Quotes from Laurence Bergreen

make a treaty of peace or commerce with the king or lord of that land" before he attempted to load the goods onto his ships.

Was it any wonder that the ship, with all its filth and noise and

Elcano, the Basque mariner, took command and immediately ordered the imprisonment of two Portuguese

Magellan and Faleiro had to see to it that the crew members had no contact with local women.

nauseating odor, was called pájaro puerco, a flying pig?

the people, on account of this thing over and above all, might rebel and do harm.

They scrubbed, repaired, overhauled, and polished every exposed surface of the ships.

They applied pitch to fraying hemp, and repaired torn or stressed sails.

That order would prove impossible to enforce, as would another clause prohibiting the use of firearms

the weary sailors studied the sea for buried shoals, examined the rigging, dried the dew from the lines

Magellan found it impossible to enforce this directive), as were card and dice players.

They made their weapons gleam, and fought a constant, losing battle against protecting their food supply from vermin.

The mere mention of their names—white and black pepper, myrrh, frankincense, nutmeg, cinnamon, cassia, mace, and cloves, to name a few—evoked the wonders of the Orient and the mysterious East.

Although Portugal was celebrated for leading Europe into the Age of Discovery, Portuguese kings often frustrated their heroic mariners.

After several months at sea, the five ships of the Armada

In 1488, during the reign of João II, Bartolomeu Dias reached the southernmost point of Africa and rounded what is now known as the Cape of Good Hope;

his voyage opened new possibilities for Portuguese trade and conquest.

Every term of opprobrium that Álvares hurled at Magellan strengthened

No illustrations of them have survived, so it is difficult to determine exactly how they were configured

These provisions made for an unhealthy diet, high in salt, low in protein, and lacking vitamins that sailors needed to protect themselves against the rigors of the sea.

accounts from Magellan's time mention their daunting stern castles, their multiple decks, and the profusion of obras muertas, or "dead wood

obras muertas, or "dead wood," to ornament the officers' quarters.

Each ship had three masts, one of which carried a lateen sail.

King Charles was supposed to pay for Magellan's ships, according to the contract, he was deeply in debt.