READINGS IN

PHILIPPINE HISTORY
02-ACTIVITY-02
PRESENTED BY:
CENA, COLINE
ESCO, JESSICA
 “ANTONIO PIGAFETTA’S FIRST
VOYAGE AROUND THE WORLD”
BY: ANTONIO PIGAFETTA
 PART I: THE AUTHOR
• ANTONIO PIGAFETTA (Antonio Lombardo or Francisco Antonio Pigafetta)
• Antonio Pigafetta (Italian: [anˈtɔːnjo piɡaˈfetta]; c. 1491 – c. 1531) was a Venetian scholar and explorer.
He joined the expedition to the Spice Islands led by explorer Ferdinand Magellan under the flag of King
Charles I of Spain and, after Magellan's death in the Philippines, the subsequent voyage around the world.
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 returned to Spain in 1522, under the command of Juan Sebastián
Elcano, out of the approximately 240 who set out three years earlier. These men completed the first
circumnavigation of the world. Pigafetta's surviving journal is the source for much of what is known about
Magellan and Elcano's voyage.
At least one warship of the Italian Navy, a destroyer of the Navigatori class, was named after him in 1931.
ANTONIO
PIGAFETTA
 ACADEMIC CAREER
• Scholar and assistant of Magellan
• He studied Astronomy, Geography and Cartography.
• He was also an Italian seafarer and geographer.
 Published Works

Antonio Pigafetta wrote at least two books, both of which have survived:

• Relazione del primo viaggio intorno al mondo (1524-1525);

• Regole sull'arte del navigare (1524-1525) (contained in Andrea Da
Mosto, ed. (1894). Il primo viaggio intorno al globo di Antonio Pigafetta e
le sue regole sull'arte del navigare.).
 Part 2: The Background of the Antonio Pigafetta’s First Voyage around the World

• On 10 August 1519, five ships departed from Seville for what was to
become the first circumnavigation of the globe. Linked by fame to the
name of its captain, Magellan, much of the expedition is known through
the travelogue of one of the few crew members who returned to Spain,
Antonio Pigafetta. A narrative and cartographic record of the journey
(including 23 hand-drawn water colour charts) from Patagonia to
Indonesia, from the Philippines to the Cape of Good Hope, Pigafetta's The
First Voyage around the World is a classic of discovery and exploration
literature.
 Part 3: The Content of the Material

• Antonio Pigafetta heard of Magellan's planned expedition and decided to join. On September 8, 1522,
the crew of the Victoria cast anchor in the waters off of Seville, Spain, having just completed the first
circumnavigation of the world. On board was Antonio Pigafetta, who had joined the expedition and
served as an assistant to Ferdinand Magellan en route to the Molucca Islands. Upon arrival in
Philippines Pigafetta mentioned that they saw some natives approaching on boats, and when they have
made contact they saw that even the boat rowers and slaves wore gold. They were invited to the Rajas
palace, and later that day they had a feast where several native dishes were served to them on Chinese
porcelain. Antonio Pigafetta was wounded on Mactan in the Philippines, where Magellan was killed in
the Battle of Mactan in April 1521. The contribution of the First Voyage around the World in
Understanding Philippine History is the Philippines became part of the First Voyage around the World
and there was a big event that happened and that is the battle of Mactan.
 Part 4: Learning Experience

• On this topic we learned how Philippines become part of the First Voyage
around the World. And how Christianity began because of the exploration
of Antonio Pigafetta and Ferdinand Magellan. It also shows how Filipinos
served their visitors they even served their native dishes on a Chinese
porcelain.
END.
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