from him they obtained much information con-
cerning this strait." M. Ferdinand Denis, in his Po7iu-
gal, gives us some information as to the provenance of
this chart. *' On a affirmed," he says, "que le d^troit de
Magellan avait ete clairement indique des le i5me siecle,
1 "Se non fosse stato il sapere del capitano-generale, non si sarebbe
passato per quello stretto, perche tutti credevamo che fosse chiuso ;
ma egli sapea di dover navigare per uno stretto molto nascosto, avendo
ci6 veduto in una carta serbata nella tesoreria del Re di Portogallo, e
fatta da Martino di Boemia, uomo excellentissimo." — Pigafetta, Frimo
Viaggio, Milan" edit., p. 36.
2 Historia de las Indias, cap. xci.
3 " Este seria por cierto estrecho de mar no conocido hasta entonces
de ninguna persona." — Herrera, Dec. ii. lib. ii. cap. xix.
190 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. vil.
sur une des deux cartes apport^es jadis en Portugal par
Don Pedro d'Alfarrobeira, et que Ton conservait pre
cieusement jadis dans le convent d'Alcoba9a;" but he
offers no opinion as to the truth of the statement. We
have yet another of the great historians who discusses
the possibilities of Magellan's foreknowledge of his strait
— Oviedo, who wrote in 1546, a period which is within
measurable distance of the great navigator's voyage. In
one passage he speaks with no uncertain voice — "of
which strait and voyage none had knowledge or remem-
brance until the renowned Captain Ferdinand Magellan
discovered and showed it to us."^ But elsewhere the
claims of Martin Behaim are discussed, and he decides
that, whether the discovery was due to his suggestion or
to the pluck of Magellan, the latter is worthy of all
praise, and " more is owing to his capacity than to the
science of the Bohemian."
All the foregoing, it will be observed, are the opinions
of people writing after the event. For the journal of
Pigafetta we know to be in many places no journal at
all, but to have been written up some time after the
occurrence of the various incidents, possibly even not
till his arrival in Spain. The question will be asked,
Is there any passage of a date anterior to the voyage
which would lead us to conclude that the great navigator
suspected the existence of an opening from the Atlantic
into the Pacific ? and it may be answered in the affirma-
tive. Whether that suspicion amounted to actual know-
ledge it is diflUcult to say. However, not only have
we the record of Herrera as to the examination of
Magellan before Charles V.'s ministers, and the exhibi-
tion of Pedro Eeynel's globe, in which "de industria
1 Oviedo, op. cit., Bk. xx. cap. i.
1520.] THE DISCOVERY OF THE STRAIT. 191
dexo el estrecho en bianco," but a document is still
existing which places the matter beyond a doubt. In
the capitulacion granted by the King to Magellan and
Faleiro on the 22nd March, 15 18, the phrase "para
buscar el estrecho de aquellas mares " — to go in search of
the strait — is used, and it would seem from the use of
the definite article as if some actual known or rumoured
strait was intended.
We may now turn to the evidence of various maps
and globes. There occurs in the Tratado of Antonio
Galvao, which was afterwards englished by Richard
Hakluyt in 1601, an account of *'a most rare and excel-
lent map of the world, which was a great helpe to Don
Henry (the Navigator) in his discoueries," and which
may possibly have been the starting-point of Magellan's
theory of the existence of a Pacifico- Atlantic passage.
*'In the yeere 1428 it is written that Don Peter, the
King of Portugal's eldest sonne, was a great traueller.
He went into England, France, Almaine, and from
thence into the Holy Land, and to other places ; and
came home by Italie, taking JRome and Venice in his
way : from whence he brought a map of the world
which had all the parts of the world and earth described.
The Streight of Magelan was called in it the Dragon's
taile."^ Galvsio, par parenthese, mentions another map,
which his friend Francisco de Sousa Tavarez had him-
self seen, made in 1408, which marked the navigation of
the Indies and the Cape of Good Hope. These two are
doubtless those alluded to by Ferdinand Denis, and the
clear account of them renders them at any rate worthy
of mention as a piece of evidence. But they are, after
all, but of slight weight in the scale. Of quite another
^ Galvano, Hakluyt Soc, p. 67.
192 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. vii.
value are two still extant globes, which demand a careful
and detailed consideration.
These globes were constructed by Johann Schbner,
Professor of Mathematics in Nuremberg, in the years
15 15 and 1520. Both are so alike in their outline of
South America, that as far as concerns the question
under consideration they may be regarded as one.
A glance at the planispheres here reproduced will
render a lengthy description unnecessary. Briefly, a
Pacifico- Atlantic passage is in them boldly drawn. It
is represented in or about latitude 45° S., and in the
earlier, or Frankfort, globe a line is traced embracing
the coast beyond the strait and enclosing the legend
" Terra ult. incognita,^^ thus implying — almost without a
shadow of doubt — that this strait had been at that date
already visited and recognised as a waterway between
the two oceans. South of this an indefinite mass of
land is figured, to which the name of ^^ Bradlie regio^^
or " Brasilia Inferior " is given. Some distance off the
eastern mouth of the strait is placed a small group of
islands.
What had Schoner in his mind when he gave this
strait a place upon his globes ? What were his sources
of information ? Was it fact or conjecture that guided
his pencil % These are the questions we have to answer.
Some light is thrown upon them by a work of the
cosmographer which was published at the same time as
his early globe, and intended to be in great measure
illustrative of it.^ In it he speaks of his ''Brasilise
regio " — that the country was not far from the Cape of
Good Hope \ that the Portuguese had explored it, and
^ Luculeiitissima qiicedd terrce totius descriptio. Schoner, Nurem-
berg, 1515, 4to.
SCHONER'S
SCHO
152
Cr.PfdbpS, i
]520.] THE DISCO VEEY OF THE STRAIT. 193
had discovered a strait going from east to west; that
this strait resembled the strait of Gibraltar; and that
" Mallaqua " was not far distant therefrom.^
All this information was, nevertheless, not gathered
at first hand by Schoner. Shortly before he wrote —
but how long we do not know, for the title-page bears
no date — was published a certain pamphlet in bad
German, anonymous, and apparently a confused trans-
lation of a Portuguese original — the *' Copia der Newen
Zeytung aus Presillg Landty From this he apparently
took his description almost word for word, and the
question thus shifts itself a point further back into the
examination of the 'provenance and authorities of the
" Copiar
We do not get very much information from the work
itself, but what we do get is very interesting. The
captain of the ship, whose voyage it describes, was a
'-''fast gilt frewndV^ of the writer, and the expedition is
stated to have been fitted out under the auspices of the
Portuguese government by various private gentlemen,
among wliom was "-Christoffel de HaroJ'' It is exceed-
ingly probable then that it was either that of Gonzalo
Coelho or of Christovao Jacques, and the probability
is in favour of the latter. That it was little known
1 Schoner, op. cit, Tract. IT. cap. ii, fol. 60 v. "A capite bonse
spei (quod Itali Capo de bona speranza vocitant) parum distat. Circum-
navigaverunt itaque Portugalienses earn regionem, et comperierunt
ilium transitum fere conformem nostrse Europse (quam nos incolimus)
et lateraliter infra orientem et occidentem situm. Ex altero insuper
latere etiam terra visa est, et penes caput hujus regionis circa miliaria
60, eo videlicet modo : ac si quis navigaret orientem versus et ti'an-
situm sive strictum Gibel terrse aut Sibilite navigaret, et Barbariam,
hoc est Mauretaniam in Aphrica intueretur ; ut ostendet Globus noster
versus polum antarcticum. Insuper modica est distantia ab hoc
Brasilise regione ad Mallaquam."
N
194 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. vii.
about, and only chronicled en passant by the historians,
was no doubt owing to the fact that it was a purely
commercial venture, in which the obtaining of a good
cargo of Brazil-wood and slaves was of greater importance
than cosmography.
Dr. Wieser, although admitting that there is strong
reason to believe the " Copia "to be the outcome of the
voyage of Christovao Jacques, and consequently allowing
the strait depicted on Sch oner's globes to have been
discovered by that explorer, does not admit that it was
the strait of Magellan. He dismisses all possibility of
such being the case upon the one argument that the
" Copia " speaks of it as being in 40° S. The Nuremberg
globes and this "Zeytung" can no longer, he says, be
adduced in proof of the strait having been discovered
before the voyage of Magellan.^
A careful consideration of the facts will not necessarily
lead every one to the same conclusion as that arrived at
by Dr. Wieser. The *'Zeytung" is no learned geogra-
phical disquisition published by some king's pilot or
great cosmographer. It is a very sketchy and mediocre
work, written by one who was merely a ^^fast gilt
freivndt " of the captain, and we cannot therefore place
too great dependence upon the accuracy of his " viertzig
grad lioch." It is easy to see that the exact position of
the strait did not interest the author as much as the
animals and products of the *' Presillg Landt " he
describes. Schoner, too, although adopting his text
almost word for word, does not accept his latitudes, and
the strait is figured in 45° S. Why he should not have
placed it yet further to the south it is difficult to say,
for if we turn to Kuysch's mappamundi, made in 1507,
1 Wieser, Mar/alhdes-Strasse, Innsbruck, 1881, pp. 41, 47.
1520.] THE DISCOVEKY OF THE STKAIT. 195
we find, written across the lower part of the "Terra
Sancte Crucis," a statement to the effect that the Portu-
guese ships had at that time penetrated as far south as
lat. 50°.
The fact that certain islands are figured in Schoner's
globes in the neighbourhood of the strait is of some
interest. Whether they are or are not the Falklands it
is difficult to say. In the 1520 globe they bear the text
" Ins. delle Pidzelle." That Davis, for whom the honour
of the discovery of the Falkland Islands is claimed,
should have called them the Virgin's Land, if a coinci-
dence, is at least a curious one.
Perhaps the most important fact in connection with
the question of Magellan's foreknowledge of his strait,
is that of Christopher de Haro having been the chief
person concerned in the fitting out and despatch of the
ship whose voyage was the cause of the publication of
the "Zeytung." We must not forget the friendship
existing between him and Magellan, nor that he con-
tributed more than a fifth part of the cost of his armada,
nor that the great house of which he was one of the
leading members, had probably more sources of infor-
mation at command than any monarch. Look at the
matter how we may, certain broad facts remain : — that
both Coelho and Christovao Jacques pushed far south
along the shores of South America before Magellan
sailed on his great voyage, though how far is unknown ;
that a pamphlet, likewise indisputably of an anterior
date, describes a Pacifico-Atlantic strait at some length ;
and finally, that Schoner considered the information he
was possessed of to be sufficiently trustworthy to figure
this strait upon his two globes of 15 15 and 1520,
Shortly, then, we have three reasons, or groups of
196 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. vii.
reasons, for supposing that the existence of Magellan's
Strait was known prior to the visit of that navigator.
Firstly, the passage in Pigafetta deliberately stating
that such was the case, and the mention of the fact by
various historians ; secondly, the use of the phrase " to
go in search of the strait " in Charles V.'s capitulacion
of 1518; and lastly, the evidence of various maps and
globes and the "Zeytung aus Presillg Landt." Let us
now consider the arguments that can be adduced on the
other side of the question.
According to Pigafetta, Magellan derived his informa-
tion from a chart existing in the King's treasury. We
are not told when he saw it. Towards the end of his
service with Portugal he was out of favour with the
King. He was, indeed, never regarded by him with
anything but dislike, and it is therefore improbable
that he would be the only person permitted to see it.
Gomara, too, says that when Magellan passed into the
service of Spain, and his intention of visiting the
Moluccas became known, Dom Manoel remained con-
tent when he learned that he had promised not to take
the route by the Cape, " thinking that he could find no
other way nor navigation for the Spices other than that
which he (the King) had." Dom Manoel would hardly
have felt so reassured had he a chart depicting the
straits in his possession, and knew that Magellan had
consulted it.
The uncertain, slow, and groping route followed by
the fleet is also apparently in favour of a want of definite
knowledge on the subject ; but it is quite possible that
Magellan wished either to assure himself that no more
northerly passage had escaped notice, or to make a
tolerably complete survey of the coast. Finally, the
1520.] THE DISCOVERY OF THE STRAIT. 197
assertion made by the admiral that he would push on
even to lat. 75° S. to find the object of his search shows
considerable indefiniteness. And we must not forget
that the historians are — save Galvao — one and all silent
as to its former discovery.
On the whole, then, the balance of evidence is in favour
of a more or less inexact knowledge of the existence of
some antarctic break in the vast barrier which America
opposed to a western passage. No less indefinite state-
ment can be made with any certainty. It is indeed pos-
sible that the wish was father to the thought, and that
the explorers of those days, having tried Central and
Northern America in vain, and feeling that the land to
the south of the Terra Sanctse Crucis alone offered them
a chance, eventually persuaded themselves into a belief
in the real existence of the object of their desire. There
were reasonable arguments in favour of it also. The
fact that the southern part of the continent ever trended
to the west, that the vast mass of Africa terminated in a
cape, appeared of no little import to navigators at the
beginning of the sixteenth century. An idee mere does
not take long in growing into a conviction. The shortest
route to the enchanted East was the problem which filled
the mind of every one. And so they were ready to push
their explorations to the farthest limits, that their ships
might float on the waters of the Pacific. So absorbing
was this idea that it led them to contemplate the most
gigantic of projects. If no strait could be found, they
would see what human labour would do. They would
attempt a task which we, with all the money and re-
sources and engineering skill of the nineteenth century
have attempted, only to fail — they would cut a Panama
canal. No weightier evidence of the all-absorbing nature
198 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. vii.
of the work of discovery in those days could be adduced.^
Whether Magellan had a previous knowledge of his
strait or not, we can understand how strong was his
determination to do his best to find one.
1 Gomara,, Hist. General de las Indian, cap. civ., under the heading
"Concerning the Strait which could be made in order to go more
directly to the Moluccas," discusses the construction of a Panama
canal at considerable length. The passage is one of great interest.
Four alternative plans are given, and the undertaking is strongly
recommended. " Sierras son, pero manos ai. Dadme quien lo quiera
hacer, que hacer se puede : no falta animo, que no falterk dinero, i las
Indias, donde se ha de hacer, lo dkn. Para la Contratacion de la
Especearia, para la riqueza de las Indias, i para un Reino de Castilla
poco es lo posible." Galvao, at nearly the same date, discusses the
same question (Hakl, Soc. edit., p. i8o).
CHAPTER VIII.
THE LAST VOYAGE—III. THE PASSAGE OF THE
STRAIT,
The explorers, we have seen, reached the entrance of the
Straits on October 21, 1520. According to Thevet, it
was Magellan himself who first descried it.^ " Ce fut
luy qui premier le descouurit sur la minuict, encores que
les capitaines des aultres nauires estimassent que c'estoit
quel que goulfe, qui n'auoit point d'issue." It is not im-
probable that the great desire of his life should lend the
leader of the expedition a preternatural keenness of
vision, and reward him as it rewarded Columbus.^ Be
that as it may, however, the order was given for the
fleet to enter. On their starboard hand they passed a
cape, which, since it was St. Ursula's day, they called
the Cape of the Eleven Thousand Virgins. The pilot
Alvo took the latitude, and found it to be 52° S.^ The
bay within was spacious, and seemed to afford good
shelter. The admiral gave orders that Serrao and Mes-
quita should continue the reconnaissance in the ConcejJ-
cion and S. Antonio. Meanwhile the flagship anchored
in company with the Victoria to await their return,
which was not to be deferred for more than five days.^
1 A. Th evet, Les Vrais Pourtraits et Vies des Hommes Illustres, p. 529.
2 In the narrative of the anonymous Portuguese published by
Ramusio, the strait is called after the Victoria, "because the ship
Victoria was the first that saw it."
3 Cape Virgins is in lat. 52° 20' S.
4 It is probable, assuming Pigafetta's account to be correct, that
the vessels anchored in Lomas Bay, upon the south side of the strait.
i99
200 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. viii.
During the night one of the characteristic storms of
these regions broke upon them, lasting until noon upo n
the following day. It blew, most probably, from the
north-east, for they were forced to weigh anchor and
make an offing, standing on and off until the weather
moderated. The S. Antonio and Concepcion were in equally
bad case. Endeavouring to rejoin the others, they found
themselves unable to weather the cape which separated
them from the anchorage,^ and were obliged to put about,
seeing nothing but certain destruction before them, for
the bay, as they thought it, appeared as such — no open-
ing being visible at its head. As they gave themselves
up for lost, they rounded Anegada Point, and the entrance
of the " First Narrows " revealed itself. Up these they
ran, thankful for their escape, and emerged from them to
find themselves in the great bay beyond.^ They prose-
cuted their explorations to the entrance of Broad Reach,
and then returned, having rapidly surveyed the neigh-
bouring waters, and assured themselves that the strait
led onwards for an immense distance to the south.
Magellan had meanwhile awaited them with more
than ordinary anxiety. It was feared that they had
been lost in the storm, more especially from the fact
that certain " smokes " had been noticed on shore. These
they afterwards learnt were caused by fires lit by two
men from the missing ships, with the object of revealing
their presence, but at the time they were considered to
For he distinctly tells us that the mouth of the "First Narrows"
remained unknown to them until discovered by the S. Antonio and
her consort. This could not have been the case had they anchored in
Possession Bay, and they could not well have chosen any other spot.
Lomas Bay is also the most natural shelter for a ship — sailing, it must
be remembered, upon unknown waters — to select.
1 Probably the eastern horn of the Great Orange Bank.
2 St. Philip or Boucant Bay, — the Lago de los Estrechos of Ovicdo.
1520.]
THE PASSAGE OF THE STKAIT.
201
point rather to the conclu-
sion that a shipwreck had
occurred. While the crews
of the two vessels were
speculating upon the fate
of their comrades, the S.
Antonio and Concepcion sud-
denly hove in sight, crowd-
ing all sail and gay with
flags. As they approached,
they discharged their large
bombards and shouted for
joy, "upon which," says
Pigafetta, '' we united our
shouts to theirs, and thank-
ing God and the Blessed
Virgin Mary, resumed our
journey."
The accounts given by the
two crews were so different
that it is probable that the
vessels separated during
their reconnaissance, and
that one pushed on much in
advance of the other. They
gave it as their opinion
that the inlet led onward
to the Pacific. Not only
had they ascended it for
three days without finding
any sign of its termination,
but the soundings in the
channel were of very great depth, and in many cases they
202 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. viil.
could get no bottom. The flood, moreover, appeared
stronger than the ebb. It was impossible, they said,
that the Strait should not be found to continue.^
After penetrating three or four miles within the
"First Narrows," the admiral signalled the fleet again
to anchor, and despatched a boat ashore to survey the
country. Most likely the appearance of habitations had
attracted his eye, for Herrera tells us that at the dis-
tance of a mile inland the men came upon a building
containing more than two hundred native graves. On the
coast they found a dead whale of gigantic size, together
with a great quantity of the bones of these animals, from
which they concluded that the storms of that region were
both frequent and severe. Passing the Second Narrows,
the squadron entered Broad Reach, and anchored on
the 28th October off an island at its head.^
From the sketchy and confused accounts that have
come down to us, it is impossible to reconstruct an exact
itinerary of the passage of the Strait, or to present events
in any certain chronological order. We are in possession
of a few facts which are practically incontestable. We
know that the fleet emerged from the straits upon the
28th November ; that on 21st November Magellan issued
a general order demanding the opinion of his captains and
pilots upon the question of continuing the voyage ; that
the S. Antonio deserted, and that she deserted almost
without doubt in the beginning of November.^ But
1 " Porqne las corrientes eran maiores que las niengoantes era impo-
sible que aquel bra90 de mar no pasase mas adelante." — Herrera, Dec.
ii. lib. ix. cap. xiv.
2 Alvo's diary. There is every probability that the anchorage at the
north of Elizabeth Island, now known as Royal Road, was that chosen
by Magellan. Cape S, Severin of Herrera is either Cape St. Vincent
or the headland of Gente Grande Bay.
3 Herrera (Dec. ii. lib. ix. cap. xv.) gives an account of a council
1520.] THE PASSAGE OF THE STRAIT. 203
with regard to the chronology of minor events we have
to confine ourselves to probabilities. According to Her-
rera, Magellan took the opinion of his officers at an early
period of his passage through the straits. AH with one
exception were for pushing on. They had provisions for
three months still remaining. Fired by the spirit of
their chief, it seemed to them a disgrace to return to
Spain at this juncture. What had they to show for all
the bitter months of hardship through which they had
passed ? Where were the riches of which they were in
search, the islands over which they had been granted
seignorial rights ? So utterly unknown was the Pacific,
so vague the ideas at that time prevalent as to the actual
size of the globe they were then circumnavigating for
the first time, that there seemed to them no impossi-
bility in the idea that the Spice Islands were already
almost within their reach. It were folly at least not to
carry on their explorations a little farther now that the
summer was before them.
The only voice raised in opposition was that of Estevao
Gomes, pilot of the S. Antonio. Although a country-
man of the admiral, and indeed a kinsman also,i he had
been for some time upon bad terms with his relative.
Pigafetta tells us the hatred he bore him arose from the
fact that the despatch of Magellan's expedition did away
held by Magellan with regard to the advisability of the prosecution of
the voyage in lohich Estevao Gomes, pilot of the S. Antonio, spoke.
But Barros (Dec. iii. lib. v. cap. xix.) gives Magellan's "Order of the
Day " in extenso, which bears date 21st November. It seems hardly
probable that there were two councils upon this subject, or that, if
there were, some reference to the fact should not have been made,
but it is of course possible. It is also singular that in Magellan's
"Order" of 21st November, and Andres de San Martin's reply to it,
there should be no allusion to the desertion of the S. Antonio.
1 Barros Arana, op. cit., p. 89.
204 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. viii.
with hopes he had formed of himself leading a voyage of
exploration.^ Whatever ill-will may have pre-existed
was probably increased by the command of the S. Antonio
having been conferred upon Alvaro de Mesquita instead
of himself, the king's pilot. The slight was none the
less galling from the fact that his rival was a mere
supernumerary borne upon the books of the Ti'inidad,
and probably owed his fortune rather to his near rela-
tionship to the admiral than to any skill as a navigator
or seaman.
The arguments brought forward by Gomes were plau-
sible enough. Now that they had apparently found the
strait, he said, it would be better to go back to Spain
and return with another armada. For the way that lay
before them was no small matter, and, if they encountered
any lengthened period either of calms or storms, it was
probable that all would perish. Magellan replied as
those who knew him probably expected him to reply,
albeit unmoved in manner — " con semhlante muy com-
jmesto " — " that if they had to eat the leather on the ships'
yards he would still go on, and discover what he had
promised to the Emperor, and that he trusted that God
would aid them and give them good fortune." But the
opposition of Gomes, whose skill as a pilot was beyond
question, must have rendered his position a difficult one.
Foreseeing the possibilities of further grumbling, if not
mutiny, he issued an order that no one, under pain of
death, should discuss the difficulties of the task that lay
before them, or the scarcity of provisions with which
they were threatened. It is doubtful how far this would
have availed had his crews known what misery was in
1 *' Molto odiava il Capitnno-Generale, il cui progetto fatto alia Corte
di Spagna era stato cagione che I'Iniperatore non affidasse a lui alcuno
caravelle per iscoprire nuove terre." — rigafctta, p. 38, ed. cit.
1520.] THE PASSAGE OF THE STEAIT. 205
store for them. For the admiral's words came literally-
true ; and, broken down with scurvy and privation in
their long passage across the Pacific, the men did eat
the leather on the yards, and the ships still pressed
onward for the Moluccas.
Next day the fleet made sail on a S.S.E. course
down Broad Reach, approaching a point on their port
hand.^ Beyond they came to three channels, of which,
according to Herrera, intelligence had been already
brought by the Concepcion and S. Antonio — which two
ships had been despatched on a second reconnaissance
from Elizabeth Island. Of these three fjords, " one led
in the direction of the Scirocco (S.E.), one to the
Libeccio (S.W.) and the third towards the Moluccas." ^
The fleet anchored at some place in the neighbourhood
of their mouths, and Magellan ordered the two pilot
ships to explore the south-eastern arm. Meanwhile,
in company with the Victoria, the flagship followed
up the main channel, having left instructions for the
future course to be pursued by Mesquita and Serrao.
Rounding Cape Froward, the admiral continued onward
for fifteen leagues, when he anchored in a river to which
he gave the name of the River of Sardines, from the
abundance of those fish they obtained there. The ships
watered and cut wood, which they found so fragrant
in burning, that "it afforded them much consolation."
Shortly after their arrival in this port they sent on a
boat well manned and provisioned to explore the chan-
nel further. In three days it returned with the joyful
1 Some point between Gente Grande and Useless Bays, possibly
Cape Monmouth.
2 Admiralty and Magdalen Sounds, and Froward Reach of the main
channel.
206 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. viii.
intelligence that they had sighted the cape which ter-
minated the strait, and had seen the open sea beyond.^
So delighted were the explorers with this happy termi-
nation to their anxieties, that salvoes of artillery were
discharged, and Magellan and those with him wept for
very joy.
Four days or more had now elapsed^ without sign
of the two other vessels, and the admiral accordingly
decided to leave the River of Sardines ^ and retrace his
steps in search of them. On their way they had leisure
to examine the striking scenery by which they were sur-
rounded. On entering the straits, they had found the
country desolate and poor, more or less devoid of vegeta-
1 "Dopo tre giorni essi tornarono, e ci riferirono d'aver veduto il
capo a cui terminava lo stretto, e quindi il mare ampio, cioe I'oceano."
— Figafetta, ed. cit., p. 38.
2 According to Herrera, a stay of six days was made here, ii. 9, 15.
3 It is difficult to identify the Kiver of Sardines with any degree of
accuracy. From Pigafetta's evidence it would be such a distance from
the exit of the straits that the boat journey there and back would
take three days. It would not be necessary to proceed beyond
Tamar Island to sight Cape Deseado and the open sea, and it is
possible to reach Tamar Islaud from any point in the neighbourhood
of Carlos III. Island and return within the time given. Herrera tells
us that after leaving the S. Antonio at Cape Valentyn, the admiral,
anduvo nn dia — went forward for one day — and then anchored in a
river which is evidently the River of Sardines. AIvo says that after
rounding Cape Froward they wont on about fifteen leagues (obi'a de
15 leguas) and anchored. His journal renders it probable that it lay
east of the entrance to Otway Water. A passage farther on in Piga-
fetta tells us that the River of Sardines was close to the River of Isles,
and that the latter had an island opposite to it, upon which Magellan
planted a ci'oss as a signal. This island must almost certainly have
been one of the Charles Islands, which are full in the fairway of the
channel, and admirably suited for the construction of a cairn or signal
to attract the notice of any passing ship. Port Gallant and Port S.
Miguel, therefore, most probably correspond to the River of Sardines
and the River of Isles. In the Anuario Hidmgraphico de ChilCy voj,
V. p. 393, Andrews Bay is suggested as the River of Sardines.
1520.] THE PASSAGE OF THE STRAIT. 207
tion, and consisting of nearly level plains. Here they
were, as Herrera tells us, " in the most beautiful country
in the world — the strait a gunshot across," separating
high sierras covered with perpetual snow, whose lower
slopes were clothed with magnificent trees.^ It was not
long before they met with Serrao's ship, the Concepcion,
but she was alone. Magellan, suspecting perhaps that
some accident had happened to the S. Antonio, at once
hailed and demanded news of her. Serrao had none to
PORT FAMINE, MAGELLAN'S STRAITS.
give. She had outsailed them almost from the moment
of their departure from/ Cape Yalentyn, and they had
not seen her since.
\ The extraordinary suddenness of the change in the scenery of the
straits is dwelt upon by Darwin in his Voyage of the Beagle, chap.
xi. The distance between Port Famine and Cape Gregory in the
"Second Narrows" is about sixty miles. "At the former place we
have rounded mountains concealed by impervious forests, which are
drenched with the rain brought by an endless succession of gales ;
while at Cape Gregory there is a clear and bright blue sky over the
dry and sterile plains."
208 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. viii.
Upon receiving the news, Magellan at once instituted
a search. Admiralty Sound, for the exploration of which
the S. Antonio had been detailed, was examined to its
inmost recesses without result, and the Victoria was
then despatched northwards with the idea that the
missing ship, having misunderstood orders, might return
upon her track under the belief that she would meet her
consorts at Elizabeth Island. But Broad Reach was
found to be deserted, and though the Victoria sailed back
to the very entrance of the straits, no trace of the vessel
was to be seen.
It was scarcely possible that any misunderstanding
could have occurred. In the " Instruccion " given by the
Emperor to Magellan and Faleiro on the 8th May, 15 19,
the fullest rules were laid down with regard to the course
to be pursued upon the accidental separation of a ship
from the squadron.^ One of two things had happened
— the S. Antonio had either been lost, and lost with all
hands, for otherwise their search must have revealed
some traces of her, or she had deserted. The men of
the Victoria, having placed ensigns in two conspicuous
positions with letters of instruction buried at their feet,
returned to the admiral with the news. He was awaiting
them with the other ship in the River of Isles, in close
proximity to his former anchorage, the River of Sardines.
The intelligence was a great blow to Magellan, the
greater because it occurred at the very moment of his
success, and at a time when every ounce of food was of
importance in the further prosecution of his journey.
Unwilling to realise it, he was anxious to delay some
time longer, in the hope that some unforeseen circum-
stance might have happened, and that at any moment
1 See Navarrete, vol. iv. p. 133, art. ix.
1520.] THE PASSAGE OF THE STRAIT. 209
the missing ship might return. But reflection convinced
him of the uselessness of so doing, and he resolved to
continue his journey. Barros tells us that, wishing to
know what had occurred, the Captain -general requested
the astrologer, Andres de San Martin, to cast the horo-
scope. He was informed that the ship had returned to
Spain, and that her captain was a prisoner.^
There were now but three vessels of the fleet remain-
ing — the capitana or flagship, the Victo^Ha, and the
Concepcion. The desertion of the S. Antonio had doubt-
less caused a new fear in the heart of the leader of the
expedition — the fear that her example might be not
without its effect, and that even now that he held suc-
cess in his grasp, it might at any moment be wrested
from him. He w^as no man of inactivity, masterly or
otherwise. His custom was ever to meet his dangers
and difiiculties half-way, and disarm them. And so,
rather than permit the thoughts of ofiicers and men to
dwell upon the weakened condition of the fleet, and the
still more serious loss of provisions, ^ without discussion,
he sent an order to each ship that the various authorities
should express their opinion upon the advisability of
continuing the voyage.
This order, to which allusion has been already made,
came into the hands of the historian Barros among
vaiious papers of Andres de San Martin. It was promul-
gated on the 2ist November in the Biver of Isles. The
astrologer's reply was subjoined, and is the only one
remaining to us. He was of opinion that they should
go forward, '* so long as they had the full bloom of
1 Barros, Dec. iii. lib. v. cap. ix. Correa also has this story.
2 The S. Antonio was the largest vessel of the armada, and carried
a proportionately large quantity of stores.
O
210 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. viii.
summer with them," i and continue their discoveries until
mid-Janaary, albeit he did not consider that the straits
offered a proper route to the Moluccas. He strongly
counselled that the ships should always anchor at night,
not only for security's sake, but in order that the crew,
toil-worn and weak as they were, should obtain sufficient
rest. It is almost incredible that the ships — and sailing
ships, it must be remembered — should have attempted
such difficult navigation in unknown waters by night. Yet
from this we can only conclude that such was the case.
Whether the suggestion was adopted or not, Barros
does not inform us, but he gives us the general tenor
of Magellan's reply, which was of the usual character.
The admiral, it is suggested, only requested the opinions
of his officers as a mere matter of courtesy, his intention
being to turn back for no one. He gave many reasons
for pushing on, adding that God, who had brought them
thus far to the discovery of their long-looked-for strait,
would in due and fitting time bring them to the ulti-
mate realisation of their desires. Next day, having
given a general notification of his opinion, he weighed
anchor amid salvoes of artillery, and made his way
towards the Pacific. ^
1 "Parece que vossa merce dove ir adiante por elle agora, em
quanto temos a frol do verSo na mao." — Barros, Dec. iii. lib. v, cap. ix.
2 From passages in the diary of Alvo and the so-called Genoese
pilot, Magellan is supposed to have passed on the south side of Carlos
III. Island {Amta?'. Hidrogr. de Chile, vol. v. p. 394, note 41), but
there are not sufficient grounds for this supposition. Presuming the
fleet to have sailed from Port S. Miguel, it is unlikely that they would
have crossed the straits to navigate a much less evident passage.
Had they passed on the north side, it is argued, they would have been
led off the track into Otway Water, But the entrance to Otway
Water is so obviously not the main channel, that it would never have
led them to an exploration of its recesses. Moreover, they knew the
way from the crew of the boat who had already sighted the Pacific.
1520.] THE PASSAGE OF THE STRAIT. 213
The constant fires seen upon the southern side of the
straits had led Magellan to give to the land the name
which it bears to this day, the ''Tierra del Fuego." It
remained for Schouten and Le Maire, nearly a hundred
years later, to prove the truth of his surmise concerning
it — that it was no continent, but merely an island or
group of islands. "To the left," says the letter of
Maximilian, "they thought the land to consist of islands,
for on that side they sometimes heard the beating and
roaring of the sea, as though upon some farther shore."
They must have been nearing the exit. On the evening
of the 28th November, 1520,^ they passed Cape Deseado
— "the longed-for cape," as they termed it — and the
little armada sailed out upon the hitherto unknown
waters of the South Pacific.^
Before we leave the strait we must pause for a moment
to glance at its nomenclature. Magellan, it has been
often said, conferred upon it his own name, but that this
was the case we do not learn from any contemporary
narrative. Pigafetta figures it as the " Streto Pata-
gonico," and, according to the diary of the anonymous
Portuguese, it was called Victoria Strait, since that ship
first sighted it, "though some called it the Strait of
Magalhaes, since our captain was named Fernao de
Magalhaes." On the arrival of the vessels at the narrow
channel beyond Clarence Land the name of Todos os
1 Both Alvo and Pigafetta agree in this date. The anonymous
Portuguese gives the 27th as the day, and the Genoese pilot the 26th.
2 The account given by Herrera of the passage of the straits differs
in certain particulars from that here given. The concurring state-
ments of Pigafetta and either of the two pilots have, however, been
taken as preferable whenever such concurrence exists. Elsewhere,
what is evidently supplemental in Herrera's narrative has been intro-
duced with as strict a regard for chronology as rare-occurring dates
render possible.
214
LIFE OF MAGELLAN.
[CHAP. VIII.
Santos, or Todolos Sanctos, was conferred upon it — it
being All Saints' Day, the ist November. In 1580 Sar-
miento re -christened it the Strait of the Mother of God.
But, as may be imagined, the name of its discoverer was
too closely associated with it to be put aside, and it has
remained, and always will remain, the Strait of Magellan.
We must turn now to the S. Antonio, whose base
desertion had thrown still further difficulties in the path
of the explorers. It appears that, from the moment of
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separating at Cape Valentyn, the pilot Gomes had de-
termined to put into execution his project of returning
to Spain. On the third day, having proved Admiralty
Channel to be merely an inlet, the vessel turned north-
ward once more. They did not sight Serrao's ship, the
Concepcion^ which was probably already bound westward
up the straits. One author, indeed, tells us that the >S'.
Antonio slipped past the entrance of the inlet at night,
with the express pui-pose of avoiding her. Whatever
1520.] THE PASSAGE OF THE STRAIT. 215
may have been the case, when the time came to shape
their course for the rendezvous prescribed by the flag-
ship, Estevao Gomes and Geronimo Guerra,i — who had
been made tesorero of the ship by Magellan himself —
resisted Mesquita's authority, and proposed an immediate
return to Spain. What followed is not clear. The
mutineers, who had laid their plans well, and won over
a large proportion of the crew to their side, declared on
their arrival in Seville that the captain stabbed Gomes,
and that he in turn retaliated by stabbing the captain.
The last at least was true. Mesquita was seized and
placed in irons, ^ and, according to Oviedo, put to the
torture in order that they might obtain from him a
statement to exculpate the mutineers.
Geronimo Guerra was made captain, and with Gomes
as pilot the ship made sail to clear the straits as quickly
as possible. It was proposed at first to return to Port
S. Julian, in order to pick up their two comrades, Car-
tagena and the priest, who, it will be remembered, had
been left there as a punishment for their share in the
mutiny. But whether it was thought better to proceed
at once to Spain, or whether a visit was actually paid
to the spot without finding their companions, the fact
remains that the >S'. Antonio never brought them back
to their native land.^ She shaped her course for the
1 Guerra was a relation of Cristobal de Haro, and had been brought
up by him — "su pariente y criado," Recalde's letter, Nav. iv. p. 201.
2 The date of this occurrence is given in Recalde's letter as the 8th
October — a manifest error, as the fleet did not enter the straits until
the 2ist October. The incident must have occurred fully a month later.
3 Argensola, i. 17, says distinctly that these men did return in the
S. Antonio. But had they done so, we should have had some mention
of the fact in the official letter of Recalde to the Bishop of Burgos.
Moreover, the result of this letter, as we learn from Herrera (iii. i. 4),
was an order from the Casa de Contratacion to send a ship to rescue
216 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap, viit
coast of Guinea, where they took water and provisions,
the former having already failed from the protracted
length of the voyage. From this or other causes the
Patagonian they were bringing home fell sick and died.
On Wednesday, 6th May, 152 1, the vessel arrived at the
port of Seville.
Gomes and his comrades had, of course, a well-con-
cocted story to hide their treachery. They complained
that the flagship had failed at the rendezvous, and
having searched for her in vain they had no alternative
but to retvirn to Spain. But they did not confine them-
selves to excuses. The gravest accusations were brought
against Magellan — that he was guilty of great harshness
and cruelty, that he sailed at random, and that he lost
time and wasted the provisions by endless delays, and
that all this was to no good end or profit whatsoever.
" Les absents ont tou jours tort." Magellan, unable to
make a defence, was held for a culprit, and Mesquita —
whose loyalty had procured him some stabs from a
poignard, the rack, and six months in irons — was thrown
into prison as his accomplice. It was in vain that Ma-
gellan's father-in-law, Diogo Barbosa, came to his aid,^
for he remained there until the return of the Victoria.
The result of the inquiry instituted by the India House,
however, was such that Gomes and Guerra, together with
two others more especially implicated in the mutiny, were
also incarcerated. Beatriz, Magellan's wife, though not
actually placed under lock and key, was strictly watched,
them. "We hear nothing further of this rescue. It is more than
probable that the ship was never despatched, and that the two
mutineers expiated their sins with their lives. Vide Navarrete, iv.
p. Ixxxii.
1 '* Diciendo que ^1 debria ser suelto, y los que lo trujeron presos."
— Navarrete^ iv. p. 202.
1520.] THE PASSAGE OF THE STEAIT. 217
" in order that she should not escape to Portugal until
the facts of the case are better understood." ^
It is from the letter of the Contador Lopez de Recalde,
already alluded to, that we gather most of the details of
the S. Antonio incident. Two years later, in a memorial
presented to Charles V., Diogo Barbosa alludes to the
treatment allotted to the various persons concerned in it
with a blunt frankness which is unusual even for those
days. He complains that the mutineers *' were very well
received and treated at the expense of Your Highness,
while the captain and others who were desirous of serv-
ing Your Highness were imprisoned and deprived of all
justice." "It is from this," he adds, "that so many
bad examples arise — heart-breaking to those who try to
do their duty." It must be allowed that his remarks, if
not those of a courtier, have at least the merit of being
true, and that had Spain treated better those who were
at that time only too ready to shed their blood in her
service, it would have been not without material effect
upon the history of her colonies.
1 Vide Navarrete, iv. p. Ixxxiii.
CHAPTER IX.
THE LAST VOYAGE— IV. THE LADRONES AND
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
The three remaining ships of the squadron, passing Cape
Deseado, directed their course to less inhospitable shores
and a warmer climate. Their passage of the strait had
cost them thirty-eight days.^ Although its length was
in reality not more than 320 miles, the many incidents
that had arisen and the protracted time that they had
spent within its limits led them to exaggerate its size,
and the distance from mouth to mouth was variously
estimated at from 350 to 400 miles.
On reaching the Pacific, the other Patagonian captured
in Port St. Julian died. He had been kept on board the
flagship, and had apparently reconciled himself in part
to his position. To Pigafetta he had become an object
of curiosity and interest. " I conversed by signs or as
best I could with the Patagonian giant we had on board,
making him tell me the names of things in his language,
whence I was able to form a vocabulary. When he saw
me take the pen in my hand he used to tell me the
names of the objects around us, or of some action he
1 Herrera says they were " veynte dias que navegb por aquella
estrechura," and Oviedo and Maximilian give the period as twenty-
two days. This may possibly mean the actual time occupied in sail-
ing, or perhaps the number of days passed in traversing the narrow
part to which the name "Canal de Todos Santos" was more particularly
applied.
218
1520.] VOYAGE ACKOSS THE PACIFIC. 219
might imitate. . . . When he felt himself gravely ill of
the malady from which he afterwards died, he embraced
the Cross and kissed it, and desired to become a Christian.
We baptized him, and gave him the name of Paul."
Faring northward to escape the cold, the explorers
encountered such favourable weather that the difficulties
and privations they had passed through were well-nigh
forgotten. The sudden, violent tempests had given place
to steady winds which wafted them on their course over
the surface of a placid sea, and thankful for their deliver-
ance from their troubles they gave the name of the
Pacific to the vast ocean which had afforded them so
friendly a reception. *' Well was it named the Pacific,"
Pigafetta writes, *' for during this time (three months
and twenty days) we met with no storm." ^ At first
their course led them along the wild seaboard of western
Patagonia. On the ist December they were some fifty
or sixty miles distant from the coast in lat. 48° S., and
from that time to the i6th followed a direction which
kept them within measurable distance of the land. The
abundance of fish astonished the sailors. Pigafetta de-
scribes the albacores and bonitos, " which pursue other
fish called colondrini.^ On being followed these spring
from the water and fly about a bowshot — so long as
their wings are wet — and then regain the sea. Mean-
while their enemies follow their shadow, and arriving at
the spot where they fall, seize upon them and devour
them — a thing marvellous and agreeable to see."
On the 1 6th December the general direction of the
course of the armada was altered for the first time.
1 Herrera's statement that " anduuieron con gran tormenta hasta
los diez y ocho de Deziembre " is not borne out by any of those who
Bailed with the armada.
2 The flying-fish -.—Oolondrina (Sp.) = a swallow.
220 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. ix.
Magellan, thinking he had pushed sufficiently far north-
ward, bore away upon a more or less north-westerly track
for the lands and islands of which he was in search.
Day after day passed, but no land was met with to
break the monotony of the apparently endless waste of
waters that surrounded them. On the 24th January
1521, after nearly two months' sailing, an islet covered
with trees was sighted. On approaching, it was dis-
covered to be uninhabited, and, as they could find no
bottom with the lead, the course was once more resumed.
Its latitude was fixed by the pilot Alvo at 16° 15' S., and
the name of St. Paul's Island was given to it.
Eleven more days of sailing upon a course varying
from N.W. to W.N.W., brought them again in sight of
land.i Small and uninhabited like the first, it afforded
them neither water nor fruit. " We found only birds
and trees," says Pigafetta, "but we saw there many of
the fish called Tiburoni." The island was accordingly
called the Isla de los Tiburones, or Shark Island, and
" since we found there neither people, nor consolation,
nor sustenance of any kind, the name of Desaventu-
radas — the Unfortunate Islands — was given to this and
St. Paul's Island." 2
Leaving Shark Island ^ on the 4th February, a steady
1 Antonio de Brito, in his resumS of the voyage sent to the King of
Portugal, mentions this island as being 200 leagues from St. Paul's.
According to the anonymous Portuguese, the distance separating the
two is 800 miles.
2 Maximilian and Herrera record that the fleet delayed here two
days, but we know from Alvo's diary that this could not have been
the case.
3 Meinicke identifies S. Pablo, or St. Paul's Island, with Puka-puka
in the Tuamotu Archipelago (lat. 14° 45' S., long. 138° 48' W.), and
Shark Island, or the Tiburones, with Flint Island in the Manihiki group
(lat. 11° 20' S., long. 151° 48' W.). Petermann's MitthcU, 1869, p. 376.
This identification has been accepted by Peschel.
1521.] VOYAGE ACROSS THE PACIFIC. 221
N.W. course was held. The disappointment felt at not
being able to obtain provisions was great, for the con-
dition of the majority of those in the fleet was now
most pitiable. The rations were reduced to the' smallest
limits. " Such a dearth of bread and water was there,"
writes Gomara, " that they ate by ounces, and held
their noses as they drank the water for the stench of
it." The Italian historian gives a still more vivid
account of their sufferings. '*We ate biscuit, but in
truth it was biscuit no longer, but a powder full of
worms, for the worms had devoured its whole substance,
and in addition it was stinking with the urine of rats.
So great was the want of food that we were forced to
eat the hides with which the main yard was covered to
prevent the chafing against the rigging. These hides,
exposed to the sun and rain and wind, had become sa
hard, that we were obliged first to soften them by put-
ting them overboard for four or five days, after which
we put them on the embers and ate them thus. We
had also to make use of sawdust for food, and rats
became such a delicacy that we paid half a ducat apiece
for them." ^
The result of such privations may be easily imagined.
Scurvy broke out, and broke out in its worst form. The
sufferings of the invalids were aggravated ' by the lack
of any reserve of suitable food for them, and many died.^
Others suffered greatly from pains in the arms and legs.
Few were altogether well, but Pigafetta was one of them.
*' I ought to thank God," he says, "for not having
1 Pigafetta, Primo Viaggio, lib. ii.
2 According to Herrera twenty men perished, but a consultation of
the official " List of deaths " reveals the fact that only seven were re-
corded between the departure from the straits and the arrival of the
tieet at the Ladrone Islands. Vide Medina, i. p. 173.
222 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. ix.
had the slightest illness during the whole of the
period."
Day after day the ships sailed onward — " nihil unquam
nisi pontus et undique pontus " — until they reached the
Line. Aware from the accounts of his friend Francisco
Serrao that the Moluccas did not offer such opportuni-
ties for victualling and refitting as he now desired,
Magellan thought it best to shape his course further to
the north, in the hope, perhaps, of attaining some part
of China, with whose wealth and extent he was well
acquainted from the accounts of the Chinese traders with
whom he had mixed at Malacca. As they progressed
upon their voyage, great attention was paid to the navi-
gation. Exact means of estimating their position, it is
true, they were without. They were capable of calculat-
ing their latitude with tolerable accuracy, although their
errors in the estimation of longitude were astounding,^
and the use of the log was known,^ as well as the exist-
ence both of deviation and variation of the compass.
On the latter phenomenon Pigafetta has an interesting
passage. Magellan, having ordered a certain course,
inquired of the pilots how they had laid it off on the
charts. They replied, '* as he had ordered it." Upon
which he said that " they had laid it off wrong, and that
they must apply corrections for the error of the compass
{die conveniva ajutare Vago calamitato), which in this part
of the world was not attracted with such force as it is
in its own quarter — that is, the northern hemisphere."
1 So inaccurate were their methods that Alvo, on arriving at the
Philippines, was no less than Jifty-two degrees and fifty-five minutes in
error.
2 That the log was in use in those days we gather from Pigafetta.
" According to the measure we made of the voyage by means of the
chain at the poop, wo ran sixty or seventy leagues a day."
1521.] VOYAGE ACKOSS THE PACIFIC. 223
Columbus upon his first voyage also noted the pheno-
menon, and endeavoured to explain it.
With its load of human suffering and anxiety, the
armada pressed on for yet another month with a steady
and favourable wind. Their position resembled that
of Columbus before sighting the new world, as day
after day their despairing glances were bent westward
in hopes of land. Then came their reward, and an
end, or at at all events a temporary end, of all their
miseries. On the 6th March land was sighted. A
number of praus came out to meet them, and all
anxiety as to the existence of a population was at
once set at rest. For ninety-eight days they had
sailed over an utterly unknown sea, " a sea so vast that
the human mind can scarcely grasp it," Maximilian
writes in his letter.
The group of islands thus discovered by the fleet was
that now called the Mariannes,^ or more often, the
Ladrones. To this day, although partially settled by
the Spaniards, they remain as little known, perhaps, as
any part of the accessible world. It is not absolutely
certain which island or islands Magellan first sighted
and visited, but there is not much doubt about the mat-
ter. ^ In all probabiUty the high peak of Rota was the
first land to show itself above the horizon. Steering
for this, Guam must have come into view on their
port bow, and discovering it to be the larger of the two,
1 The islands were thus named in honour of Marianna of Austria,
widow of Philip IV., and Regent of Castile in the minority of
Carlos II.
2 Maximilian is the only author of any authority who gives indi-
vidual names to these islands. Oviedo and Gomara copy from him.
He calls them Inuagana and Acaca. The former is probably Agana in
Guam, and Acaca or A^a^a may perhaps be Sosan in Rota Island.
224
LIFE OF MAGELLAN.
[CHAP. IX.
Magellan altered course to S.W., in order to approach
its shores.^
Their visit to the islands was a short one. " The in-
habitants were a people of little truth," as the Genoese
pilot describes them. Hardly had the ships come to an
anchor when the natives stole the skiff from under the
stern of the admiral's ship, cutting the rope by which
she was made fast, and carrying her off with great speed
1 ■- vi
ISLAS DE LAS Sosa
<i^^^ Rota
VELAS LATIKAS ^
^° (SOUTHERN LADRONts)
Scale, 1 2,500,000.
to zo
1 CaJbra£l.(Apa.pa)v^/ (;^^
ma.
\ «
dPhdipiksoiu
SOUTHERN LADRONE ISLANDS.
and adroitness. They boarded the vessels and robbed
the new-comers of everything that they could lay hands
on. It was impossible to keep them off. Before long
the order had to be given to eject them from the ships,
and they found themselves involved in a melee, which,
according to Herrera, became so serious that the Span-
iards had to use their artillery, killing numbers of the
1 " Y come fuimos in medio dellas, tiramos al .sudueste y dejamos
la una al noroeste." — Diary of Alvo. This does not at all prove that
"the ships passed between the two islands, but rather the contrary.
1521.] THE LADEONE ISLANDS. 225
savages. 1 Magellan, nauch annoyed at the loss of his
skiff, weighed anchor and stood on and off during the
night lest he should be surprised. In the morning he
returned, and landing in person with a force of fifty
or sixty men, burnt the village and a number of boats,
regained the skiff, and took a quantity of provisions.
The natives, who seemed at one time disposed to offer a
stout resistance, fled at the first discharge of the arque-
buses. No casualties occurred on the side of the Spaniards,
but the islanders lost seven or eight men killed. They
appear, from Pigafetta's account, to have been quite
unacquainted with the use of bows and arrow^s, for when
wounded by one of the latter they would draw it out of
their bodies and look at it with great surprise, an inci-
dent which aroused the compassion of their antagonists.
Their only arms were spears tipped with fish-bone.
In the " Primo Viaggio " we are treated to a short
description of the manners and customs of the inhabi-
tants of these islands which it is unnecessary to repro-
duce here. Their praus — stem and stern alike, and fitted
with an outrigger — struck witk astonishment those who
saw this species of boat for the first time. Their speed
especially filled them with wonder. As the vessels left
the port they were pursued by these craft. So dexter-
ously were they handled that they passed between the
ships going at full sail and the boats they towed astern.
" They did this so quickly and skilfully," says Pigafetta,
" that it was a marvel." It seems still more curious that,
considering the relations existing between their visitors
and themselves, the people should be quite willing to
engage in barter, and that immediately after Magellan
had burnt their village, boats should put off laden with
1 This incident is not given by any other narrator.
226 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. ix.
provisions for that purpose. Possibly their love of gain
overcame every other consideration. " They are poor,
but ingenious, and, above all, thieves," says the Italian
historian, "and so for that reason we called these islands
the Robber Islands." ^
Greatly improved in health from the fresh fruit and
vegetables they had procured, the explorers left the
Ladrones on the morning of the 9th March. On this
day the sole Englishman in the fleet — " Master Andrew
of Bristol " — died, the succour having come too late to
save his life. The course was set W. \ S., and held for
seven days. On the i6th they saw land — the southern
point of Samar Island of the Philippines. Finding the
coast beset with shoals, they bore away to the southward
and fell in with the conspicuous island then, as now,
known by the name of Suluan. From thence they
reached the neighbouring island of Malhou,^ and an-
chored for the night. It appeared to be uninhabited,
and next day, being anxious to rest his sick, Magellan
ordered tents to be set up on shore and a pig to be killed
for them — which animal, no doubt, was obtained during
their stay at the Ladrone Islands. The sight of the fleet
attracted the notice of a passing prau, and on Monday,
March i8th, the Europeans made acquaintance for th^
first time with the inhabitants of the Philippine Islands.
They were of a very different nature to those of the
Ladrone group. The boat contained some notables from
the little island of Suluan, who welcomed the new-comers j
without fear. Magellan ordered some caps, looking-i)
1 We learn from the diary of the Genoese pilot that Magellan gave
them the name of Islas de las Velas Latinas, or the Lateen-sail Islands,
from the number of craft thus rigged with which they abounded.
2 Humunu of Pigafetta, who calls their anchorage the " Aquade des
bons signes."
1521.] THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 227
glasses, bells, and other trifles to be given to them, and
in return was presented with fish and palm-wine. Piga-
fetta's *' figs a foot long, and two cocchi," which he also
mentions among the gifts, we have little difficulty in
recognising as bananas and coco-nuts. Friendship with
the natives was still further cemented by their visiting
the ships, and the hopes of the Spaniards were roused
by being shown various spices, which must have enabled
them for the first time to realise the proximity of the
Moluccas.
To the archipelago thus discovered the Captain general
gave the name of St. Lazarus, for he had first sighted
the group upon the day sacred to that saint. It was
not till long after that the present appellation of the
Islas Philippinas was conferred upon them,^ and mean-
while, curiously enough, they became known to the Portu-
guese as the Eastern Islands while the Spaniards called
them the Islas del Poniente, for, as we have seen, the
latter power sailed westward round the world, and the
Lusitanians eastward. This circumstance was the cause
of yet another oddity. To the first circumnavigators the
necessity of altering their day on passing the meridian
of 1 80° was unknown, and so it came about that — the
error persisting until quite recent times — Hong-kong
and Manila called the same day Monday and Sunday,
and it was not until the 31st December, 1844, that the
matter was rectified by the omission of that day from
the Manilan calendar.
The natives returned to the fleet on the 22nd March
as they had promised. They brought an abundance of
fruit, coco-nuts, oranges and bananas, and a cock, '' to
give us to understand that they possessed fowls in their
1 They were thus called in 1542 after Philip IT., son of Charles V.
228 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. ix.
country." ^ Their chief, who accompanied them, had
gold rings in his ears, and bracelets of the same metal,
worn by most of them, attracted the covetous eyes of the
Spaniards. With the free supply of vegetable diet the
sick improved rapidly. Each day the admiral went
ashore to visit them, and every morning gave them coco-
nut milk to drink with his own hands. It was as good
a treatment as could be prescribed by a physician of the
present day, and the personal visits of their leader no
doubt contributed not a little to their recovery. After
a rest of nine days it was considered that the voyage
might be safely resumed, and the order to weigh anchor
was accordingly given on the evening of Monday, 25th
March. While it was being carried out, an accident
happened to Pigafetta which came near to bringing the
chevalier and his diary to an abrupt conclusion. " I
was going," he says, '' upon the bulwarks to fish, when
1 put my foot upon a spar wet with rain, and slipping,
fell overboard without being perceived by any one.
When half drowned, it chanced that my hand touched
the sheet of the mainsail which was in the water, and to
this I clung and began to shout out until they heard me
and came to my aid with the boat, the which help," he
reverently adds, " was not due to any merits of my own,
but to the protection of that fount of pity, the Virgin
Mary. "2
Leaving Malhou, the fleet struck across to the eastern
shores of Leyte, or Seilani, as it was then called, and
coasting them arrived on the morning of March 28th at
1 It is probable tbat this bird was the jungle-fowl (Gallus hankiva),
which is caught and tamed in large numbers by the natives of the
Philippines, and is used to this day for crossing with the domestic
fowl.
- It was the day of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
1521.] THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 229
Mazzava or Mazaba, a smaU island which now appears
upon the charts as Limassaua. Here for the first time
they exchanged sign language for a more satisfactory
means of communication, for Magellan's slave, Enrique
of Malacca, found that his Malay was understood. The
natives were nevertheless so shy that they would not
approach the ship, and the presents that Magellan de-
sired to give them had to be put upon a plank and
floated towards them. Two hours afterwards the king
came in a large canoe and had a long conversation with
the interpreter. Although declining to go on board the
Trinidad, he permitted some of his men to do so. They
received good entertainment at the admiral's hands, and
in return the king was desirous of presenting him with
a large bar of gold, but Magellan refused, although at
the same time thanking him much for his offer.
The next day, which was Good Friday, Enrique was
sent on shore to obtain provisions. He returned with
the king, who brought dishes of fish and rice to the
Captain -general with his own hand. Magellan gave
him a Turkish robe of red and yellow and a red cap, and
the ceremony of accepting each other upon terms of
brotherhood, or casi-casi, was gone through.^ The day
was spent in making a prodigal display of the wonders
of western civilisation; exhibiting the objects of trade,
discharging the artillery, showing the charts and com-
passes, and describing the events of the voyage. At the
admiral's account of the immense size of the Pacific the
king was greatly astonished. Equal astonishment was
1 Pigafetta does not give us more details. The ceremony was pro-
bably that of "blood brotherhood," consisting in each of the parties
tasting the blood of the other, a widespread custom in the Malay
Archipelago,
230 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. ix.
caused by the men in suits of complete armour, who
received the cuts and thrusts of their comrades unharmed.
At the end of these performances Magellan asked if two
of his officers might go ashore with the king to see the
things of his country. Permission was given, and the
Chevalier Anthony Pigafetta was chosen to be one of
them. He has left us a very clear and detailed account
of their experiences.
"When we landed," he says, "the king raised his
hands to heaven, and then turned towards us. We did
the same, and so, indeed, did all the others. The king
then took me by the hand, while one of his chiefs took
my comrade's, and we were led in this manner under a
canopy of canes where there was a halangai or canoe,
like a galley, on the poop of which we sat, conversing by
signs, for we had no interpreter. The king's followers
remained standing, armed with swords, daggers, spears,
and shields. A dish of pork with a large vessel full of
wine was brought, and at each mouthful we drank a cup
of wine. If, as rarely happened, any was left in our
cups, it was put into another vessel. The king's cup
remained always covered, and no one drank from it but
he and I. Before drinking he raised his 'hands to
heaven, and then turned to us, and at the moment that
he took the cup in his right hand he extended towards
me the closed fist of his left, so that at first I thought
he was about to strike me. Thus he drank, while I went
through the same gestures towards him, seeing that
every one did the same towards his companion when
drinking. With these ceremonies or signs of friendship
we took our dinner, and I was unable to avoid eating
meat on Good Friday.
" Before the hour of supper I presented to the king
1521.] THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 231
the many presents I had brought with me. I enquired
the names of numerous objects, and wrote them down.
They were struck with astonishment on seeing me write,
and on hearing me repeat, in reading, the names they
had given me. Then came supper time. They brought
two large china dishes, the one filled with rice, the other
with pork in its gravy. We ate our supper with the
same ceremonies and gestures as before. We then
repaired to the palace of the king, in shape like a sort
of hay- loft or rick, covered with banana leaves, and
supported on four large beams which raised it from the
ground, so that we had to ascend to it by means of
ladders. On our arrival the king made us sit upon a
cane mat with our legs crossed like tailors on a bench,
and after half an hour a dish of fish was brought, cut in
pieces and roasted, another of freshly-gathered ginger,
and some wine. The king's eldest son having entered,
he was made to sit next me, and two more dishes were
then brought, one of fish with its sauce and the other
of rice, to eat with the prince. My companion, having
eaten and drunk too much, became intoxicated.
" For candles they used the gum of a certain tree
called anime, wrapped up in leaves of the palm or banana.
The king now made a sign to us that he desired to retire
to rest, and departed, leaving the prince with us, in
whose company we slept on cane mats with cushions
stuffed with leaves.
'' Next morning the king came to seek me, and taking
me by the hand led me to the place where we had supped
to have breakfast ; but the boat which had been sent to
take us off having found us, we took our departure at
once. The king was in the best of humours, and kissed
our hands on parting, while we kissed his. There came
232 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. ix.
with us a brother of his, the king of another country,
accompanied by three other men. The Captain-general
kept them to dinner with him, and made them presents
of various objects."
The petty monarch last mentioned, Pigafetta learnt,
ruled over the district of Caraca in Mindanao, his juris-
diction extending to the island of Suluan, the land first
sighted by the fleet. He was known as the Rajah
Calambu,! and his brother as the Rajah Siani. His
dress as described by the chevalier — the silk cloth on
his head, the dagger with a long handle which was
all of gold, the chewing of betel, and so on — show
that in many ways the costume and customs of that
time were no whit different from those of the present
day.
The following Sunday, the 31st March, was Easter
day. It was the anniversarj-, too, of the mutiny in
Port St. Julian. If Magellan refl.ected, as he doubtless
did, upon the events of that day, it must have been to
thank God and his patron saint for the changed aspect
of affairs. Then the outlook for him was well-nisfh as
dark and hopeless as it could be, and he was about to
stake his all upon one desperate chance. Now, though
disease and desertion had thinned his ranks, he had
practically won the game. His great aim had been
accomplished, and he had found his straits. The
barrier believed to extend from pole to pole to separate
the Atlantic from the Pacific had been proved not to
exist. And now he had left behind him the perils of
1 Gomara calls him the Rajah Calavar, and says that they made
friends with him " sacando sangre de la mano izquierda i tocando
con ella el rostro i lengua, que asi so usa en aquellas tierras "—the
common ceremony of " blood brotherhood."
1521.] THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 233
that vast ocean which his ships had been the first to
penetrate, and had crossed the meridian of the Spice
Islands. He had discovered an unknown and extensive
archipelago, as rich in gold, apparently, as it was
fertile, and had made friends with some of its kings.
Everything pointed to a happy issue of the voyage and
a continuation of the successes that he had so deservedly
won. No shadow had as yet crossed his path ; no
warning of the blow that was so soon to fall.
Good Christian and devout Catholic as he was, there-
fore, Magellan gave orders that the Easter services
should be celebrated with the utmost ceremonial. The
two kings attended, kissing the cross, and kneeling with
joined hands like their visitors. At the elevation all
the ships fired their broadsides. After mass had been
said, a cross and crown of thorns was brought and pre-
sented to the kings, with instructions that it should be
set up on the summit of the highest mountain in the
neighbourhood, that all might see and adore it. This
they expressed themselves most willing to receive, and
the Captain-general then asked if they were at war
with any one, for if such were the case, he would go and
defeat their enemies with his men and ships, and render
them obedient to their authority. '' The king answered
that there were, indeed, two islands with which he was
at war, but that it was not then a fitting season to pro-
ceed against them, albeit they thanked him for his
offer. The captain replied that, if it pleased God that
he should return, he would bring enough men to con-
quer all those countries. It was arranged that after
dinner the cross should be planted on the summit of the
mountain, and the festa having been concluded by a
volley from our musketeers who were drawn up in
234 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. ix.
battalions, the kings and the captain embraced each
other, and we returned to the ship."
'' After dinner, it being mid-day, we all went ashore
in our doublets, and in company with the two kings
ascended to the suni^nit of the highest mountain in the
neighbourhood, and there planted the cross. The cap-
tain then explained the advantages it would bring them.
Each one of us adored it, reciting a Paternoster and an
Ave, whereupon we descended, crossing the cultivated
grounds and going to the halangai, where the king
caused refreshment to be brought."
Magellan was now anxious to resume his voyage, and
inquired which were the best ports for provisions and
trade, wishing to turn some of his many articles of
barter into gold and spices. He was told that there
were three — Ceylon, Zzubu, and Calagan,^ but that
Zzubu was the largest and had the most traffic. *' He
thanked them and deliberated to go there," says
Pigafetta, " for thus his unlucky fate willed that it
should be." Upon inquiring for pilots, the king offered
.to conduct them himself if they would wait for a day
• or two while he got in his rice harvest, at the same
time begging for assistance in the fields. This was
readily granted by the Spaniards, " but the kings had
eaten and drunk so much the day before that, either
because they w^ere intoxicated or because they were ill,
they slept the whole day and we could do nothing."
By dint of hard work upon the two following days,
however, the harvest was got in, and on Thursday,
April 4th, the fleet weighed anchor and continued the
voyage, after a stay of a week at the island.
1 Ceylon is another name for the island of Ley te ; Zzubu is Sebu, and
Calagan the district of Caraca in Mindanao.
■'m
]521.] THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 235
From Limassaua their course led them north-west-
ward along the shores of Leyte, which they hugged
closely to avoid the reefs barring the passage between
that island and Bohol. Passing the little' island of
Canigan (Camigao), they touched *^t another to which
Pigafetta gives the name of Gatigan, a name which it
is impossible with any certainty to identify.^ Here the
voyagers were much struck by the Pteropi or " flying
foxes" — the huge fruit-eating bats of which so many
species inhabit the Malay Archipelago. Pigafetta de-
clares that they were as large as eagles, and describes
the capture of one, saying its flesh resembled that of
a fowl in taste. The mound-building Megapodes —
gallinaceous birds peculiar to the Austro-Malayan sub-
region — were also met with and their habits well
described. " As large as fowls are certain black birds
with a long tail, which lay eggs like {i.e. as big as)
those of a goose and cover them with sand, and leaving
them thus exposed to the sun's heat the chicks are
hatched." From Gatigan a westerly course was steered,
but, having outsailed the prau of the King of Limas,-
saua, who was piloting them according to his promisof
they bore away for the Camotes group, where they
awaited him. The good navigation of the Spaniards
much astonished him on his rejoining them. At the
Captain-general's invitation he went on board the
Trinidad, and on Sunday the 7 th April the fleet entered
the port of Sebu.
Before arriving at the town many villages were
passed ; evidence that then, as now, the district was
one of the richest in the Archipelago. On reaching
1 Presumably this island lies somewhere between CamigSo and the
Camotes Islands. It is perhaps Jimuquitan or Apit Island.
km
236 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap ix.
the anchorage Magellan commanded that the ships
should be dressed, and that simultaneous broadsides
should be fired, " at which," as may be imagined, " the
people were greatly frightened." A messenger was at
once sent ashore with the interpreter, who reassured the
natives by telling them that the artillery had been fired
in honour of the king, and as a sign of peace and
friendship. The king in answer asked the business of
the new-comers, whereupon the interpreter informed
him that his master was an ofiicer of the greatest king
in the world, and that he was on his way to the
Moluccas, but upon hearing of his courtesy and good
fame from the King of Limassaua, he desired to visit
him. The King of Sebu, emboldened by the pacific
attitude of the Spaniards, replied that it was well, but
that he required that every one entering the port should
pay tribute. The interpreter was in no way intimi-
dated. His king, he said, paid tribute to no one, and
if he wished for peace he could have peace, and if he
wished for war he could have war.
It happened that at that moment a Siamese trader
was in the port, a moro versed from boyhood in the
affairs of the East. The conquests of the Portuguese
in India and their widespread and increasing influence
were well known to him, and, desirous of saving the
king from the results of a rupture with the Spaniards,
he informed him of the successes of the Europeans in
greater India, and counselled him to make peace. The
King of Limassaua added his influence to the * same
end, and eventually the most cordial relations were
established between the Captain-general and the king.
A formal treaty of peace was concluded, the ceremony
of blood brotherhood performed, and an agreement
1521.] THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 239
entered into whereby the Spaniards were to have the
exclusive privilege of trading in the king's dominions.
Magellan, from the very earliest accounts we have of
him, appears to have been a man in whom the religious
spirit was very largely developed. On the occasion of
the conclusion of the treaty — which was arranged on
board the flagship by the nephew of the King of Sebu —
he alluded at some length to matters of the Christian
faith. The statement that when their parents were old
they paid no more attention to them, and the command
passed to the children, drew from him the rebuke that
the Creator expressly imposed upon sons the duty of
honouring their father and mother, threatening with
eternal punishment those who transgressed this precept.
His impassioned address caused many of his auditors to
express their desire of becoming Christians, and they
begged that he would leave them two of his people to
teach them the principles of that religion. Magellan's
answer was that of a man singularly free from bigotry.
He warned them against adopting Christianity either
from fear or from the hope of deriving any temporal
advantage from it, and said that he would never harm
any one who desired to continue in the belief and observ-
ances of his own faith and laws, although he would not
conceal the fact that those who became Christians would
be more beloved and better treated by his people.
In whatever form his sentences reached the ears of
his audience through the medium of the interpreter, the
effect produced was all that the Captain-general could
desire. The natives at once declared that they desired
to become Christians, not from fear, nor from the wish
to please their visitors, but of their own free will. They
put themselves, they said, in his hands and desired him
240 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. ix.
to treat them as his servants. The captain, with tears
in his eyes, embraced the chiefs, and swore by the faith
that he had in God, by the fealty that he vowed to his
king, and by the habit of Santiago that he wore, that
perpetual peace should thenceforward reign between
the kings of Spain and Sebu.
Later in the day Pigafetta was despatched with one of
the officers to the king, bearing the presents usual on
such occasions. These were a robe of yellow and purple
violet silk, a red cap of fine material, and some strings
of crystal beads, borne upon a silver dish ; together with
two gilded glass beakers, which the envoys carried in
their hands. They were well received by the king, and
his people, standing round, told him of Magellan's
speech, and how he exhorted them to embrace the Chris-
tian religion. The king asked them to remain to sup
with him, but Pigafetta and his comrade made their
excuses and returned to the ship. Next day, the loth
April, they again went ashore early. Martin Barreta,
who had sailed as a supernumerary of the Santiago^ had
succumbed to the privations endured when crossing the
Pacific. A few hours later his comrade, Juan de Aroche,
also died. Permission was sought to bury them, and was
readily granted. The grave was dug in the open space
in the middle of the town, and the funeral conducted
with all possible pomp, in order to impress the people.
Later the place was consecrated as the Christian ceme-
tery. The Spaniards little guessed how many of their
number were destined to leave their bones in Sebu, still
less would they have dreamt, had they known it, that
none of them should lie at rest within the consecrated
area.
Magellan's next object was to commence barter. In
]521.] THE PHILIPPIKE ISLANDS. 241
those days this was carried out with some ceremony. A
store or large building of some kind was obtained on
shore, filled with merchandise, and placed under a strong
guard. When all was prepared the shop, for such it
really was, was opened, and bartering began. On this
occasion the objects were ready for display in two days.
The people regarded them with the greatest wonder.
For bronze and iron they were ready to exchange gold,
giving value to the amount of fifteen ducats for fourteen
pounds' weight of iron. For small objects they gave
pigs, goats, and rice. The Captain-general gave strict
orders that no great desire to obtain gold should be
shown, "otherwise," writes the Italian historian, "every
sailor would have sold his all for gold, which would for
ever have ruined our future trade." It is interesting to
note that many appurtenances of civilisation were found
existing among the natives. They were possessed of
measures of capacity, and knew the use of weights.
Their scales were hardly different from those in use at
the present day. Formed by a spear- shaft suspended in
the middle by a cord, they had on the one arm a basin
attached by three strings, and at the other a leaden
weight to obtain the equilibrium. "The people live with
justice, and good weight and liieasure," we are told.
The king having expressed his wish to become a
Christian, preparations were made for the celebration of
his baptism with a becoming amount of ceremonial. In
the open space already alluded to in the centre of the
town a scaffolding was erected, and decorated with hang-
ings and palm fronds. On Sunday, the 14th April, the
rite was performed. Forty men in armour preceded the
Captain- general and his ofiicers, before whom the royal
standard was borne. On arriving at the place prepared,
Q
242 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. ix.
Magellan and the king sat in two chairs, one covered
with red and the other with violet velvet, while the
notables sat around on cushions. Before the king was
baptized Magellan instructed him in the meaning of the
ceremony, and told him that if he wished to be a good
Christian he must burn all his idols ^ and worship the
Cross. A large cross was then raised in the market-
place, and the people were told that they must adore it
at morning and at mid-day upon their knees. The
priest then baptized him, together with the prince, his
nephew, the King of Limassaua, and others to the number
of fifty or more. All were clad in white. To the king ^
the name of Carlos was given, in honour of the emperor ;
to his nephew that of Hernando, either out of compli-
ment to Magellan, or to the emperor's brother ; while
the King of Limassaua became Juan, and the Moorish
trader, who also appears to have embraced the new faith,
Christopher.
The Spaniards returned to the ships for dinner, after
which the chaplain and many others again went ashore
to baptize the queen. She was led to the place with
forty of her ladies, and while waiting was shown a figure
of the Virgin and Child carved in wood, which she ex-
pressed a desire to have,^ and which, accordingly, was
*i The idols are described by Pjgafetta as being made of wood,
hollowed out behind, with the arms and legs apart, and the feet
turned upwards. They had a rather large face with four very large
teeth, like those of a wild boar, and all of them were painted. They
perhaps resembled the New Guinea koroioaar, but their size is not
mentioned. The people of Sebu at the present day are nearly all
Christians.
2 The king's, or rather rajah's, name, for he was of the latter rank,
was Humabon or Hamabar, according to Gomara.
3 Both Pigafetta, who gave her the figure, and Herrera mention
this circumstance (Dec. iii. hb. i. cap. iii.). It is curious that years
1521.] THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 243
presented to her by Pigafetta. She took the name of
Joanna, after the unhappy mother of Charles Y., while
the wife of the Kajah of Limassaua was baptized as
Isabella. The example thus set by their rulers was
followed immediately by the lower classes, and on that
day no fewer than 800 persons were received into the
Church. The news soon spread, and the people arrived
in hundreds, until in eight days all the inhabitants of
Sebu were baptized, and some belonging to other
neighbouring islands. Maximilian Transylvanus records
that the number was 2200, but it very possibly exceeded
this considerably.
It seems probable, from Pigafetta's account, that the
authority of this King or Rajah of Sebu was not so fully
recognised by the surrounding chiefs and kinglets as it
should have been. Magellan, now that he had concluded
an alliance with him, was, of course, anxious to strengthen
his position as much as possible. With this object in
view he summoned a meeting of his two brothers and
various chiefs who had exhibited a tendency to disobe-
dience, and informed them that if they did not render a
proper homage to their sovereign he should order them
to be put to death, and their property to be confiscated.
Such a notice his auditors were not in a position to gain-
say, and they promised to obey. One of them, however,
seems to have repented afterwards, and having again
refused to submit to his authority, a punitive expedition
was sent against him, which plundered and burnt his
village, and erected a cross over the smoking ashes.
afterwards, in 1565, when Miguel Lopez de Legaspe arrived at Sebu,
he discovered this figure, which was regarded ns an idol. The crosses
set up by Magellan were also in existence, and in consequence the
later missionaries gave to the place the name of the City of Jesus. —
Colin, Labor EvangeJioa, lib. i. cap, xix.
244 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [CHAP. IX.
"Had they been Moors," writes Pigafetta, "we should
have set up a column as a sign of their hardness of
heart, for the Moors are more difficult of conversion
than are the Gentiles." ^
For these services, and in token of affection, the king
presented Magellan with a pair of large gold earrings,
two bracelets, and two anklets, set with precious stones.
Spaniards and natives were now upon the best of terms,
but the Captain-general, finding that the idols were not
burnt, as he had ordered, and that offerings of meat
were still made to them, reproved his converts severely
for their breach of faith. They excused themselves by
saying that they were preserved to restore to health a
sick man, brother of the prince,^ " the most valiant and
wisest man on the island," who lay so ill that for four
days he had not spoken. Filled with zeal for his religion,
Magellan said that if the king had true faith in our
Lord, and burnt all the idols, and caused the sick man
to be baptized, he would at once recover, and so sure was
lie of this, he added, that if it were not so he would
cheerfully consent to forfeit his head. The king agreed,
and a procession was accordingly arranged with the
greatest pomp and show that lay in the Spaniards'
power. Formed in the great square by the cross, it
proceeded to the house of the sick man, who was found
unable either to speak or move. He was baptized, and
the Captain-general asked him how he felt. The " faith
cure " was not long in taking effect, for the patient
answered immediately that by God's grace he was
tolerably well.
1 It seems probable that this village was one of the King of Mactan,
although we are not actually told so.
- Maximilian calls him a grandson of the king.
1521.] THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 245
" This great miracle was done under our very eyes,"
says the pious old historian. On the fifth day the man
rose from his bed, burnt an idol that he had in his house,
and proceeding to the sea-shore, where were several
temples in which it was the custom to eat the meat
offered to the idols, caused them to be destroyed. The
natives tore them down, shouting '' Castille, Castille,"
and declared that if God gave them life they would
burn as many idols as they could find, even if they were
in the house of the king himself. The influence and
prestige of the Spaniards had now reached such a point
that it seemed impossible that anything should ever
occasion its downfall. Yet, as we shall see, it was to
last for a few days only, and to be annihilated with a
rapidity and completeness even more astonishing than
that of its establishment.
CHAPTER X.
THE LAST VOYAGE— V. BATTLE OF MACTAN
AND DEATH OF MAGELLAN.
It is probable that Bulaya — the village burnt by order
of the Captain-general, on the occasion of the chastise-
ment inflicted on the rebel chiefs — was situated on the
little island of Mactan or Matan, whose rajah, Silapu-
lapu, had rendered an unwilling obedience to the autho-
rity of the Sebu potentate. He could not understand,
he said, why he should do homage to one whom he had
been accustomed for so long to command. The action
taken by the Spaniards had not rendered his attitude in
any way more submissive. While he was meditating
upon some method of revenge, one of his chiefs, by name
Zula, sent a small present to the admiral, tog'ether with
a secret message to the effect that if he did not give a
more suitable offering it was through no fault of his
own but rather from fear of the rajah, adding that if
Magellan would help him with a boat and a few of his
men, he would undertake to subdue his chief and hand
over the island to the Spaniards.
Upon receipt of the message, Magellan at once re-
solved to take the affair in hand. Although at first
opposed to the enterprise, the King of Sebu was anxious
to assist him when he saw that he was determined upon
going. Joao SerriXo, the captain's staunch adherent and
240
1521.] BATTLE OF MACTAN. 247
right-hand man, the old and tried warrior of a hundred
fights, was altogether against it. Not only was nothing
to be gained by it, he argued, but they had already lost
a number of men, and it would be unwise to leave the
vessels as unprotected as they would be obliged to leave
them, for the expedition needed a considerable force.
But it was in vain that he protested. Filled with reli-
gious enthusiasm at his successes in Sebu, Magellan
desired to push them still farther, until the whole archi-
pelago should recognise the authority of Spain and be
received into the bosom of the Catholic Church. He was
one, moreover, to brook no opposition from an indivi-
dual whom he regarded as a rebel rather than an enemy.
Action with him followed close upon resolve. Nothing,
apparently, could ever make him reconsider a determi-
nation, and if he took counsel it was for form's sake only.
And so Serrao's wiser words of caution were put aside,
and the expedition was prepared. At the last moment
his officers besought him not to go in person. But ho
would not have been Magellan had he listened to them.
Good shepherd as he was, writes Pigafetta, he refused to
desert his flock. ^
At midnight on Friday, 26th April, all was ready, and
the expedition left Sebu. The Spaniards numbered sixty
men all told. The Bajah of Sebu, the prince, a number
of the chiefs, and a force of about a thousand men
accompanied them in a fleet of twenty or thirty war-
canoes. The Europeans had three boats only. The little
island of Mactan is close to Sebu, forming in fact its
harbour, and the spot chosen for landing was probably
1 "Noimolto lo prcgammo acci6 non venisse a questa impresa in
persona, ma egli come buoii pastore non voile abbandonare il suo
gregge." — Pigafetta, op. cit., p. 97.
248 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. X.
not more than four or five miles distant from the fleet.
It was reached three hours before daylight. No attempt
was made to surprise and carry the town. Tiie captain
desired to try persuasion before force. Few men, pro-
bably, loved the din of battle more dearly than did he,
or joined with more readiness in a desperate undertaking.
But here the affair seemed mere child's-play, and he
probably did not think it possible that any number
of naked savages could be a match for the sixty armour-
clad Europeans he brought against them. And so, with
characteristic straightforwardness, he sent the Moorish
trader to Silapulapu, informing him that if he would
submit and pay the tribute, no harm should be done to
him, but if not, " he would learn how our lances
wounded."
The answer returned was defiant enough, that *' if
the Spaniards had lances so also had they, albeit only
reeds and stakes hardened by fire ; that they were ready
for them, but they besought them that they would not
attack before morning, as they expected reinforcements
at daylight."
This message, the most transparent of ruses, was of
course recognised by Magellan as such. Warned, no
doubt, by their previous encounter, the natives had
ditched and staked the town and had dug pitfalls. A
night attack would have been all in their favour, but
they did not succeed in deceiving their enemies. The
King of Sebu also counselled waiting for daylight. When
it arrived, he begged the Captain -general to be allowed
to lead the assault. With his thousand men and a few
Spaniards to aid and inspire them, he declared the
victory to be certain. Magellan, it is needless to say,
would not hear of it. He ordered his friend and ally
1521.] BATTLE OF MACTAN. 249
to remain in the canoes with his men. He begged that
they would look on, and note how his men could fight. ^
Owing to the coral reef surrounding Mactan, the
boats from the fleet were unable to approach the shore.
So far off, indeed, had they to remain that it was neces-
sary to wade for a " distance of two good crossbow
shots " before the attacking party set foot upon the
beach. Of the sixty men, the Captain-general and
forty-eight landed. The other eleven remained with the
boats to guard them, and to serve the bombards. ^
As they stepped ashore, the dawn of the 27 th April
15 2 1 broke over the island. It was Saturday, a day
specially chosen by the admiral, as he had a great
veneration for it.^ Alas ! for his choice ! Alas ! for
the spectacle of prowess that he had charged his Sebu
allies to watch ! * Of valour, indeed, there was enough
and to spare, but it availed nothing against the blunder
he had made of under-estimating the strength of his
opponents. From the moment of landing it became
evident that a determined resistance would be made.
Numbers of natives — varying, according to different
accounts, from fifteen hundred to six thousand — sur-
rounded them. Pigafetta, who was himself of the
attacking party, records that they were divided roughly
1 Herrera, Dec. iii. lib. i. cap. iv. Vide letter of Maximilian.
2 Gomara (cap. xciii. p. 87) and Maximilian state that Magellan
took forty men only. Herrera (Dec. iii. lib. i, cap. 4) says that
fifty- five landed. But Pigafetta's account, here given, must be pre-
ferred. It is that of a participator in the engagement, and is
evidently written with care and accuracy,
3 "Giorno dal Capitano stesso prescelto, perche v'aveva una parti-
colare divozione." — Pigafetta, op. cit., p. 100.
4 "Subuthicis uero ostendit, se non eos ad pugnandum, sed ad
suorum fortitudinem et in bello robur spectandum adduxisse." —
Letter of Maximilian.
250 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. x.
into three bodies, of which one opposed their advance,
while the others assailed them in flank. The captain
accordingly marshalled his men in two companies, as
affording a better means of defence. It is probable that
the ground greatly favoured the natives. It is not now,
and probably was not then, the custom in the Philip-
pines to build the houses of a village in very close
proximity to each other, and the trees and gardens by
which they are generally surrounded, together with the
thick bush which covers the uncultivated ground,
afforded the best of cover to the islanders. Close fight-
ing was impossible, and hence, while the Spaniards were
hardly able to fire a shot with any certainty, they were
exposed to a continuous and galling fire of spears and
arrows. Showers of stones were also thrown, and
though the men were well protected about the body by
their corslets, it was not long before some of the mis-
siles began to tell upon their limbs. It seems that bub
few arquebusiers were of the party. Such as there were
kept up a desultory fire with the crossbow men for
some time, but to little effect, and the natives, seeing
the comparative harmlessness of the European weapons,
grew emboldened. Magellan, realising that the ammu-
nition was being wasted, shouted to his men to reserve
their fire, but his orders were disregarded in the confu-
sion of the melee.
The attacking party were now getting so hard pressed
that the Captain-general directed a small detachment
to advance and set fire to a group of houses not far
distant. The plan was not attended with the success
that he had desired. So infuriated were the islanders at
the destruction of their property — for, the wind having
aided the Spaniards, twenty or thirty of the houses
1521.] BATTLE OF MACTAN. 251
were soon in flames — that they returned to the attack
with redoubled energy, and, cutting off some of the
incendiary party, succeeded in killing two of them.
From this moment the issue of the day was practically
decided. Magellan, whose right leg had been pierced
by an arrow, saw that a further advance was impossible,
and gave orders to retreat. In vain, however, did he
command that the movement should be executed slowly
and in order. Had his orders been carried out, the
result of the battle might have been different. But to
the Spaniards, spoilt by facile victories, a reverse was
attended with unknown terrors, and the greater part of
them fled immediately in wild disorder. Six or eight
only were left to support their gallant commander in a
steady retreat to the beach, surrounded by swarms of
savages who poured in a heavy fire of arrows and spears
upon the courageous little band. So heavy was it, says
Pigafetta, who stayed by his beloved captain to the
last, that we could hardly offer any resistance. Then
the water's edge was gained, .but no aid could be
obtained from the boats. Their distance from the fight
was so great that it was useless to bring the bombards
into action, and friend so mixed with foe that even had
they been within range it would have been impossible.
And so, fighting hand to hand, and step by step retreat-
ing, the coral reef was traversed, until they were distant
a bowshot from the shore, and the water reached their
knees.
Then the end came. The natives, confident in their
numbers, and caring little for the weapons of the Euro-
peans, pressed them still harder. Twice the captain lost
his helmet, and a little later he received a spear wound
in the right arm. The islanders recognised his rank,
252 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. x.
and directed their attacks especially against him ; and
finding the bodies of their antagonists invulnerable, they
endeavoured to wound them in the legs or face. The
length of their spears being greater than that of the
Spanish lances, gave them still further advantages. But,
in spite of this, the resistance of Magellan and his men
was determined and obstinate to a degree. The King
of Sebu, recognising the gravity of their situation, had
landed some of his men to draw off the attack, but it
was too late. The rest must be told in Pigafetta's own
words.
'' Thus we fought for an hour or more, until at length
an Indian succeeded in wounding the captain in the
face with a bamboo spear. He, being desperate, plunged
his lance into the Indian's breast, leaving it there. But
wishing to use his sword he could only draw it half way
from the sheath, on account of a spear wound he had
received in the right arm. Seeing this the enemy all
rushed at him, and one of them with a long terzado, like
a large scimitar, gave him a heavy blow upon the left
leg which caused him to fall forward on his face.
Then the Indians threw themselves upon him with
iron-pointed bamboo spears and scimitars, and every
weapon they had, and ran him through — our mirror,
our light, our comforter, our true guide — until they
killed him.
" While the Indians were closely pressing him he
several times turned round towards us to see if we were
all in safety, as if his obstinate resistance had no other
object than to give time for the retreat of his men. We
who fought with him to the last, and were covered with
wounds, when we saw him fall, made for the boats,
which were then on the point of pushing off. . . . There
1521.] DEATH OF MAGELLAN. 253
perished with him eight of our men i and four of the
Christian Indians. We had, besides, many wounded,
among whom I must count myself. The enemy lost
only fifteen men.
" He died, but I trust that your Illustrious Highness ^
will not permit his memory to be lost, the more so since
I see born again in you the good qualities of so great a
captain, one of his leading virtues being his constancy
in the worst misfortune. At sea he endured hunger
better than we. Greatly learned in nautical charts, he
knew more of the true art of navigation than any other
person, in sure proof whereof is the wisdom and intre-
pidity with which — no example having been afforded
him — he attempted, and almost completed, the circum-
navigation of the globe." ^
So died Magellan, his life wasted in a miserable skir-
mish with savages. The manner of his death has been
related by various historians, the most trustworthy of
whom differ in no essential point. The account of Piga-
fetta, who fought by his side, is doubtless correct, but
in a desperate struggle such as that in which the great
navigator perished, it is not astonishing that the minor
1 According- to the official list of deaths seven died, but one suc-
cumbed later to his wounds.
2 Pigafetta's book, it must be remembered, was dedicated to Villiers
de risle Adam, Grand Master of Rhodes.
3 Pigafetta, op. cit, pp. 99 et scq. The last paragraph runs as
follows in the original : — "Egli mori ; ma spero che Vossignoria Illus-
trissinia non lascera che se no perda la memoria, tanto piii che veggo
in lei rinate le virtu d'un si gran Capitano, poiche una delle principal i
virtu sue fu la con stanza nella piu avversa fortuna. Egli in mezzo al
mare seppe tollerar la fame piii di noi. Intelligentissimo di Carte
nautiche, sapea piii d'ogni altro la vera arte del navigare ; del che e
una sicura prova I'aver saputo col suo ingegno, e col suo ardire, senza
che nessuno gliene avesse dato I'esempio, tentare il giro del Globo
terracqueo che quasi avea compiuto."
254 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. x.
details of the onlookers' stories should vary. Thevet
states that he was killed by an arrow, i which is partly
borne out by Nicholas of Naples, a sailor of the Victoria^
in his examination as a witness in support of Jaime
Barbosa's claim to Magellan's estate in the year 1540.
*' I was by his side and saw him killed by arrows and a
lance-wound which pierced his throat." ^ Whether he
met his death by spear or arrow, however, matters little.
He fell as we should expect him to fall, fighting bravely,
and up to the last moment of his life thinking of others
rather than himself.
When the King of Sebu heard the news he burst into
tears. With the victory in their power they had deli-
berately thrown away every chance, and had suffered a
most disastrous defeat. Silently, and with bitter sorrow
at their hearts, the Spaniards decided to return, and
the little flotilla recrossed the bay to Sebu. Their
anguish was the more poignant since the body of their
commander remained in the enemies' hands. The same
evening a special messenger was sent to Silapulapu
demanding it, and offering to give whatever merchandise
he desired upon its return. It was in vain that he
pleaded. The rajah's reply was that for nothing in the
world would they give back the captain's body, for they
desired to preserve it always as a monument of their
triumph. It was in vain, too, that Barbosa, the brother-
in-law of Magellan, made renewed offers. The victors
1 " A matan fallut venir au combat, ovl ce vaillant Capitaine Magel-
lan fut tue d'vn coup de flesche qu'vn Matanois lui tira au visage." —
Thevet, Vrais Povrtraits ct Vies des ffommes Illvstres, Paris, 1584,
p. 529.
2 "Este testigo estaba 6. la sazon junto con el a su lado, e lo vido
matar de saetadas 4i una lanzada que le dieron por la garganta." —
Medina, op. cit., vol. ii. p. 311. Also see Navarrete, iv. p. 286 et seq.
1521.]'
DEATH OF MAGELLAN.
255
were inflexible, and the bones of the brave old warrior
and explorer rest to this day in Mactan.
We do not know with any certainty where he fell,
but the Spanish have attempted to identify the village
upon which the attack was made, and a tasteless monu-
ment has been erected to his memory on the spot.
Under the copious rains and exuberant vegetation of
MONUMENT TO MAGELLAN IN MACTAN.
such a climate it seems to have suffered not a little. A
little longer and the place thereof, perhaps, shall know
it no more. But Magellan needs no monument. His
name is written for ever, not only on his straits,^ but
1 " For ever sacred to the Hero's fame,
These foaming straits shall bear his deathless name."
— Mickle's Lusiad, bk. x., p. 275.
256 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. x.
upon the heavens, whose face, as astronomer and navi-
gator, he had scanned so often, in fair weather and foul,
in every quarter of the globe. ^
From the history of the last voyage of Magellan alone
a fair idea might be gathered of the great commander's
character, even had we known nothing previously about
him. Its leading features do not alter. As he was in
his youth in India — cool in danger, unselfish, and pos-
sessed of a determination almost without parallel — so
he remained to the end, until he fell in the little island
of Mactan, before the cane spears of a horde of naked
savages. On the very occasion of his death he exhibited
these qualities in a most striking manner. The details
of the engagement which we are possessed of show that
his actions were distinguished as much by coolness as
by bravery. To his unselfishness, without a shadow of
doubt, he owed his death. *' His obstinate resistance
had no other aim than to give time for the retreat of his
men," Pigafetta tells us. Yet the expedition was under-
taken in defiance of the advice of his officers and the
entreaty of his friends. His fate was the outcome of
an_£xcess of self-reliance, of too blind a confidence in
his_,own_ unaided judgment.
IBy Mrth, education, and life, Magellan was a gentle-
man — nay, more, an aristocrat, and aristocrate au bout
des angles. Of noble family, reared at court, and a
Queen's page, he passed into the Indian service under
the first Viceroy, with the flower of Spain for his com-
rades. With such a chief and fellow-officers, and at such
1 The honour of having first made known the Magellanic Clouds
cannot be ascribed to the navigator. In 1515 Peter Martyr mentions
them in his De Rebus Oceania et Orhe Novo, and they were apparently
known to the Arabs five hundred years earlier. Vide Humboldt's
KusvioSf Sabine, 2nd ed., vol. ii- p. 289.
1521.] CHAKACTER OF MAGELLAN. 257
a period, the best qualities of his nature could not but
become developed. Later, as we have seen, he served
under Albuquerque. The fact that he was in India with
the two ablest Viceroys, and that his long service was
at the most exciting part of that country's history,
had doubtless not a little influence upon his character.
Magellan was a born leader of men from sheer force of
character and strength of will. But there was more|
than mere energy in him. That he was a man of con
siderable intelligence there is no doubt from the evidence/
of other writers besides Pigafetta, and entirely apart
from the question of whether he was or was not pre-
viously aware of the existence of the straits of which he
went in search. But the most charming trait in his
character is the carelessness of seK which reveals itself
so often in the history of his life, the readiness to sacri-
fice himself on all occasions for others. How he died
we have just seen. But we must not forget his action
on the occasion of the wreck on_tbe^adu a bank , when
he volunteered to remain with. the sailors; or the aid
which, at imminent risk of his life, he afforded Serrao
at the attempted massacre of the Portuguese at Malacca,
With his own hands he tended his sick crew in the
Philippines, after having shared on equal terms with
them the privations of their voyage across the Pacific.
With mutineers and traitors, in fact with all who re-
belled against authority, even if only mere shirkers or
grumblers, he was no doubt a hard master ; but to those
who served him faithfully and did their duty he ever
remained a staunch friend. Moreover, he bears a name
of untarnished honour. There is no single story against
him, nothing to hide or to slur over ; no single act of
cruelty even in that age of cruelties.
R ,
258 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. X.
A question of no little interest yet remains for consi-
deration — the question of what rank ought to be assigned
to Magellan as a navigator and explorer. In the history
of geographical discovery there are two great successes,
and two only, so much do they surpass all others — the
discovery of America, and the first circumnavigation of
the globe. Columbus and Magellan are the only pos-
sible competitors for the supremacy. Were the vote of
the majority taken, it would without a shadow of doubt
be recorded in favour of the former. We can see easily
enough that it could not well be otherwise. Fortified
by the dangerous possession of a little knowledge, the
mass would grant the palm to him who first brought the
vast continent of America to the ken of Europeans. It
is difiicult to free the mind from the influence of the
well-known couplet over the grave of Columbus : —
*' A Castilla y a Leon
Nuevo mundo di6 Colon,"
But, without detracting in any way from the ample
honour which is his just due, an unbiassed comparison
of his great voyage with that of Magellan leaves the
latter navigator with the verdict in his favour on almost
every point. If it be claimed for Columbus that he
crossed an ocean of vast size whose western half was
unknown to the inhabitants of the old world, it is equally
incontrovertible that Magellan traversed a far vaster sea,
upon whose waters no European ship had ever floated.
When Columbus started on his voyage, his work lay
immediately before him. Magellan did not arrive at the
Pacific until more than a year after he weighed anchor
from S. Lucar de Barrameda, for months of which he
had undergone great and continued hardships. While
1521.] CHAKACTEK OF MAGELLAN. 259
the great Genoese made land on the thirty-sixth day-
after leaving the Canaries, the little armada of Magellan
struggled for no less than three months and eighteen
days across the unknown waste of the Pacific. Little
wonder that they said it' was more vast than the imagi-
nation of man could conceive ! As an explorer then, the
merits of Magellan must be ranked^as_superior to those
of the discoverer of the New World. The long- foreseen
mutiny, the ceaseless tempests and cold of Patagonia,
the famine that stared him in the face, failed to daunt
him, and he carried out an expedition infinitely more
lengthy and difficult in the face of incomparably greater
hardships.
It is more difficult to adjudicate upon the respective
merits of the two great discoverers as navigators.
Columbus was an acute observer, and though his deduc-
tions were by no means always correct, they evince con-
siderable ingenuity and reasoning power. We know that
he was a maker of charts and maps before he started
upon his great voyage, and that he was in communica-
tion with the leading cosmographers of the day. Never-
theless he can hardly be called one of them. Girava
indeed, writing in 1556, speaks of him as '' a great sailor,
but a poor cosmographer." ^ Whether his judgment is
correct or not we cannot well decide at this our present
date. Columbus's discovery of America is surrounded
with such a halo of glory that we are blinded by its bril-
liance, and forget that it was, after all, but an accident.
For he died, as we know, in the belief that he had
reached Asia ; ignorant of the fact that a yet vaster
ocean than that he had already traversed lay between
him and the object of his desire. It was a magnificent
1 Luciano Cordeiro, De la decouvcrte de I'Ameriquc, p. 24.
260 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. X.
mistake doubtless — a mistake which in its results was
worth a hundred accurate reasonings — but it was a mis-
take nevertheless.
Magellan we know to have been a cosmographer and
navigator of exceptional skill. He is mentioned con-
stantly as such during the period of his service in the
East. Returning to Portugal, he applied himself heart
and soul to his favourite science, his chief study being to
establish some trustworthy method for obtaining longi-
tude. His long acquaintance with Ruy Faleiro, who
appears to have been one of the ablest astronomers of
the day, perfected him in his science so far as it then
went, and he left Seville with a reputation hardly infe-
rior to that of his instructor. It is probable that
Pigafetta's Ireatise of Navigation was the outcome of
Magellan's teaching. The successful way in which the
latter conducted his ships upon his last great voyage
speaks highly of his skill. ^ Neither as geographer nor
astronomer can he be ranked beneath Columbus, and
Lord Stanley's dictum that he is " undoubtedly the
greatest of ancient and modern navigators," is an opinion
which a careful investigation obliges us to accept.^
Few details have been handed down to us concerning
the personal appearance of Magellan. We know, as has
already been stated, that he was rather below than above
the ordinary height, and that the wounds he received in
1 It is asserted by one of Magellan's detractors that he reached the
Philippines by mistake, intending to proceed to the Moluccas, but
being ignorant of their position. Not only was he perfectly well
acquainted with their situation, as is evidenced by the letter written
by him to Charles V. immediately before starting on his voyage
(Navarrete, iv. p. 189), but we are especially told by the Genoese pilct
that Magellan kept to the north on purpose, knowing that it was
impossible to refit and obtain proper provisions in the Moluccas.
2 First Voyage, p. Iviii.
1521.] PORTEAITS OF MAGELLAN. 261
Africa had made him slightly lame, but our knowledge
is practically limited to these facts. M. Ferdinajid Denis,
in his Portugal, gives an engraving of a portrait of the
navigator, stated by him to exist in the Louvre. It is
not now to be found in that collection. Sr. Yargas y
Ponce, in his Relacion del Ultimo Viage al Estreclio de
Magallanes, gives a beautifully-engraved portrait, exe-
cuted by Selma, from a painting then (1788) in the
possession of Don Felipe Vallejo of Toledo.^ This
painting was a copy of another existing in the gallery
of the Duke of Florence, and ascribed, probably erro-
neously, to Titian. 2
The Versailles collection contains a striking portrait,^
copied by Lariviere from a reputed original now existing
in the Chateau de Beauregard, near Blois. It represents
a man of singularly refined and intelligent features and
of no little personal beauty, which is rendered not less
attractive from a certain shade of melancholy in the
expression. It is this portrait, never previously en-
graved, which has been chosen for the frontispiece of
this volume.
1 This plate was afterwards used by Navarrete in his Coleccion de
Viages, vol. iv,, and a reproduction was made later for Lord Stanley's
First Voyage, published by the Hakluyt Society.
2 Vargas y Ponce, op. cit., preface, p. xiii.
3 No, 3091 in the Soulie Catalogue.
CHAPTER XI.
THE LAST VOYAGE— VI. ARRIVAL AT THE
MOLUCCAS AND RETURN TO SPAIN.
Upon the arrival in Sebu of the survivors of the
Mactan disaster, one of the first duties performed was
the election of a successor to the post of captain-
general. A dual command — a not unusual custom in
those days — was resolved upon, and the choice of the
electors fell upon Duarte Barbosa and Joao Serrao.
Both were navigators of no ordinary merit, who had
seen long service under Almeida and Albuquerque in
India, and both were Portuguese by birth.
At the time of the conversion of the Sebu people, it
will be remembered, a large store had been opened in
the town, and much bartering had been carried on. We
do not know whether the Spaniards had any definite
reason to suspect treachery, but if such was the case
they took the best measures to induce it, for one of their
first acts was to transport this merchandise again to
the ships. A more ill-advised step could hardly have
been conceived. Their defeat at Mactan had seriously
damaged their prestige in the eyes of the islanders, and
it behoved them to make as light of it as possible. The
withdrawal of the goods from their store was tanta-
mount to a confession of weakness — was courting attack,
in short.
262
1521.] PLOT OF THE KING OF SEBU. 263
The disaster came soon enough, whether the distrust
exhibited by the Spaniards was or was not a factor in it.
What actually tempted the King of Sebu to the base
act of treachery of which he was guilty seems uncertain.
By some historians it is said that the chiefs who had
made difficulties in submitting to his authority united to
form a common cause, and sent to inform him that if
he did not assist them in exterminating the Spaniards
and seizing their ships, they would kill him and lay
waste his country. ^ Others declare the treachery to have
originated in the fleet itself — a story related so circum-
stantially that it is impossible not to give some credence
to it. Magellan's slave, Enrique of Malacca, the inter-
preter to the expedition, had been wounded slightly in
the Mactan affair, and remained obstinately in his bunk,
" atendiendo a su salud" and declining to move. As
his injury was very trivial and his services were greatly
needed, Barbosa rated him soundly, telling him that
though Magellan was dead he was still a slave and the
property of Donna Beatriz, that disobedience was not
for dogs such as he, and that he would get a sound
beating if he did not do what he was told with readi-
ness and alacrity. The man obeyed and showed no
resentment at the time, but he nursed his revenge and
resolved to betray the Spaniards at the first oppor-
tunity. Going in secret to the King of Sebu, he told
him that his masters had decided to attack the town
and carry him away captive on their ships, but that if
he would follow his advice he might turn the tables
upon them, and soon become owner of all their belong-
ings.^ Improbable as the story was, its acceptation no
1 Earros, Dec. iii., lib. v., cap. x. ; Herrera, Dec. iii., lib. i., cap. ix.
2 Maximilian and Gomara, cap. xcii. p. 87, give the same story,
264 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. xi.
doubt fell in with the king's desires, and he resolved
at once upon a plan for the massacre of his former
friends and the seizure of their vessels.
It had been previously settled that, an offering of
jewels should be made by the native monarch to the
King of Spain in recognition of his authority and pro-
tection. All having been arranged, a message was sent
to the commanders to intimate that the present was
ready, and that they were desirous of offering it in due
form. They therefore begged their presence, and that
of every one who could be spared from the fleet, at a
feast. Barbosa accepted without hesitation — Serrao had
misgivings. But the arguments or banter of his friend
gained the day, and he agreed to go.
On the morning of Wednesday, May ist, the two
captains rowed ashore in company with twenty-seven
others.^ Fortunately for Pigafetta, a wound which he
had received in the face on the occasion of the Mactan
affair prevented his joining the party, which included
many people of importance. The cosmographer, Andres
de San Martin, the escrihanos Sancho de Heredia and
Leon de Espeleta, and the priest, Pedro de Yalderrama,
were of it. With them, too, was one Luiz Affonso de
Goes, a Portuguese, supernumerary of the Trinidad,^
as does Pigafetta in his Primo Viaggio, and Sebastian del Cano in
the evidence given by him before the Alcalde Leguizamo in October
1522, with the exception that they make Sorrao, not Barbosa, rate
Enrique.
1 According to Pigafetta only twenty-four were with them, but the
above number must be correct, for two turned back, and twenty-
seven appear in the list of killed.
2 In the official death-roll, under the date of April 27th, the day of
the Mactan tragedy, we find the name of Cristobal Rabello, who is
described as captain of the Victoria. Under the date of May jst
occurs the entry of Luis Alfonso de Lois, [sic) who is given a like
description. Yet we know that Duarto Barbosa had been appointed
1521.] MASSACRE OF THE SPANIARDS. 265
Joao Carvalho, the pilot, and Espinosa, the alguacil.
The king awaited them upon the beach, surrounded
by numbers of his people, to escort them to the place
where the feast had been prepared. But treachery was
in the air, and others beside Serrao had an instinctive
feeling of some approaching disaster. Espinosa and
Carvalho, seeing Valderrama led away alone in a sus-
picious manner, resolved instantly to turn back. Their
caution saved them, but they alone of all the party
escaped with their lives. Hardly had they got back
to the ships and related their story when a great
disturbance was heard on shore. The natives had
gradually surrounded their guests, and on a given signal
had fallen upon them with spear and kris. Hopelessly
outnumbered, the Spaniards fought to the end, selling
their lives as dearly as they could. Carvalho, who was
now in command, and had apparently hove short his
cables in anticipation of the disaster, weighed imme-
diately, and approaching the shore poured broadsides
into the village. At the same moment a group of natives
came down to the water's edge dragging with them Joao
captain of that ship after the mutiny. How can these apparently
conflicting statements be reconciled ?
A possible explanation is afforded by a few stray words in the bulky
pay-list of the armada, under the name of Duarte Barbosa. They
state that the captain-general placed Barbosa under arrest in Sta.
Lucia Bay because he went away with the natives. He was guilty of
a like offence in Sebu, being away three days from his ship, although
the admiral sent a message to him to bid him return. He may,
perhaps, have been deprived of his command in consequence and suc-
ceeded by Rabello, while after the engagement at Mactan he would
take command of Magellan's ship, while de Goes captained the
Victoria. It is far more probable that the entries are wrong, and that
Barbosa never lost his command. He at least drew pay as captain
all this time, and the promotion neither of Rabello nor de Goes is
mentioned in the pay-list. Vide Medina, vol. i. p. 190.
266 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. xi.
Serrao, bound, and bleeding from many wounds. They
were desirous of bartering his life for cannon and mer-
chandise.^ Serrao shouted to his friends the terrible
story of his comrades' death, and implored Carvalho to
cease firing, or he too would be murdered, and then,
turning to his captors, said that if they took him to the
ships they would receive whatever they demanded. This
they refused to do, fearful of retaliation on the part of
the Spaniards. Serrao was a fellow-countryman of Car-
valho, and was, moreover, his compadre, his boon com-
panion. It seemed hardly necessary to appeal to him
for succour in such an hour, but seeing that no steps
were being taken to despatch a boat to his assistance,
Serrao implored that this might be done before it was
too late. No boat, however, was sent. He did not
know — he could not believe — that his friend intended,
in cold blood, with a depth of cowardice and treachery
beyond parallel, to leave him to be murdered. But so
it was. As the ships slowly made sail and stood out
to sea his friend's baseness dawned upon him. In the
name of their friendship he again and again begged and
implored his help. Then, seeing that it was in vain, he
solemnly cursed him, praying God that at the last great
day He would require Carvalho to render an account of
his actions in this affair.^
As the vessels left, their crews, watching, saw the
savages turn upon their captive. A little later and loud
cries came from the midst of the crowd, portending his
1 " Pedian por 61 dos bombardos, y dos bares de cobre, y algunas
bretahas 6 telas de lienzo." — Letter of de Brito to the Kiiig oj Por-
tugal,, Navarrete, iv. 309.
2 It appears from the account of Pigafetta that it was a far viler sin
than cowardice of which Carvalho was giiilty — that he refused to
rescue SerrSo in order to get the command.
1521. THE VOYAGE RESUMED. 267
death. At the same time another party were seen
tearing down the cross that had been erected near the
church. 1 Rapid and complete as had been the conver-
sion of the natives, their recantation was no less so.
With grief and despair in their hearts the members
of the now much -weakened expedition resumed their
voyage. Not only were they greatly reduced in num-
bers, but the comrades they had lost were the strongest
of the party. Many also were men of importance in
the command or navigation of the ships. On mustering
all hands it was found that only 115 remained of the
original 270 or more who left Seville.^ The Concepcion^
too, was leaky and unserviceable, and so, rather than
run the risk of being undermanned and of losing her
cargo, they resolved to burn her, after transhipping the
best of her stores into the other vessels. This was
accordingly done off the island of Bohol, and, while
Espinosa was made captain of the Victoria, Carvalho
was confirmed in his command as captain-general, a post
which he did not very long retain.
The course was now shaped to the southward for the
Moluccas,^ and coasting the western promontory of the
great island of Mindanao, where they touched and made
friends with the natives, they bore away for Borneo,
1 Argensola, lib. i. p. 19.
2 The account of the Genoese pilot states the number to have been
108 men, that of Barros 180. The latter number is evidently incorrect.
The S. Antonio left Seville with nearly seventy men on board, and
since she received her share of the Santiago s crew, it is probable that
she did not desert with much fewer than eighty men. The list of
deaths up to this time numbered seventy-two. This would leave
about 120 men.
3 Burney, in his Discoveries, p. 71, argues that Magellan did not
know the latitude of the Moluccas, and in another passage sup-
ports his argument by a passage from Pigaf etta : — "Inquest' isola,
268 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. xi.
having on their way undoubtedly received intelligence
of the city now known as Brunei. Their track took
them to the island of Cagayan Sulu. Pigafetta speaks
of the very large trees in it,^ and records that its few
inhabitants were Moors banished from Borneo, who re-
garded the new-comers as gods. Provisions were now
running very short, and their first object being to obtain
them, they enquired for Palawan, where they heard that
rice was procurable. They were directed northward
again, and after running twenty-five leagues hit off its
southern end, and coasted it for a considerable distance
to the north-east. So reduced were they that but eight
days' provisions remained, and they had had for some
time under consideration the project of establishing
themselves in some island and supporting life as best
they could upon the fish and vegetables it might chance
to afford them. Such a rash step was fortunately un-
necessary. Palawan was found to be a promised land,
abounding in pigs, goats, poultry, and fruits, and — more
important still — in rice. They placed themselves upon
a footing of blood-brotherhood with the chief in whose
district they had landed, and after a few days' stay left
on the 2 ist June ^ for Borneo. They had been astonished
to find in the port a negro named Bastiao, who spoke
Portuguese tolerably well, having acquired it in the
prima die perdessimo il nostro capitano-generalo, ebbimo noticia di
Malucco." It is hardly necessary again to refer to Magellan's own
letter to Charles V., giving their exact position (Navarrete, iv. p. 189),
or to explain that the quoted passage merely records the fact that
those islands were not unknown to the inhabitants of the Philippines.
1 These large trees seem to have disappeared, possibly as a result of
subsequent volcanic eruptions. None of remarkable size, at least,
were seen by the author in his visits to this island in the Marchesa in
1883 and 1884.
2 The MS. of S. Bento da Saude has "21st day of July."
1521.] ARRIVAL AT BRUNEI. 269
Moluccas, where he had become a Christian. With
some difficulty they prevailed upon him to act as pilot,
but when the time came for their departure he was
nowhere to be found. The Spaniards did not permit
themselves to be discouraged. Finding a ship about to
enter the harbour they took her, and compelled three
Moors whom they found aboard, and who said that they
were pilots, to conduct them to Brunei.
Passing between the islands of Balabac and Banguey,
the Trinidad and Victoria hugged the Bornean coast,
and sighting '' an exceedingly great mountain, to which
they gave the name of St. Paul " — the present Kina
Balu — anchored at some islands near the mainland.^
The Bornean coast is beset with shoals and sandbanks,
necessitating the utmost care in navigation, and the
ships crept cautiously along, anchoring at night near
the mouth of the Brunei river. Here they landed
their pilots, together with a representative from the
fleet, leaving them to make their way by land to the
city to prepare the Sultan for their arrival, while the
ships, having watched the course taken by some junks,
were enabled to pick up the very difficult channel by
which it is approached, and navigate it successfully for
some distance. Next day praus arrived with presents
from the Sultan, and piloted them to the usual berth,
which appears to have been three or four leagues from
the city — not as now, in its very heart.
Pigafetta describes Brunei very much as it is in the
present day,^ a vast collection of houses built entirely on
1 The Mantanani Islands of the present charts.
2 His account betokens a long-existent civilisation, even in those
days. Chinese money, it is interesting to note, was alone in circu-
lation.
270 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. xi.
piles in the water. Its situation, in a lake-like expan-
sion of the river, is singularly picturesque and quite
unique in character. It must, however, have been of
larger size then than now, for the Italian narrator
speaks of the " 25,000 fires or families " of which it was
composed. At the present time there cannot even be
that number of inhabitants. The palace of the Sultan
was then built on shore. Its great halls hung with
silk brocades, its rooms full of courtiers, and the elabo-
rate ceremonial observed, are now things of the past,
and the Sultan lives, like his subjects, in a pile-built
dwelling, which, in point of decoration and even repair,
is but little superior to the surrounding dwellings. The
elephants with their magnificent trappings, which bore
the Spanish oflicers to the Sultan's residence, have been
for decades past unknown as domestic animals, and it
is even suggested that the wild ones, which are only to
be found in the north-east portion of the island, are
the descendants of those escaped from captivity. But
for centuries past the daily market — one of the most
curious sights of the Eastern world — has been carried
on at high tide, and will be, probably, so long as the
city endures. The dense pack of canoes, the enormous-
hatted women occupying them, the incessant movement
of the little craft, and the strident cries with which
business is conducted, together form a scene which is
not less likely to impress the traveller of to-day than
the Chevalier Antonio Pigafetta of three centuries and
a half ago.
Although the people of Brunei had treated those of
the fleet with apparent good- will, it seems that the
latter, after trading for three or four weeks, were not
without suspicions of treachery. Their experience at Sebu
lo21.] TEEACHEEY OF THE BRUNEI PEOPLE. 273
had made them thoroughly mistrustful. They had, too,
definite cause for alarm, for five of their number, having
been sent on shore to obtain wax with which to caulk the
vessels, were detained by, the Sultan. At the same time
some large junks came to anchor in close proximity to the
Trinidad and Victoria, and between them and the bar.
Next morning the watch were alarmed at seeing two
hundred praus or more advancing upon them from the
city, divided into three squadrons. The two ships at
once got under weigh, and making straight for the
junks, opened fire upon them without further ceremony,
capturing one and driving others ashore. The result
of the action intimidated their smaller antagonists, and
the praus returned. Next morning, the 30th July, the
Spaniards sighted a large junk, which they attacked and
captured without difiiculty. Their prize was commanded
by a son of the King of Luzon himself, captain-general
of the Sultan of Borneo. He was returning from a
punitive expedition to the south part of the island, of
which some districts appear at that time to have been
desirous of Javanese rather than Bornean rule.
With these hostages Carvalho doubtless hoped to get
back the men who had been detained by the Sultan,
Sripada. One of them was his own son by a Brazilian
woman. The other two, for two had already got back
to the ships, were ordinary seamen — two Greeks of
Corfu and of Naples. ^ It is probable that they were
deserters, or had perished in some street quarrel, for
they were not returned. Carvalho, who was apparently
a man of bad character, had meanwhile permitted the
1 The death-roll of the expedition makes two others to have been
left behind in Borneo, one of whom was the escribano of the
Trinidad.
S
274 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. xi.
Luzon prince to escape, having secretly received from
him a very large ransom, which he appropriated to his
own use. The others, to the number of fourteen or
sixteen, were kept prisoners on board, and with them
three women of great beauty who had been found in the
junk. They were destined as a present to the Queen,
writes Pigafetta, but Carvalho kept them for himself.
Retracing their course, the Trinidad and her consort
sailed north-east along the Bornean coast in search of a
port in which to careen and repair before continuing the
voyage to the Moluccas. Passing Cape Sampanmangio,
the flagship took the ground and remained for some
hours, but was eventually got off without injury. Shortly
after, a harbour was found which seemed suitable for
their purposes. It was in an islet off Banguey or
Balambangan islands, so far as can be made out from
the indefinite records left us.^ A stay of no less than
six weeks was made here. The ships were beached,
thoroughly overhauled and caulked. Each man worked
according to the best of his knowledge and ability, but
in the face of many difficulties. The greatest labour
had to be gone through in obtaining wood for their
work, the ground being covered with briars and thorns,
and the men without shoes to protect their feet.
On the 27th September the explorers once more
resumed their voyage. During their stay in Port St.
Mary — as they named the harbour — they lost the bom-
bardier of the Victoria^ who died from the wounds he
had received in the engagement at Mactan. Either on
leaving the port, or at an earlier period — as we prefer
to follow Herrera or the Genoese pilot — Carvalho was
1 According to Herrera, this port was on the Bornean coast, while
Pigafetta speaks of it as being in Palawan.
1521.] THE SULU SEA. 275
deprived of his command. His conduct had for a long
time proved his incapacity for the position., Gonzalo
Gomez de Espinosa, the alguacil, was appointed com-
mander-in-chief, and Juan Sebastian del Cano took the
post of captain of the Victoria. His conduct on the
occasion of the mutiny in Port St. Julian had been
deserving of great blame, but the ranks had been
greatly thinned by the desertion of the S. Antonio and
the disasters in the Philippines, and with his known
ability as a navigator, the choice could not well have
fallen upon any other. Making an easterly course for
the island of Cagayan Sulu, the vessels fell in with a
junk, which they engaged and captured. It had on
board the Governor or Rajah of Palawan, with whom
they had previously been on terms of friendship.
Under Magellan such acts of semi-piracy would not
have been encouraged, but it was characteristic of the
new command that every strange ship should be looked
upon as fair game. As a ransom they demanded four
hundred measures of rice, twenty pigs, a^ many goats,
and a hundred and fifty fowls, to be paid within eight
days. This figured as a tribute to the King of Spain, ^
and on receiving it — the yth October — they returned
the rajah some of his krisses and arquebuses, and, having
added a few presents, permitted him his freedom.
Rounding Cagayan Sulu, the vessels sighted the
island of Sulu, and would have visited it but for a head
wind which compelled them to bear away for the south-
west point of Mindanao. This they coasted, and,
passing between it and Basilan, sailed for some distance
up the Gulf of Mindanao. Here they fell in with a
large prau, which, following their usual custom, they
1 Document No. xxvii. of Navarrete, vol. iv. p. 296.
276
LIFE OF MAGELLAN.
[CHAP. XI.
captured, after a desperate resistance in which seven of
her crew were killed. For the first time the nearness
of their goal was revealed to them, for they found that
the captain had actually been in the house of Francisco
Serrao in Ternate. The end of their troubles was
approaching, and the riches of the Spice Islands — the
THE MOLUCCAS.
long-sought Eldorado of the old world — were about to
become a reality.
Upon the details of the course of the two ships after
leaving Mindanao it is not necessary to dwell. They
steered southward, passing the Sanghir and Talaut
islands, and, sighting the northern extremity of Celebes,
altered course to the south-east. On Wednesday, the
1521.] ARKIVAL AT THE MOLUCCAS. 277
6th November, they passed between Mean and Zoar —
now known as Tifore and Mayo islands, and a little
later the high peaks of Ternate and Tidor appeared to
their delighted gaze. How overjoyed the half-starved
and toil-worn mariners must have been we can imagine.
" The pilot who had remained with us," says Pigafetta,
*'told us that they were the Moluccas, for the which we
thanked God, and to comfort us we discharged all our
artillery. Nor ought it to cause astonishment that we
were so rejoiced, since we had passed twenty-seven
months, less two days, always in search of these
Moluccas, wandering hither and thither for that pur-
pose among innumerable islands."
On the afternoon of Friday, November 8th, 152 1, the
Trinidad and Victoria rounded the southern point of
Tidor, and anchored in twenty fathoms, close to the
shore of that island, discharging their broadsides as a
salute to the king.^ Next day he came on board in
state. An astrologer and prophet, Almanzor — as he was
named — declared that he had divined the arrival of the
strangers.^ He met them with the warmest welcome.
" After such long tossing upon the seas, and so many
dangers," he said, *' come and enjoy the pleasures of
the land, and refresh your bodies, and do not think but
that you have arrived at the kingdom of your own
1 Francisco SerrSo, on the occasion of the first discovery of the
Moluccas in 1511, found that the Malays had been established for
over forty years upon the islands. He had settled, it will be remem-
bered, at Ternate, the sultan of which island was not on friendly
terms with the monarch of Tidor, and for this reason the Portuguese
became paramount in the former island, while the Spaniards identi-
fied themselves chiefly with Tidor,
2 Argensola gives a similar story with regard to the King of
Ternate, Boleyfe or Abuteis, when first visited by Sorrao and his
Portuguese.
278 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. XI.
sovereign." Whether he regarded the Spaniards in the
light of future allies who would help him against his
enemies does not appear, but this explanation of the
warmth of his reception seems the most probable. He
doubtless dreaded the aid that the Portuguese were able
to afford the people of Ternate if they so desired. The
Spaniards, anxious to make treaties with him and with-
out delay to load their ships with the coveted spices,
encouraged his friendship to the utmost of their power,
and loaded him and those of his suite with presents.
So much did they give him, indeed, that they were
requested after a time to cease their gifts, for *' he had
nothing worthy to send to our king as a present,
unless, now that he recognised him as his sovereign,
he should send himself." In spite of his humility of
speech Almanzor was of kingly presence and bearing.
Servants carrying golden vessels for water, betel, and
other necessaries stood always in attendance, and his
son bore a sceptre before him. Under no conditions
would he bow or even incline his head, so that in enter-
ing the cabin of the flagship he was obliged to do so by
the opening from the upper deck, so as not to stoop,
which he would have been obliged to do had he entered
by the door from the waist of the ship.
On the loth November, Carvalho and others went
ashore, and after a long conversation with the king a
treaty appears to have been signed, i by which he acknow-
ledged the sovereignty of Spain. He asked for the royal
standard and the emperor's signature, and seeing the
eagerness of the Spaniards to commence the lading of
their ships, informed them that though he had not in
Tidor a sufficiency of cloves ready, he would himself go
1 Navarrete, vol. iv. p. 296.
■liliMllil!!!i'iHH.!:i!i.Hilil'..
1521] IN THE MOLUCCAS. 281
to the island of Batchian, where he trusted he should
find enough.
Although Magellan was no longer with them, it may
be imagined that the Spaniards lost no time in making
inquiries for Francisco Serrao, his great friend and rela-
tion, of whom they must have heard so much. He was
dead. The manner of his death was more or less
shrouded in mystery, but they learnt that it had taken
place seven or eight months previously, almost indeed at
the same time as that of their great commander. He
had been captain-general of the King of Ternate when
that monarch was at war with the Sultan of Tidor, and
having succeeded in beating the latter in various engage-
ments, he compelled him to give his daughter in marriage
to the King of Ternate, and to send him many sons of
the chiefs of Tidor as hostages. The King of Tidor never
forgave him, and Serrao having visited that island some
years later to trade in cloves, the king caused him to
be poisoned. 1
On Monday, November nth, one of the sons of the
King of Ternate came to visit the ships, having with
him the Javanese widow of Serrao and her two little
children. Aware of his hostility to their host, Espinosa
and his officers were uncertain how to act, but Almanzor
sent them a message to do as they thought fit. They
accordingly had their interview with him in their boat,
and presented him with various gifts. In his prau was
a certain Indian named Manoel, servant of one Pedro
Affonso de Lorosa, a Portuguese who had formerly
1 According to others, he was poisoned by a Malay woman who
acted under Portuguese orders, while Argensola states that Don
Tristao de Meneses despatched him back to India, being afraid of hi.s
acquiring too much power, and that he died on board ship on his way
to Goa. Argensola, i. pp. 8, 17.
282 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [CHAP. xi.
resided in Banda, but after Serrao's death had settled
in Ternate. From this man the Spaniards learnt that
although enemies of the Sultan of Tidor, the Ternate
chiefs were at heart in favour of Spain. On hearing
this they wrote to Lorosa, telling him to visit the fleet
without fear.
The prices for barter were agreed upon, and a house
arranged for the accommodation of the merchandise on
the following day. It is interesting to note the esti-
mate of the respective values of articles in those days.
The standard measure of cloves was the bahar of 406 lbs.
This could be obtained for ten ells of red cloth, fifteen
of yellow, fifteen hatchets, thirty -five glass goblets,
seventeen catties of cinnabar or quicksilver, twenty- six
ells of common linen, a hundred and fifty knives, fifty
scissors, forty caps, ten Guzerat cloths, or a hundred-
weight of bronze. The Brunei gongs were as much
esteemed then as now, and for every three of them —
doubtless the spoil of some of their prizes — they were
able to purchase two hahars. All these prices never-
theless were prospective, for as yet no cloves or spices
of any kind were to be obtained. The Sultan sent one
of his sons to the island of Motir, and announced his
intention of visiting Batchian in person in order to see
what could be done. The Spaniards, anxious to please
him in every way, gave him the three women and the
men they had captured in the Prince of Luzon's junk,
and killed all the pigs they had on board, which had
always been a source of great annoyance to him as a
Mohammedan.
On the evening of the 14th November the Portuguese
Lorosa arrived in a prau, and they were enabled for the
first time to obtain news from civilised lips of what had
1521.] IN THE MOLUCCAS. 283
passed in the Moluccas. He had come with Serrao in
the first expedition of 15 ii, and was well acquainted
with native politics. He told them that Don Tristao de
Meneses, whose large ship had left for Banda only a few
months before, had brought news of the departure of
Magellan's armada from Seville, and had informed them
that the King of Portugal had sent ships both to the
Cape of Good Hope and to the Rio de la Plata to in-
tercept it, and that, learning later that Magellan had
passed westward, he wrote to the Viceroy of India,
Diogo Lopez de Sequeira, to despatch a fleet of six
vessels to the Moluccas against him. This Sequeira was
unable to do, owing to renewed difficulties with the
Arabs in the Red Sea, and a galleon which he had sent
later under the command of Francisco Faria had been
unable to reach its destination. The trade of Portugal
in the islands must have been considerably developed,
even at this date, for Lorosa informed his hearers that a
great number of junks went yearly from Malacca to
Banda to purchase nutmegs, returning by way of Ternate
to complete their cargo with cloves.
Two days later the Moorish king of Gilolo, an ally of
Almanzor, visited them, and was given a quantity of
presents. Great numbers of the natives of Ternate also
came, their boats laden with cloves, desirous of com-
mencing trade. But Espinosa, who did not wish to
offend the Sultan, thought it best not to begin to sell
the merchandise until his return from Batchian. This
took place on the night of November 24th, amid great
rejoicings. The Sultan's prau passed between the
Trinidad and Victoria with drums beating, while the
Spanish ships fired their broadsides in his honour. The
Captain- general was informed that for four days there
284 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. xi.
would be a continuous supply of cloves. The Sultan
was punctual to his promise, and next day they began
the lading of the ships. " As they were the first cloves
we took aboard, and as they were also the chief object of
our voyage, we discharged many bombards for joy." ^
On the following day the Sultan informed them that
it was the custom, when the first loads of cloves were
embarked on a vessel, that he should give a feast to the
crews and merchants, and he begged them, therefore, to
attend an entertainment he proposed to give at which
the King of Batchian would also be present. Espinosa
and his men, however, who had not forgotten the Sebu
incident, instantly suspected treachery, and refused.
Their suspicions were, nevertheless, unfounded, for,
though they learnt afterwards, on trustworthy authority,
that certain of the chiefs had counselled their assassina-
tion, they also learnt that the Sultan had indignantly
rejected so base a suggestion. His loyalty to Spain
and admiration of the Spaniards were doubtless sincere
enough. Nor was he the only person to express a desire
to become a vassal of the emperor. Many of those in
authority in the neighbouring islands were also ready to
place themselves under Charles's protection. On i6th
November a treaty was signed with the King of Gilolo,
on the 19th of the same month with the Rajah of
Makian, and on the i6th or 17th December with the
King of Batchian and various notables of the island of
Ternate.2 The King of Batchian sent a slave and two
bahars of cloves as a present to the emperor. He was
desirous of presenting ten bahars, but so heavily laden
1 Pigafetta, op. cit, p. 148.
2 Documents collected by Mufioz. Vide Navarrete, toI. iv. p.
207.
152].] THE BIRD OF PARADISE. 285
were the ships, Pigafetta tells us, that Espinosa was
afraid of taking more.
Among his presents was one which greatly pleased
and astonished the Europeans — some skins of the bird
of Paradise. The mention made of them by Maximilian
Transylvanus in his letter to the Cardinal of Salzburg
is perhaps the first record that we have of the existence
of these birds, although it is hard to believe that the
Portuguese, who had at this time been for ten years
upon the islands, were not perfectly well acquainted
with them. The natives of New Guinea seem, from
Pigafetta's account, to have prepared the skins in pre-
cisely the same manner as that in use at the present
day. To the Malay traders, judging from Maximilian's
letter, they were apparently .common objects. " The
Mohammedans, who travelled to those parts for com-
mercial purposes, told them (the Kings of Marmin) that
this bird was born in Paradise, and that Paradise
was the abode of the souls of- those who had died,
wherefore these princes embraced the religion of Mo-
hammed, because it promised wonderful things about
this abode of souls." The fact that the skins were pre-
pared with the feet cut off doubtless caused the fable —
given us by Maximilian and copied by a hundred authors
— that they passed an entirely aerial existence, never
alighting upon the ground nor upon any tree that grew
upon it. Sometimes, report ran, they were seen to fall
dead from the sky,i and for these reasons, and from
1 Pigafetta, op. ciL, p. 156, calls the birds uccelli morti, which
seems, to those acquainted with the Moluccas, to point to the exis-
tence of a regular trade in the skins even in those days, for the trade
name at the present day is hurong matt, — words of precisely similar
meaning. The Italian tells us that they were also called bolondinata,
a misprint for bolon divata or diuata, which Oviedo corrects. This is
only a form of burong dcivata, i.e., the birds of the gods.
286 LIFE OF MAGELLAN. [chap. xi.
their beauty, the skins were much valued, and they were
supposed to render their wearers safe and invincible in
battle.
If there had been an insufficient supply of cloves at
the time of the arrival of the fleet, there was certainly
no lack of them as the weeks wore on, and the time for
sailing approached. The Sultan issued a proclamation
that all who had them might sell, after which, says
Pigafetta, " comperammo garofani afuria,^^ "we bought
them like mad." The prices in consequence went down
very much. For four yards of ribbon a bahar was
obtainable, and at length, each man wishing to have
his share in the cargo, and having no more merchandise
to barter, gave one his mantle, and another his coat,
and another his shirt or other garments to obtain
them.
On Monday, i6th December, they bent new sails to
the ships, each adorned with the Cross of St. James of
Galicia, and with the motto, ** This is the Device of our
Good Fortune." Eighty barrels of water were put on
board each vessel, and the preparations for departure
pushed forward. Their wood they had arranged to
obtain at the little island of Mareh, whither the king
had sent a hundred men to cut it. Anxious to be pro-
vided with the best sources of information concerning
the Moluccas and their trade, they offered Lorosa, the
Portuguese, a high salary, and succeeded in persuading
him to accompany them to Europe. He embarked at
the risk of his life, for a Ternate chieftain — a friend of
the Portuguese — attempted to seize him, with the inten-
tion of delivering him to the commandant of Malacca.
Lorosa escaped upon this occasion, but an unlucky fate
having thrown him a few months later into the power
1521.] THE VOYAGE RESUMED. 287
of his countrymen, he paid for his desertion with his
head.
The time had now arrived for the departure of the
Trinidad and her consort. The Sultan of Tidor was
inconsolable. He was as an unweaned child, he said,
whom its mother was about to leave, and he was the
more disconsolate since he had got to like not only the
Spaniards but so many of the products of their country.
He besought of them that they would not fail to return
as quickly as possible, and meanwhile begged that he
might be left some artillery in order that he should be
the better able to defend his country. He was accord-
ingly presented with some arquebuses that had been
taken in the prizes captured off the Bornean coast,
besides some swivel guns and four barrels of powder.
On Wednesday, December 1 8th, all was ready. Much
as the weary and wave-tossed explorers longed for rest
and the pleasant land of Castile, they were heartily
sorry to leave the Moluccas, where they had obtained
so warm a welcome and so valuable a cargo. No one
could bid adieu to so beautiful a country without regret.
The charm of exist 
