CONTENT AND

CONTEXTUAL
ANALYSIS OF
SELECTED PRIMARY
SOURCES IN PHILIPPINE
HISTORY

GEC 112-READINGS IN PHILIPPINE

HISTORY
Learning Objectives

 To familiarize oneself with the primary documents in different historical periods

of the Philippines
 To learn history through primary sources
 To properly interpret primary sources through examining the content and
context of the document
 To understand the context behind each selected document
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE FIRST
VOYAGE AROUND THE WORLD
BY MAGELLAN BY ANTONIO
PIGAFETTA
OVERVIEW (THE MAGELLAN
EXPEDITION)
 It is also known as “Magellan-delCano Circumnavigation”
 The first voyage around the world in human history. It was a Spanish expedition
that sailed from Seville in 1519 under the command of Ferdinand Magellan.
 A major breakthrough in perception of the Europeans towards world geography
 Objective: To discover this alternate path to Moluccas because of 1494’s Treaty
of Tordesillas, a decree from Pope Alexander VI that had essentially divided the
world in half between the Spanish and the Portuguese.
 Lasted for 3 years (1519-1522)
 Chronicled by Antonio Pigafetta.
FERDINAND MAGELLAN

Portuguese explorer who sailed, under Spain, to reach

Moluccas without crossing Portuguese territory.
Proposed route to Moluccas by sailing west and
through an Atlantic passage to the Pacific could be
found.
Discovered Philippines (named it Archipelago of St.
Lazarus)
Introduced Christianity in the Philippines
INTRODUCTION:

 The book was taken from the chronicles of contemporary voyagers and
navigators of the sixteenth century. One of them was Italian nobleman, Antonio
Pigafetta.
 He accompanies Ferdinand Magellan in his fateful circumnavigation of the world.
 Pigafetta’s travelogue is one of the most important primary sources in the study
of the precolonial Philippines.
 His account was also a major referent to the events leading to Magellan’s arrival
in the Philippines, his encounter with local leaders, his death in the hands of
Lapu-lapu’s forces in the Battle of Mactan, and in the departure of what was left
of Magellan’s fleet from the islands.
HIGHLIGHTS:

 In Pigafetta’s account, their fleet reached to what he called the Ladrones Island or the “Islands of
the Thieves”.
 Ladrones Islands is presently known as the Marianas Islands. These are locates south-southeast
of Japan, west-southwest of Hawaii, north of New Guinea and east of Philippines.
 Ten days after they reached Ladrones Islands, they reached the isle of Zamal now Samar but
Magellan decided to land in another uninhabited island for greater security where they could
rest for a few days.
 On March 18, he recounted that nine men came to them and showed eagerness in seeing them.
Magellan welcomed them with food, drinks, and gifts.
 In turn, natives also gave them fish, palm wine (uraca), figs, two cochos, rice (umai), cocos, and
other food supplies.
HIGHLIGHTS:

 He characterized the people as “very familiar and friendly” and willingly showed
them different islands and the names of these islands.
 The fleet went to Humunu Island (Homonhon) and they found the “Watering Place
of Good Signs” –It is in this place where they found the first signs of gold in the
island. They named the island with the nearby islands as the archipelago of St.
Lazarus.
 On March 25th, they saw two ballanghai (balangay) –a long boat full of people in
Mazzava/Mazaua
 Magellan exchanged gifts of robes in Turkish fashion, red cap, and gave the people
knives and mirrors.
HIGHLIGHTS:

 After a few days, Magellan was introduced to the king’s brother who was also a king
of another island –Raia Calambu, king of Zuluan and Calagan (Butuan and Caragua).
 Pigafetta reported that they saw mines of gold, that parts of the ship was also
abundant of gold, and the house of the second king were made of gold.
 King Raia as described by Pigafetta as the most handsome of all men that he saw in
that place. He was adorned with silk and gold accessories like a golden dagger,
which he carried with him in a wooden polished sheath.
 On March 31st, which happened to be Easter Sunday, Magellan ordered the chaplain
to preside a Mass by the shore.
HIGHLIGHTS:

 After the Mass, Magellan ordered that the cross be brought with nails and
crown in place.
 The Mass would go down in history as the first Mass in the Philippines, and the
cross would be the famed Magellan’s Cross still preserved at present day.
HIGHLIGHTS:

 They learned of the islands of Ceylon (Leyte). Bohol, and Zzubu (Cebu), and
intended to go there.
 Raia Calambu offered to pilot them in going to Cebu—the largest and the
richest of the islands.
 By April 7th of the same year, Magellan and his men reached the port of Cebu
and met the King. Magellan offered to be friends with them, and so the King
together with his council met in an open space, offered a bit of his blood and
demanded Magellan do the same.
HIGHLIGHTS:

 Pigafetta related how at old age, parents were no longer taken into account and
had to follow the orders of their children as the new leaders of the land.
 Magellan responded to this by saying that his faith entailed children to render
honor and obedience to their parents.
 Magellan preached about their faith further and people were reportedly convinced.
 On the 14th of April, the people gathered with the king and other principle men of
the islands.
 Magellan spoke to the king and encouraged him to be a good Christian by burning
all of the idols and worship the cross instead.
 The king of Cebu was then baptized as a Christian.
HIGHLIGHTS:

 On the 26th of April –Zula, a principal man from the island of Mata (Mactan) went to see
Magellan and asked him for a boat full of men so that he would be able to fight the chief
named Silapulapu (Lapulapu).
 Lapulapu, according to Zula, refused to obey the king nad was also preventing him from
doing so. So Magellan offered three boats instead and expressed his desire to go to
Mactan himself to fight the said chief.
 Magellan’s forces arrived in Mactan in daylight. They numbered 49 in total and the
islanders of Mactan were estimated to number 1,500. The battle began and Magellan
died in that battle.
 Magellan’s men elected Duarte Barbosa as the new captain.
 Pigafetta also told how Magellan’s slave and interpreter named Henry betrayed them and
told the king of Cebu that they intend to leave as quickly as possible
TIMELINE: (MAGELLAN’S
EXPEDITION)
 1519
 August 10: Departure from Seville
 September 20: Departure from Sanlucar de Barrameda
 December 13: Entering the bay of Rio de Janeiro
 December 27: Departure from Rio de Janeiro
TIMELINE: (MAGELLAN’S
EXPEDITION)
 1520
 January 10: Entering the Rio de la Plata
 February 27: Entering Bahia de los Patos
 March 31: Begin of the overwintering stay at Puerto San Julian
 April 1 and 2: Mutiny on Victoria, Concepcion and San Antonio; death of Louis de
Mendoza. Later execution of de Quesada, marooning of de Cartagena. Alvaro de
Mesquita becomes captain of San Antonio, Duarte Barbosa of Victoria
 End of April: Santiago sent on a mission to find the passage. The ship is caught in a
storm and wrecked. Survivors return to Puerto San Julian. Serrano becomes captain
of the Concepcion.
 July: Encounters with the Patagonian giants
TIMELINE: (MAGELLAN’S
EXPEDITION)
 August 24: Departure from Puerto San Julian
 October 11: Arriving at the Cape of the Eleven Thousand Virgins, entry to what
would be known as Strait of Magellan
 End of October: San Antonio, charged to explore Magdalen Sound, fails to
return to the fleet, instead sails back to Spain under Estavo Gomes who
imprisoned the captain de Mesquita. The ship arrives in Spain on May 21, 1521.
 November 28: The fleet leaves the strait and enters the Pacific Ocean
TIMELINE: (MAGELLAN’S
EXPEDITION)
 1521
 March 6: Guam
 March 17: Arrival at Suluan in the Philippines
 April 7: Cebu
 April 27: Death of Magellan participating in the battle of Mactan. Serrano and
Barbosa are voted co-commanders
 Homonhon Island

The battle in
Mactan
First Mass in the
Philippines
ANALYSIS OF
PIGAFETTA’S
CHRONICLES
HIGHLIGHTS:

 The chronicle of Pigafetta was one of the most cited documents by historians who
wished to study the precolonial Philippines.
 In the earliest detailed documentation, it was believed that his writings account for
the “purest” precolonial society.
 In the case of Pigafetta, the reader needs to understand that he was a chronicler
commissioned by the King od Spain to accompany and document a voyage intended
to expand the Spanish empire.
 These attributes influenced his narrative, his selection of details 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.
HIGHLIGHTS

 In reading Pigafetta’s description of the people, one has to keep in mind that he
was coming from a sixteenth century European perspective. Hence, the reader
might notice how Pigafetta, whether implicitly or explicitly, regarded the
indigenous belief systems and way of life as inferior to that of Christianity and of
the Europeans.
 His observations and assessments of the indigenous cultures employed the
European standards. Hence, when they saw the indigenous attires of the
natives, Pigafetta saw them as being naked because from the European
standpoint, they were wearing fewer clothes indeed.
HIGHLIGHTS:

 It should be understood that such observations were rooted form the context
of Pigafetta and of his era.
 Aside from this, the sixteenth century European economy was mercantilist.
Such systems measures the wealth of kingdoms based on their accumulation of
bullions or precious metals like gold and silver.
 Spices were scarce in Europe and were seen as prestige goods. In that era, Spain
and Portugal coveted the control of spice islands because it would have led to a
certain increase in wealth, influence, and power.