Mendoza was a member of
Magellan's circumnavigation of the world, the initial captain of the
Victoria. He was appointed by
Charles I of Spain on March 30, 1519 as treasurer of the navy "for the discovery of the Spices", that had the purpose of finding a route to the
Spice Islands within the limits of the Spanish demarcation to the Spice Islands. These limits had been agreed with Portugal in the
Treaty of Tordesillas of 1494, establishing a line of demarcation that divided the world between both crowns. During the expedition,
Juan de Cartagena asked Magellan to tell him the route they were following, but the Portuguese never revealed this information to the crew. This annoyed Cartagena and others. During a meeting, Magellan arrested Cartagena and replaced him with Antonio de Coca, first, and then with
Álvaro de Mezquita. On March 30th, 1520 the expedition arrived at the
San Julian Bay, where Magellan decided to rest during the winter, where he left Cartagena under the vigilance of
Gaspar de Quezada. During the winter some members of the crew started a mutiny, demanding that Magellan share the information about the route. Mendoza was one of the leaders of this riot. He was killed while leading a
mutiny against Magellan in
Patagonia, stabbed to death in the throat and head by a Magellan loyalist. ==References==