Juan de Cartageña
| Juan de Cartagena | |
|---|---|
| Born | Castile |
| Died | c. 1520 Patagonia |
| Nationality | Castilian |
| Known for | Captaincy of a vessel in Magellan's Armada de Molucca, and ringleader of a mutiny in 1520 |
Juan de Cartagena (died c. 1520) was a Spanish accountant and major participant in Ferdinand Magellan’s quest to find a western sea route to the Spice Islands.
Cartagena was the nephew, or possibly the illegitimate son, of Archbishop Juan Rodríguez de Fonseca, the influential head of the Casa de Contratación which regulated trade with Spain’s American colonies.
Trained as an accountant, Cartagena had no experience as a seaman. Despite this, he used his influence with Fonseca to secure appointment as Inspector General (Veedor General) of Magellan's Armada de Molucca with authority to supervise the expedition's financial and trading operations.King Charles V of Spain also directed Cartagena to report on the expedition directly, rather than through Magellan as captain-general. This split responsibility would be a source of difficulty during the subsequent voyage.
In recognition of Cartagena's influence, and in order to please his supporters, Magellan named him captain of the largest ship of the expedition, the San Antonio, subject only to Magellan's own authority as captain-general of the fleet.
Tensions surfaced between Cartagena and Magellan as soon as the fleet departed Spain. In councils between captains, Cartagena routinely opposed Magellan's navigation decisions and refused to salute his superior when required by custom to do so. A storm delayed the fleet south of Tenerife, and food had to be rationed; Cartagena took this opportunity to publicly criticise Magellan and suggest he was not competent to command. Magellan promptly had him arrested, relieved of his command and confined aboard the Victoria for the remainder of the voyage to South America.
Cartagena remained a captive until the fleet reached Patagonia. On 1 April 1520 he secretly left the Victoria and reboarded the San Antonio, where he rallied supporters among the Spanish crew and officers in opposition to the Portuguese Magellan. In company with Concepción's captain Gaspar de Quesada, pilot Juan Sebastián Elcano and thirty Spanish crew members, Cartagena seized control of San Antonio and declared the vessel independent of Magellan's command. The officers of both Concepción and Victoria joined in the mutiny, and on 2 April 1520 a letter was sent to Magellan's flagship, the Trinidad, demanding that the captain-general acknowledge that the fleet was no longer under his command.
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