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Welcome to Explorers.

Today's episode is Part 2 of Ferdinand Magellan and the circumnavigation of the world.

Last time we left off with Magellan's setting sail from Spain on September 20, 1519.

He commanded a fleet of five ships, the Armada de Malucca. His mission was to find a way into the Pacific

Ocean so that Spain could create its own trade route to the legendary spice islands, the source of such yummy things as nutmeg and

cloves, all of which were worth a fortune in Europe.

Magellan's journey to this point had not been an easy one.

He had been rejected by his homeland, Portugal, and been forced to turn to Spain, Portugal's natural enemy, to back his expedition to the Far East. His family and reputation had been attacked because of his perceived betrayal, and let's not forget about a purported assassination plot.

Also, the House of Trade, led by Archbishop Fonseca, had undermined him in several ways, such as limiting how many Portuguese sailors could be in the fleet, and removing key officers in replacing them with Fonseca allies, most notably Juan de Cartagena,

Fonseca's illegitimate son.

Magellan had also endured financial shortfalls, courtesy of the Spanish crown, and he had been forced to kick out his partner,

Rue A Faleiro, due to the latter's unstable mental state. And if that all wasn't enough,

a lot of the Spanish just did not trust Magellan.

In a lot of ways, it was a miracle the Armadade Maluca set sail at all.

But sail it did, setting forth from the port of San Lucare de Barameda in southwest Spain.

Before we get to see, let's take a look at Magellan's fleet.

As noted, it consisted of five vessels, including the fleet's flagship Trinidad, which was under Magellan's

command.

San Antonio, the largest ship in the fleet, was under the command of Cartagena, and Concepcion's

captain was a Spaniard, Gasper de Casada, while Victoria was commanded

by Louis Mendoza, also a Spaniard.

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