Content and Contextual Analysis of Selected Primary Sources in Philippine History

CONTENT AND CONTEXTUAL
ANALYSIS OF SELECTED
PRIMARY SOURCES IN PHILIPPINE
HISTORY
bj
“First voyage Around the world by Ferdinand Magellan”
by Antonio PIgafetta
• This book was taken from

the chronicles of
contemporary voyagers
and navigators of the
sixteenth century.
• One of them was Italian
nobleman Antonio
Pigafetta, who
accompanied Ferdinand
Magellan in his fateful
“First voyage Around the world by Ferdinand
Magellan”
• Pigafetta’s work instantly became a

classic that a prominent literary men
in th West like William
Shakespeare, Michel de Montaigne,
and Giambattista Vico reffered to
the book in their interpretation of
the New World
“First voyage Around the world by Ferdinand Magellan” by Antonio PIgafetta
• Pigafetta’s travelogue is one of the most

important primary sources in the study of
the precolonial Philippines. His account
was also a major referent to the events
leading to Magellan’s arrival in the
Philippines, his encounter with local
leaders, his death in the hands of
• Lapulapu’s
Examining theforces in the Battle
document ofseveral
reveals Mactan,
and in the
insights notdeparture of character
just in the what wasof left
theof
Magellan’s
Philippines fleet
duringfrom
the the islands. period,
precolonial
but also on how the fresh eyes of the
European regard a deeply unfamiliar
terrain, environment, people, and culture.
• Locating Pigafetta’s account in the context of its writing warrants a

familiarity on the dominant frame of mind in the age of exploration, which
pervaded Europe in the fifteenth and sixteenth century.
• Students of history need to realize that primary sources used in the
subsequent written histories depart from certain perspectives.
• Thus, Pigafetta’s account was also written from the perspective of Pigafetta
himself and was a product of the context of its production.
• The First Voyage Around the World by Magellan was published after
Pigafetta returned to Italy
• For this chapter, we will focus on the

chronicles of Antonio Pigafetta as he wrote his
firsthand observation and general impression
of the Far East including their experiences in
the Visayas.
• In Pigafetta’s account, their fleet reached what
he called he Ladrones Islands or the “Islands of
the Theives”
• The Ladrones Islands is presently

known as the Marianas Islands.
These islands are located south-
southeast of Japan, west southwest
of Hawaii, north of New Guinea,
and east of Philippines .
“The people have no arms, but use
sticks, which have a fish bone at the
end. They are poor, but ingenious, and
great thieves, and for the sake of that
called these three islands the Ladrones
Islands”
• Here, he met two kings. The first king

was Raia Siagu, and the other king was
Raia Calambu, King of Zuluan and
Clagan (Butuan and Caragua)
• One day, Magellan ordered the chaplain
to preside a Mass by the shore. The two
kings heard of this plan and sent two
two
dead pics and attended the Mass.
• After the Mass, Magellan ordered

that the cross be brought with nails
and crown in place.
• The king concurred and allowed for
the cross to be planted
• This Masswould go down in history
as the First ass in the Philippines,
and the cross would be the famed
Magellan’s Cross still preserved at
present day.
• Magellan also reached the

island of Cebu where he met
and, as a sign of friendship
made a blood compact with
Raia Humabon, the king of
Cebu
• A principal man from the

island of Matan (Mactan) by
the name of Zula went to see
Magellan and asked him to
fight the chief named
Silapulapu (Lapulapu)
• Magellan agreed ad expressed
to go to Mactan himself to
fight the said chief
Analysis of Pigafetta’S Chronicle
• The chronicles of
Pigafetta was one of the
most cited documents by
historians who wished to
study to study the
precolonial Philippines.
• Moreover, being the
earliest detailed
documentation, it was
• Nevertheless, there needs to have a more nuance

reading the source within the contextual backdrop
• A student of history should recognize should
recognize biases accom[nyong the author and his
identity, loyalties, and the circumstances that was in;
and how it affected the text that he produced
• In reading Pigafetta’s description of the people, one

has to keep in mind that he was coming fro the
sixteenth century European perspective.
• It should be understood that such observations were
rooted from the context of Pigafetta and of his era.
• These context should be used and understood in
order to have a more qualified reading of Pigafetta’s
account.

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CONTENT AND CONTEXTUAL

• This book was taken from

• Pigafetta’s work instantly became a

• Pigafetta’s travelogue is one of the most

• Locating Pigafetta’s account in the context of its writing warrants a

• For this chapter, we will focus on the

• The Ladrones Islands is presently

• Here, he met two kings. The first king

• After the Mass, Magellan ordered

• Magellan also reached the

• A principal man from the

• Nevertheless, there needs to have a more nuance

• In reading Pigafetta’s description of the people, one

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