Juan de Cartagena
Juan de Cartagena | |
---|---|
Castilian | |
Known for | Captaincy of a vessel in the Magellan expedition and ringleader of a mutiny in 1520 |
Juan de Cartagena (died c. 1520) was a Spanish aristocrat who served on the
Early life
Little is known about Cartagena's background. He was probably born in
Magellan's voyage
Cartagena had no experience as a seaman.
In recognition of Cartagena's influence, and in order to please his supporters, Magellan named him captain of the largest ship of the expedition, the San Antonio, subject only to Magellan's own authority as captain-general of the fleet.[6] Cartagena earned a salary of 110,000 maravedí, the highest of anyone in the fleet, including Magellan.[7]
Tensions surfaced between Cartagena and Magellan as soon as the fleet departed Spain. In councils between captains, Cartagena routinely opposed Magellan's navigation decisions and refused to salute his superior when required by custom to do so. A storm delayed the fleet south of Tenerife, and food had to be rationed; Cartagena took this opportunity to publicly criticise Magellan and suggest he was not competent to command. Magellan promptly had him arrested, relieved of his command and confined aboard the Victoria for the remainder of the voyage to South America.[8]
Mutiny
Cartagena remained a captive until the fleet reached
Magellan brought the Trinidad alongside Victoria and lowered a boat to carry back his reply. When the boat crew reached Victoria's deck, they made a pretense of handing over a letter; when Victoria's captain sought to take it, the boat crew stabbed him to death. Simultaneously, fifteen men from Magellan's ship climbed aboard and attacked the mutineers. Victoria's crew joined their cause and the ship was seized.[9]
Cartagena had relocated to Concepción prior to the battle, and so remained temporarily free. However, only that vessel and San Antonio remained in the mutineer's hands. Magellan ranged his three ships across the mouth of the bay in which the fleet had anchored, and cleared the decks for engagement with Cartagena's two vessels. In strong winds overnight on 2 April, San Antonio dragged its anchor and drifted helplessly toward Trinidad. Magellan ordered a broadside fired, at which the crew of San Antonio surrendered and allowed the vessel to be retaken. Realising the mutiny had failed, on 3 April Cartagena followed suit and surrendered Concepción without resistance.[10]
Death
After the mutiny, Magellan held a trial of the conspirators. Cartagena's ally Gaspar de Quesada (captain of the Concepción) was sentenced to death by beheading. However, Magellan was reluctant to execute a close relative of Fonseca,[11] so Cartagena was sentenced to be marooned along with another conspirator, the priest Pedro Sánchez de la Reina. The sentence was carried out on 11 August 1520, four months after the mutiny, shortly before the fleet departed their winter quarters at San Julián.[12][13] Cartagena and the priest were given a small supply of ship's biscuits and drinking water and left on a small island off the Patagonian coast. Neither was seen or heard from again.[10]
References
- ^ a b Joyner 1992, p. 274.
- ^ a b c Bergreen 2003, p. 55.
- ^ Cameron 1974, p. 67.
- ^ Krom 2012, p. 3.
- ^ Krom 2012, p. 6.
- ^ Krom 2012, p. 10.
- ^ Bergreen 2003, p. 47.
- ^ Beaglehole 1968, p. 23.
- ^ a b Beaglehole 1968, p. 25.
- ^ a b Beaglehole 1968, p. 26.
- ^ Bergreen 2003, p. 153.
- ^ Bergreen 2003, p. 170.
- ^ Joyner 1992, p. 150.
Bibliography
- ISBN 9780804703109.
- Bergreen, Laurence (2003). Over the Edge of the World. Harper Perennial. ISBN 0066211735.
- Cameron, Ian (1974). Magellan and the first circumnavigation of the world. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. OCLC 842695.
- Joyner, Tim (1992), Magellan, Camden, Me: International Marine, ISBN 087742263X
- Krom, Cynthia L. (2012), Juan de Cartagena: Accountant and Mutineer, Franklin & Marshall College, Pennsylvania, USA
Further reading
- Elliot, Julian (2023). "Juan de Cartagena, el topo de la Corona en la expedición de Magallanes". Historia y Vida.
- Ochoa, José María González. "Juan de Cartagena". Real Academia de la Historia.