Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
in Seville, Magellan cemented this relationship by marrying Senñor
Barbosa's daughter. He then sought and won the patronage of one
of Charles's closest advisers, the Bishop of Burgos. With this influ-
ential support the two men were ready to travel on to the court at
Valladolid to present their case to the king. Charles must have been
impressed by the theoretical arguments of Faleiro and the practical
experience of Magellan. Although he was preoccupied with his can-
didature for the throne of the Holy Roman Empire (he was elected
emperor as Charles V in 1519), he gave the newcomers five ships for
the projected voyage, and invested them with the Order of Santiago.
Information about the New World was flooding into the royal
court of Spain and, by 1519, a special body, the Council of the Indies,
had emerged to deal with all matters concerning the exploration and
exploitation of the overseas empire (the Bishop of Burgos chaired
this council). Charles's ministers now knew that the Americas
formed a major land barrier between Europe and Asia. His
con-
quistadores
were steadily extending their control over parts of the
continent. His captains were seeking a way round it. His more adven-
turous subjects had already established settlements on both Atlant-
ic and Pacific coasts. The scheme set forth by Magellan and Faleiro
fitted in perfectly with this programme of expansion, a programme
given urgency by Portugal's stunning success in the East. Informa-
tion about the projected voyage was not slow in reaching Lisbon, and
Manuel, furious at the activities of the two 'traitors', sent agents to
Spain to sabotage the undertaking.
The months spent in preparation were particularly anxious
ones for Magellan. In addition to the usual problems of raising reli-
able crewmen, and hard bargaining with ship-chandlers and victual-
lers, who always tried to sell inferior merchandise at inflated prices,
he had to be on his guard against the Portuguese, who hated him,
and the Spaniards, who did not fully trust him. Then there was the
matter of Rui Faleiro. The astrologer had been appointed joint
