The First Voyage around the World

What are the relevance and significant contribution of Antonio Pigafetta’s travelogue “The First Voyage around the World” as the only source of our Pre-Colonial history?

Antonio Pigafetta’s travelogue entitled “The First Voyage around the World” makes me realize how relevant and significant it is in humanity’s pre-colonial history, being it as the only source of information about the past events throughout those many years, and beyond any doubt how it became an extremely essential component for our learnings of history.

Pigafetta’s travelogue highlights one of the most remarkable explorers and sailors in history, Ferdinand Magellan. His exploration yielded definitive evidence that the earth was a sphere and the finding of a real pre-colonial civilization. Additionally, it provided an accurate geographic and ethnographic account of the world's circumnavigation. The primary source of information for many journey-related elements came from Pigafetta's narrative, Magellan's mission undoubtedly opened doors at the locations where they moved through and where people, ideas, and products came and went.

It created long-lasting commercial ties between the East and the West and brought about further interactions between different parts of the world as a result and encouraged the sharing of many kinds of experiences and encounters that led to a crucial aspect of pre-colonial history. Indeed, it has prominently and metaphorically connected the diversity of several people and cultures. Having all that being said, I believe that a person could never understand what is happening today without understanding what came before.

And so, learning about history teaches more than just historical facts or the roots of the current world. Making sense of complex events where the connection between causes and effects, as well as intentions and results, is not always clear but is what history is all about. Antonio Pigafetta presented the events in chronological order that gives readers of the past, present, and future a vivid image for them to visualize what it was like to be a part of the historical first voyage around the world.

What are the relevance and significant contribution of Antonio Pigafetta’s travelogue “The First Voyage around the World” as a Primary Source and reference in the study of Philippine History?

As a reference in the study of Philippine History and being a primary source of factual information, Antonio Pigafetta’s experience-based travelogue “The First Voyage around the World” has served as a cardinal document in our country’s predominant past. It has unraveled and tackled many salient events that have given us Filipinos the knowledge about the truth of our past. The travelogue is the only known document containing the life of Lapu-Lapu. It acted as the main source of information that helped us comprehend how early Filipinos lived.

Additionally, it talks about our ancestors' native way of life before to the arrival of the Spanish conquerors. There are claims that several "Datus" joined forces with the Europeans, which proved beyond a doubt that cultures in the Philippines with varied levels of sophistication existed before Ferdinand Magellan's expedition. Aside from that, it highlights the natives' hospitality and generosity toward the expedition team. After all, if the natives on Homonhon Island, had not given the Europeans food and water and had not supplemented the ship's rations from local sources, there might not have been a circumnavigation.

The emphasis on hospitality is a purportedly positive aspect of the Filipino national character that adds another layer to the creation of national myths that may influence the course of Philippine history in the years to come. The travelogue has aided in our understanding of past Filipino lifestyles and interactions with Magellan and his crew after their arrival in the country.

The first Visayan word vocabulary ever offered by a European is also included in it. The expansion and amelioration of the enterprises that comprised the various items, as well as any trades or collaborations, were all key variables in the itinerary and greatly benefited the many different parties who have undergone trades as globalization took place. Antonio Pigafetta’s literary creations reflect a link that opened up knowledge of the Philippines to Europe, and even today, more than 500 years later, they are constantly cited by researchers who are interested in the pre-Hispanic Philippines.