''Trinidad'' was the flagship of

Ferdinand Magellan Ferdinand Magellan ( or ; pt, Fernão de Magalhães, ; es, link=no, Fernando de Magallanes, ; 4 February 1480 – 27 April 1521) was a Portuguese explorer. He is best known for having planned and led the 1519 Spanish expedition to the Eas ...

's voyage of circumnavigation. Unlike Elcano's ''Victoria'', which returned to Spain sailing across the Indian Ocean, ''Trinidad'' tried and failed to sail east across the Pacific to New Spain or modern-day

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. ''Trinidad'' was a '' nao'' (ship) of 100 tons (or 110 tons, Morrison has both) with square sails on the fore and main masts and a lateen mizzen. Its original crew was 61. After Magellan's death and the burning of the '' Concepcion'', ''

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

'' and ''Trinidad'' (the ''

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

'' and the ''

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

'' being lost earlier) reached

Tidore Tidore ( id, Kota Tidore Kepulauan, lit. "City of Tidore Islands") is a city, island, and archipelago in the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia, west of the larger island of Halmahera. Part of North Maluku Province, the city includes the island ...

on 8 November 1521. In mid-December both ships attempted to depart loaded with cloves, but ''Trinidad'' almost immediately began to leak badly. Inspection showed that the problem was serious. It was agreed that ''Victoria'' would leave for Spain and ''Trinidad'' would remain for repairs. On 6 April 1522, ''Trinidad'' left Tidore loaded with 50 tons of cloves. Her commander was Gonzalo Gomez de Espinosa, Magellan's ''alguacil'' (master-at-arms), a good soldier, but no sailor. After ten days ''Trinidad'' put in at one of the Marianas, where three men deserted, and then headed northeast. Espinosa was apparently trying to reach the

Westerlies The westerlies, anti-trades, or prevailing westerlies, are prevailing winds from the west toward the east in the middle latitudes between 30 and 60 degrees latitude. They originate from the high-pressure areas in the horse latitudes and trend t ...

, but did not find them, probably because of the summer monsoon. He reached 42 or 43 degrees north in increasingly bad weather.

Scurvy Scurvy is a disease resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, feeling tired and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, decreased red blood cells, gum disease, changes to hair, and bleeding ...

set in, ultimately killing 30 men and leaving only 20 to sail the ship. Five months after leaving, he turned back and two months later reached the

Moluccas The Maluku Islands (; Indonesian: ''Kepulauan Maluku'') or the Moluccas () are an archipelago in the east of Indonesia. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located ...

. The previous May a fleet of seven Portuguese ships under

António de Brito Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular mal ...

reached Tidore, seeking to arrest Magellan. Espinosa sent Brito a letter begging for supplies. Brito sent an armed party to capture ''Trinidad'', but, instead of armed resistance, they found only a ship on the verge of sinking and a crew near death. ''Trinidad'' was sailed back to

Ternate Ternate is a city in the Indonesian province of North Maluku and an island in the Maluku Islands. It was the ''de facto'' provincial capital of North Maluku before Sofifi on the nearby coast of Halmahera became the capital in 2010. It is off the ...

where her sails and rigging were removed. The ship was caught in a storm and smashed to pieces. Only four of the survivors got back to Europe. Juan Rodriguez escaped in a Portuguese ship. The remaining three — commander Espinosa, seaman and expedition diarist

Ginés de Mafra Ginés de Mafra (1493–1546) was a Portuguese or Spanish explorer who sailed to the Philippines in the 16th century. Mafra was a member of the expeditions of Fernão de Magalhães of 1519–1521 and Ruy López de Villalobos of 1542–1545. His ...

, and Norwegian gunner Hans Vargue (or Bergen) — spent two years at hard labor before being shipped to Lisbon and more prison. Vargue died in the Portuguese prison. Espinosa is last heard of in 1543 as a Spanish inspector of ships. De Mafra, the last to be released because of the many documents he possessed (had salvaged), in time did become a pilot -- in part because of the experience he gained with Magellan's expedition. In 1541 he was named pilot of the ″San Juan″ under

Ruy López de Villalobos Ruy López de Villalobos (; ca. 1500 – April 4, 1546) was a Spanish explorer who sailed the Pacific from Mexico to establish a permanent foothold for Spain in the East Indies, which was near the Line of Demarcation between Spain and Portugal a ...

; two years later, wrecked on a Philippine island, he wrote about the Magellan expedition while waiting on ship repairs. Here the Magellan expedition was remembered favorably by royalty, and ultimately he with 29 other men chose to remain in the Philippines rather than resume with the failing Villalobos expedition. De Mafra's notes from his wait remained unpublished until found in 1920.

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