The Voyage of Magellan - Prologue

September 6, 1522, San Lucar de Barrameda, Spain. A weather-beaten and barnacle-encrusted sailing ship was tittering toward the harbor, tilted to one side from a cargo of crammed spices that it brought from Moluccas, modern day Indonesia. Victoria was the ship, the last of a fleet of five that had put to sea nearly three years before. On it were an emaciated crew of eighteen Europeans and four Malays. On arriving at the harbor, the ship was tied up at the wharf. An armed guard was soon assigned by the port authority to protect the precious cargo and to keep curious visitors from boarding the ship. Those of the crew who were able to walk finally came out of the ship to fulfill the vows they had made during the ordeal of their homeward journey. Barefoot, carrying candles in their hands, the gaunt survivors of the circumnavigated journey filed in slow procession, wading through horrified yet curious crowds, first to the shrine of Nuestra Senora de la Victoria, then to the church of Santa Maria la Antigua, chanting "Gloria a Santa Maria." At the entrance of the church, they finally collapsed. But for the last journey to the altar of the sanctuary, they walked on their knees, crying out in tears, "Pietez moi Santa Maria..."