ANALYSIS OF

PIGAFETTA’S
CHRONICLE
 The chronicle of Pigafetta was one of the most cited documents
by historians who wished to study the pre-colonial Philippines. As
one of the earliest written accounts, Pigafetta was seen as a credible
source for a period, which was unchronicled and
undocumented. Moreover, being the earliest detailed documentation, it
was believed that Pigafetta's writings account for the purest" pre-
colonial society. Indeed, Pigafetta's work is of great importance in the
study and writing of Philippine history. However, there needs to be a
more nuanced reading of the source within a contextual backdrop.
Students of history should recognize certain biases accompanying the
authors and their identities, loyalties, and circumstances, and
how these affected the text that they produced.
• In the case of Pigafetta, the reader needs to
understand that he was a chronicler commissioned by
the king of Spain to accompany and document a voyage
intended to expand the Spanish empire. He was also of noble
descent who came from a wealthy family in Italy. These
attributes influenced his narrative, his selection of details to
be included in the text, his characterization of the people that
he encountered, and his interpretation and retelling of
the events. With his cartography and geography
background, Pigafetta wrote a detailed geography and
climate conditions of the places their voyage reached.
In reading Pigafetta's description of the people, one has to keep in mind that he
was coming from the 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
the Europeans. He would always remark on the nakedness of the natives or how
he was fascinated by their exotic culture. Pigafetta also noticeably emphasized
the natives mazement and ignorance of European artillery, merchandise, and
other goods. In the same way Pigafetta repeatedly mentioned the abundance of
spices like ginger and precious metals like gold. His observations on
indigenous cultures employed European standards. Hence, when they saw the
indigenous attires of the natives, Pigafetta saw them as being naked because,
from a European standpoint, they were wearing fewer clothes indeed.
Pigafetta's perspective was too narrow to realize that such attire was
appropriate for the tropical climate of the islands. The same was true for
materials that the natives used for their houses like palm and bamboo These
materials would let more air come through the house and compensate for the
hot climate in the islands.
 Such observations were rooted in the context of Pigafetta
and his era. Europe, for example, was dominated by the Holy
Roman Empire, whose loyalty and purpose was the domination
of the Catholic Church all over the world. Hence, other belief
systems different from that of Christianity were perceived to be
blasphemous and barbaric, even demonic. Aside from this, the
sixteenth century European economy was mercantilist. Such
system measures the wealth of kingdoms based on their
accumulation of bullions or precious metals like gold and
silver. It was not surprising. therefore, that Pigafetta would
always mention the abundance of gold in the islands as shown
in his description of leaders wearing gold rings and golden
daggers, and of the rich gold mines.
An empire like that of Spain would need new lands
where they could acquire more gold and wealth to
be on top of all other European nations The
obsession with spices might be odd for Filipinos
because of its ordinariness in the
Philippines, but understanding the context would
reveal that spices were scarce in Europe and hence,
were seen as prestige goods. In that era, Spain and
Portugal coveted control of the spice islands
because it would have led to a certain increase in
wealth, influence, and power. These contexts
should be used and understood to have a more
qualified reading of Pigafetta's account.
Thank You
for listening!