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 It was difficult to find sailors willing to sign up for such a long and dangerous voyage. Although Spanish officers would have liked the crew to be all Spaniards, in the end they had to accept men from many other countries. Over 100 sailors came from Portugal, France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Belgium, England, Ireland, Scandinavia, Africa, and India. It was the most diverse crew ever to sail on a voyage of discovery. The ships were well-stocked with fresh water, wine, olive oil, vinegar, beans, lentils, garlic, flour, rice, cheese, honey, sugar, anchovies, and sardines, as well as codfish, beef, and pork preserved in salt. They also carried live cattle and pigs that were slaughtered during the voyage to provide fresh meat. If the fleet ran out of food before reaching the Moluccas, there were chests filled with glass beads, bells, mirrors and knives to trade with native people for supplies. Chests containing expensive silks, linen and valuable iron tools were reserved for trading in the Moluccas. The armada was well-stocked with weapons: 75 cannons, 100 full suits of armor, thousands of lances and swords, hundreds of crossbows and longbows, thousands of arrows, 50 primitive rifles called arquebuses, and dozens of barrels filled with gunpowder and lead. |