Elcano and the First Circumnavigation of the World Book 2
Copyright© 2026 by Mark West
Chapter 11
Cartagena was sure that his plan would succeed. He was so sure that he could not contain his pride and boasted to me and de Coca that he had control of three of the five ships in the fleet, including the San Antonio which was the largest ship and which also carried most of the food supplies needed by the crews of the other ships. Magellan would have to surrender or he would see his men starve and then he would have to beg Cartagena for mercy when the crew of the Trinidad turned on him. I acknowledged that the plan was good, but secretly I was not so sure. I had heard from Duarte Barbosa about his brother-in-law’s personality and temperament, and I had witnessed his execution of Salamon for what might have merited a reduction in rank. It seemed to me that Magellan was a cunning and resourceful man with years of experience at sea as opposed to the main conspirators who had never had to lead men in desperate situations. Cartagena seemed to me to be assured of his right to lead because of being the son of the powerful Bishop Fonseca, but my time at sea had shown me that this was not a quality to inspire men to follow someone. But, I had now committed myself to join in the mutiny, so I had no choice but to continue to support the leaders of this attempt to wrest control from Magellan.
As Cartagena had now appointed me as maestre of the San Antonio, I went about my duties after the crew had eaten a week’s worth of rations in a few hours. I securely locked the hatches that led to the stores, and returned the keys to the keeping of the storekeeper. I ordered him to help the surgeon with Elorriaga and not to appear in public lest some sailor might decide that he would like to drink deep of the wine in the stores, and would demand the keys to assist him with that undertaking.
And so, we passed the morning in waiting for Magellan’s response to Cartagena’s ultimatum. But Magellan’s response was not to answer Cartagena. Instead, he sent a small boat to enquire of the Victoria, the Santiago and the Concepción whether they stood with him or with Cartagena. The Santiago, under the command of Serrano, affirmed that Magellan was the rightful Captain-General and that this nao was his to command. The Victoria and the Concepción assured Magellan’s messenger that they would support Cartagena. It appeared that Magellan would not compromise, as I saw that he moved the Trinidad and the Santiago to a position in the mouth of the bay where they could blockade the other three naos from escaping to the open sea. I feared that we would soon come to a fight with ships firing cannons against each other. If that happened, the expedition would founder because whichever side emerged successful, there would be terrible destruction of men, naos and supplies. I became even more despondent, but I had cast my lot with the mutiny, so I had no choice but to continue until the end.
Then it seemed as if Magellan was willing to negotiate. He sent a message to the San Antonio stating that he would like to discuss the demands of the three captains, and invited them to the Trinidad to do so. Of course, Cartagena knew that if he and the others went to the Trinidad, they would not escape with their lives, so he responded by inviting Magellan to the San Antonio. I was sure that Magellan would refuse for the same reason that Cartagena had refused the invitation to the Trinidad.
With hindsight, the invitation to Magellan was a mistake on the part of Cartagena. The invitation itself was not a mistake, although I knew that it would be a futile gesture, but Cartagena did not discuss with me about how his message should be delivered. Instead of sending the smaller of the two boats that the Trinidad carried, he sent the longboat. We waited in vain for the longboat to return with or without Magellan. When it did not return, it soon became obvious that Magellan had seized the longboat and made its crew prisoner. As day turned to night, I ordered a watch to be maintained on both sides of the nao because if Magellan had decided to attack us, he might use the longboats from the Trinidad and the San Antonio to try to board armed men from both port and starboard. The nightly fog had returned and our nerves were all ajangle as we waited for an assault. But the assault did not come for us.