5.1.8 to 5.1.9

By decree of a papal bull in 1493, all new territories discovered or that should be discovered east of a line of demarcation (redrawn 1494) were assigned to Portugal, all that lay west to Spain. Magellan and Faleiro now proposed by sailing west to give practical proof of their claim that the Spice Islands lay west of the line of demarcation—that is, within the Spanish, not the Portuguese, hemisphere. On March 22, 1518, their proposal received royal assent; they were appointed joint captains general of an expedition directed to seek an all-Spanish route to the Moluccas. The government of any lands discovered was to be vested in them and their heirs, and they were to receive a one-twentieth share of the net profits from the venture; both were invested with the Order of Santiago. Magellan was convinced that he would lead his ships from the Atlantic to the "Sea of the South" by discovering a strait through Tierra Firme (the South American mainland). This idea did not originate with him; others had sought a passage by which vessels sailing continuously westward would reach the East and thus avoid the Cape of Good Hope, which was controlled by the Portuguese; in the royal agreement Magellan and Faleiro were directed to find "the" strait. The officials entrusted with East Indian affairs were instructed to furnish five ships for the expedition, prepared in Sevilla, where an unsuccessful attempt to wreck the project was made by Portuguese agents. Magellan's flagship, the Trinidad ,had as consorts the San Antonio ,Concepción ,Victoria ,and Santiago . An attack of insanity prevented Faleiro from sailing. Magellan, who in 1517 had married Beatriz Barbosa, daughter of an important official in Sevilla, said farewell to his wife and infant son Rodrigo before his ships left Sanl�car de Barrameda on September 20, 1519, carrying about 270 men of various ethnic, racial, and national origins. The fleet reached Tenerife on September 26, sailing on October 3 for Brazil; becalmed off the Guinea coast, it met storms before reaching the line; on November 29 it was 27 leagues southwest of Cape St. Augustine. Rounding Cabo Frio, Magellan entered the Bay of Rio de Janeiro on December 13, then sailing south to the Río de la Plata vainly probed the estuary, seeking the strait. On March 31 he reached Port St. Julian in latitude 49º20' S, where on Easter day at midnight Spanish captains led a serious mutiny against the Portuguese commander. Magellan with resolution, ruthlessness, and daring quelled it, executing one of the captains and leaving another to his fate ashore when, on August 24, 1520, the fleet left St. Julian. Discovery of the Strait of Magellan