temporary disruption to Javanese and Malay sailings to the area following the 1511 conflicts in Malacca. The visitors were recruited as military allies and their subsequent exploits were heard in the rival neighbours of Ternate and Tidore who both rushed emissaries to induce the visitors to assist. Supporting the territory of the Sultanate of Ternate, the Portuguese strongest power, Serrão served as the head of a mercenary band of Portuguese warriors under the service of the island's Sultan Bayan Sirrullah, one of two feuding powerful sultans who controlled the spice trade. They became close friends and the Sultan appointed Serrão as his personal adviser for all matters, including military (Portuguese document purport) and family issues. Having been well received by the Sultan, Francisco Serrão decided to remain there, not making any efforts to return to Malacca. Final years Francisco Serrão's letters to Ferdinand Magellan, carried to Portugal via Portuguese Malacca and describing the 'Spice Islands', helped Magellan persuade the King of Spain to finance his circumnavigation. Before they met each other, Serrão mysteriously died in Ternate in 1521, around the same time that Magellan died in the Philippines (in Mactan Island, Cebu). One theory suggests that Serrão may have been poisoned after falling victim to intrigues at the Sultan's court administered by the Sultan of Ternate himself. His family ties with João Serrão remain unclear in the historiography of Portuguese expeditions to Southeast Asia. The only written document is a list of captains' names in the fleet of Magellan's. His legacy was the trade deal he negotiated on behalf of Portugal for a monopoly on Ternate's cloves and other spices, which endured for another century. He was the first European to reach the northern Moluccas. See also Exploration of Asia History of Indonesia References General Notes Portuguese explorers Portuguese colonialism in Indonesia Portuguese expatriates in Indonesia Explorers of Indonesia Explorers of Asia Portuguese explorers of the Pacific 15th-century Portuguese people 16th-century Portuguese people 16th-century explorers Maritime history of Portugal Shipwreck survivors 15th-century births Year of birth unknown 1521 deaths