Magellan’s Expedition

 Unknown to Magellan, some

officers took into command the
 In 1505, Ferdinand Magellan
maneuvering of the three ships,
(1480-1521), a member of the
the San Antonio, the Concepcion,
nobility of Portugal sailed with a
and the Victoria. The next day,
fleet carrying the first Portuguese
Gaspar de Quesada, captain of
viceroy to the East Indies in 1506
the Concepcion, wrote to
and from there, was sent to
Magellan that he and the others
Malacca (Melaka) in the Malay
would not recognize his authority
Peninsula and the Spice markets
unless they return immediately to
of Ambon and Banda in Western
Spain. Still, Magellan refused to
Indonesia. He was promoted to
heed their petition.
the rank of captain in 1510. He
returned to Portugal in 1512.
 With the first signs of spring, the
exploratory voyage continued in
 Magellan was commissioned by
search of a route to the Southern
the Spain to find a new route to
Sea (now Pacific Ocean). A
Moluccas by sailing west.
strong typhoon had driven shore
and destroyed the smallest ship,
 September 20, 1917- Magellan
Santiago. In August, the four
left the port of San Lucar de
ships went farther south and
Barrameda, Spain
eventually, they came upon a
strait which Magellan called
Five Ships “Strait of All Saints" (now Strait
1. Trinidad of Magellan).
2. Santiago
3. Conception
4. San Antonio  The fleet reached the Southern
5. Victoria Sea, which he called Pacific
Ocean because it was calm.
Companinions
Unfortunately, Magellan had
- 250 men underestimated the ocean's size.
In the next five months, the ship
1. Fr. Pedro de Valderama (fleet
was running out of supplies.
chaplain)
Instead of biscuits, the men ate
2. Antonio Pigafetta (chronicle)
saw dust. They also started
3. Duarte Barbosa (Brother-inLaw)
4. Enriques of Mallaca (interpreter) eating leather rope guard’s even
rats. Many got sick with scurvy (a
gum disease). A number of his
men died.

 But Magellan and his men bravely
sailed on and by March 6, 1521
they had reached an island in the
Western Pacific. He called it Islas
Landrones (or Islands of Thieves,
later to be named Marianas, in
honor of Maria Ana of Austria,
Queen Regent of Spain) because
some of the native Chamorros
had stolen a boat from the
flagship. To stop the, Magellan
ordered his men to fire their
guns.
 From Landrones Islands,
Magellan's fleet went on their
voyage westward. At the dawn of
Saturday, on March 16, 1521,
they saw the towering heights of
Samar and named the island Islas
de San Lazaro, for it was the
feast day of St. Lazarus. They
stayed overnight off Suluan
Island. The following day, they
landed on the small uninhabited
islet of Humuru (Homonhon)
found at the mouth of Leyte Gulf
and built two tents for the sick.
 On the third day after their arrival
on March 18, they met nine
natives seeing from the
neighboring island of Suluan who
arrived in a boat. Seeing them as
a friendly people, Magellan gave
them red caps, mirrors, combs,
small bells, ivory, fine linen cloth,
and other trifles. In return, they
received cargo of bananas, fish,
coconuts, and palm wine.
 On Holy Thursday, March 28, the
fleet landed in Masao, Butuan,
Agusan Del Norte. (Early
historians claim that it was
Limasawa, an island in Southern
Leyte.) Rajah Kolambu was
rowed to where the Europeans
where. At first, he refused to
boards Magellan's big ship.
Finally, the rajah welcomed
Magellan and visited him aboard
his ship. He gave Magellan three
porcelain jars of rice, while
Magellan gave a red cap and a
red-and-yellow robe
 On April 7, 1521, Magellan
together with Rajah Kolambu and
the Spanish and native fleets
landed on Sugbu (now Cebu). On
the same day, Humabon made a
blood compact with Magellan
after the latter had won his trust
and friendship.
 On Sunday, April 14, 1521, a
mass on the shore was held with
Rajah Humabon and his people
attending the ceremony. After
the mass, Magellan planted a
huge wooden cross and gave
Lisabeta (renamed Queen Juana
after baptism for the mother of
King Charles I of Spain), wife of
Rajah Humabon, an image of the
child Jesus as a gift. There were
about 800 Filipinos who
participated in the mass and
underwent baptism. As for
Humabon, Magellan made him
the king's representative in Cebu
and promised to unite the local
chieftains under his authority.
Magellan likewise tried to impose
 Christianity and Spanish
sovereignty on local chieftains.
