The king of Spain gave Magellan a warm welcome. He was glad to have him at court, and listened eagerly to what Magellan had to say about certain rich islands that lay in the Southern Sea. Many sailors from Spain and from Portugal had heard of these islands, and when they returned from their voyages to the Malay Peninsula in the East, they told how they had seen, in Malacca harbor, dusky traders from that unknown land. None of them knew, however, just where these islands lay. At last King Charles I. made a compact with Magellan. He made the captain a cavalier of Spain, and fitted out a fleet for him. Magellan pledged himself to spend ten years trying to find the southern islands for Spain, and the king gave to him and to his heirs the governorship of all islands that he might discover and conquer. It was on August 10, 1519, that Magellan’s fleet, flying the royal standard of Spain, left San Lucar de Barrameda (sän lö´cär dā bär rä mā´thä). There were five ships, _La Trinidad_ (lä trē´nē däth), _San Antonio_ (sän än tō´nē ō), _Victoria_ (vik tō´rē ä), _Santiago_ (sän tē ä´gō), and _Concepcion_ (kōn thep´thē ōn). They sailed southward, from San Lucar de Barrameda toward the Canary Islands, and on the 13th of December reached Rio de Janeiro (rē´ō dā zhä nā´rō). From there they went along down the eastern coast of South America, trying every opening which they thought might be a passage into the sea they sought. They lost a good deal of time sailing up the Rio de la Plata (rē´ō dā lä plä´tä), and at last had to come back to the Atlantic. By this time it was late in winter, and the weather was very cold. By now the officers and sailors on all save Magellan’s own ship had become rebellious. They were sure that no passage could be found into the Southern Sea, and they wanted to go back to Spain. This rebellion grew until Magellan had to put it down by the use of force. He was able to win over the sailors, but the officers still made trouble, and at last their revolt was so serious that the fleet could not go on until this matter was ended. One captain even made an attack on _La Trinidad_, the ship which Magellan commanded. Not until one of the rebellious captains, with a companion, was put ashore, another killed, and a third executed for mutiny, was order restored so that the fleet could continue the voyage. But the way was long and trying. The sailors began to lose courage again, and only the bravery and strong will of Magellan kept the fleet together. One ship, the _Santiago_, was wrecked in a great gale, and while off the coast of New Guinea (nö gin´nē) the crew and most of the officers of the _San Antonio_ mutinied. They put their captain in irons and sailed back to Spain.