Hi everyone, this is Teacher Jules once again and welcome to another lecture video on the readings in the Philippine history. And for today, we're going to continue the part 2 of the content and contextual analysis of selected primary sources in the Philippine history. Particularly, we're going to have the first voyage around the world by Magellan written by Antonio Pigafetta.
This book was taken from the chronicles of contemporary voyagers and navigators of the 16th century. This paves the way to Pigafetta's work for it instantly became a classic that prominent literary men in the West like William Shakespeare, Michel de Montaigne, Guillaume Batista Vico referred to the book in their interpretation of the New World. Now before we proceed let us have a quick background of Antonio Pegafetta.
Antonio Pegafetta was born sometimes in the closing year of 15th century. He was an Italian raised by Giovanni Pegafetta and Angela Soga. He is the eldest of the two siblings and was a native at Vicenza, a town on west of Venice, Italy.
He studied astronomy, geography and even cartography. He used cartography, his skills in cartography in documenting his journey. He served on board the ships of the Knights of Rhodes at the beginning of the 16th century. Accompanied Ferdinand Magellan together with Juan Sebastian Elcano in the famous expedition to Molocas, which began in August 1519 and ended in September of 1522. The First War voyage around the world by Antonio Pigafetta was written on board on one of the five ships that was first circumnavigate the world during an expedition that was led by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and after his death during the voyage by Juan Sebastian Elcano.
The expedition started in 1519 and ended in Spain in 1522. This travelogue of Pigafetta is one of the most important primary sources in the study of the pre-colonial Philippines. His account was also a major referent to the event leading to Magellan's arrival in the Philippines, his encounter with the local leaders, his death in the hands of Lapu-Lapu forces in the Battle of Magtan, and in the departure of what was left of Magellan's fleet from the island. Examining the document reveals several insights not just in the character of the Philippines during the pre-colonial period, but also on how the fresh eyes of the Europeans regard a deeply unfamiliar terrain, environment, people, and culture. Students of history needs to realize that primary sources used in the subsequent written histories depart from certain perspectives.
Thus, Pegafetta's account was also written from the perspectives of Pegafetta himself and was a product of the context of its production. The first voyage around the world by Magellan was published after Pegafetta returned to Italy. In this chapter, we will focus on the chronicles of Antonio Pegafetta as he wrote his first-hand observation and general impression of the world.
of the Far East including their experiences in the Visayas. In Pegafetta's account, their fleet reached what he called the Ladrones Islands or the Islands of Thieves. Pegafetta recounted, these people have no arms but use sticks which have fishbone at the end. They are poor but ingenious and great thieves. And for the sake of that, We call this three island the Ladrones Island.
The Ladrones Islands is presently known as the Marianas Islands. These islands are located south-southeast of Japan, west-southwest of Hawaii, north of New Guinea, and east of the Philippines. The fleet went to Humunoo Island now known as the Humunhon and there they found what Pegafetta referred to as the watering place of good signs.
In this place where Pegafetta wrote that they found the first sign of gold in the island. They named the island in the nearby island as the Archipelago of Saint Lazarus. As they continued their journey on the nearby island, here they met two kings.
The first king was Raja Suyago and the other king was Raja Kalambu, king of Zuluwan and Kalagan, now known as the Butuan and Karagua. One day, Magellan ordered the chaplain to preside a mass by the shore. The two kings heard of this plan and sent two dead pigs and attended the mass. Pegapeta reported that the two kings attended the mass.
He wrote, When the offertory of the mass came, the two kings went to kiss the cross like us, but they offered nothing. And at the elevation of the body of our Lord, they were kneeling like us, and adored our Lord with joined hands. After the mass, Magellan ordered that the cross be brought with nails and crown in place.
The king concurred and allowed for the cross to be planted. This 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 in Cebu City. The king of Cebu was then baptized. baptized as Christian and Pegafetta wrote on the 26th of April a principal man from the island of Mactan by the name of Zula went to see Magellan and asked him to fight the chief named Si Lapu-Lapu or Lapu-Lapu.
Magellan agreed and expressed to go to Mactan to fight the said chief. Magellan's forces arrived in Mactan in daylight. They numbered 49 in total and the islanders of Mactan are estimated at to number 1500. The battle began.
Pegafetta recounted, Outnumbered 49 to 1500 Magellan died in that battle. Pegafetta recounted the last moments of Magellan. Whilst the Indians were thus overpowering him, several times he turned round towards us to see if we were all in safety, as though his obstinate fight had no other objects than to give opportunity for the retreat of his men.
Doctor The Chronicle of Pegafetta was one of the most cited documents by historians who wished to study the pre-colonial Philippines. Moreover, being the earliest detailed documentation, it was believed that Pegafetta's writings account for the purest pre-colonial society. In reading Pegafetta's description of the people, one has to keep in mind that he was coming from the Philippines.
the 16th century European perspective. It should be understood that such observations were rooted from the context of Pegapeta and of his era. And that was the content and contextual analysis of the first voyage around the world by Magellan by Antonio Pigafetta. Hope you learned something and thanks for watching!