Why were Ferdinand Magellan's crew prisoners?

Answer 1

Planning for a Long TripSerrao's letters helped build in my mind the location of the Spice Islands, which later became the destination for my great voyage. I asked the King of Portugal to support my journey, but he refused. After that, I begged the King of Spain to support my journey. He was interested in my plan since Spain was looking for a better sea route to Asia than the Portuguese route around the southern tip of Africa. It was going to be hard to find sailors, though. None of the Spanish sailors wanted to sail with me because I was Portuguese. I would have to take anybody who signed on, whether they were good seamen or not. Parts of my crew were prisoners, released from jail in return for sailing with me.