[Footnote 155: This is obviously an erroneous account of _Sago_, an alimentary substance procured from the _pith_ of a tree of the palm tribe, not from the _bark_.--E.] Antonio de Brito was sent on this occasion to build a fort in the island of Ternate, which had been long desired by its king _Boylefe_. His force consisted of six ships and 300 soldiers, and was increased at the island of Agacim by four sail under the command of Garcia Enriquez. On arriving at Ternate, the old king Boylefe was dead, and the king of Tidore had admitted the Spaniards to settle on his island; yet seeing that the queen who governed Ternate during the minority of her son gave a friendly reception to Brito, the king of Tidore visited him and offered to deliver up the Spaniards to him if he would build the fort on Tidore instead of Ternate. But Ternate was preferred as the most convenient, Brito laying the first stone on the festival of St John the Baptist, the 28th of December 1521. At this time a private correspondence was carried on between Francis Serram, who resided in Ternate and Ferdinando de Magallanes in Portugal, which turned to the advantage of Spain and the detriment of Portugal. Magalanes, otherwise named Magellan, was a man of note and a knight of St Jago, who had served with reputation at Azamor in Africa and in several parts of India. Having solicited for a small allowance usually given in reward of service, and which was refused, he left Portugal and entered into the service of Spain. From his skill in sea affairs, and the correspondence he held with Serram at Ternate, he concluded there might be another way to India; and as the Spaniards had already tasted the fruits of these islands, he wrote to Serram that he hoped soon to be his guest at Ternate going thither by a new way[156]. He accordingly got the command of five ships with 250 men, some of whom were Portuguese. Sailing from the port of San Lucar de Barameda on the 20th of September 1519, after having renounced his country by a solemn act, he sailed toward the south along the eastern coast of South America. When past Rio de Janeiro on the coast of Brazil, the men began to grow mutinous, and still more so when they had gone beyond the river of St Julian on the coast of Patagonia, where they did not immediately find the strait of passage to the Pacific Ocean, and found themselves pinched by the cold of that inhospitable climate. As they proceeded to hold disrespectful discourses against Magellan, both reflecting upon his pretended knowledge, and espousing doubts of his fidelity, which came to his knowledge, he called together all the principal people in his squadron, to whom he made a long and learned discourse. Yet a conspiracy was entered into to kill Magellan, by three of his captains, named Cartagene, Quixada, and Mendoza. Their design however was discovered, on which Mendoza was immediately stabbed, and the other two arrested and