In addition to worrying about the lack of food and fresh water and reef storms, the captain of the Great Navigation Age must also worry about the rebellion of the crew. Therefore, most countries at that time responded to the rebellion of the sea crew without mercy. It was common for the captain to suppress the rebellion at that time, exile or execute the participants.
Magellan
Today, we'll talk about Magellan and see how he deals with the rebels.
At the end of March 1520, magellan's fleet, unable to find a strait into the Pacific, had to temporarily come to the port of San Julian for repairs. The weather is cold, the sea is windy and the waves are high, and it may not be possible to continue sailing for a short time.
At this time, Magellan was already in danger. Although he was the commander-in-chief of the fleet, the other four captains were not entirely loyal. Of course, the most important reason for this is that magellan's target, the Spice Islands, is too far away. The crew were worried that they would not be able to find the strait and would encounter a food crisis.
Magellan was also worried about this problem, so he reduced the rations of sailors, after all, the daily workload was now much less. Because of this, the complaints against Magellan grew, and several other captains prepared to rebel.
On April 1, 1520, the crew of Magellan's flagship, the Trinidad, noticed that a dinghy had lost its way in the darkness and rushed to the rescue of the sailors on board. Upon asking, I learned that the sailors were all from the Concepción.
After drinking and eating, the men voluntarily gave them their mission: they were sent out to deliver the news, contact all the ships to rebel, and kill Magellan.
Magellan realized that things were out of control and he had to find a way to suppress the rebellion. After a night of chaos, three of the five ships in Magellan's fleet were already under rebel control. Another, the SAN Diego, decided to "remain neutral."
This means that Magellan is completely at a disadvantage and could be caught and executed at any time.
< h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > Magellan decided to negotiate with the rebels. </h1>
Magellan's fleet
The rebels demanded that Magellan improve the treatment of the sailors and immediately lead the fleet back to Spain—it was perfectly fine to increase the treatment, but it was completely impossible to abandon the search for the strait and return to Spain. Not to mention that Magellan dreamed of the Spice Islands, and simply being coerced by the rebels to return to Spain would surely discredit him and ruin the rest of his life.
Magellan declared that he wanted to negotiate, and chose the location on the rebel ship San Antonio.
Apparently, Magellan was desperate—he hadn't thought about negotiations at all, it was just a delay, and he wanted the rebels to let their guard down for the time being.
Soon, Magellan arranged for trusted sailors to sneak up to the Victoria, pretending to pass on the message and boarding the ship. Several sailors unceremoniously killed the rebel captain and took control of the entire ship—most of the sailors were coerced into rebelling.
Now Magellan had three ships to support him, the Trinidad, the Victoria, and the Santiago. That night, Magellan sent someone to secretly cut the cable of the Concepción and let the ship drift slowly toward itself, and by the morning, the rebels on the ship found that they had fallen into Magellan's trap.
The rebels on the last ship, seeing that Magellan had taken control of four ships, could only surrender.
< h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > dare to rebel during the voyage, and the most temperamental captain will also kill people. </h1>
There are also hangings in the Inquisition
Magellan's temper was not good, he had a strong desire for control, and he would never allow others to be unfaithful. Now, those rebels must be severely punished.
In the Age of Discovery, when sailors made a mistake, the most common punishment was flogging. Normally speaking, a few whips will make people's backs open and flesh, and it will take many days to heal the wounds. Therefore, although there is no detailed record, some of these rebels must have been flogged and punished.
Magellan's most important decision was to execute the former captain of the Victoria, Mendoza. Once convicted of being a rebel, it must be the death penalty, the difference is how it is executed. For Mendoza, Magellan decided to "tear him to pieces."
Poor Mendoza was tied to the deck, his limbs bound with ropes, each connected to four winchs. The crew, under Magellan's orders, turned the winch at the same time, tightened the rope... In the end, Mendoza was "torn to pieces" in the presence of many people.
To deter the crew, Magellan also ordered sailors to salt the limbs of Mendoza and hang them in the port of San Julian for public display.
Another person identified as a "rebel" was the ship's astronomer Andrés de Saint-Martin, who suffered a "hanging sentence".
The sailors stripped him naked, then tied his hands behind his back and hung him from a high wooden frame. This position does not last long, and the victim will dislocate his shoulder or even fracture his arm.
But that wasn't the end, and Magellan also ordered several iron shells to be tied to his feet, which almost tore his body apart. Fortunately, Saint Martin persevered, and Magellan did not kill him.
Another navigator, Hernando Morales, was also "hanged", but his luck was not so good, and records on the ship showed that he dislocated all four limbs and died of his injuries.
< h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > The captain of the Concepción, Kesseda, was beheaded for public display. </h1>
Magellan quelled the rebellion
The leader of the rebels, Magellan would never pardon him. Witnessed by the entire crew, Magellan had Kesseida kneel on the deck. His servant, Morino, was also about to be executed, but Magellan gave him a chance: if he was willing to cut off his master's head with his own hands, he could live.
Betraying his master was also an unforgivable crime, but at this time Molino wanted to live a few more days, so he agreed to Magellan's suggestion.
Before the execution, Molino begged his master, Keseda, to forgive him for his betrayal, but he failed. Eventually, he cut off his master's head with a knife.
Magellan obviously felt that this was not enough to relieve his anger, so he asked people to go up and mend a few more knives, and then salted the remains of Cateda and hung them for public display.
In fact, Magellan sentenced 40 crew members to death. But he knew in his heart that if so many people were killed now, there would not be enough manpower to continue sailing. Therefore, Magellan generously pardoned most people to show his magnanimity.
Did you think Magellan was cruel? In fact, this was a very common thing in that era.
Because of the boredom and danger of life at sea, sailors are precarious and easily instigated to rebel. Without cruel means to deter such behavior, the vast majority of long-distance expeditions will die halfway through.
We don't judge Magellan's right or wrong, because in that era, it was so bloody and cruel.