The story of the Philippines, for use in the schools of the Philippine Islands — John Shaqi
The story of the Philippines, for use in the schools of the Philippine IslandsKnapp, Adeline
History
The story of the Philippines, for use in the schools of the Philippine Islands
Knapp, Adeline
Philippines -- History
There they lodged a complaint against their captain and against
Magellan. They accused the latter of great cruelty, and raised much ill
feeling against him. Magellan’s wife and family were put into prison,
and if the cavalier himself had been in Spain, it would have gone hard
with him.
But Magellan was very far from Spain. With the three remaining ships he
was still sailing in search of a passage into the sea which Balboa had
discovered. On the 28th day of October, 1520, the fleet reached the
seaway now known as the Straits of Magellan, between Patagonia (pat ä
gō´nē ä) and Tierra del Fuego (tē er´rä del fwā´gō).
Hardly daring to hope that this was the passage they sought, they
entered it and sailed on. Nearly a month later, on November 26, 1520,
they passed out of the Straits and found themselves on the broad, blue
Southern Sea. This sea was so quiet, so fair and beautiful, that
Magellan at once named it the “Pacific,” or “peaceful,” Ocean.
The longed for seaway was discovered, and they were the first to sail
through it! We may be sure that the hearts of the little company were
glad. There was no more doubt; no more grumbling; no more rebellion
against their leader. They knew, at last, that he was a great captain,
and they followed him willingly across the unknown sea. They were now
full of hope for the success of their voyage. They were eager to reach
the rich spice islands which they were sure lay before them, and the
ships sailed bravely forward over the beautiful Pacific.
On March 16, 1521, they came to the Ladrone (lä drōne´) Islands. To
these Magellan gave the name Islas de las Velas (ēs läs dā läs vā´läs).
It was Miguel de Legaspi (mē gā´el dā lā gäth´pē) who, when he visited
them in 1564, called them the Ladrones. The expedition did not linger
here, however, but soon sailed away toward the southwest, where the
Spaniards hoped to find the spice islands which they sought.
They held steadily to their westward course, and in due time reached
Jomohol (hō mō hōl´), now called Malhon (mäl hōn´), in the Straits of
Suragao (sö rä gä´ō), between Samar (säm´är) and Dinegat (dē nā gät´).
Here they touched, but did not remain. They sailed on along the coast of
Mindanao (mēn dä nä´ō), instead, and early in Easter week came to the
mouth of the Butuan (bö tö än´) River.
They were nearly out of food and water by this time, so they landed to
see what supplies they could find. The chief of Butuan and his people
were at first frightened by the sight of these white strangers. The
Spaniards wore armor and carried firearms. They must have seemed strange
to those simple people, who had never before seen such men or such
weapons. The natives welcomed the strangers, and brought them fresh food
and water. They helped the Spaniards to load these on their ships, and
were in every way friendly.
[Illustration:
IN THE STRAITS OF MAGELLAN.
]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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