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Rui (Ruy) Faleiro , also known as Ruy de Faleira, was a Portuguese cosmography, astrology, and astronomer who was the principal scientific organizer behind Ferdinand Magellan's circumnavigation of the world.
Magellan and Faleiro proposed an expedition to the Spice Islands repeatedly to King Manuel, but were rejected each time. Frustrated, the two decided to seek assistance from the Spanish crown instead. In October 1517, Magellan relocated to Seville, Spain, and Faleiro joined him in December.
Faleiro's brother, Francisco Faleiro, also an accomplished cosmographer, journeyed to Spain as well, and served as a 'hydrographer and nautical adviser' to the Casa de Contratación.
On 22 March 1518 King Charles of Spain approved the expedition. Magellan and Faleiro were named co-captains of the expedition.
Fragmentary sources suggest that Faleiro may have suffered from increasing mental instability as preparations for the expedition proceeded. Sebastian Alvarés, a Portuguese spy reporting to King Manuel, wrote that Faleiro was "like a man deranged in his senses". An acquaintance of Faleiro wrote that he "sleeps very little and wanders around almost out of his mind".
On 26 July 1519 King Charles, perhaps in response to Faleiro's condition, issued a royal certificate stating that Faleiro would not sail with the expedition, and would instead stay behind in Seville to prepare for another expedition to follow. The later expedition never took place, and may have been a fiction intended to preserve Faleiro's dignity. Other sources state that Faleiro chose to remain behind after performing a horoscope reading indicating that the voyage would be fatal for him.
The expedition left Seville without Faleiro on 10 August 1519. The fleet kept Faleiro's state-of-the-art navigational tools, including , astrolabes, hourglasses, and charts. Of the 24 charts taken on the voyage, six were personally created by Faleiro. The rest were created by cosmographer Nuño Garcia (seven under the supervision of Faleiro, and eleven supervised by Magellan). In his duties as the expedition's astronomer and astrologist, Faleiro was replaced by the Spanish cosmographer Andrés de San Martín.
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