. The life of Ferdinand Magellan and the first circumnavigation of the globe : 1480-1521. thwart his plans. He had no longer Alvaro da Costaat hand to tell him that he was a renegade to his face,and to connive at his assassination in secret, but hisplace was taken by an individual even more unscrupu-lous—Sebastian Alvarez, the factor of the King of Por-tugal at Seville, and it was probably at his instigationthat the incident arose. On the day in question, Magellan had taken advantageof the tide to careen the Trinidad at an early hour. Atdaybreak he ordered four flags bearing his own arms tobe
. The life of Ferdinand Magellan and the first circumnavigation of the globe : 1480-1521. thwart his plans. He had no longer Alvaro da Costaat hand to tell him that he was a renegade to his face,and to connive at his assassination in secret, but hisplace was taken by an individual even more unscrupu-lous—Sebastian Alvarez, the factor of the King of Por-tugal at Seville, and it was probably at his instigationthat the incident arose. On the day in question, Magellan had taken advantageof the tide to careen the Trinidad at an early hour. Atdaybreak he ordered four flags bearing his own arms tobe placed upon the four capstans. In this position itwas the custom always to carry the captains flag, whilethe royal ensign and that of the vessel itself were flownat the mast-head. On this occasion these latter were nothoisted, having been sent to be painted, and Magellan,engaged with his work, had not noticed their absence. As the work proceeded, a gradually increasing crowdof idlers watched its progress. It was maliciously sug-gested by some one that the capstan flags bore the arms. 1518.] PREPAKATIONS FOR THE VOYAGE. 123 of the King of Portugal, and, in the midst of consider-able disturbance and murmuring, an alcalde arrived uponthe scene. Without consulting Magellan, he incited thebystanders to tear them down. The crew now summonedtheir captain, till then engaged below, who explainedto the official that the arms were not those of the Kingof Portugal; that they were his arms, and that he wasa vassal of the King of Spain. Sailor and aristocrat,Magellan was not one to bandy words with an alcalde,and he returned to his work without further alcalde was not so easily satisfied, and insistedupon the removal of the obnoxious flags, and Matienzo,^the chief official of the India House, who arrived atthis juncture, advised Magellan to yield for the sakeof calming the mob. He agreed, but the moment wasa bitter one for him, for among the crowd he recog-nised an agent of
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