Life on board ships in the Age of Discovery was typically uncomfortable, unhealthy, dangerous and monotonous. Many expeditions lasted for several years, during which extended periods of time would be spent on the open ocean, where sleeping and working conditions were woeful and the daily diet dreadful. Exposure, draconic discipline, cramped conditions and the ever-present scourge of scurvy were sailors’ constant companions.
Ships were often manned by a mix of nationalities. As well as Spaniards and Portuguese, Magellan’s fleet had sailors from as far afield as Sicily, England, France and North Africa. Ships were hierarchical: crew ranged from peasant pages (boys as young as eight, who did the most menial jobs) to skilled seamen such as the pilot, boatswain, gunner, carpenter and barber, who would also operate as the ship’s…