at Seville for an equal sum of money. He not only spent in fitting out this armament all the riches he had brought with him from Peru, and all the gold he could collect from his mines in Guatimala and other possessions, but he borrowed large sums of money, besides that he purchased quantities of goods on credit. To all of which was added the large sums of money he had to pay the captains of the vessels, the officers, and the troops, which amounted to 650 men; further, the purchase of horses, the best of which cost him 300 pesos a piece, and the inferior ones from 150 to 200 pesos; and lastly, the cost of a considerable store of ammunition and powder. In short, the sums of money he laid out were beyond conception. By this expedition he not only thought to render his majesty distinguished services, but he also hoped to reach China, the Moluccas, or the Spice islands, by a western passage, and either to make conquests there, or at least to open a trade between these countries and the province of which he was governor; he was therefore determined to stake both his life and the whole of his property in the enterprise.
The armament being at length fully equipped, Alvarado took the chief command himself, as captain-general, and ordered the imperial flags to be hoisted. The number of troops he had on board amounted to 650 men, including 200 horse, and after attending mass he set sail in the year 1538, but I forget in which month. He first of all shaped his course for the harbour de la Purificacion, in the province of Xalisco, where he took a further supply of water and provisions on board, besides a few additional troops.
When the viceroy received intelligence that so vast an armament had been fitted out at such a distance from Vera Cruz and Mexico, he was filled with utter astonishment. He consulted the most experienced pilots and cosmographers, and learnt from them, but particularly from his relative Villalobos, who was a very skilful geographer and navigator, that it was every way possible to reach China by sailing due west from the new world. This created a great desire in him to share the expenses of the