The First

Voyage Around
the World
By Antonio Pigafetta
 Wh a t w e ' l l d i s c u s s
c kg Ba round of the
ro u n d of t ion a n d Document
Backg Conten t Pre se n ta
the A u th o Ana lysis of t h e Im p o r t a nt
r a t io n F o u n d in
Historica l Info r m
the
Document
o c u m e n t
n o f t h e D
r ib u t i o
C on t e G r a n d
a nd i n g t h
in U n d e r s t y
e H i s to r Relevanc
o f P h i li pp i n e of the
Na rra t i v e
Document
Background o f the
Author
 Antonio
Pig a f et t a
 an Italian scholar and
About the explorer
born somewhere between 1480-1491 to
a wealthy family
Author from the city of Vicenza in northeast Italy
and studied navigation, among other
things. He joined the expedition to the
Spice Islands led by Ferdinand Magellan
under King C harles I of Spain. Pigafetta
was one of the 18 of Magellan’s original
crew who, having completed the world’s
first circumnavigation, returned to Spain
onboard another vessel, the Victoria.
 Biases

Based on the document, Pigafetta wrote First Voyage Around

the World not for the Filipinos but for people in Spain. All of his
writings were primarily based on his observations from his own
judgement.
“ h ave no a r m s , fbut use sticks, which have fish
fbone a t the end. They a re p o o r fbut ingenious, and
g r e a t thieves, and f o r the sake o f t h a t we called
these Islands the Landrones Islands.”
His perspective to the Filipinos and their culture - when they reached
the Landrones Islands, now known as Mariana Island, Antonio Pigafetta
recounted and described the Filipino as poor, ingenious and thieves,
merely to their appearance.
Religion In Antonio Pigafetta's document is biased towards Christian beliefs. It was very
clear in his journal when Magellan ordered the people of Zulu to burn all of their idols
and worship the cross instead. The natives who refused to burn the idols were called
“the heathen” which entails to classify people by their religions and beliefs.
Ba c kg r o und
o f the
Document
The document “First Voyage Around the World” was one of the accounts written by
Antonio Pigafetta in his narrative and cartographic record journal “Chronicles of
Magellan Expedition”. This was written by Pigafetta when he was onboard way
back 1525 in one of the five ships that were first to circumnavigate the world
during an expedition.
The reason Pigafetta wrote the document
is to discover the world. In order to
document the expedition, he joined the
trip and served as Magellan's assistant.
He wants to create a geographic map in order to show
Magellan that the globe is round.
Content Presentation and Analysis
o f the Important Historical
Information Found in the
Document
 THE 5 SHIPS
01 02 03

Santiago San Antonio Concepion

• Crew: 32
• Under the command of Juan
Serrano
• Smallest of the 5 ship’s
• Called as a “caravel”
• First ship that has been lost
• Crew: 60
• Under the command of Juan De
Cartagena
• Soon led by Alvarado De
Mesquita
• Largest in the fleet
• Second ship that has been lost
• Crew: 43
• Under the command of
Gaspar de Quesada
• Captain was executed
because of mutiny burned
• Third ship that has been
lost
 04 05

Trinidad
• Crew: 55
• Under the command of
Ferdinand Magellan
• The Flagship
• Was attacked by Portuguese
ship
• Left shipwrecked
• Fourth ship that has been lost
Victoria
• Crew: 43
• Under the command of Luiz
Mendoza; soon led by Juan
Sebastian Elcano
• Antonio Pigafetta on board
• First ship circumnavigated the
world
• Only ship to complete the voyage
or returned to Spain
 March 16, 1521

Magellan and his crew arrived in the island of

Zamal (Samar) or what they called as
Acquada da
March 18, 1521

"They exhifbited g r e a t signs o f pleasure a t

seeing us."
-Antonio
Pigafetta

Filipinos welcomed them warmly and hospitable to them.

 Mar ch 31,
1521

The first mass in the country and Eastern day

happened. Magellan succeeded on his plan, so
Filipinos embraced C hristianity and threw away
Apr il 7,
1521 They went to Zubu (C ebu) but
they were not immediately
welcomed.
They were asked to pay tribute,
but they refused so Magellan
and the King of Zubu negotiated
and shared a drop of their
blood as a sign of friendship.
 Apr il 15,
A 1521
mass was held with Rajah Humabon
There were 800 souls that were
baptized.
Pigaffeta showed the queen an image of our Lady, a very beautiful
wooden child Jesus, and a cross. The queen asked for the little Jesus
keep in place and this image of child Jesus is now known as the Sto.
Nino found in C ebu.
Their plan in the Zubu worked because they influenced the faith of
people.
April 26,
1521 Cilapulapu refused to obey the King of
Spain. Magellan was not pleased
since they went to Matan to garner
food.
They did not wish to fight but sent a
message to the natives that if they
would obey the King of Spain,
recognize the Christianity, and pay
them a tribute, they would be their
friend, if they wished otherwised,they
should wait to see how their lances
 Apr il 27,
1521

Magellan was killed by a poisoned arrow and died in

the
Philippines.
 It proved that there were already civilizations
and political systems, even before they came
in the Philippines.
Magellan and his crew were the people
who converted some of Filipinos to
C hristianity.
Filipinos are already hospitable to the visitors
even before and they are rich in resources.
In other hand, some Filipinos were ready to shed
their blood and refuse to believe other religion to
preserve
Cont r ifbut ion of t he Document in
Under st anding t he Gr and
Nar r at ive of Philippine Hist or y
Pr e-
Colonial
Philippines
It elaborated the lifestyle during
pre-colonial period , the
document is proof of the richness,
governance, and independence in
the Philippines and described
what the local islanders wore,
ate, how they communicated,
and how they lived.
Magellan's crew were also the ones responsible for the first Mass in the
Philippine Islands. The first documented Catholic Mass in the Philippines
was held on March 31, 1521, Easter Sunday.
Sinulog

Festiva
The Sinulog Festival which is
l called as Santo Nino
also
Festival, is a lively celebration
that lasts for 9 days in C ebu in
honour of the miraculous image
of the Santo Nino. It is also
popular for its street parties and
parades.
 The First Voyage Around the World enriched
Philippine historiography for the reason that it
contains essential details about the conditions of
the Visayan Islands in the 16th century.
Because of this, textbooks used this document
as its historical information source about the
beginning of C hristianity in the Philippines.
Relevance of
t he
Document
 Pigafetta wrote documents and stated all the scenario
and happenings back then according to his perspective,
in an effort to learn more about the world and to impart
that knowledge to others
What happened in the past is a treasure in the
present.
His journal is also a vital piece not only of
Philippine history, but also of World history.
Any
questions?