1. Give a short background of the author.

Antonio Pigafetta was born on 1480 at Vicenza, Italy and died on 1531. He was a venetian scholar and
explorer that have recorded the first voyage around the world. Thus, he joined the expedition
commissioned by King Charles I of Spain and Captain Ferdinand Magellan. Furthermore, he also served
as Magellan’s assistant that time and was able to produce a book and map of the expedition that made
it a well-known of history.

Moreover, Pigafetta was one of the 18 men who returned to Spain and completed the
circumnavigation of the world in 1522, among the 270 men who left Seville on August 10, 1519. The first
recorded document was his journal with regards to language. Hence, he is the one who translated it in
Cebuano and became the source for the popular first voyage in the world.

2. What is the document about? Who is the intended audience of the author?

What is the document about? Who is the intended audience of the author?

The document is all about the documentation of Antonio Pigafetta with Ferdinand Magellan about their
experienced around the world. It is all about their experienced in the whole traveled from where they
are til they reached every island that mentioned in the documentation.

It is Pigafetta's way in documenting what he sees, what happened and what their experienced in their
first ever voyage with Ferdinand Magellan. The intended audience of Pigafetta in his documentary are
the people around the world. He wants us to experience what he experienced in the said voyage.

3. What circumstances could affect the credibility of the document or the author?

If the author only supports an organization's bottom line then this undermines the authors credibility.
Check for a list of sources at the end if the article. A credible author will provide the sources used in his
research. Some factors that could affect the credibility of the authors are mental condition/processes,
personal attitude and reliability. Including these factors that could affect the credibility of the author
which are the willingness to tell the truth, ability to speak the truth, trustworthiness and records of the
author.

4. Is author biased? Why or why not?

There are two categories in which we can classify a historical source. These are the written and non-
written sources in which are further divided into two types, subjective and objective. As stated in the
module, in the former, objects or testimonies are greatly influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or
opinions.

Contradictory, in an objective source, all the entities and attestations are purely based on the
representation of facts. It is not under the influence of neither personal feelings nor opinions. In light of
this, we can consider that Antonio Pigafetta's "First Voyage Around the World" is a subjective source.
"First Voyage Around the World" is a journal that contains texts and illustrations about the expedition to
the Spice Islands led by Captain-General Ferdinand Magellan.
Based on the dictionary, a journal is an object that comprises a daily record of news and events of a
personal nature, or a diary. Meaning, the context of the journal that Antonio Pigafetta wrote is under his
personal opinions and emotions. Considering the fact that he served as an assistant to Magellan, we can
say that the journal is biased toward the Captain-General.