The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume 33, 1519-1522: Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the Catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth centuryPigafetta, Antonio
History
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume 33, 1519-1522: Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the Catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century
Pigafetta, Antonio
Demarcation line of Alexander VI; Missions -- Philippines; Philippines -- Discovery and exploration; Philippines -- History -- Sources
Patagonian, who is finally baptized, but who is one of those to die. In
the vast stretch from the strait to the Ladrones (first seen by them of
all Europeans), only two islands, both desert, are sighted, and those,
since they are unable to find anchorage there, are called the
“Unfortunate Isles.” Pigafetta mentions the southern constellation
Crux and the star clouds since called after Magalhães. His
geographical information, as one might expect, is not always accurate,
for he places Cipangu (Japan) in the open Pacific. Thoughts of relief
that come upon sighting various islands (which they called the Ladrones
because of the thievishness of the inhabitants) are quickly dissipated
by the hostility there encountered. So bold are these natives (whose
appearance, life, and customs, Pigafetta describes briefly), that they
even steal the ship’s boat from the stern of the “Trinidad,” thus
necessitating a raid into one of the islands, where some of the natives
are killed, and some houses burned, but the boat recovered.
On March 16, 1521, the first of the Philippines (by them called the
archipelago of San Lazaro) to be seen by Europeans, is sighted. Anchor
is cast at a small desert island called Humunu, (but which the mariners
call “The watering-place of good signs” because the first traces of
gold are found there), near Samar, where two tents are quickly set up
for the sick, whom Magalhães himself tends with solicitude. March 18,
they gain their first acquaintance with the natives, who prove
hospitable, and promise fresh provisions. These are brought on the
twenty-second of March, and the Europeans have their first sight of a
tattooed Visayan chief, who, as well as his men, is decked out in gold
ornaments. After a week’s stay, the ships again set sail, Pigafetta
almost coming to an untimely end by slipping over the side of the
vessel while fishing, but happily saved by the aid of “that fount of
mercy,” the Virgin.
March 28, anchor is cast at the island of Limasaua (Mazava), where
Enrique, the Malaccan slave of Magalhães, serves as interpreter.
Amicable relations are speedily entered into and confirmed by the
Malayan rite of blood brotherhood. The king of Limasaua, and his
brother, the king of certain districts in Mindanao, prove most helpful,
and are completely won over by a judicious presentation of gifts.
Greatly are the natives impressed by the power of the new comers, as
seen in the artillery and armor, and their astonishment is increased
when Magalhães relates his course to their islands and the discovery
of the strait.
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