Magellan anticipated a short cruise to the Spice Islands, followed by a longer but untroubled voyage home through familiar waters. He believed that his men had learned from their ordeals. The mutinies had weeded out the faint of heart and the uncooperative. The crew, once numbering 260 men and boys in five ships, was now less than 200 in three vessels: Trinidad, still the flagship of the fleet; Concepción, where Juan Serrano ruled; and Victoria, under Duarte Barbosa’s command. Still, he had no idea of the real challenge that lay ahead, not one of shoals or climate but of distance.
