First Voyage Around the World

Antonio Pigafetta (1491– c.1534)

• Born sometime in 1491 in Vicenza,

a town about a hundred kilometers
west of Venice, Italy.
• Eldest son of Giovanni Pigafetta to
second wife Angela Zoga.
• Studied astronomy, geography and
cartography
• worked in the ships owned by the
Knights of Rhodes.
Antonio Pigafetta (1491– c.1534)
• Well educated young man, possessing avid
curiosity of the world around him.*
• Joined the delegation of Monsignor
Francesco Chieregati when he was
assigned as Papal Nuncio to Spain in 1519.
• In the same year, he became acquainted
with the lucrative spice trade and heard
the news of the voyage to be undertaken
by Ferdinand Magellan.
Antonio Pigafetta (1491– c.1534)
• Presented his credentials to Magellan
and to the Casa de la Contratacion, the
office in charged of voyages to New
World.
• He was admitted as one of the
sobresalientes (supernumeraries)*
• Survived the challenges and catastrophes
that the expedition encountered along
the way and he even got wounded in the
Battle of Mactan.
Antonio Pigafetta (1491– c.1534)

• Returned to Spain on September 6, 1522

aboard the Victoria with Juan Sebastian
Elcano and more than a dozen more
survivors.
• Presented himself to Charles V (now Holy
Roman Emperor), a book written by his
own hand, in which were set down the
things that happened from day to day
during their voyage.
Antonio Pigafetta (1491– c.1534)
• Now known as Magellan's Voyage. A
Narrative Account of the First
Circumnavigation, a detailed tale of
exploration and exotica.
• Emperor Charles was apparently not
impressed, and Pigafetta received no
honor beyond his wages.
Antonio Pigafetta (1491– c.1534)
• On his way home he passed by Portugal
and France and shared to the people the
things he knew about Magellan’s
expedition.
• In Italy the Pope was impressed enough
to give him residence while he prepared
his manuscript for publication.
• *Joined the Knights of St. John of
Jerusalem in its battle against the Turks.
• Died sometime in 1534.
James Alexander Robertson
• Born 1873 in Corry, Pennsylvania.

• Sixth of eight children born to Canadian

parents, John McGregor Robertson and
Elizabeth Borrowman Robertson, who
became naturalized U.S. citizens after
relocating to Corry in 1866.
James Alexander Robertson
• 1923: Gained a position as professor at Stetson
University in DeLand, Florida, and lectured
there for the next ten years.

• 1935: Moved to Annapolis, Maryland as the

archivist for the Maryland State Archives' Hall
of Records.

• 1902: Robertson became involved in the

compilation of a massive multivolume work on
the history of the Philippines, initially
called The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803.
Historical Context
of the Document
Ferdinand Magellan Antonio Pigafetta

King Charles V
 Spices became the most expensive and in demand commodity among
Europeans because of their numerous uses. Originally, they used
them to preserve foods and keep them from spoiling. Later they
found out that spices have medicinal uses and may also be used for
flavoring, coloring and as food additives.

Since it was a very lucrative commodity, many merchants aspired to

monopolize its supply and distribution in the European markets.
 Asian goods reached Europe either
via the Silk Road or the Arabian-
Italian trade route. Both are
expensive and oftentimes
disrupted by wars and natural
calamities.

Since land routes were expensive and required consent of many powerful armed groups, Portugal explored
the ocean as alternative way to the Spice Islands. Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal put up a
maritime school that trained sailors who would later discover a sea route going to Southeast Asia via the
Atlantic and Indian Ocean. This route enabled them to trade directly with the producers of spices and
other oriental goods.
❖The rivalry between Spain and
Portugal in the Iberian Peninsula
was exacerbated by trade as
both were interested in exploring
and developing trade.
❖Both were located in ideal places
to start exploring Africa and to
start thinking about trying to
round Africa and find a way to
the Spice Islands in Asia.
❖The competition between Spain
and Portugal became heated
enough that the two countries
had to get the pope to divide up
the New World into parts that
would be Spanish and parts that
would be Portuguese.
❖ The Royal Crown of Spain supported the plan
of Ferdinand Magellan to go to the east by
sailing westward, a proposal that was not
supported by Portugal.
❖ Along the way the expedition suffered natural
and man-made challenges and out of the five
ships that left Spain only three reached the
Philippines.
❖ Magellan’s voyage was instrumental in
introducing Christianity in the Philippines but
it also cost his life after the Spaniards lost in
the Battle of Mactan.
❖ With only two ships, the survivors of Magellan
were able to reach the Spice Island and on
September 7, 1522, Juan Sebastian Elcano
and 17 more mighty survivors arrived in Spain
aboard the ship Victoria.
About the book…❖Antonio Pigafetta was one of the survivors who kept
a journal that became the main source about the
first encounter of the Spaniards and the Filipinos.
❖The original journal of Pigafetta did not survive in
history and what was handed down to us are copies
of the manuscript that never came out of the press
during his life time.
❖Three of them were in French and two are kept in
the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris.
❖ The third one was originally owned by the British
Collector Sir Thomas Phillipp.
❖Later, Beinecke Rare Book bought it and it is now
kept in the Manuscript Library of Yale University in
New Haven.
About the book…
❖The fourth copy was written in mixed Italian, Spanish
and Venetian language and could be found in Ambrosian
Library in Milan.
❖In 1800, Carlo Amoretti published an Italian version of it
and the following year a French version came out in
Paris.
❖Pinkerton of his part translated it to English and
published it in 1819.
❖James A. Robertson made his own English version of the
Ambrosian copy and it appeared in The Philippine
Islands.
❖This is the copy the is widely circulated in the
Philippines.
About the book…
❖ Pigafetta’s travelogue contributed immensely to the
enrichment of Philippine historiography.
❖ His writing described vividly the physical appearance,
social life, religious beliefs and cultural practices of
the people they encountered in the islands of Samar,
Leyte and Cebu.
❖ His account also contains information about the
economic activities of the local folks and the goods
they offered for trade.
❖ He got all this information through the help Enrique de
Malaccca, Magellan’s slave/interpreter.
❖ Lastly, Pigafetta gave us an eyewitness account of the
Battle of Mactan which resulted to the death of
Magellan and him getting wounded.
ANALYSIS of the Important
HISTORICAL
INFORMATION
ROMULO ‘IKIR’ LANUGAN
Introduction
All information that can be gleaned from the
account of Antonio Pigafetta in his book, “ First Voyage
Around the World” is written from the perspective of
the writer/author who is a European (Italian in
particular) and therefore a view from the outsider and
it should be understood in the context of the time.
Some descriptions of our ancestors; the way the treat
visitors, their homes, their customs and traditions,
foods, and others, are explicitly described and others
are not for these are new to the knowledge of the
colonizers. For this, one should be careful for some of
these information are described in a way that it needs
to be analyzed using both perspectives, European and
our own (i.e. words and terminologies). Furthermore,
for it is more fitting, that the “pantayong pananaw” is
employed for the presentation of the analysis.
 Personal Touch!
(Important personages cited in the document)

• Ferdinand Magellan (Portugese –

Fernao de Magalhaes) – captain-
general (leader) of the expedition
• Antonio Pigafetta (Italian) – official
chronicler of the expedition
• Raia Colambu (Raja Kulambu) – king
of Mazaua (Limasawa)
• Raia Siaui (Raja Siagu) – king of
Butuan
• Raia Humabon – king of Zubu (Cebu)
• Raia Cilapulapu and Raia Zula -
chiefs (kings) of Matan (Mactan)
Latitudes and Leagues!
(Geographical Position of the Islands)
• Zamal – three hundred leagues
from the islands of Ladroni
• Mazaua – (latitude) nine
(degrees) and two-thirds degrees
toward the Arctic Pole,
(longitude) one hundred and
sixty-two degrees from the line
of demarcation, and twenty-five
leagues from the Acquada
(Humunu-Homonhon)
• Twenty leagues from Mazaua to
Gatighan
• Fifteen leagues from Gatighan to
Zubu (Cebu)
 Of Suns, Moons and Bloods!
(Chronology of Dates)
• March 16, 1521 (dawn of Saturday) –
the Spanish colonizers arrived at Zamal
(Samar) [no need to add one day for this
is not yet covered by the International
Date Line]
• March 17, 1521 – their captain-general
desired to land at Humunu (Homonhon)
and which he named, Acquada da li buoni
Segnialli (“the Watering-place of Good Signs) and later the entire group of
island as Archepalago of St. Lazaro
• March 18, 1521 – they met and exchanged goods with our ancestor from the
island of Zuluan
• March 25, 1521 – they weight anchored and changed course toward west
southwest
• March 28, 1521, they anchored near the island of Mazaua (Limasawa) and they
met the king who came in balanghai
 Of Suns, Moons and Bloods!...
• March 29, 1521 (Holy Friday) – they
finally met the king who entered
their ship
• March 31, 1521 (Easter Sunday) –
they went ashore to say mass and
set up cross on the summit of the
mountain
• April 7, 1521 (Sunday) – they
entered the port of Zubu (Cebu)
• Monday – their notary together
with their interpreter went ashore
to met with the king of Zubu
• Tuesday – the king of Mazaua and
later the prince of Zubu went
aboard their ship
• Wednesday – they consecrated the
place and buried their two dead
crews
 Of Suns, Moons and Bloods!...
• Friday – they showed our ancestors
with different merchandise
• April 14, 1521 (Sunday) – they
baptized our ancestors from Zubu and
few from neighboring islands
• April 26, 1521 (Friday) – Raia Zula
came to seek help to fight the other
chief of Matan, Cilapulapu
• April 27, 1521 (Saturday) – the
Spaniards wave ashore in the island of
Matan and fighting commenced
between them and men of Raia
Cilapulapu and led to the death of
Magallanes
• May 1, 1521 (Wednesday) – 21
Spaniards were massacred by the
Zubuanos thus forcing the remaining
Spaniards to depart Zubu immediately
 Are We the Same?
(Descriptions of Our Ancestors)
• Seignior (king/chief)
➢ Matured (old man in some encounters)
➢ Some are bit larger than his men and the finest
looking man
➢ Some are painted (tattooed)
➢ Wore gold earrings
➢ Some have black hair and hung to shoulders
➢ Head covered with silk (kerchiefs)
➢ Wore cotton cloth all embroidered with silk
which covered him from the waist to the knees
➢ Some have spots of gold on every tooth
➢ Some are perfumed with storax and benzoin
➢ Wore armlets and other rings for the feet
➢ Wore necklace of great value
Our Ancestors…
• Others (men)
➢Naked, with cloth woven from a
bark of a tree about (cover) their
privies
➢Dark, fat and painted (tattooed)
➢Anointed with their bodies with
coconut and beneseed oil as a
protection against sun and wind
➢Some have dark hair that hung to
the waist
➢Have their penises pierced from
one side to the other near the
head with a gold or tin bolt as
large as a goose quill.
 Our Ancestors…
• Others (Women)
➢Clad in tree cloth from waist
down
➢Hair is black and reaches the
ground
➢They are as white and as large as
the Spaniards
➢Holes on their ears which are
filled with gold (earrings)
➢Constantly chewing a fruit which
they call areca which resembles
a pear, cut into four and wrapped
with betre (betel) leaves
➢Women age six upward have their
vaginas gradually opened
because of the men’s penises
The Cultural Milieu
(Customs, Traditions and more…)
➢Thanksgiving/Gratitude
• Raised clasped hands and face
towards the sky and then turned
to others
➢Friendship (casi-casi)
• A ritual of friendship wherein one
has to shed a drop of his blood
from his right arm and the other
will do the same and partake
each others’ blood
➢Marriage
• One can have many wives as they
wish but one of them is the
principal wife
Customs,Traditions and more…
• Trade
• Our ancestor have a custom that all
ships that will enter their port
should pay tribute
o Festivities
• Our ancestor are heavy drinkers
• Before the king drinks, he raised his
clasped hands towards the sky and
then towards the person he is
drinking with and the former
extends his fist of the left hand
towards the latter
• Sometimes they have a meal that
would last for six hours
Customs, Traditions and more…
• Entertainment
• Our ancestor played musical
instruments like drums,
metallic discs, gongs and
bells
• Also, our ancestors can
dance
o Religion
• Our ancestors don’t have
formal religion but they have
God which they call “Abba”
• Although, no religion they
have idols made of wood,
hollow and lack of back parts
Customs and Tradition and more…
• Food
• Our ancestors eat umay (rice),
coconut, meat and fish, and
drink uraca (arrack) – a wine
taken from palm (coconut)
• Animals and Other Produce
• Dogs, cats, swine, fowls, goats,
rice, ginger, coconuts, figs
(banana), oranges, lemons,
millet, panicum, sorgo, wax and
gold
o Dwellings
• Built up from the ground on huge
posts of wood and thatched with
fig and palm leaves
 Word Game!
(Terminologies)
• uraca (arrack) – palm wine, this
resembles tuba at present
• (h)umay – rice
• caphri – heathen
• anime – a gum of a tree wrapped
in palm or fig (banana) leaves for
lights
• baloto – small boat
• balanghai – big boat (resembles
fusta in Spanish)
• aghon – gongs (resembles bells in
Spanish)
• laghan – a large sea snails which
kills whales by eating whale’s
heart
What’s in a name?
(Christian Names given to our Ancestors)

Conversion of our Ancestors

❖Raia Humabon – Don Carlos
❖Son of Raia Humabon (prince)
– Fernando
❖Raia Culambo – Johanni
❖A Muslim - Christoforo
❖Queen (Amihan) – Johanna
❖her daughter (wife of the
Prince) - Catherina
❖Queen of Mazaua - Lisabeta
 Contribution
and
RELEVANCE
OF
PIGAFETTA’s DOCUMENT
On Geography
• The Pigafetta document gave a detailed chronicle of
the significant events of the exploration of Ferdinand
Magellan.
• It provided a description, location and distances of the
places visited thereby enhancing the knowledge of
cartography at that time.
• The chronicle contributed immensely to European
historiography because it preserved and popularized
the achievements of the Magellan-Elcano expedition.
On Economics and Trade

• There was an evidence of agricultural activities based

on their produce.
• They engaged in trade with neighboring countries such
as China.
On arts, customs, traditions and religion
• As described, Filipinos have their unique musical
instruments;
• They have arts as seen in their bodies being tattooed (in
some villages);
• Performed rituals during dining and some gatherings;
• They have a lot of burial practices;
• Worship of anitos (wooden idols) and ritual for healing of ill
persons.
 On the other hand, the document also narrated
the status (inferiority) of the Filipinos in some
ways such as;

• Warfare - weapons
• Manner of dressing
• System of writing
On Christianization

• The documents narrated the conversion of

early Filipinos into Christianity
•at present…..
textbook writers use his book as their source of
historical information every time they discuss the
beginning of Christianity in the Philippines. Their
accounts about the first mass in the Philippines, the
conversion of Rajah Humabon and his wife and the story
of the image of the Sto. Nino were mostly taken from
Pigafetta’s book.