But it seems the infallibility of the Holy Father had, on this occasion, deserted him, and for want of being more conversant in geography, he had not foreseen that the Spaniards, by pursuing their discoveries to the west, and the Portuguese to the east, might at last meet with each other, and be again embroiled, as it actually happened within a few years afterwards. For Ferdinand Magellan, an officer in the King of Portugal's service, having received some disgust from the court, either by the defalcation of his pay, or by having his parts, as he conceived, too cheaply considered, he entered into the service of the King of Spain. As he appears to have been a man of ability, he was desirous of signalizing his talents in some enterprize which might prove extremely vexatious to his former masters, and might teach them to estimate his worth from the greatness of the mischief he brought upon them, this being the most obvious and natural turn of all fugitives, more especially of those who, being really men of capacity, have quitted their country by reason of the small account that has been made of them. Magellan, in pursuance of these vindictive views, knowing that the Portuguese considered their traffic to the Spice Islands as their most important acquisition in the east, resolved with himself to instigate the court of Spain to an attempt, which, by still pushing their discoveries to the westward, would give them a right to interfere both in the property and commerce of those renowned countries; and the King of Spain approving of this project, Magellan, in the year 1519, set sail from the port of Sevil in order to carry this enterprize into execution. He had with him a considerable force, consisting of five ships and two hundred and thirty-four men, with which he stood for the coast of South America, and ranging along shore, he at length, towards the end of October 1520, had the good fortune to discover those streights which have since been denominated from him, and which opened him a passage into the South Seas. This, which was the first part of his scheme, being thus happily accomplished, he, after some stay on the { 218} coast of Peru, set sail again to the westward, with a view of falling in with the Spice Islands. In this extensive run across the Pacific Ocean, he first discovered the Ladrones or Marian Islands, and continuing on his course, he at length reached the Philippine Islands, which are the most eastern part of Asia, where, venturing on shore in an hostile manner, and skirmishing with the Indians, he was slain.