Excerpts of the

First Voyage
Around the World
by Magellan by
Antonio Pigafetta

Content and Contextual Analysis of Selected Primary Sources

 Objectives
• Analyze the content, context, and perspective of the
document;
• Discuss Magellan-Elcano expedition and experience
based on the journal; and
• Explain the importance of Pigafetta’s account on the
study of Philippine history
 A. Historical Context

• The chronicle of Pigafetta was one of the

most cited documents by historians who
wished to study the precolonial Philippines.
• It was believed that Pigafetta’s writings
account for the “purest” precolonial society
A. Historical Context

• The chronicle of Pigafetta

was regarded as one of
the most reliable written
accounts for a period that
had previously been
unchronicled and
undocumented.
 A. Historical Context

• One of the benefits that the Europeans gained from

the CRUSADES was the discovery of some products
that were not available in their home country.

porcelain, silk, incense, herbs, perfumes, spices,

fabrics, carpets, and other oriental products
 Crusades were military expeditions, beginning in the late 11th
century, organized by western European Christians in response to
centuries of Muslim wars of expansion.

Their objectives were to:

 check the spread of Islam,
 retake control of the Holy Land in the eastern
Mediterranean,
 conquer pagan areas, and
 recapture formerly Christian territories; they were seen by
many of their participants as a means of redemption
and expiation for sins.
 A. Historical Context

• most expensive and in-

demand commodity
among Europeans
because of their
• Since spices is a very lucrative
numerous uses (food
commodity, many merchants
preservation, flavor
aspired to monopolize their
enhancement, medicine)
supply and distribution in the
European market.
 A. Historical Context

• Asian goods reached

Europe either via the

Silk Road or the

Arabian Italian trade
route.
A. Historical Context
 • He was a central figure in the early
days of the Portuguese Empire.

• He was also the central figure for the

15th century European maritime
discovery and expansion..

Birth: March 4, 1394

Death: Nov. 13, 1460

He put up a maritime school that trained sailors
who would later discover an EASTERN SEA ROUTE
going to the Spice Islands (Moluccas Islands) and
other islands in Southeast Asia via the Atlantic
Ocean and Indian Ocean.

This route enabled them to trade

directly with the producers of spices
and other Oriental goods.
The numerous economic benefits it gave to Portugal
made other monarchs envious and prompted them to
search for a new trade route to Asia.

This led to the discovery of many territories previously

unknown to Europeans, though inhabited already and
known to other races.
• The marriage of Queen
Isabella of Castile and King
Ferdinand II of Aragon
(1469) coupled with the
victory of the Catholic
monarchs over the Moors in
the Battle of Granada
(1492) resulted in the rise of
Spain as a world power.
 SPAIN
With domestic
problems under control,
Spain started to explore
their economic options
outside the Iberian
Peninsula.
• He was an explorer from
Portugal who organized the
Spanish expedition to the
East Indies from 1519 to
1522.

• It became the first

circumnavigation on Earth,
completed by Juan Sebastian
Elcano.
• The Magellan-Elcano expedition left the port of
Sanlucar de Barrameda in Seville on August 20, 1519
with around 270 men of different nationalities.

• Main objective: search for new maritime path to Spice

Islands that would not violate Spain’s treaty with
Portugal.
• Along the way, the expedition suffered natural and man-made
challenges and out of the five ships that left Spain, only three
reached Philippines.

• FIVE SHIPS: San Antonio Santiago

Victoria Concepcion

Trinidad
• The first couple of weeks of their stay in the Philippines were marked with
hospitality and cordial exchanges of goods.

• The local inhabitants traded with them and some were even converted to
Christianity.

• Lapu-lapu, the chieftain of Mactan, refused to trade with the Spaniards and
when Magellan learned of this, he waged war with him.
• Despite their superiority in term of arms and
training, the Spaniards lost the battle and one of
the casualties was Magellan himself.

• When the survivors went back to Cebu, they were

treacherously attacked by their former allies. This
prompted them to leave the island.
• By that time, their number was just enough to man two ships, the Victoria (now under the
command of Juan Sebastian Elcano) and Trinidad.

• The expedition finally reached the Spice Islands and managed to purchase a large amount of
spices before leaving.

• Unfortunately, the Trinidad and her crew were captured by the Portuguese on their journey
back.
B. About the Author
• He was born around 1490 in the town
of Vicenza, Venice, Italy.

• He was the eldest son of Giovanni

Pigafetta to second wife Angela Zoga.

• He studied astronomy, geography. and

cartography and during his younger
years worked in the ships owned by
the Knights of Rhodes. (1941 – c.1534)
• From Seville, Pigafetta reported to his Majesty King Carlos V and gave him a
handwritten account of what happened to them during the journey before
returning to his native Italy.

• Very little is known as to what happened to him during the latter part of his life
except on some accounts that he joined the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem in
its battle against the Turks.

• He died sometime in 1534.

C. About the Book
• Unfortunately, he was unable to find a
financier who would pay the deposit
required by the printer because by that
time, the accounts of Maximilianus
Transylvanus and Peter Martyr were
already out and the interest on
Magellan expedition had died down.
• Sometime 1536, a condensed version of
his manuscript was published in Venice by
Jacques Fabre.
• The original journal of Pigafetta did not
survive time.

• What was handed down to us are copies of

the manuscript that were never printed in
his lifetime.
C. About the Book
D. Magellan’s Voyage Around the World
“
RELEVANCE
”
 Reference
What is Pigafetta’s chronicle? https://tipsfolder.com/pigafettas-chronicle-
4baab6bceae811bd00d93e5720a109ee/#:~:text=Pigafetta%E2%80%99s%
20chronicle%20was%20one%20of%20the%20most%20widely,and%20und
ocumented.%20What%20is%20Pigafetta%E2%80%99s%20account%20of
%20this%3F
https://www.britannica.com/event/Crusades
• Image credit
https://www.ancient-origins.net/sites/default/files/field/image/Magellan.jpg