Chapter 3

Disillusioned with the way that his proposal was disregarded by the king, Magellan left Portugal and came to Spain to try to interest King Carlos in his idea. However, to demonstrate his honourable intentions, he publicly renounced his Portuguese citizenship. But before leaving Portugal he consulted with the most experienced pilots who had guided ships in Asia, and examined the maps of those seas which convinced him that the Spice Islands lay within the area under the control of Spain according to the Treaty of Tordesillas of 1494. He was also influenced by his correspondence with Francisco Serrão in Ternate, the most important source of cloves in the Spice Islands.

He was joined in his belief by a map maker called Rui Falero who was also upset with the king of Portugal. In those days, King Manuel of Portugal had made many enemies of important men. It was the natural order of society that under the king and the Royal family, the nobles were the most important people. However, as I had discovered, it was possible for a merchant to become rich by bringing exotic goods from the New World, and this was even more evident as the spices from the Spice Islands commanded such high prices when sold in Europe. The people who funded and reaped the benefits of this lucrative trade were merchants such as Cristóbal de Haro who was a Spanish merchant living in Lisbon with interests in India which had made him rich, and Diogo Barbosa. These merchants aspired to the rank of nobility but the king of Portugal disregarded their contribution to the spread of Portuguese influence by refusing to award them honours or titles. Consequently, these merchants had earlier left Portugal and settled in Sevilla where they were awarded positions of honour by Queen Isabella. Magellan arrived in Sevilla in late October 1517, and King Carlos came back to Valladolid from Spain’s territories in Flanders in November 1517. Magellan married the daughter of Diogo Barbosa’s second wife in January 1518. In addition to establishing himself in Sevilla, he became friendly with the head of the Casa de Contratación, Juan de Aranda, and told him of his plans. Juan de Aranda made enquiries in Portugal about Magellan and was convinced that he was of good character and that his idea was sound, so he wrote in secret to the Grand Chancellor of the court of King Carlos, recommending that the king should grant Magellan an audience. Of course, the fact that Magellan had promised him one eighth part of any benefit the expedition might obtain probably contributed to his decision to intercede with the king on behalf of Magellan.

When Falero discovered that Magellan had spoken to Juan de Aranda about his plan, he was furious because they had promised each other that they should not tell anyone about the proposal in case the idea might be taken up by another. However, Falero soon forgave Magellan and they suggested that Juan de Aranda should accompany them to meet the king. Eventually, the king sent a letter granting Magellan an audience. At this audience, Magellan described his plan and showed the king a globe of the world, although he was careful not to point to any particular place where the waterway between the two oceans might exist.

His argument was sufficiently appealing for the king to authorise the expedition. The king wrote to Magellan giving orders about how he should lead the fleet and what he should undertake on this voyage. Later, the contents of the letter were made available to the captains of each nao as instructions in case they became separated from the fleet. This was partly what the king commanded Magellan to comply with: Regarding the voyage that, with the help of Our Lord, you wish to undertake to discover what has not been found until now, which is within the limits of our territory that has not been discovered until now ... you undertake to discover in the dominions that belong to us and are ours in the sea, in the Ocean Sea, within the limits of our territory, islands and mainlands and rich spice-bearing lands...