Disgrace and injury


  The cause of Magellan's trouble was the Treaty of Tordesillas
of 1494. This was an agreement between Portugal and Spain to s-
hare the newly discovered regions of the world between them. The
division ran north to south down a line west of the mid-Atlantic
Ocean and through part of Brazil. Spain claimed all new seas and
lands west of this imaginary line. Regions to the east of the l-
ine would belong to Portugal.
  The question still to be decided was how far did these areas
extend around the far side of the globe.
  When he discovered the Philippines, Magellan was unwise enough
to suggest that they were so far round to the east of the globe
that they might come within the Spanish half of the world.
  King Manuel of Portugal was outraged. Despite the treaty, Spain
was still a rival. Magellan, for all his proven bravery and skill
as a sailor, was therefore in deep disgrace.
  In 1513, Magellan was wounded again, fighting against the Morrs
in North Africa. This injury caused him to walk with a limp for
the rest of his life. Back home, he pleaded with King Manuel to
give him command of another ship, but the monarch called him'club
foot' and dismissed all his entreaties.
  The one bright spot in this miserable period of Magellan's life
was his friendship with another great Portuguese navigator, John
of Lisbon. John shared the opinion, held by many seamen and exp-
lorers of the time, that the Far East and the Spice Islands could
also be reached by sailing westward round the world. This belief
had inspired Columbus's famous voyage of 1492. John had followed
Columbus across the Atlantic and then explorer the coast of Sou-
th America. He thought he had found the point where the coast
swung westward, so offering a way round for shipping.
  Magellan longed for a chance to find a way round the South Ame-
rican continent.

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