erdinand Mage il a 
ture for great Exploits, having all the Qualities requifite to 
compofe a truly great Man ; for, with a Courage which no 
Danger could affright, he poffeffed a Calmnefs of Temper, 
and a Sweetnefs of Difpofition, which engaged fuch as con- 
verfed with him to efteem and love him. He was natu- 
rally eloquent, either in proving what he afferted, or in 
drawing others from their own Opinions. But, above all, 
he had a Steadinefs of Soul, and a Degree of manly Re- 
folution, which not only enabled him to vanquifh the great- 
eft Difficulties, but withal gave fuch an Air of Succefs 
to whatever he promifed or undertook, as drew all who 
heard him to confide in him. Thefe extraordinary Ta- 
lents, as they would have diftinguifhed him in any Station 
of Life, fo they were remarkably ufeful in that, by which 
he acquired immortal Reputation h . 
?,< Don Ferdinand Magellan had ferved with great Cre- 
dit in the Indies , under the famous Albuqiicrque , and thought 
he merited fome Recompence for thole Services. The 
Great, however, differed from him in Opinion, and treated 
all his Applications, not with Coldnefs only, but with Con- 
tempt, which, to a Man of his Spirit, was intolerable. 
He therefore affociated himfelf with Men of like Fortunes ; 
that is to fay. Men of Merit that were negledted, particu- 
larly one Ruy Falero , a great Aftronomer, whom the Por- 
tuguefe , out of Hatred, have reprefented as a Conjurer; 
and, in Conjunction with him, retired to the Spanifh 
Court, and made Propofitions, and new Difcoveries, to Car- 
dinal Ximenes. The For tuguefe Embaffador, who was a Man 
of Parts, employed all the Pains imaginable to defeat their 
Defign. He folicited the Court to deliver them up as 
Fugitives ; he got fome Perfons to inform the Miniftry, 
that Magellan was a bold talkative Man, one ready to un- 
dertake any thing, but who wanted Capacity and Courage 
when it came to Performance. But underhand he caufed 
Application to be made to Magellan himfelf, offering him 
Pardon, and great Rewards, if, defifting from his prefent 
Purpofe, he would go back, and ferve his own Prince. All 
this, however, fignified very little ; for thefe People ex- 
preffed themfelves to the Spanifh Miniftry, who were now 
very able Judges in thefe Matters, in fuch clear Terms, 
and with fo much Probability as to the Difcovery they pro- 
pofed, that they were immediately received into Favour, 
made Knights of the Order of St. James, and had their 
own Terms granted them. 
3* The Grounds they went upon were thefe : That the 
Pofition laid down by Columbus , of the Poffibility of come- 
ing to the Eafi Indies by failing Weft, was certainly true, 
though he had not brought it to bear ; and that fuch as 
derided that great Man’s Notion, were not fo well skilled 
in Navigation as he ; that, without Queftion, it was very 
poffible to fail from the South Sea , which was but juft then 
heard of, to the Moluc c a IJlands ; and that it was very pro- 
bable a Paffage might be found into thofe Seas, through 
the Rio dela Plata , or fome other Opening upon that Coaft ; 
that, in cafe this could be done, Spain might reap the Pro- 
fit of both Indies , lince this Difcovery being made from 
the Weft, would fall exprefly under the Words of the 
Pope’s Bull. In confequence of thefe Propofals it was 
agreed, that the Undertakers fhould have the Twentieth 
Part of the clear Profits ; that the Government of any 
Hands they fhould difcover, fhould belong to them and 
their Heirs for ever, with the Title of Adelantados ; and 
that, farther, the Crown fhould furnifhthem with Five Ships, 
and Two hundred and Thirty-four Men, with Provifion 
for Two Years. This Fleet of theirs confifted of the 
Frinadada , which was the Admiral, having on board Ste- 
phen Gomez , a Portuguefe Pilot ; the Santa Vittoria , com- 
manded by Don Lewis de Mendoza ; the St. Antonio , under 
Don Juan de Carthagena ; the St. Iago, of which Don Juan 
Serrano was Commander ; and the Conception , under Don 
Gajpar de ifuixida. The Number of their Men, according 
to lome Authors, was 237: But moft Writers make 
mem 250, among whom there were Thirty Portuguefe , 
and upon thefe the Admiral chiefly depended. In point of 
u he greatly relied on Don Juan de Serrano, who left the 
King of Portugal's Service in the fame manner that Magellan 
himfelf had done, after having ferved many Years in the 
Indies , and fome Part of the Time in the Moluccas, of 
which they Were now going in Search. Great Hopes were 
conceived of this Voyage, from the known Experience of 
the Commanders : But the’ Secret of it remained clofely 
locked up in the Bofom of the Admiral, who declared no 
more to the reft, than that he was fitted out to difcover 
new Countries, which, as it implied in the Opinion of his 
Companions ; that they were going to fetch Home Gold, 
and other Riches, filled them with fwelling Expectations, 
fo that they left Seville with the moft chearful Courage. 
4. They failed from Seville the 10th of Auguft , A. D„ 
1519. and October the 3d arrived between Cape Verd, and 
the Iflands of that Name ; they fpent a great deal of Time 
about the Coaft of Guiney , and by tedious Calms, which 
lafted Seventy Days, were fo long labouring to crofs the 
Line. But when they had done this, and the South Pole 
appeared above the Horizon, they held on their South 
Courfe, and came upon the Main of Brafil, about that 
Part of it which lies in 22 Degrees. They obferved it to 
be all one continued Trad of Land, higher from the Cape 
St. Auguftin , which is in this Part of the Country. They 
found good Store of Fruits, Sugar-canes, and divers Sorts 
of Animals, out of all which they had liberal Entertain- 
ment. Having made i\ Degrees more of South Latitude, 
they fell in with a Country inhabited by a wild Sort of Peo- 
ple : They were of a prodigious Stature, fierce, and bar- 
barous, made a horrible roaring Noife, more like Bulls 
than human Creatures ; and yet, with all that mighty Bulk, 
were fo nimble and light of Foot, that none of the Spa -• 
niards or Portuguefe could overtake them. Here was a 
fine River of frefh Water, that had Seven Iflands in the 
Mouth of it, and was full Seventeen Leagues wide in that 
Part. The biggeft of thofe Iflands yielded them fome 
Jewels, and they gave it the Name of St. Mary. They 
continued coafting along this TraCt of Land towards the 
South Pole, and met with a Couple of Iflands fo full of 
Seals and Pengwins, that, in an Hour’s Space, they could 
have laden all the Five Ships. The Pengwins are a black, 
heavy, ^ unwieldy Fowl, extremely fat, covered over with a 
fort of Down inftead of Fevers, and armed with a Bill 
like a Raven’s ; they maintain themfelves altogether out of 
the Waters, eating nothing but Fifh : Their next Advance 
was to 49 j Degrees South Latitude ; here they were fhut 
up by hard Weather, and forced to take up their Winter 
Quarters for no Jefs than Five Months. 
5. They paffed their Time in this Place but very unplea- 
fantly, and for a long time believed, that the Country was 
uninhabited : But at length they were undeceived as to this 
Point; for a Savage of the neighbouring Parts came up to 
givethemaVifit; abriskjolly Fellow, very merrily dilpofed, 
finging and dancing all the Way as he came : Being got to 
the Haven, he flood there, and threw Duft upon his Head ; 
which they obferving, fent fome afhore to him, who 
making the like Signs of Peace, upon that Affurance he 
came along with them to the Ship, without any thing of 
Fear or Scruple. His Bulk and Stature was fuch, as would 
eafily allow him the Charadter of a Giant ; the Head of 
one of their middle-fized Men reached but to his Waift, 
and he was proportionably big : His Body was formidably 
painted all over, efpecially his Face ; a Couple of Stags 
Horns drawn, one upon each Cheek, and great red Circles 
about his Eyes ; his Colours were otherwife moftly yellow, 
only his Hair was white. For his Apparel he had the Skin 
of a Beaft clumfily fewed together ; but a Beaft as ftrange 
as that was that wore it, every way unaccountable, neither 
Mule, Horfe, nor Camel, but fomething of every one, 
the Ears of the firft, the Tail of the fecond, and the Shape 
and Body of the laft. ’Twas an intire Suit, all of one 
Piece from Head to Foot : As his Breaft and Back were 
covered with it above, fo his very Legs and Feet were 
wrapped up in the fame beneath. The Arms that he 
brought with him were a flout Bow and Arrows ; the String 
of the former was a Gut or Sinew of that monftrous Beaftl 
and the latter, inftead of Iron Heads, were tipped with 
fharp Stones. The Admiral made him eat and drink, and 
t: V ,rfe Exped "' 0n ln , tlle c,e ” eft manner poffible, by comparing all the different Relations of the Po 
the Sack of R„L by the Conitablc I bAD th ' *“*' HUtay of it by P. Martyr, which was burnt 
