First Encounter

Sources

1. First Encounter (Lecture Slides)

Age of Exploration

The need for spices to preserve food gave rise to the Age of Exploration. European rulers paid explorers to find a sea route to Asia that was safe and convenient to use. This is because they gather their spices from Asia.

Although Portuguese Prince Henry the Navigator started a navigation school and funded the first voyages to the west coast of Africa in the 1400s, sailors were afraid of sea monsters and the boiling hot water of the equator; accordingly, the progress was slow.

Bartholomew Dias and his crew was the first to sail around Africa and through the Indian Ocean to India.

Christopher Columbus convinced Spain’s King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to fund his west exploration so that he could find the shortcut to the Indies. This was because Portugal refused to finance him. On October 12, 1492, Christopher Columbus found the continent of North America and claimed it for Spain; nevertheless, he thought he had reached Asia instead of America.

Spain quickly colonized a large part of America:

• Ponce de Leon discovered Florida.
• Hernando Cortes claimed Mexico for Spain after conquering the Aztecs.
• Francisco Pizzaro demolished the Incan Empire in South America and claimed it for Spain.
• In 1565, the first permanent European settlement in the New World was established in St. Augustine.

1. Portugese Explorers
   1. Henry the Navigator (1394-1460)
   2. Bartholomew Dias (1451-1500)
   3. Vasco da Gama (1460-1503)
2. Spanish Explorers
   1. Christopher Colombus (1451-1506)
   2. Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521)

Spice Islands

Also known as the Malaku or Moluccas, the Spice Islands were a group of islands located in the north-east of Indonesia, between Celebes and New Guinea.

Ferdinand Magellan

Magellan and his crew set sail for southern Spain in 20 September 1519 with five ships—the Santiago, the San Antonio, the Conception, the Trinidad, and the Victoria. They aimed to find another route to South America after reaching it; however, they could not and, due to the lack of supplies, some of the crew rebelled (but were hanged as a result).

After a year of searching, they were finally able to find a strait—which Magellan named the Strait of Magellan. Afterward, they got stuck in an ocean, which Magellan named the Pacific Ocean, and, as such, some of the crew contracted scurvy, while other captains disobediently went back to Spain. On March 1521, they arrived in Guam and later headed for the Spice Islands.

Magellan never reached the Spice Islands because he was killed in the Philippines by natives. Only two of the ships reached the Spice islands because Magellan’s ship was burned and the other one sunk. Nonetheless, only Victoria made it back safely to Spain; Trinidad was captured by the Portuguese who had claimed the Spice Islands.

Enrique of Malacca

Enrique was a Malay native who served as Magellan’s slave-interpreter. Italian historian Antonio Pigafetta named him “Henrich” (Hispanized as Enrique). His Christian name suggests that he was captured on the feast day of St. Henry on July 13, few days before Portugal’s siege of Malacca.

Magellan Expedition

Timeline of the Expedition

Date	Events
1514	Magellan aimed to find a route to the Spice Islands but his permission to embark was rejected by the Portuguese king due to illegal trading allegations.
1518	Magellan moved to Seville, Spain and was able to capture King Charles I’s attention.
22 March 1518	King Charles I approved Magellan’s expedition. In addition, Ruy Faleiro gave him the power over the men and newly discovered lands. Profits are also divided to also include; however, he had became a Spanish subject.
10 August 1519	Departure from Seville to Sanlucar de Barrameda to prepare the ships.
20 September 1519	Magellan’s 5 ships left Sanlucar de Barammeda.
December 1519	The fleet crosses the Atlantic and arrived in Rio de Janeiro Bay.
April 1520	Santiago was sent to find the passage, but it was wrecked due to a storm.
October 1520	San Antonio sailed back and arrived in Spain on 21 May 1521
28 November 1521	The fleet left the strait and arrived at the Pacific Ocean.
06 March 1521	The fleet entered Guam and met with the Chamoro with people.
16 March 1521	Zamal (Samar) sighting. The next day they arrived at Humunu where they met with fishermen from Zuluan.
31 March 1521	The first easter sunday mass was held in the Philippines was in Limasawa.
07 April 1521	Magellan spread Christianity at Zubu, Philippines.
14 April 1521	Magellan gave the image of Sto. Nino to Rajah Humabon’s wife, Juana, after baptizing both of them.
27 April 1521	Magellan died in the Battle of Mactan, and, thus, was replaced by Duarta Barbosa.
01 May 1521	Barbosa and 27 sailors were killed at a banquet hosted by Humabon. As a result, the fleet escaped to Bohol.
02 May 1521	Joao Lopez Carvalho became the captain general of the Trinidad and Gonzalo Gomez de Espinosa became the captain of the Victoria. They sailed to Mindanao.
08 November 1521	The fleet finally arrived at the Spice Islands.
21 December 1521	The Victoria sailed towards the Cape of Good Hope.
06 April 1522	The Trinidad left the Spice Islands after being repaired; however, they came back after 5 weeks and were captured by the Portuguese. The ship was destroyed by a storm.
22 May 1522	The Victoria enters the Atlantic Ocean after passing the Cape of Good Hope.
09 July 1522	The Victoria reached Santiago, Cape Verde.
06 September 1522	The Victoria, led by Elcano, was back in Sanlucar, Spain after three years of the fleet’s departure.
08 September 1522	Victoria anchored at Seville.
09 September 1522	News of the voyage spreads throughout Europe, erupting a diplomatic conflict over the Spice Islands between Spain and Portugal.

NOTE

Even if Spain lost more than 200 men and 4 ships, the expedition was very profitable for the King and the private investors. The net worth was estimated by Tomas Mazon to be ~350,000 maravedis.

Significance

1. First circumnavigation of the world.
2. Proved that the earth is round.
3. It demonstrated a way to go to the east by sailing west.
4. Pacific Ocean was added in world map.
5. European discovery of the Philippines.
6. Introduction of Christianity in the Philippines.