Magellan Killed

Ferdinand Magellan ordered three boats to be equipped with a matter of fifty or sixty men, and went against the said place, which was on April 28th in the morning; there they found many people, who might well be as many as three thousand or four thousand men, who fought with such will that the said Ferdinand Magellan was killed there, with six of his men, in the year 1521.

Continuing Magellan’s Voyage Around the World,
our selection from First Voyage Around the World by Joan Bautista and by Antonio Pigafetta published in 1874. For works benefiting from the latest research see the “More information” section at the bottom of these pages.  The selection is presented in a series of installments for 5 minute daily reading.

Previously in Magellan’s Voyage Around the World.

Time: 1519 – 1522
Place: Philippines

While they were thus anchored at this island there came to them two paraos, and brought them fowls and cocoanuts, and told them they had already seen there other men like them, from which they presumed that these might be Lequios or Mogores, a nation of people who have this name, or Chiis; and thence they set sail, and navigated farther on among many islands, to which they gave the name of Valley without Peril, and also St. Lazarus; and they ran on to another island twenty leagues from that from which they sailed, which is in 10°, and came to anchor at another island, which is named Macangor, which is in 9°; and in this island they were very well received, and they placed a cross in it. This King conducted them thence a matter of thirty leagues to another island, named Cabo, which is in 10°, and in this island Ferdinand Magellan did what he pleased with the consent of the country, and in one day eight hundred people became Christian, on which account Ferdinand Magellan desired that the other kings, neighbors to this one, should become subject to this one, who had become Christian; and these did not choose to yield to such obedience. Ferdinand Magellan, seeing that, got ready one night with his boats, and burned the villages of those who would not yield the said obedience; and a matter of ten or twelve days after this was done he sent to a village about half a league from that which he had burned, which is named Matam, and which is also an island, and ordered them to send him at once three goats, three pigs, three loads of rice, and three loads of millet for provisions for the ship. They replied that, of each article which he sent to ask them three of, they would send him by twos, and if he was satisfied with this they would at once comply; if not, it might be as he pleased, but that they would not give it. Because they did not choose to grant what he demanded of them, Ferdinand Magellan ordered three boats to be equipped with a matter of fifty or sixty men, and went against the said place, which was on April 28th in the morning; there they found many people, who might well be as many as three thousand or four thousand men, who fought with such will that the said Ferdinand Magellan was killed there, with six of his men, in the year 1521.

When Ferdinand Magellan was dead the Christians got back to the ships, where they thought fit to make two captains and governors whom they should obey; and, having done this, they took counsel (and decided) that the captains should go ashore where the people had turned Christians, to ask for pilots to take them to Borneo, and this was on May 1st of the said year. When the two captains went, being agreed upon what had been said, the same people of the country who had become Christians armed themselves against them, and killed the two captains and twenty-six gentlemen; and the other people who remained got back to the boats and returned to the ships, and, finding themselves again without captains, they agreed, inasmuch as the principal persons were killed, that one Joan Lopez, who was the chief treasurer, should be captain-major of the fleet, and the chief constable of the fleet should be captain of one of the ships. He was named Gonzalo Vas Despinosa.

Having done this, they set sail, and ran about twenty-five leagues with three ships, which they still possessed; they then mustered, and found that they were altogether one hundred eight men in all these three ships, and many of them were wounded and sick, on which account they did not venture to navigate the three ships and thought it would be well to burn one of them — the one that should be most suitable for that purpose — and to take into the two ships those that remained: this they did out at sea, out of sight of any land. While they did this many paraos came to speak to them, and navigating among the islands, for in that neighborhood there are a great many. They did not understand one another, for they had no interpreter, for he had been killed with Ferdinand Magellan. Sailing farther on among islets, they came to anchor at an island which is named Carpyam, where there is gold enough, and this island is in fully 8°.

While at anchor in this port of Carpyam they had speech with the inhabitants of the island, and made peace with them, and Carvalho, who was captain-major, gave them the boat of the ship which had been burned: this island has three islets in the offing. Here they took in refreshments, and sailed farther on to the west-southwest, and fell in with another island, which is named Caram, and is in 11°; from this they went on farther to west-southwest, and fell in with a large island, and ran along the coast of this island to the northeast, and reached as far as 9°, where they went ashore one day, with the boats equipped to seek for provisions, for in the ships there was now not more than eight days’ food. On reaching shore the inhabitants would not suffer them to land, and shot at them with arrows of cane hardened in fire, so that they returned to the ships.

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