The Mutiny: The Spanish Voyage
The Mutiny
The start of the voyage was on September 20, 1519. Magellan and a crew of approximately 300 men parted from their families, getting ready to face the most turbulent experience ever. They faced a storm as they reached the equator in a country called Sierra Leone. To make everything worse, Magellan found out that 3 of the Spanish Captains were planning to kill him and King Manuel sent ships to sabotage their voyage. To avoid the ships from Portugal, Magellan ordered the captains to sail along the African coast.
They survived the storm but Magellan knew one was about to happen on board. One of the Spanish Captains—Juan de Cartagena— deliberately disobeyed Magellan. After three days, Magellan confronted Cartagena and took him in as …show more content…
a prisoner. After Cartagena’s mutiny attempt ensued, he locked Cartagena and sailed down the coast of South America. Everything had been calm and the crew members yearned to reach land. They arrived at Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and did some trading with the natives.
They left Brazil in search of el paso. On January 11, 1520, Magellan found an opening and immediately assumed it to be the strait. His excitement died down as he realized it was just another river in what we now call Uruguay. The crewmembers were fearful because of the cannibals that lived there. They demanded to sail back home but Magellan only gave them another speech.Wanting none of Magellan’s speech making, they started planning out there next mutiny against Magellan. The captain of ship Concepcion—Gaspar Quesada— led two officers and 30 of the crewmembers aboard the San Antonio. They seized Alvaro de Mesquita, the captain of San Antonio. The mutineers took over the ship and released Juan de Cartagena. They made him the captain of the Concepcion. The Victoria was also mutinied soon after.
On April 2, 1520, Magellan only had two ships left—the Santiago and his own ship, the Trinidad. Magellan had a plan to obtain the ships back. He had six men row to the Victoria and give them a letter. The letter said that Ferdinand was ready to make a deal. When the six men boarded the ship, sixteen other quietly crawled in. The captain of the Victoria refused the offer, but it didn’t matter since one of Magellan’s men stabbed him to death. The crew of the Victoria surrendered once they saw the dead body of the captain.
Ferdinand redeemed the ship and joined it with the others, blocking the exit of the harbor to trap the Concepcion and the San Antonio. The San Antonio was captured after the mutineers refused to conform Quesada’s order to open fire. Quesada was taken prisoner and the captain of the Concepcion capitulated the next day.
Magellan didn’t want to be brutal and give them all death sentences. As an alternative, he chained the 45 mutineers and made them do the most arduous and filthy jobs. However, Quesada was executed and Cartegena was marooned on the icy wasteland.
Strait of Magellan As the crew prepared themselves for the winter, Magellan discovered a quandary.
Half of the food and supplies from the ships were missing! Fortunately, there were many animals on the land they were on—ducks, birds, crabs and fish. Months elapsed as the men waited for the warm weather to take place. A naked man appeared, singing and dancing one day in June. They were giants compared to Magellan so he named them Patagones, which means “big feet”. The land was titles Patagonia and the name still stands today. Magellan attempted to bring them back to Spain as hostages but they died on the journey. It finally grew warmer on August 24, so the four ships left the harbor. The Santiago was shipwrecked during a storm. On October 21 1520, Magellan finally entered the strait although he didn’t know it was the strait yet. He ordered the Concepcion and the San Antonio to see where it led. A vigorous storm struck shortly after the ships sailed. Ferdinand was in despair because everything had went downhill during the storm. The two ships were lost and his own ship seemed to be sinking. A few days later, the Concepcion and the San Antonio came back with great news. They had discovered el paso! The two ships traveled from one bay to another to escape from the storm and that was when they made their breakthrough. The men of all four ships cheered and were ecstatic. This meant that if they could get past the strait. they could reach the
Moluccas. Magellan sailed the ships through the strait. Despite facing many impediments, they eventually made it to the open sea. Unfortunately, the San Antonio mutinied again. The crew forced the captain to head back to Spain, taking all of the food and supplies with them.
El Mar Pacifico The crew hunted and fished to stock up on food. They sailed passed an area with blazing fire exploding everywhere. Magellan named the place Tierra del Fuego, which means “the land of fire”. What they were actually looking at were volcanoes. The crew went through rough waters, ultimately ending up in a peaceful blue ocean. It had been a month since they passed through el paso and Magellan assumed they were only a few days away from the Moluccas. As the men went out on the deck to pray, Magellan shouted “May the ocean always be as calm and benevolent as it is today. In this hope I name it El Mar Pacifico.” Throughout December, Magellan expected the Moluccas to be in sight. The ships sailed north then west, but there was nothing but water.
Everyone on the ship were getting impatient and fights started breaking out. Along with that, the food supply only dwindled. Since they were in the middle of nowhere and they couldn’t fish for food. The drinking water went bad and the meat went rancid. They were forced to eat wood chips and roasted leather. Soon after, they were only left with rats. Every member was sick with scurvy—an illness caused by lack of vitamin C. Each member died right after the other and they buried their bodies in the sea. The only person that wasn’t sick was Magellan. Historians claim that he had a secret supply of fruit jam.
On January 25, a small island came into view. Albeit not having fresh water, it was filled with crabs, fish and birds. The men put out barrels to collect rainwater. They set out to sea again. Six weeks passed with no sight of the Moluccas. The sun was scorching hot since they neared the equator. About twenty-nine men died and the others could barely move. One man climbed the the top of the ship and spotted land. They sailed towards the islands that were part of today’s Philippines.
The start of the voyage was on September 20, 1519. Magellan and a crew of approximately 300 men parted from their families, getting ready to face the most turbulent experience ever. They faced a storm as they reached the equator in a country called Sierra Leone. To make everything worse, Magellan found out that 3 of the Spanish Captains were planning to kill him and King Manuel sent ships to sabotage their voyage. To avoid the ships from Portugal, Magellan ordered the captains to sail along the African coast.
They survived the storm but Magellan knew one was about to happen on board. One of the Spanish Captains—Juan de Cartagena— deliberately disobeyed Magellan. After three days, Magellan confronted Cartagena and took him in as …show more content…
a prisoner. After Cartagena’s mutiny attempt ensued, he locked Cartagena and sailed down the coast of South America. Everything had been calm and the crew members yearned to reach land. They arrived at Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and did some trading with the natives.
They left Brazil in search of el paso. On January 11, 1520, Magellan found an opening and immediately assumed it to be the strait. His excitement died down as he realized it was just another river in what we now call Uruguay. The crewmembers were fearful because of the cannibals that lived there. They demanded to sail back home but Magellan only gave them another speech.Wanting none of Magellan’s speech making, they started planning out there next mutiny against Magellan. The captain of ship Concepcion—Gaspar Quesada— led two officers and 30 of the crewmembers aboard the San Antonio. They seized Alvaro de Mesquita, the captain of San Antonio. The mutineers took over the ship and released Juan de Cartagena. They made him the captain of the Concepcion. The Victoria was also mutinied soon after.
On April 2, 1520, Magellan only had two ships left—the Santiago and his own ship, the Trinidad. Magellan had a plan to obtain the ships back. He had six men row to the Victoria and give them a letter. The letter said that Ferdinand was ready to make a deal. When the six men boarded the ship, sixteen other quietly crawled in. The captain of the Victoria refused the offer, but it didn’t matter since one of Magellan’s men stabbed him to death. The crew of the Victoria surrendered once they saw the dead body of the captain.
Ferdinand redeemed the ship and joined it with the others, blocking the exit of the harbor to trap the Concepcion and the San Antonio. The San Antonio was captured after the mutineers refused to conform Quesada’s order to open fire. Quesada was taken prisoner and the captain of the Concepcion capitulated the next day.
Magellan didn’t want to be brutal and give them all death sentences. As an alternative, he chained the 45 mutineers and made them do the most arduous and filthy jobs. However, Quesada was executed and Cartegena was marooned on the icy wasteland.
Strait of Magellan As the crew prepared themselves for the winter, Magellan discovered a quandary.
Half of the food and supplies from the ships were missing! Fortunately, there were many animals on the land they were on—ducks, birds, crabs and fish. Months elapsed as the men waited for the warm weather to take place. A naked man appeared, singing and dancing one day in June. They were giants compared to Magellan so he named them Patagones, which means “big feet”. The land was titles Patagonia and the name still stands today. Magellan attempted to bring them back to Spain as hostages but they died on the journey. It finally grew warmer on August 24, so the four ships left the harbor. The Santiago was shipwrecked during a storm. On October 21 1520, Magellan finally entered the strait although he didn’t know it was the strait yet. He ordered the Concepcion and the San Antonio to see where it led. A vigorous storm struck shortly after the ships sailed. Ferdinand was in despair because everything had went downhill during the storm. The two ships were lost and his own ship seemed to be sinking. A few days later, the Concepcion and the San Antonio came back with great news. They had discovered el paso! The two ships traveled from one bay to another to escape from the storm and that was when they made their breakthrough. The men of all four ships cheered and were ecstatic. This meant that if they could get past the strait. they could reach the
Moluccas. Magellan sailed the ships through the strait. Despite facing many impediments, they eventually made it to the open sea. Unfortunately, the San Antonio mutinied again. The crew forced the captain to head back to Spain, taking all of the food and supplies with them.
El Mar Pacifico The crew hunted and fished to stock up on food. They sailed passed an area with blazing fire exploding everywhere. Magellan named the place Tierra del Fuego, which means “the land of fire”. What they were actually looking at were volcanoes. The crew went through rough waters, ultimately ending up in a peaceful blue ocean. It had been a month since they passed through el paso and Magellan assumed they were only a few days away from the Moluccas. As the men went out on the deck to pray, Magellan shouted “May the ocean always be as calm and benevolent as it is today. In this hope I name it El Mar Pacifico.” Throughout December, Magellan expected the Moluccas to be in sight. The ships sailed north then west, but there was nothing but water.
Everyone on the ship were getting impatient and fights started breaking out. Along with that, the food supply only dwindled. Since they were in the middle of nowhere and they couldn’t fish for food. The drinking water went bad and the meat went rancid. They were forced to eat wood chips and roasted leather. Soon after, they were only left with rats. Every member was sick with scurvy—an illness caused by lack of vitamin C. Each member died right after the other and they buried their bodies in the sea. The only person that wasn’t sick was Magellan. Historians claim that he had a secret supply of fruit jam.
On January 25, a small island came into view. Albeit not having fresh water, it was filled with crabs, fish and birds. The men put out barrels to collect rainwater. They set out to sea again. Six weeks passed with no sight of the Moluccas. The sun was scorching hot since they neared the equator. About twenty-nine men died and the others could barely move. One man climbed the the top of the ship and spotted land. They sailed towards the islands that were part of today’s Philippines.