As for the master, he was in charge of governing sailors and cabin boys, helped by a counter-master. Each one in his own sphere, captain, pilot and master, effectively commanded everything that happened on board. The guardian was directly responsible for the cabin boys. The captain had a wide margin of autonomy in his command and even in disciplinary aspects. He was naturally subject to the highest authority of the armada, the Captain-General, who usually commanded the ship or galleon in which he was embarking. Captains or chief captains were almost exclusively of noble extraction, in the sixteenth century, and the assignment of positions was often a reward for services rendered in matters that had nothing to do with the sea. Hence, it was not uncommon to see the command delivered to men who were sailing for the first time, with total ignorance of the intricacies of the function. The criteria were clear, however, and unequivocally privileged social ancestry .... (life on board in the Indian career) Francisco Contente