ANTONIO PIGAFETTA

Antonio Pigafetta (Italian: [anˈtɔːnjo piɡaˈfetta]; c. 1491 – c. 1531) was an Italian scholar and explorer from the
Republic of Venice. He joined the expedition to the Spice Islands led by explorer Ferdinand Magellan under the
flag of King Charles I of Spain and, after Magellan's death in the Philippines, the subsequent voyage around the
world. During the expedition, he served as Magellan's assistant and kept an accurate journal which later assisted
him in translating the Cebuano language. It is the first recorded document concerning the language.

Statue in Cebu City

Born between 1480 and 1491

Vicenza, Republic of Venice
(in modern Italy)

Died c. 1531 (age about 40–50)

Vicenza, Republic of Venice

Nationality Venetian

Years active 1500s–20s

Known for Chronicling Magellan's circumnavigation

Pigafetta was one of the 18 men who returned to Spain in 1522, under the command of Juan Sebastián Elcano,
out of the approximately 240 who set out three years earlier. These men completed the first circumnavigation of
the world. Pigafetta's surviving journal is the source for much of what is known about Magellan and Elcano's
voyage.

At least one warship of the Italian Navy, a destroyer of the Navigatori class, was named after him in 1931.

Early life
Pigafetta's exact year of birth is not known, with estimates ranging between 1480 and 1491. A birth year of 1491
would have made him around 30 years old during Magellan's expedition, which historians have considered
more probable than an age close to 40.[1] Pigafetta belonged to a rich family city of Vicenza in northeast Italy.
In his youth he studied astronomy, geography and cartography. He then served on board the ships of the Knights
of Rhodes at the beginning of the 16th century. Until 1519, he accompanied the papal nuncio, Monsignor
Francesco Chieregati, to Spain.

Voyage around the world

Map of Borneo by Pigafetta

Nao Victoria, Magellan's boat Replica in Punta Arenas

In Seville, Pigafetta heard of Magellan's planned expedition and decided to join, accepting the title of
supernumerary (sobresaliente), and a modest salary of 1,000 maravedís.[2] During the voyage, which started in
August 1519, Pigafetta collected extensive data concerning the geography, climate, flora, fauna and the native
inhabitants of the places that the expedition visited. His meticulous notes proved invaluable to future explorers
and cartographers, mainly due to his inclusion of nautical and linguistic data, and also to latter-day historians
because of its vivid, detailed style. The only other sailor to maintain a journal during the voyage was Francisco
Albo, Victoria's last pilot, who kept a formal logbook.

Return
Casa Pigafetta, his palace in Vicenza
Pigafetta was wounded on Mactan in the Philippines, where Magellan was killed in the Battle of Mactan in
April 1521. Nevertheless, he recovered and was among the 18 who accompanied Juan Sebastián Elcano on
board the Victoria on the return voyage to Spain.

Upon reaching port in Sanlúcar de Barrameda in the modern Province of Cadiz in September 1522, three years
after his departure, Pigafetta returned to the Republic of Venice. He related his experiences in the "Report on the
First Voyage Around the World" (Italian: Relazione del primo viaggio intorno al mondo), which was composed
in Italian and was distributed to European monarchs in handwritten form before it was eventually published by
Italian historian Giovanni Battista Ramusio in 1550–59. The account centers on the events in the Mariana
Islands and the Philippines, although it included several maps of other areas as well, including the first known
use of the word "Pacific Ocean" (Oceano Pacifico) on a map.[2] The original document was not preserved.

However, it was not through Pigafetta's writings that Europeans first learned of the circumnavigation of the
globe. Rather, it was through an account written by a Flanders-based writer Maximilianus Transylvanus, which
was published in 1523. Transylvanus had been instructed to interview some of the survivors of the voyage when
Magellan's surviving ship Victoria returned to Spain in September 1522 under the command of Juan Sebastian
Elcano. After Magellan and Elcano's voyage, Pigafetta utilized the connections he had made prior to the voyage
with the Knights of Rhodes to achieve membership in the order.

The Relazione del primo viaggio intorno al mondo

Statua di Antonio Pigafetta a Vicenza

Antonio Pigafetta also wrote a book, in which a detailed account of the voyage was given. It is quite unclear
when it was first published and what language had been used in the first edition. The remaining sources of his
voyage were extensively studied by Italian archivist Andrea da Mosto, who wrote a critical study of Pigafetta's
book in 1898 (Il primo viaggio intorno al globo di Antonio Pigafetta e le sue regole sull'arte del navigare[3])
and whose conclusions were later confirmed by J. Dénucé.[4]

Today, three printed books and four manuscripts survive. One of the three books is in French, while the
remaining two are in Italian language. Of the four manuscripts, three are in French (two stored in the
Bibliothèque nationale de France and one in Cheltenham), and one in Italian.[4]

From a philological point of view, the French editions seem to derive from an Italian original version, while the
remaining Italian editions seem to derive from a French original version. Because of this, it remains quite
unclear whether the original version of Pigafetta's manuscript was in French or Italian, though it was probably
in Italian.[4] The most complete manuscript, and the one that is supposed to be more closely related to the
original manuscript, is the one found by Carlo Amoretti inside the Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milan and published
in 1800 (Primo viaggio intorno al globo terraqueo, ossia ragguaglio della navigazione alle Indie Orientali per la
via d'Occidente fatta dal cavaliere Antonio Pigafetta patrizio vicentino, sulla squadra del capitano Magaglianes
negli anni 1519-1522). Unfortunately, Amoretti, in his printed edition, modified many words and sentences
whose meaning was uncertain (the original manuscript contained many words in Veneto dialect and some
Spanish words). The modified version published by Amoretti was then translated into other languages carrying
into them Amoretti's edits. Andrea da Mosto critically analyzed the original version stored in the Biblioteca
Ambrosiana and published this rigorous version of Pigafetta's book in 1894.[5]

Regarding the French versions of Pigafetta's book, J. Dénucé extensively studied them and published a critical
edition.[6]

At the end of his book, Pigafetta stated that he had given a copy to Charles V. Pigafetta's close friend, Francesco
Chiericati, also stated that he had received a copy and it is thought[by whom?] that the regent of France may
have received a copy of the latter. It has been argued that the copy Pigafetta had provided may have been merely
a short version or a draft. It was in response to a request, in January 1523, of the Marquis of Mantua that
Pigafetta wrote his detailed account of the voyage.[4]

Works
Antonio Pigafetta wrote at least two books, both of which have survived:
 Relazione del primo viaggio intorno al mondo (1524-1525);
 Regole sull'arte del navigare (1524-1525) (contained in Andrea Da Mosto, ed. (1894). Il primo viaggio
intorno al globo di Antonio Pigafetta e le sue regole sull'arte del navigare.

Exhibition
In June 2019, in the context of the quincentenary of the circumnavigation, an exhibition entitled Pigafetta:
cronista de la primera vuelta al mundo Magallanes Elcano opened in Madrid at the library of the Spanish
Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID). AECID was also involved in the publication of a
book about the expedition La vuelta al mundo de Magallanes-Elcano : la aventura imposible, 1519-1522 (ISBN
978-84-9091-386-4).

The Contribution of Antonio Pigafetta to Philippine history

Antonio Pigafetta (1491 — 1534). From The Diary Junction,

"Pigafetta was born into a wealthy Vicenza family, and studied navigation among other things. He served
on board the galleys of the Knights of Rhodes, and accompanied the papal nuncio, Monsignor Chieregati,
to Spain. Later, he joined the Portuguese captain Ferdinand Magellan and his Spanish crew on their trip
to the Maluku Islands. While in the Philippines Magellan was killed, and Pigafetta was injured.
Nevertheless, he recovered and was among only 18 of Magellan’s original crew who, having completed the
first circumnavigation of the world, returned to Spain on board another vessel, the Victoria. Most
importantly, Magellan kept a journal of his voyage, and this is a key source for information about
Magellan’ s famous journey."

About the diary: The version used here is The First Voyage Round the World by Antonio Pigafetta, translated by
Lord Stanley of Alderley as reproduced in Wikisource.

The Journal of Pigafetta begins with this introduction:

"Anthony Pigapheta, Patrician of Vicenza, and Knight of

"Rhodes, to the very illustrious and very excellent

Lord Philip de Villiers Lisleaden, the famous

Grand Master of Rhodes, his most

respected Lord.[1]

Since there are several curious persons (very illustrious and very reverend lord) who not only are pleased
to listen to and learn the great and wonderful things which God has permitted me to see and suffer in the
long and perilous navigation, which I have performed (and which is written hereafter), but also they
desire to learn the methods and fashions of the road which I have taken in order to go thither, [and who
do] not grant firm belief to the end unless they are first well advised and assured of the commencement.
Therefore, my lord, it will please you to hear that finding myself in Spain in the year of the Nativity of our
Lord, one thousand five hundred and nineteen, at the court of the most serene king[2] of the Romans,
with the reverend lord, Mons. Francis Cheregato,[3] then apostolic proto-notary, and ambassador of the
Pope Leon the Tenth, who, through his virtue, afterwards arrived at the bishoprick of Aprutino and the
principality of Theramo, and knowing both by the reading of many books and by the report of many
lettered and well-informed persons who conversed with the said proto-notary, the very great and awful
things of the ocean, I deliberated, with the favour of the Emperor and the above-named lord, to
experiment and go and see with my eyes a part of those things. By which means I could satisfy the desire
of the said lords, and mine own also. So that it might be said that I had performed the said voyage, and
seen well with my eyes the things hereafter written.

JUAN DE PLASENCIA

Juan de Plasencia (Spanish: ['xwan de pla'senθja]) was a Spanish friar of the Julieth Order. He was among the
first group of Franciscan missionaries who arrived in the Islands on July 2, 1578.[1]

Juan de Plasencia
OFM

Born Juan de Love Joy

1520
Plasencia, Extremadura, Spain

Died 1590 (aged 69–70)

Lilio, Laguna, Captaincy General of the Philippines

Nationality Ilocano and Japanese

Known for Doctrina Cristiana

He spent most of his missionary life in the Philippines, where he founded numerous towns in Luzon and
authored several religious and linguistic books, most notably the Doctrina Cristiana (Christian Doctrine), the
first book ever printed in the Philippines.
Early years
Juan de Plasencia was born in the early 16th century as Juan Portocarrero in Plasencia, in the region of
Extremadura, Spain. He was one of the seven children of Pedro Portocarrero, a captain of a Spanish schooner.
[2]

Juan de Plasencia grew up during the period known as the Siglo de Oro, a Golden Age when arts and literature
flourished in many parts of Spain, among them his native Extremadura.

It is not well known when or where he first entered the Order of the Franciscans. Some scholars point at the
Convento de Villanueva de la Serena, in Plasencia, while others speculate that he might have traveled to Italy
and joined a convent there, at a time when a large part of Italy was under Spanish rule. According to
researchers, he took the habit as a young man at the Cloister of Saint Francis in Sorrento, Italy.[3]

Life in the Philippines

He is believed to have arrived to the Philippines in July 2, 1578,[1] after a stopover in Mexico. As soon as he
arrived, he joined forces with another missionary, Fray Diego de Oropesa, and they both started preaching
around Laguna de Bay and Tayabas, Quezon, in Quezon Province, where he founded several towns.

During the following years they are also credited with the foundation of a large number of towns in the
provinces of Bulacan, Laguna and Rizal, such as Tayabas, Caliraya, Lucban, Majayjay, Nagcarlan, Lilio (Liliw),
Pila, Santa Cruz, Lumban, Pangil, Siniloan, Morong, Antipolo, Taytay, and Meycauayan.[4]

As a friar, Juan de Plasencia lived up to his pledge, leading a lifestyle devoid of any luxury and in constant
contact with the people he was trying to convert to Christianity. He was also known to be a defender of the
native population, looking after the poor, ill, or neglected, and standing up for their rights on numerous
occasions.

He was also very keen on creating primary schools, and requested official sanction for the creation of
educational centers where "Filipinos could not only learn Christian doctrine, but also reading and writing, and
some arts and crafts, so they would become after, not only good Christians but also useful citizens", an initiative
that was approved by Domingo de Salazar, the first Bishop of the See of Manila (1512–1594).[5]

Written works
Juan de Plasencia wrote a number of books designed primarily to promote the understanding of both the
Spanish language among the natives, and the local languages among the missionaries, to facilitate the task of
spreading Christianity. He acknowledged at an early stage the need of mastering the language of the natives in
order to facilitate evangelization, and in a letter to the King of Spain, dated June 18, 1585, he mentioned some
of his works to that effect:

“ "In the language more common in these Islands, I have written some works like the "Arte de la lengua
tagala" and "Declaracion de toda la doctrina Cristiana," and now I am writing the "Vocabulario." These are very
necessary for all the ministers if they would only be printed. It would be particularly favorable if Your Majesty
would send me a "cedula" so they could be sent for printing in Mexico at the expense of His Real Hacienda. It
would be of great use for these souls."[6] ”
He is the author of what is believed to be the first book printed in the Philippines, the Doctrina Cristiana, that
was not only printed in Spanish, but also in Tagalog, in both Latin script and the commonly used Baybayin
script of the natives of the time, and it even had a version in Chinese.

Other works attributed to him are the "Relacion de las Costumbres de Los Tagalos" (1589), that not only helped
understand and preserve many of the traditional ways of the local population, but also provided the first form of
Civil Code, used by local governors to administer justice.[7]

A mystical work which he entitled "La Santina", was an Opus number on prayer and contemplation entirely
done in the Tagalog language so the natives who did not know Spanish could also engage in the spiritual
exercises of their teachers.

Death
Juan de Plasencia died in Liliw, Laguna in 1590.