Chapter 10

The plan to take control of the San Antonio was simple. Cartagena and Quesada would take a longboat with thirty men on board at midnight when the crew of the San Antonio would be asleep. As we were anchored at a distance from the shore, the watches that ruled the fleet while under sail were discontinued. The officers were the target as the crew would not want to risk their lives when faced with swords and muskets. Operating under the cover of darkness, it would be easy to board the San Antonio and they were sure that Álvaro de Mesquita would not be able to resist them taking control of his ship because he had no experience as a captain and also because he had only joined the voyage as a supernumerary on account of his kinship with Magellan. He was the weakest person to control the largest nao in the fleet. In addition, the pilot, Estevão Gomes, was no supporter of Magellan after Magellan twice refused to promote him to the position of captain of the San Antonio, and actually demoted him from his post as chief pilot of the fleet on the Trinidad to act as pilot on the San Antonio. The only unknown factor was the loyalty of the maestre, Juan de Elorriaga. As he was also a Basque, and as we had worked together in recruiting the crews of the Concepción and the San Antonio, I was assigned the task of persuading him not to resist the takeover of his ship.

This plan seemed to me to be a sensible way to proceed, as it would have been folly to attempt to seize the Trinidad where Magellan had his loyal Master-at-Arms, Gonzalo Gómez de Espinosa, with his armed men to protect him. It might have been possible to launch a raid on the Santiago, but this nao was the smallest in the fleet and the San Antonio was a much more valuable prize especially as it carried the vast majority of the food and drink supplies for the fleet. So, it was agreed that the San Antonio would be the target.

While Mendoza returned to the Victoria, I joined Cartagena, Quesada and de Coca with thirty armed men in the longboat to take control of the San Antonio. The night was foggy, so we were concealed from the view of anyone looking from our target. Cartagena was first to climb a rope that had been left dangling from the deck to secure the San Antonio’s longboat. He was followed by Quesada and two sailors. I led the remaining sailors on board where we saw that Cartagena and Quesada had already burst into Mesquita’s cabin and dragged him half-clothed onto the deck where his arms were bound by the two sailors who had clambered on board first. As I moved along the deck, taking care not to step on any of the sailors who were sleeping there, I saw that Cartagena and Quesada had roused Gomes and Elorriaga from their beds in the cabin they shared and forced them at sword point to stand beside the quaking Mesquita. All was clearly going to plan.