Account of Pigafetta

Antonio Pigafetta was a Venetian scholar and explorer. Pigafetta, the eldest child of
Giovanni Pigafetta and Angela Zoga was born in Vicenza, Italy. Under the flag of King Charles I
of Spain, Pigafetta joined the expedition to the Spice Islands which was led by the explorer
Ferdinand Magellan and after Magellan's death in the Philippines, the subsequent voyage around
the world. He served as Magellan's assistant during the expedition and maintained an accurate
journal that later assisted him in translating the language of Cebuano. It is the first document
relating to the language recorded. In 1522, under the order of Juan Sebastián Elcano, Pigafetta
was one of the eighteen men who returned to Spain, out of the approximately two hundred forty
men who had set out three years earlier. The first circumnavigation of the planet was
accomplished by these men. The surviving journal of Pigafetta is the source for much of what is
known about the voyage of Magellan and Elcano. In 1931, at least one Italian Navy warship
which was destroyer of the Navigatori class, was named after him.
Based on the article that I read, Antonio Pigafetta's first voyage around the world was
handled on board one of the five ships that were the first to circumnavigate the world during the
expedition led by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. The expedition began in 1519
after Magellan’s death during the voyage of Joanne Sebastian Elcano and it ended in Spain in the
year 1522. Armada de Molucca, a Spanish fleet that left Spain on September 1519 was consist of
five ships namely Trinidad, San Antonio, Concepcion, Santiago, And Victoria. Trinidad, which
has a total number of crew of fifty-five whichwas under the command of Magellan. Under Juan
de Cartagenia is the San Antonio which consist of sixty crewmen. Next is the Concepcion, it is
under the command of Gaspar de Quesada and it has forty-five crews. Juan Rodriguez Serrano is
the one who is in charge of the Santiago that consist thirty- two crewmen. Lastly, the Victoria
which has forty-three crewmen under the command of Mendoza. The Santiago was a caravel,
while the others were listed as carracks. Pigafetta was on board the Victoria at the end of the
journey. Victoria was the first ship to successfully circumnavigate the world and it is the only
ship that was able to return to Spain. Pigafetta presented copies of his account to many high-
ranking figures upon his arrival in Europe, including Pope Clement VII, the mother of King
Francis I of France. His original diary was lost and the language he used in it was became
unknown but eventually, four manuscript versions survived and one of them is written in Italian
and the rest is French.
Since Ferdinand Magellan and his crew passed the International Dateline, the original
dates that Antonio Pigafetta wrote in his book for the better perspective of us Filipinos have been
added one day. A translator from Sumatra named Enrique was the slave of promoted Ferdinand
Magellan during the expedition at Malacca. On March 17, 1521, the island was currently
renamed Humonu when it arrived in Zamal season, which was now known as Homonhon. There
are several islands in that district and they are called San Lazaro Archipelago as they were
discovered on the Sabbath Day of Saint Lazarus. In Limasawa, Magellan, Rajah Kolambu, Rajah
Siagu, Spanish voyagers and other local islanders attended the first mass in the Philippines on 1 st
day of April 1521. It was on April 8, 1521 when Magellan and his men first reached the port of
Zubu and they encountered a struggle. The King of Zubu wanted to pay tribute to Magellan and
his men but Magellan declined, informing the translator that they were working for the King of
Spain and threatening him with war. With Raia Humabon and his people attending the ceremony,
a mass was held and eight hundred souls were baptized. Pigafetta presented the Queen an image
of our Lady, a very nice wooden child Jesus and a cross. This image of child Jesus is now known
as the Sto. Nino found in Cebu. The campaign was demanded by Zula to give him only one
boatload of men to battle the other leader. With their three boatloads, the captain-general agreed
to go there. At midnight of April 28, 1521, sixty men of Magellan, armed with corsets and
helmets, set out Christian King Prince some of the chief men, thirty Balanghais. The local
islander had bamboo lances and fire-hardened stakes. They shot the captain with a poisoned
arrow through his right leg, knocking his helmet off his head twice. An Indian threw a bamboo
spear into the face of the captain, but the latter immediately killed him with his lance, which she
had left in the body of the Indian. Eight of Magellan's men were killed, four Indians were killed
by mortars, and only fifteen of Lapu-Lapu’s men were killed.
As a second-year college student, the contribution and relevance of the document based
in the article and video that I have read and watched, Pigafetta was the one who considered the
best source of the customs and uses of the Filipinos in the early 16th century due to the daily
notes on the expedition he wrote about. Also, the lifestyle was established back then and it
explained what the local islanders wore, what they ate, how they talked, and how they live. His
account is so detailed that everything was documented. This book allows today's scholars and
students to understand the meaning and essence of Magellan expedition and how the whole
dispute between Europe and the Philippines began. These books are proof that the world is round
and not flat. Also, it contains such information that we do not know before like Magellan is the
one who discovered the Pacific Ocean and he proved that there was a way across to the east by
sailing west. As we grew up, we interpreted this problem clearly as the beginning of the Spanish
era and Magellan was the villain of the Philippines without explaining the background and
numerous reasons for the expedition. This book will help us understand how the Filipinos of the
past lived and how they coped when Magellan came to the Philippines with his men. Also, it will
help us in knowing how the early Filipinos lived by the account of a primary source who
witnessed it firsthand.
The account of Pigafetta made me know and understand something from the past like
some questions that struck my mind. As I read and watched the article and the video, I was able
to come up into this narrative report that made me see the Philippines before and the expedition
of Ferdinand Magellan. With the learning materials provided in our subject Readings in
Philippine History, I gained a lot of knowledge about the past. The first Filipinos were battling
and delaying the Spanish occupation for years. Also, the history on how the Filipinos became
Christians. Everything belongs in the history that is why it is a must to study about our own
history. Also, studying our past will make us more appreciate our wonderful country.