RHIST BA 1 – D

Blessy Grace B. Dollete BABA 1 – D

Content and Contextual Analysis: First Voyage Around the World

The First Voyage Around the World

Antonio Pigafetta was an Italian scholar and

explorer. He was the eldest son of Giovanni Pigafetta
and Angela Zoga. Pigafetta was born in 1491 in Vicenza,
a town in the west of Venice, Italy. He studied
navigation, astronomy, geography, and cartography.
Pigafetta joined the expedition to the Spice Islands led
by explorer Ferdinand Magellan under the flag of the
emperor Charles V of Spain.

1. Author's background During the expedition, he served as Magellan's

assistant and kept an accurate journal, which later
assisted him in translating the Cebuano language. It is
the first recorded document concerning the language.
Pigafetta was one of the 18 men who made the complete
trip, returning to Spain in 1522, under the command of
Juan Sebastián Elcano, out of the approximately 240
who set out three years earlier. Most importantly,
Pigafetta kept a journal of his voyage, and this is a key
source for information about Magellan’s famous journey.
The First Voyage Around the World is a book, a
primary source, written by Antonio Pigafetta during the
expedition to the Spice Islands. The document contains
2. Historical background of the document
narrative and cartographic record of the journey from
Patagonia to Indonesia, from the Philippines to the Cape
of Good Hope. Pigafetta wrote his firsthand observation
 and general impression of the places they landed during
the voyage including their experiences in Visayas. The
document revealed a detailed information about the lives
of the Filipinos during the pre – colonial period. Pigafetta
had compared and contrasted the physical appearances of
the natives to the Europeans. Other than their physique, he
also gave a comparison in terms of lifestyle, environment,
trade, government, and culture.

Pigafetta’s journal was published on 1525, three

years after Magellan’s expedition returned to Spain. The
journal was written in Italian and was entitled Il primo
viaggio intorno al globo di Antonio Pigafetta e le sue
regole sull'arte del navigare. Scholars had provided
various translations of Pigafetta’s journal but the
translation made by James Alexander Robertson was
widely used. The account written by Pigafetta had a vital
contribution to the discovery of the Philippine islands.
Although the first visit of the Europeans in the Visayas
resulted to bloodshed, their arrival paved the way for
Spanish rule, introduced Christianity to the islands, and
still lives on in the stories and cultural practices of the
Filipino people.
1. Socio – cultural Significance
3. Content Analysis: Understanding the
historical information. Based on the document, Filipinos were naked and

A. Identify and describe the customs and was only covered with cloth in their private area. Men
traditions mentioned in the document that were tasked to do the laborious work such as hunting or
have:
fishing while women stayed only at home. Early Filipinos
1. Socio-cultural significance
were pagans and did not have a religion but believed in
2. Political significance their Creator named Abba. To establish friendship, the
3. Economic significance
 leader of both groups/parties must undergo blood
compact.

2. Political significance
Even before colonizers came, the natives already
had an established political system. The highest chief of
the island/community is called the Rajah and acts like a
king. Men are tattooed and wore jewelries as a symbol of
their triumphs in war. Also, when a Rajah do not have a
son or an heir to the throne, the husband of her first
daughter will be the next king after him.

3. Economic significance
The natives knew how to trade their crops and
products. They would bring their goods to the ports of
neighboring islands in exchange for another goods or
products and is already engaging in trading and
commerce.

A. DATES
*March 16, 1521 (Sunday) – Magellan’s crew arrived in
the small island of Zamal (Samar).

B. Identify and describe the mentioned: *March 18, 1521 (Monday) – a boat with nine men on it
a. Dates was coming towards them. They exchanged food and the

b. Places men promised the captain – general to bring rice and

coconuts in four days.
c. Personalities

*March 22, 1521 (Friday) – the natives came back,

brought food and fulfilled their promise.
*March 25, 1521 (Holy Monday) – Antonio Pigafetta
slipped and fell to the sea. He survived when his left hand
happened to catch hold of the clew-garnet of the main sail,
which was dangling in the water.

*March 28, 1521 (Holy Thursday) - a small boat which

the natives call boloto with eight men in it, approaching
the flagship.

*March 29, 1521 (Holy Friday) - the captain-general sent

his slave, who acted as our interpreter, ashore in a small
boat to ask the king if he had any food to have it carried to
the ships.

*March 31, 1521 (Easter Sunday) - the captain-general

sent the priest with some men to prepare the place where
mass was to be said.

*April 7, 1521 (Sunday) – the flagship entered the port of

Zubu (Cebu).

*April 8, 1521 (Monday) - notary, together with the

interpreter, went to Zubu. The king asked if the captain
wished to become his friend, he should send him a drop of
blood from his right arm, and he himself would do the
same [to him] as a sign of the sincerest friendship.

*April 9, 1521 (Tuesday) - king of Mazaua came to the

ships with the Moro and told the captain – general that the
king of Zubu was collecting as much food as possible to
give to him, and that after dinner he would send one of his
nephews and two others of his chief men to make peace.

B. PLACES
*Three islands the islands of Ladroni – home of the
natives who robbed the flagship.

*Island Zamal [i.e. Samar] - another island which was

uninhabited and lay there in order to be more secure, and
to get water and have some rest.

*Island of Humunu; [now Homonhon] – they found two

springs there of the clearest water, we called it Acquada
da li buoni Segnialli [i.e., “the Watering-place of good
Signs"], for there were the first signs of gold which we
found in those districts.

*Archipelago of San Lazaro – islands discovered on the

Sabbath of St. Lazarus.

*Cenalo, Hiunanghan, Ibusson, and Abarien - shaped

our course toward the west southwest between four small
islands.

*Butuan and Calagan – island of Raia Colambu

*Ceylon, Zubu, and Calaghann – the ports which are

best to get food.

*Island of Mazaua - an island that is twenty-fiveleagues

from the Acquada
*Ceylon, Bohol, Canighan, Baybai, and Gatighan –
five islands in the nortwest of Mazaua

*Polo, Ticobon, and Pozon – three islands in the

westward of Gatighan.

C. PERSONALITIES
* Ferdinand Magellan - captain – general of the entire
expedition

*Antonio Pigafetta – the captain’s assistant, author of the

journal

*Raia Colambu, and Raia Siaui – king of Butuan and

Calagan.

*King of Zulu – made friends and traded with the captain

general.

*King of Mazaua – accompanied the Spaniards to their

trip to Zubu.

*King of Zubu – welcomed the Spaniards and the captain

– general to Zubu.

*Moro merchant – served as an interpreter and informed

the King of Zubu that the Spaniards conquered Calicut,
Malaca, and India Magiore.

4. Contextual Analysis:
What are the factors that could have how he described the native Filipinos. Pigafetta’s origin
influenced Antonio Pigafetta in the writing and culture influenced his narrative, his selection of details
of the document? Explain.
5. What is the relevance / contribution of
the document in Philippine history?
The main reason why Antonio Pigafetta kept a journal
during their expedition was to record the events and the
progress of their voyage. From places in the Far West up
to their experiences in the Visayas was written and
described. Pigafetta compared the early Filipinos to the
people in Europe in terms of clothing, environment,
products, and government. From there, you can say that
the author’s identity and personal biases had influenced
to be included in the text, his characterization of the people
and of the species that he encountered, and his
interpretation and retelling of the events He remarked and
emphasized that the natives were naked and were only
covered by the bark of the tree or cloth which gives an idea
that he looks down at them and thinks that they are
uncivilized.
Pigafetta’s document had been an essential record
that led to the discovery of other islands that comprises the
Philippines. Being a scholar of cartography and
geography, Pigafetta was able to give details on geography
and climate of the places that their voyage has reached. He
gave a detailed information about the purest precolonial
society which is of great importance in studying
Philippine history. Although his document was of great
importance, it paved the way for the introduction of
Christianity to the islands and the 300 years of Spanish
colonization that took a huge portion of the Philippine
history. Their arrival at the island of Zamal was the
beginning of the transition of the precolonial Filipinos to
a more civilized one. A lot of good things and bad things
 occurred during the Spanish reign, however, through his
document, we are able to gain1 knowledge about the
precolonial society and how we had a socio – political
system even before colonizers came.
The document revealed that both the natives and the
Europeans were astonished about what they witnessed
from one another. Pigafetta remarked the nakedness of the
precolonial Filipinos and how fascinated he was with
exotic culture. He emphasized the native’s amazement and
illiteracy to the European artillery, merchandise and other
6. What are the author's main arguments?
goods. He mentioned the abundance of spices and other
precious metals. He also mentioned about how coconuts
can be utilized in a lot of things and how a single tree can
provide a lot of benefit. Pigafetta emphasized that the
houses and decorations of the natives’ homes were made
of logs, palm, and bamboo.
After reading the document, I can say that even in
the 15th century, Europeans had already excelled in
various fields and had led breakthroughs and discovery.
Although Pigafetta’s description of the precolonial society
was a bit biased, he gave a detailed narration about their
lives back then. Reading this account also gave me a
knowledge that precolonial Filipinos already had an
7. Your own overall observation and established socio-political system even before colonizers
insights on the primary source.
came. I can say that they were already civilized in their
own way, however, the arrival of the Spaniards brought a
Eurocentric idea and a Western concept to them. Since the
early Filipinos had great astonishment of foreign crafts, I
think the pure Filipino customs slowly disintegrated the
moment they embraced and accepted Christianity.
Moreover, Antonio Pigafetta’s the First Voyage Around
the World has a significant value not just in Philippine
history but as well as the history of the world.