“ Some thirty years ago, when the Castilians in the West, and the Portuguese in the East, had begun to search after new and unknown lands, in order to avoid any interference of one with the other, the kings of these countries divided the whole world between them, by the authority probably of Pope Alexander VI, on this plan, that a line should be drawn from the north to the south pole through a point three hundred and sixty leagues west of the Hesperides which they now call Cape Verde Islands, which would divide the earth's surface into two equal portions. ”

“ To such a degree has the perversity of human nature persisted in driving away as far as possible that which is conducive to happiness, and in seeking for articles of luxury in the remotest parts of the world. Our men having carefully examined the position of the Moluccas, and of each separate island, and also into the characters of the chiefs, sailed to Thedori, because they understood that this island produced a greater abundance of cloves than the others, and also that the king excelled the other kings in prudence and humanity. ”

“ They think that party acts most creditably, which is the first to propose terms of peace; that it is disgraceful to be anticipated in so doing; and that it is scandalous and detestable to refuse peace to those who ask for it, even though the latter should have been the aggressors: all the neighboring people unite in destroying such refusers of peace as impious and abominable. Hence they mostly pass their lives in peace and leisure. Robberies and murders are quite unknown among them. ”

“ No weapons shall be sold, under penalty of loss of all property to the one so doing. Blasphemers, and card- and dice-players are not to be allowed to ship with the crew. The captain-generals have power to devise and execute punishments against disobedient men of their crews. Oath shall be taken before the captain-generals by all their crews to observe obedience and the King's service. If it is necessary to seize water and provisions because of the hostility of the natives, it shall be done, but with as little scandal and show of force as possible. ”

“ The Spaniards endured this with patience for some days, but alarmed at the length of the winter and the barrenness of the land, at last petitioned their admiral Magellan, saying that it was evident that this continent extended an indefinite distance southwards, and that there was no hope of discovering the end of it, or of discovering a strait; that a hard winter was setting in, and that several men had already died through scanty food and the hardships of the voyage ”

“ The inspector-general and accountant shall note everything in their books. Other vessels found in the spice regions shall, if Christians, be warned not to trade further without permission, under penalty of seizure and confiscation of property; if Moros, "not of the lands of our demarcation, you shall seize them in fair war," and the gold, etc., found in their ships must be noted carefully in the books. Moros who may, by their rank, avail for ransom are to be well treated, but they may be sold as slaves. If Moros are found "who are of our demarcation," they must be well treated ”

“ Any Portuguese or other Christians found in the lands discovered must be treated well, in order to gain information from them. "If by any chance you should meet ships from Portugal within our limits, bid them quietly to leave the land, because in their own requirements given by our very dear and well-loved uncle and brother, it is forbidden to them to enter or discover in the lands and limits belonging to us, and the same is forbidden to you by us." The cargoes must be given up by such ships, if not peaceably, then by means of force, provided "you can seize it without much loss to yourself." ”

“ And, not to forget it, I will add that our men reported that the islanders of Porne asserted that the king wore two pearls in his crown as large as goose eggs. After this they came to the island of Gilona, where they saw some men with such long ears, that they reached down to their shoulders; and when they expressed their astonishment, the natives told them, that in an island not far off, there were men, who had such long and wide ears, that one ear could, when they liked, cover the whole of their heads. ”

“ Magellan, anxious to carry out his plan, ordered forty of his men, whom he could rely on for valor and military skill, to arm themselves, and passed over to the island Mauthan in boats, for it was very near. The chief of Subuth furnished him with some of his own people, to guide him as to the topography of the island and the character of the country, and, if it should be necessary, to help him in the battle. The king of Mauthan, seeing the arrival of our men, led into the field some three thousand of his people. ”

“ Our men were kindly received by the various chiefs, who all, after the example of the King of Thedori, spontaneously submitted themselves to the imperial government. But the Spaniards, having now only two ships, determined to bring with them specimens of all sorts of spices, etc., but to load the ships mainly with cloves, because there had been a very abundant crop of it this season, and the ships could contain a great quantity of this kind of spice. Having laden their ships with cloves, and received letters and presents from the chiefs to the emperor, they prepared to sail away. ”

“ The natives share groves of this tree among themselves, just as we do vineyards: they keep the cloves in pits, till the merchants fetch them away. The fourth island, Muthil, is no larger than the rest. This island produces cinnamon; the tree is full of shoots, and in other respects fruitless, it thrives best in a dry soil, and is very much like the pomegranate tree. When the bark cracks through the heat of the sun, it is pulled oft the tree, and being dried in the sun a short time becomes cinnamon. ”

“ Above all, the domains and demarcation of the Portuguese monarch must be respected. The exact location of all lands must be noted, and if these are inhabited they are to "try to ascertain if there is anything in that land that will be to our interest." The natives must be well treated, in order that food and water may be obtained. When the land of spices is reached "you will make a treaty of peace or trade with the king or lord of that land." As high a valuation as possible is to be placed on the articles traded from the ships. ”

“ The common people are Kafirs, and have much the same manners and customs as the islanders of Porne, already spoken of; they are much in need of supplies from abroad, insasmuch as their country only produces spices, which they willingly exchange for the poisonous articles arsenic and sublimated mercury, and for the linen which they generally wear; but what use they make of these poisons has not yet been ascertained. They live on sago-bread, fish, and sometimes parrots; they live in very low-built cabins: in short, all they esteem and value is peace, leisure, and spices. ”

“ But they practice piety and justice: and especially love peace and quiet, and have great aversion to war. As long as their king maintains peace, they show him divine honours: but if he is anxious for war, they never rest till he is slain by the enemy in battle. ”

“ Peter Martyr, [2] an author who is more careful as to the accuracy of his statements than of the elegance of his style, has given a full but truthful description of this city. But the Portuguese sailing southward past the Hesperides [Cape Verde Islands] and the Fish-eating Ethiopians [West Coast of Africa] , crossed the Equator and the Tropic of Capricorn, and sailing eastward discovered several very large islands heretofore unknown, and also the sources of the Nile and the Troglodytes. ”

“ For it is well known that the other spices, as cinnamon, cloves, and the nutmeg, which we call muscat, and its covering [mace] , which we call muscat-flower, are brought to their Indian possessions from distant islands hitherto only known by name, in ships held together not by iron fastenings, but merely by palm-leaves, and having round sails also woven out of palm-fibres. Ships of this sort they call "junks," and they are impelled by the wind only when it blows directly fore or aft. ”

“ During Isabel's life, was king-consort, and governed her dominions only by virtue of this relation; after her death, was regent only of Castilla, which dignity he held until his death, except from June 27, 1506, to Aug. 21, 1507, during which period he retired to Aragón, in favor of Juana's husband Philip. Inheriting the throne of Aragón and Navarra (Jan. 20, 1479) , his marriage with Isabel (1469) and their conquest of Granada (1492) united under one monarchy the provinces now comprised in the country of Spain. ”

“ He urges a powerful fleet in order to be able to show sufficient force to the natives, and to punish those who killed Magalhães. He cites the example of the Portuguese who send large fleets to the east, and gain respect through fear, "for if the King of Portugal has prestige in the Indies, it is because he has always tried to demonstrate his power there, sending as large a fleet as possible each year. Therefore not only did he rule those lands with love and good works, but to a greater degree by means of fear." In the matter of trading, the king should keep control ”

“ But as our men were not in search of monsters but of spices, they did not trouble themselves about such rubbish, but sailed direct for the Moluccas, where they arrived in the eighth month after their admiral Magellan had been slain in the island of Mauthan. The islands are five in number, and are called, Tarante, Muthil, Thedori, Mare, and Matthien, [15] situated partly to the north, partly to the south, and partly on the equator; the productions are cloves, nutmegs, and cinnamon: they are all close together, but of small extent. ”

“ Indeed, on your behalf, a petition recently laid before us set forth that, impelled by pious devotion for the spread of the Catholic faith, you greatly desire—inasmuch as quite recently, and not without great expense and effort on your part, you began and from day to day continue to do more toward the capture and recovery of the islands and regions of the Indies, to the end that in those lands wherever any accursed belief obtains, the Most High should be worshiped and revered ”

“ One-fifth of what remains shall be given the captain-generals. The remainder is to be divided into three parts, "of which two parts are for us and the ships, and one for the crews." Of the latter, ten parts are to be used for religious purposes. Good treatment is to be accorded the natives in order that pleasant trade-relations may be established. The physicians and surgeons are to take no money from the natives for medical services, not even from their enemies who are wounded in war. And the captain-generals must see that the men have no intercourse with the native women. ”

“ Juan de Cartagena is appointed in Ruy Falero's place as conjunta persona, and Francisco, brother of Ruy, is appointed captain of one of the ships. Magalhães says in his communication to the officials of the House of Trade that he consents to Falero remaining behind, provided the latter surrender to them and to him the "elevations of east and west longitude, with all the rules accompanying them, that they may remain in the said house and be kept in the said fleet." He justifies the first appointment of two Portuguese stewards, both of whom he declares to be good and faithful men. ”

“ Samples of all products must be brought from the lands discovered. "Ready-made clothes and other articles to give to the kings and other princes of these lands shall be carried." "And if the kings or seigniors of the land give any jewels or presents, they shall be ours, and the inspector-general or accountant shall place them in charge of the treasurer." No presents shall be given without permission of the officers of the fleet. ”

“ No one may speak to the king but his wives and children, except at a distance by hollow canes, which they apply to his ear, and through which they whisper what they have to say. They think that at death men have no perception as they had none before they were born. Their houses are small, built of wood and earth, covered partly with rubble and partly with palm-leaves. It is ascertained that there are twenty thousand houses in the city of Porne. They marry as many wives as they can afford to keep; they eat birds and fish ”

“ The former, the greatest of blessings, the wickedness of mankind seems to have banished from our part of the world to theirs: but our avarice and insatiable desire of the luxuries of the table has urged us to seek for spices even in those distant lands. ”