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The Philipine Islands
The Philippine Islands, 1493–1898
Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and
their peoples, their history and records of the catholic missions,
as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the
political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those
islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the
close of the nineteenth century,
Volume XXXIII, 1519–1522
Edited and annotated by Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson
with historical introduction and additional notes by Edward Gaylord
Bourne.
The Arthur H. Clark Company
Cleveland, Ohio
MCMVI
CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXXIII
Preface 11
Primo viaggio intorno al mondo (to be concluded). Antonio
Pigafetta. Italian text with English translation.
MS. ca. 1525, of events of 1519–1522 26
Notes 273
Bibliographical Data 367
ILLUSTRATIONS
Magalhães’s ship “Victoria;” photographic reproduction
of cut facing p. 102 of Henry Stevens’s Johann Schoner
(edited by C. H. Coote, London, 1888): from the copy in
Lenox Library. (Probably the ideal conception of some
early artist, and perhaps of the type of the “Victoria.”
Its source is not mentioned in the above book.) Frontispiece
Pigafetta’s Chart of the Straits of Magellan 86
Pigafetta’s Charts of the Unfortunate Isles and the Ladrones 92
Pigafetta’s Chart of the islands of Samar, etc. 102
Pigafetta’s Chart of the islands of Bohol, etc. 112
Pigafetta’s Chart of the islands of Cebú, Mactan, and Bohol 136
Pigafetta’s Charts of the islands of Panglao and Cagayan Sulu 202
Pigafetta’s Charts of the islands of Paragua and Borneo 210
Pigafetta’s Charts of the islands of Mindanao and of Jolo, etc. 230
Pigafetta’s Chart of the islands of Sarangani, etc. 238
Pigafetta’s Chart of the islands of Sanguir, etc. 242
Pigafetta’s Chart of the islands of Paghinzara, etc. 246
Pigafetta’s Chart of the islands of Ternate, etc. 250
Map showing discoveries of Magalhães; photographic facsimile
from Mappamundo (Goa, 1571) of Fernão Vas Dourado, a MS.
hydrographical atlas preserved in Archivo Nacional da Torre
do Tombo, Lisbon 270, 271
PREFACE
In this and the succeeding volume, we present various documents
(notably the Relation of Antonio Pigafetta) which could not be obtained
in season for publication in regular chronological order, and which it
has seemed advisable to insert as addenda at this point.
With the present volume is begun the publication of Antonio
Pigafetta’s relation of the first circumnavigation of the world—the
greatest single achievement in all the history of sea exploration and
discovery. Written by a participant of the expedition, Pigafetta’s
relation has a greater value than any other narrative of the voyage.
Its great value and the fact that it has never been adequately
presented to the English-speaking public have induced the editors to
insert this relation in the present series both in the original Italian
(rigidly adhering to and preserving all the peculiarities of the
original manuscript) and in English translation. This relation is
especially valuable for its descriptions of the various peoples,
countries, and products, of Oriental seas, and for its vocabularies, as
well as for its account of the first circumnavigation. From its very
nature, the relation has called for an unusual amount of annotation,
which has been drawn freely from various sources: chiefly Mosto’s
annotations in his publication of Pigafetta’s relation in Part V,
volume iii, of the Raccolta di documenti e studi, published by the
Royal Columbian Commission of the fourth centenary of the discovery of
America under the auspices of the Minister of Public Instruction (Roma,
1894); Navarrete’s Col. de viages, iv (Madrid, 1837); various
publications of the Hakluyt Society; and F. H. H. Guillemard’s Life
of Ferdinand Magellan (New York, 1891). The publication of the original
Italian and the English, page for page, renders it necessary to place
the annotations at the end of the volume instead of in footnote as
hitherto. The various charts of the Italian manuscript are all
presented in facsimile in the course of the work. In order that the
various peculiarities of the manuscript might be preserved, it has been
necessary to specially design and cast certain characters that appear
in Pigafetta’s narrative. None of these characters have been
reproduced by Mosto, who also writes out all abbreviations. Throughout
we have aimed to present the document as it exists in the Biblioteca
Ambrosiana (even to the spacing of words) with the exception that
paragraphs in the manuscript begin with a hanging indention and usually
end with a series of dots and dashes. A brief synopsis of the relation
follows.
After a brief dedication to the grand master of the Hospitaler knights
of Rhodes or Malta, as they were called later, and of which order he is
a member, Pigafetta relates that, being at Barcelona in 1519 with the
papal legate, he first hears of the expedition about to set out under
Magalhães. Being desirous of seeing the world, he gains permission to
accompany the expedition, and soon joins the fleet at Seville, whence
it is to depart. Magalhães, as a wise commander, issues his
instructions to the various commanders of the vessels ere port is left,
so that they may keep together in the unknown seas before them, and
that they may act in harmony.
Setting sail from Seville on August 10, 1519, the fleet of five small
vessels starts on its long journey amid salvos of artillery. At the
mouth of the Guadalquivir, San Lucar de Barrameda, they anchor until
September 20, when setting sail once more, they make for the Canaries,
which are reached September 26. There they reprovision and taking their
departure on October 3, coast southward along Africa amid alternating
calms and violent storms (cheered however by the welcome apparition of
St. Elmo’s fire, which promises them safety), until they cross the
line. Thereupon taking a general westerly course, the cape of St.
Augustine on the Brazilian coast is soon sighted. The fresh provisions,
so essential to sea voyages, are procured on the coast of Brazil, where
occurs the first communication with the natives, with whom wonderful
bargains are made. Those Indians, cannibals though they be, and whom
Pigafetta describes briefly (not failing to inscribe some of their
language) receive the mariners hospitably, and thinking that the latter
are come to remain among them, build them a house. But after a stay of
eighteen days, the sails are again trimmed toward the south, and
descending the coast, Magalhães anchors next at the Rio de la Plata
which had formerly proved so disastrous to Juan de Solis and his men.
Unable here to hold converse with the anthropophagous natives, who flee
at their approach, the fleet retakes its course, anchoring at two
islands where many sea-wolves and penguins are taken, and thus fresh
food obtained. The next anchorage is at the famous Bay of St. Julian
along the desolate Patagonian coast, where for five months they winter.
For two months not an individual is seen, but one day they gain their
first sight of the Patagonians, whose huge bulk strikes all with
surprise, and who are held as giants. Amicable relations are entered
into with various of these wandering Indians, and finally Magalhães,
with the taste for the wonderful that characterized his period, as
strongly, or more strongly than our own, determines to capture two of
them to take back to Spain as novelties. His ruse is successful, but an
attempt to induce the wife of one of the Indians to go to the ship
fails. Very interesting are these giants to the curious Pigafetta, and
to him is due the earliest description of their manners and customs and
the earliest specimens of their language. The two captured giants are
placed in separate vessels, but unfortunately both die ere reaching the
end of the journey, one in the deserting ship “San Antonio,” and
the other in Magalhães’s own ship, the “Trinidad.”
During the five months at that port “many things happened there.”
Shortly after entering the port, the most critical moment of all
Magalhães’s life comes, and one which he has perhaps, dreaded from
the beginning of the expedition. This is the mutiny headed by Juan de
Cartagena, captain of one of the vessels, and other malcontents, who
hate Magalhães because he is a Portuguese. The latter, however, proves
equal to the emergency, and by his prompt action and the punishments
tempered by mercy that he inflicts, quiets the trouble. João Serrão,
captain of the “Santiago” is sent to explore the coast, but is
shipwrecked, although all the crew are saved. Their rescue (not well
told by Pigafetta) is a thrilling and arduous matter, and calls into
play the endurance of men already tried by misfortune and buffetings
with Nature.
With the fleet reduced to four vessels, the mariners leave port St.
Julian and proceeding along the coast, anchor at the river of Sardines,
where stormy weather threatens a disastrous end to the expedition. A
stay of two months is made, during which the ships are enabled to lay
in a good supply of provisions, wood, and water. Before leaving that
river, the crews (for Magalhães looks after the spiritual welfare of
his men) confess and take communion. Then resuming the voyage, the
great object of the first half of the expedition is attained, namely,
the discovery of the strait, which occurs October 21, 1520. “That
strait is one hundred and ten leguas ... long, and it is one-half legua
broad, more or less.” Its discovery is due to the indomitable energy
and endurance of Magalhães, and his certain knowledge (probably
overstated by Pigafetta) of its existence. Continuing, Pigafetta
briefly narrates the passage through the strait, and the desertion of
the “San Antonio,” which returns to Spain, after putting the
captain, Alvaro de Mesquita, a relative of Magalhães, in irons; for
the pilot, a Portuguese named Esteban Gomez, is jealous of Magalhães,
as the latter’s expedition has destroyed ambitious plans of his own.
The other three ships, leaving letters and signals in the strait, in
case the “San Antonio” tries to regain them, proceeds on its way,
debouching from the strait November 28. Then begins a long voyage over
the trackless Pacific “in truth ... very pacific;” and the three
ships sail on steadily for three and two-thirds months without being
able to reprovision. To the horrors of famine are added the sufferings
of the dread scurvy. Pigafetta, whose curiosity is always alert and
active, and who remains well, diverts himself with talking to the
Patagonian, who is finally baptized, but who is one of those to die. In
the vast stretch from the strait to the Ladrones (first seen by them of
all Europeans), only two islands, both desert, are sighted, and those,
since they are unable to find anchorage there, are called the
“Unfortunate Isles.” Pigafetta mentions the southern constellation
Crux and the star clouds since called after Magalhães. His
geographical information, as one might expect, is not always accurate,
for he places Cipangu (Japan) in the open Pacific. Thoughts of relief
that come upon sighting various islands (which they called the Ladrones
because of the thievishness of the inhabitants) are quickly dissipated
by the hostility there encountered. So bold are these natives (whose
appearance, life, and customs, Pigafetta describes briefly), that they
even steal the ship’s boat from the stern of the “Trinidad,” thus
necessitating a raid into one of the islands, where some of the natives
are killed, and some houses burned, but the boat recovered.
On March 16, 1521, the first of the Philippines (by them called the
archipelago of San Lazaro) to be seen by Europeans, is sighted. Anchor
is cast at a small desert island called Humunu, (but which the mariners
call “The watering-place of good signs” because the first traces of
gold are found there), near Samar, where two tents are quickly set up
for the sick, whom Magalhães himself tends with solicitude. March 18,
they gain their first acquaintance with the natives, who prove
hospitable, and promise fresh provisions. These are brought on the
twenty-second of March, and the Europeans have their first sight of a
tattooed Visayan chief, who, as well as his men, is decked out in gold
ornaments. After a week’s stay, the ships again set sail, Pigafetta
almost coming to an untimely end by slipping over the side of the
vessel while fishing, but happily saved by the aid of “that fount of
mercy,” the Virgin.
March 28, anchor is cast at the island of Limasaua (Mazava), where
Enrique, the Malaccan slave of Magalhães, serves as interpreter.
Amicable relations are speedily entered into and confirmed by the
Malayan rite of blood brotherhood. The king of Limasaua, and his
brother, the king of certain districts in Mindanao, prove most helpful,
and are completely won over by a judicious presentation of gifts.
Greatly are the natives impressed by the power of the new comers, as
seen in the artillery and armor, and their astonishment is increased
when Magalhães relates his course to their islands and the discovery
of the strait.
On Good Friday, Pigafetta and a companion visit the natives ashore,
where they spend the night in the king’s palace, a typical Visayan
house raised aloft on supports and thatched with nipa. Here the various
ceremonies that he witnesses impress Pigafetta, and his companion, cast
in coarser mould than he, becomes intoxicated. Pigafetta, always
interested in the language of the new peoples whom he meets, writes
down certain of their words, whereat they are greatly astonished. He
records that he “ate meat on Holy Friday, for I could not help
myself.” On Easter Sunday, the natives are deeply impressed by the
mass that is celebrated ashore, and the cross which is planted in the
highest part of the island, and which they promise to adore.
The limited amount of food in Limasaua, which is used only as a place
of recreation by the two kings, who go there to visit one another and
hunt, leads Magalhães to seek a more abundant harbor. Among the places
pointed out where food is abundant is the island of Cebú, and there
Magalhães determines to go, “for so did his unhappy fate will.”
After a seven days’ stay at Limasaua, the course is laid to Cebú
under the pilotage of the king of Limasaua, who is finally taken aboard
the “Trinidad” as his vessel is unable to keep up with the
swifter-moving European vessels. Entering the port of Cebú on April 7,
amid the thunder of their guns, the settlement is thrown into
consternation, but the Malaccan being sent ashore reassures them of his
master’s good intentions, whom he proclaims to be a “captain of the
greatest king and prince in the world,” who “was going to discover
Malucho,” but hearing of the great fame of the king of Cebú, wishes
trade with him. The king of Cebú is willing to accord friendship to
the Europeans, but asks a tribute, as it is the custom for all visitors
to pay it to him. But no tribute will be paid him, asserts Enrique, and
the king, at the advice of a Moro merchant who has heard of the deeds
of the Portuguese along Malacca and the Indian coast, and confuses the
strangers with them, until undeceived by Enrique (who declares them to
be much greater than the Portuguese), expresses his willingness to make
friendship with Magalhães. With the help of the friendly king of
Limasaua, peace is made according to Malay rites, and gifts exchanged.
Magalhães, deeply religious, in common with many of his age, early
seeks to lure the natives of Cebú to holy baptism, by presenting to
them its most attractive side, and promising the king if he becomes a
Christian, a suit of armor; but they must become willing converts, and
not for the hope of gain or for fear. The peace is more firmly cemented
by the visit of Pigafetta and a companion to the king, where they
witness ceremonies similar to those of Limasaua, and where gifts are
bestowed upon the king and some others. They also visit the house of
the prince apparent, where they hear their first concert of Visayan
music and see a native dance. On the following Wednesday two of the
crew are buried ashore on consecrated ground with as much pomp as
possible.
Trading is instituted by carrying a quantity of merchandise ashore, the
safety of which is assured by the king. Those people are found to have
weights and measures for their trading; and besides their gongs, a
flute-like instrument. Their houses are entered by ladders. On Friday
begins the trading, gold being given for metals and large articles, and
food for the smaller wares. The good bargains obtained by the
Europeans, would have been materially less and the trade spoiled
forever had it not been for Magalhães’s watchfulness, for so eager
are the men at the sight of the gold, that they would have given almost
anything for it. On the following Sunday, the king and his chief men,
and the queen and many women, are baptized and given European names,
and ere the week closes all the Cebuans have become Christians, as well
as some from neighboring islands. The queen at her earnest request, is
given a small image of the Christ child, the same afterward recovered
by Legazpi, and still held in the greatest of reverence at Cebú. The
opposition of certain chiefs to the king of Cebú is satisfactorily
ended by the inducements and threats of Magalhães. The latter swears
to be faithful in his friendship with the natives, who likewise swear
allegiance to the king of Spain. However, the natives are loath to
destroy their idols, according to their promise, and Magalhães finds
them still sacrificing to them for the cure of sickness. Substituting
therefore the assurance that the new faith will work a cure, in lieu of
which he offers his head, the sick man (who is the prince’s brother
and the bravest and wisest man in the island) is miraculously cured.
Thereupon many idols are burned amid great demonstrations. Vivid
descriptions are given of the people and their customs and ceremonies,
especially those of sacrifice and mourning.
April 20, a chief from the neighboring island of Mactan sends a small
present to Magalhães, with the request to aid him with a boat load of
men against the chief Cilapulapu, who refuses allegiance to Spain.
Magalhães in his ardor, and notwithstanding the remonstrances of his
friends, leads three boat loads of men (sixty in all) to the island,
where having ordered the king of Cebú to be a witness of the battle
only, he engages the natives. Disastrous indeed does that day prove,
for beset by multitudes of foes, the Europeans are compelled to
retreat, and the retreat becomes a rout, the personal bravery of
Magalhães and a few of his closest friends only saving the men from
almost complete massacre. Recognizing the leader, the natives make
their greatest efforts against him, and finally he is killed while knee
deep in the water, but after all the others are saved. Pigafetta’s
lament is tragic and sorrowful; they “killed our mirror, our light,
our comfort, and our true guide.” Insolent in their victory, the
natives refuse to give up the body of the slain leader at the request
of the king of Cebú. The Europeans stunned by the loss of their
leader, withdraw their merchandise and guards to the ship, and make
preparations for departure. Duarte Barbosa and João de Serrão are
chosen leaders. The second act in the drama follows speedily. The slave
Enrique, enraged at a severe reprimand and threats by Barbosa,
conspires with the king of Cebú; with the result that twenty-six men,
including both of the leaders, are murdered at a banquet on May 1, to
which the king invites them. João Carvalho, deaf to the entreaties of
João Serrão, his comrade, and anxious to become leader, sails away
leaving him to his death. Pigafetta names the products of Cebú, and
gives a valuable vocabulary of Visayan words, most of which are still
in use by those people.
By mutual consent, the three vessels proceed to Bohol, where the
“Concepcion” is burned, as there are too few men left to work all
three ships; although its supplies and all else possible are
transferred to the “Victoria” and “Trinidad.” Then, cruising
along, they put in at Mindanao where Pigafetta goes ashore alone, after
the king has made blood friendship at the ships. There they hear of
Luzón, where the Chinese trade annually. Departing from Mindanao, they
anchor at Cagayan Sulu, a penal settlement for Borneo, where the
blowpipe and poisoned arrows are used, and the daggers adorned with
gold. The next anchorage is at Paragua, although before reaching that
island, the men have been tempted to abandon the ships because of
hunger. There the rice is cooked under the fire in bamboos and is
better than that cooked in earthen pots. Those people raise fighting
cocks and bet on their favorite birds. Ten leagues from Paragua is the
great island of Borneo, whither the ships next go, and anchor at the
city of Brunei, which is built over the water, and contains twenty-five
thousand fires. Hospitably received by eight chiefs who visit the
ships, they enter into relations with the Borneans. Seven men go as
ambassadors to visit the king, and bear presents to him and the chief
men. Here some of the grandeurs of an oriental court are spread before
their eyes, which Pigafetta briefly describes. The strangers are
graciously given permission to take on fresh supplies of food, water,
and wood, and to trade at pleasure. Later actions of the Borneans cause
the men of the ships to fear treachery, and forestalling any action by
that people, they attack a number of junks near them, and capture four.
Among the captives is the son of the king of Luzón, who is the chief
captain in Borneo, and whom Carvalho allows to escape, without
consulting the others, for a large sum of gold. His action in so doing
reacts on himself, for the king refuses to allow two men who were
ashore and Carvalho’s own son (born of a native woman in Brazil) to
return to the ships, and they are left behind. The Borneans and their
junks are described. They use porcelain dishes which are made from a
fine white clay that is buried under ground for fifty years in order to
refine it, and inherited from father to son. Camphor is obtained there,
and the island is so large that it can be circumnavigated by a prau
only in three months’ time.
On leaving Borneo, a number of prisoners from the captured junks are
kept, among them three women whom Carvalho ostensibly retains as
presents for the queen of Spain, but in reality for himself. Happily
escaping from the point on which one of the ships has become grounded,
and the fear of explosion from a candle which is snuffed into a barrel
of powder, the ships anchor at a point of Borneo, where for forty-two
days, the men are busied in repairing, calking, and furnishing the
vessels. The journey is resumed back toward Paragua, the governor of a
district of that island being captured on the way; with whom, however,
they enter into friendly relations. Thence the ships cruise along
between Cagayan, Joló, and Mindanao, capturing a native boat from
Maingdanao of the latter island, from the captive occupants of which
they learn news of the Moluccas. Pushing on amid stormy weather, they
anchor at the island of Sarangani, just south of Mindanao; and thence
proceed in a generally southerly direction amid many islands until the
Moluccas are reached, and they enter the harbor of Tidore on Friday,
November 8, 1521, after twenty-seven months, less two days, since their
departure from Spain.
At Tidore a warm welcome awaits them from the king, who is a powerful
astrologer and has been expecting their arrival. He promises them as
many cloves as they wish, even offering to go outside his island,
contrary to the practice of kings, to provide them the sooner; in
return for his services hoping for their aid in his designs for power
in the Moluccas, especially against the king of Ternate. There they
learn that Francisco Serrão, the great friend of Magalhães, has
perished some eight months previously from poison administered by the
king of Tidore, whom he had visited, because he had aided the king of
Ternate against Tidore. This Serrão, says Pigafetta, was the cause of
Magalhães undertaking his expedition, and he had been in the Moluccas
for ten years, for so long ago had Portugal discovered those islands.
The efforts of the Ternatans to gain the new strangers fail, for they
are already pledged to the king of Tidore. On November 12, a house is
built ashore and on the thirteenth the merchandise is carried there,
among it being that captured with the various junks at and near Borneo.
The sailors are somewhat careless of their bargains for they are in
haste to return to Spain. The king continues his kindness, and to humor
him, as he is a Mahometan, all the swine in the boats are killed. This
relation will be concluded in Vol. XXXIV.
The Editors
December, 1905.
PRIMO VIAGGIO INTORNO AL MONDO
By Antonio Pigafetta. MS. composed ca. 1525, of events of 1519–1522
Source: Our transcript is made from the original document which
exists in the Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milan, Italy.
Translation: This is made by James Alexander Robertson.
[PRIMO VIAGGIO INTORNO AL MONDO]
Antonio pigafeta patricio vicentino et Caualier de Rhodi aL JlLmo. et
Exellmo. S. philipo de villers lisleadam Jnclito grã maiſto de Rhoddj
ſignior ſuo obſeruantiſſimo.
Perche ſono molti curioſi IlLmo et exellmo. Signor che non ſolamente
ſe contentano de ſapere et Intendere li grandi et admirabillj coſe
che dio me a conceſſo de vedere et patire nela infraſcripta mia
longa et pericoloſa nauigatiõe. Ma anchora vogliono ſapere li mezi
et modi et vie che ho tenuto ad andarui, non preſtando qella Jntegra
fede aL exito ſe prima nõ anno bonna Certeza deL initio pertanto
ſapera va. Jlla. sa. che ritrouandomi neL anno de La natiuita deL
nr̃o ſaluatore mo.vc.xix in ſpagnia in la corte deL sereniſſimo Re
de romani con el ꝶdo monsor. franco chieregato alhora prot̃ho apco.
et oratore de La sta. memoria de papa Leone xo. che per ſua vertu
dapoi he acceſo aL episto di aprutino et principato de teramo. Hauendo
yo hauuto grã notiſia ꝓ molti libri letti et per diuerſe perſonne
che praticauano con sua sa. de le grande et ſtupende coſe deL mare
occeanno deliberay con bonna gratia deLa magesta Cezaria et deL
prefacto S. mio far experientia di me et andare a vedere qelle coſe
che poteſſero dare alguna ſatiſfatiōe a me medeſmo et poteſſero
parturirmi qalche nome apreſſo la poſterita hauendo Inteſo q̃
alora ſi era preparata vna armata in la cita de Siuiglia che era de
cinqʒ naue per andare a ſcoprire la Speceria nele yſolle de maluco
de la qalle era capitanio generalle ferando de magaglianes gentilhomo
portugueſe et era comre de sto. Jacobo de la ſpada piu volte cō
molte ſue laude haueua peregrato in diuerſe guize lo mare occeanno.
Mi parti cō molte letere di fauore dela cita de barſalonna doue
alhora reſideua sua mageſta et ſopa vna naue paſſay ſino amalega
onde pigliando eL Camino ꝓ tera junſi a ſiuiglia et iui eſſendo
ſtato ben circa tre meſi eſpetando que La dicta armata se poneſe in
hordine ꝓ la partita finalmente como qi de ſoto intendera v exa sa.
con feliciſſimi auſpitij in comenſiamo la nr̃a nauigatiōe Et
ꝓch̃e ne leſer mio in ytalia Quando andaua a la ſantita de papa
Clemente qella per ſua gratia amonteroſo verſo dime se dimoſtro
assai benigna et humana et diſsemi che li ſarebe grato li copiaſſe
tute qelle coſe haueua viſte et paſſate nella nauigatiōe Benche yo
ne habia hauuta pocha Como dita niente dimeno ſegondo el mio debiL
potere li ho voluto ſatiſfare. Et coſi li oferiſco in queſto mio
libreto tute le vigilie fatiqʒ et peregrinatiōe mie pregandola quando
la vachera dalle aſidue cure Rhodianne se degni tranſcorerle peril
que me potera eſere nõ pocho remunerato da. V Jll. s. a la cui bonna
graca mi donno et recomando.
Hauendo deliberato il capitanio generalle difare coſi longa
nauigatiõe ꝓ lo mare occeanno doue ſempre ſonno Jnpetuoſi venti
et fortune grandi et nõ volendo manifeſtare aniuno deli ſuoj el
viagio che voleua fare açio nõ foſſe ſmarito in penſare de fare
tanto grande et ſtupenda coſa como fece cò lo aiuto de ydio li
Capitani ſui che menaua in ſua cõpagnia lo odiauano molto nõ ſo
perche ſinon ꝓche era portugueſe et eſsi ſpagnioli. Volendo dar
fine a queſto que promiſe cõ Juramento aLo inperatore D. carlo Re de
ſpagnia açio le naue nele fortune et nela nocte non se separeſſeno
vna de lalta. ordeno questo hordine et lo dete atuti li piloti et
maeſtri de le ſue naui Loqual era lui de note ſempre voleua andar
inanzi dele altre naui et elle ſeguitaſeno la ſua con vna facela
grande de legnio che la quiamano farol Qual ſemp̃ portaua pendẽte
de la popa de la Sua naue queſto ſegniale era acio de continuo lo
ſeguitaſeno se faceua vno alto fuoco con vna lanterna ho cõ vno pezo
de corda de iuncho che la chiamã strengue di Sparto molto batuto neL
hacqua et poi ſecado al ſole ho vero al fumo ottimo per simil cosa ge
reſpondeſeno açio ſapeſe per chesto ſegnialle che tute veniuano
inſieme se faceua duj focqi ſenza lo farolo viraſseno o voltasenno
in altra banda quando eL vento nõ era buono et al prepoſito ꝓ andar
al nr̃o camino ho q̃do voleua far pocho viagio se faceua tre fuochi
toleſseno via la bonneta, che he vna parte de uela che se ataca da
baſso dela vela magiore quando fa bon tempo ꝓ andar piu la setol via
açio ſia piu facile aracogliere la vela magior quando se amayna in
preſsa in vno tempo subito: Si faceua quatro fochi amayſseno tute le
vele facendo poi lui vno ſegniale di fuoco como staua fermo Se faceua
piu fochi ouero tiraua alguna bõ barda fose segniale de tera o de
bassi. Poi faceua quatro fuochi quando voleua far alsare le vele in
alto açio loro nauegaſseno ſeguendo ſempr̃ ꝓ Quela facela de
popa Quando voleua far metere la boneta faceua tre fuochi
Quando voleua voltarſe in altra parte faceua duj Volendo poi
sapere se tute le naue lo seguitavão et veniuão inſieme faceua vno
ꝓche cuſsi ogni naue faceſse et li reſpondeſe ogni nocte ſe
faceua tre gardie la pa nel principio de la nocte La ſeconda Que
la chiamano modora neL meſo La ta nel fine tuta la gente dele
naue se partiua in tre Coloneli el po era del capo. houero del
contra maistro mudandoſe ogni nocte. Lo secondo deL piloto ho
nochiero. Lo to del maeſtro ꝓ tanto lo Capo genneral Comando che
tute le naue obseruaſeno Queſti ſegniali et guardie acio se andaſe
piu ſeguri.
Luni a x d̃ agusto go de ſancto laurentio Nel anno Ja deto eſendo la
armata fornita de tute le cose necessarie per mare et dogni ſorte de
gente eramo ducente et trentaſete homini nela matina Se feceno p̃ſte
per partirſe daL mole de siuiglia et tirando molta artegliaria deteno
il trinqueto aL vento et venne abaso del fiume betis al pñte detto
gadalcauir passando ꝓ vno luocho chiamato gioan dal farax che era gia
grande habitatiõe de mori per mezo lo qalle ſtaua vn ponte che pasaua
el dicto fiume ꝓ andare a siuiglia dilque li e reſtato fin aL
preſente nel fondo del acqua due colonne que quando paſſano le naui
año biſognio de homini q̃ ſapianno ben lo Locho delle colonne ꝓ
cio nõ deſſeno in eſſe et e biſognio paſſarle quanto el fiume
ſta piu creſſente et anche ꝓ molti altri luochi deL fiume q̃ nõ
a tanto fondo che baſte ꝓ paſſare le naui cargate et qelle non
ſianno tropo grandi Poi venirono ad un alto q̃ſe chiama coria
paſſando ꝓ molti altri villagij a longo deL fiume tanto q̃
ajonſeno ad vno caſtello deL duca de medina cidonia il qalle ſe
chiama S. lucar che e porto ꝓ entrare nel mare occeanno leuante
ponente cõ il capo de ſanct vincent che ſta in 37 gradi de
latitudine et longui dal deto porto x leghe da Siuiglia fin aqi ꝓ lo
fiume gli ſonno 17 ho 20 Leghe dali alquanti giorni vene el capitanio
genneralle cõ li alt capi ꝓ lo fiume abaſſo neli bateli de le naue
et iui ſteſſimo molti giorni per finire la armata de alcune coſe li
manchauão et ogni di andauamo in tera ad aldir meſſa aduno locho q̃
ſe chiama ñra dona de baremeda circa S. lucar. Et avanti la partita
Lo capo genneraL volſe tucti ſe confeſſaſeno et nõ conſentite
ninguna dona veniſſe ne Larmata per meglior riſpecto.
Marti a xx de ſeptembr̃ neL medeſimo anno ne partiſſemó da
queſto Locho chiamato ſan luchar pigliando La via de garbin et a 26
deL dicto meſe ariuaſſemo a vna Jsola de la grã canaria q̃ ſe
diſe teneriphe in 28 gradi de Latitudine per pigliar carne acha et
legnia ſteſſimo yui tre giorni et mezo per fornire Larmata de le
decte cose poi andaſſemo a vno porto de La medeſma yſola deto
monte roſſo ꝓ pegolla tardando dui giorni Sapera vr̃a IlLma
sa. q̃ in queſte yſolle dela grã canaria ge vna infra le altre ne
laqalle nõ ſi troua pur vna goza de hacqua q̃ naſcha ſinon nel
mezo di deſcendere vna nebola daL ciello et circunda vno grande arbore
che e ne la dicta yſola ſtilando dale ſue foglie et ramy molta
hacqua et al piede deL dicto arbore e adriſſado in guiza de fontana
vna foſſa houe caſca tuta la acqua de La qalle li homini habitanti
et animali cosi domeſtici como ſaluatici ogni giorno de queſta
hacqua et nõ de alta habondantiſſimamẽte ſi saturano.
Luni a tre doctobre a meza nocte ſe dete le velle aL Camino deL
auſtro in golfandone neL mare occeanno paſſando fra capo verde et le
ſue yſolle in 14 gradi et mezo et cuſſi molti giorni nauigaſſimo
ꝓ La coſta de la ghinea houero ethiopia nela qalle he vna montagnia
detta ſiera leona in 8 gradi de latitudine con venti contrari calme et
piogie senza venti fin a la lignea equinotialle piouendo ſeſanta
giornj de continuo contra la opignione de li anticqi Jnanzi q̃
ajungeſſemo ali legnea a 14 gradi molte gropade de venti inpetuoſi
et corenti de acqua ne aſaltaronno contra el viagio nõ poſſendo
ſpontare Jnanſi et acio q̃ le naue nõ periculaſſeno. Se calauano
tute le velle et de qʒſta ſorte andauamo de mare in trauerſo fin
q̃ paſſaua la grupada ꝓche veniua molto furiosa. Quando pioueua
nõ era vento. Quando faceua ſolle era bonnaſa. veniuano aL bordo de
le naue certi peſſi grandi q̃ ſe quiamano tiburoni q̃ anno denti
teribilli et ſe trouano hominj neL mare li mangiano. pigliauamo molti
cõ hami de fero benche nõ ſonno bonni da mangiare ſe non li picoli
et anche loro maL bonny. Jn queſte fortune molte volte ne aparſe il
corpo ſancto cioe ſancto elmo in lume fra le altre in vna
obſcuriſſima nocte de taL ſplendore come e vna facella ardente in
cima de La magiore gabia et ſte circa due hore et piu cõ noi
conſolandone q̃ piangevão quanto queſta bennedeta luceſe
volſe partire da nuy tanto grandiſſimo ſplendore dete ne li hocqi
noſti q̃ ſteſemo piu de mezo carto de hora tuti cieqi chiamando
miſericordia et veramẽte credendo eſſere morti el mare ſubito ſe
aquieto.
Viti molte ſorte de vcelli tra le qalle vna q̃ nõ haueua culo.
vn altra quando la femina vol far li oui li fa soura la ſquena deL
maſchio et iui ſe creanno nõ anno piede et ſempre Viueno neL mare.
vn altra ſorte q̃ viueno deL ſtercho de li alti vcelli et nõ de
alto Si como viti molte volte queſto vcello qaL chiamamo Cagaſſela
corer dietro ad alti vcelli fin tanto qelli ſonno conſtrecti mandar
fuora eL ſtercho ſubito Lo piglia et Laſſa andare lo vcello
anchora viti molti peſſi q̃ volauano et molti alti congregadi
inſieme q̃ pareuano vna yſola.
Paſſato q̃ haueſſemo la linea equinotiale in verſo el meridianno
ꝓ deſſemo la tramontana et coſi ſe nauego tra el meſo Jorno et
garbin fino en vna tera che se diſe la tera deL verzin in 23 gradi ½
aL polo antãtico q̃ e tera deL capo de Sto auguſtino q̃ ſta in 8
gradi aL medeſimo polo do ue pigliaſſemo grã refreſcho de galine
batate pigne molte dolci fruto in vero piu gentiL que ſia carne de
anta como vaca canne dolci et altre coſe infinite q̃ Laſcio ꝓ non
eſſere ꝓlixo ꝓ vno amo da peſcare o vno cortello dauano 5. ho 6.
galinne ꝓ vno petine vno paro de occati ꝓ vno ſpequio ho
vna forfice tanto peſce q̃ hauerebe baſtato a x homini ꝓ vno
ſonaglio o vna ſtringa vno ceſto de batate. qʒſte batate
ſonno aL mangiare como caſtagnie et longo como napi et ꝓ vno
re de danari q̃ e vna carta de Jocare me deteno 6. galine et
penſauano anchora hauernj inganati Jntraſſemo in que ſto porto iL
giorno de ſancta lucia et in qeL di haueſſemo eL ſolle p Zenit et
patiſſemo piu caldo. qeL giorno et li alti quãdo haueuão eL ſolle
ꝓ zenit che Quando eramo ſoto la linea equinotialle.
Queſta tera deL verzin e abondantissa et piu grande q̃ ſpagnia
franſa et Jtalia tute inſieme. e deL re de portugalo li
populi de queſta tera nõ ſonno chriſtiani et nõ adorano coſa
alguna viueno ſecõdo Lo vzo de La natura et viueno Cento vinticinque
anny et cẽto et quaranta. Vano nudi coſſi homini como femine
habitano in certe caſe longue che le chiamano boij et dormeno in rete
de bã baſo chiamate amache ligade ne le medeme caſe da vno capo et
da Lalto a legni groſſi fanno foco infra eſſi in tera in
ogni vno de queſti boij ſtano cento homini cõ le ſue moglie et
figlioli facendo grã romore anno barche duno ſolo arburo
maſchize quiamate ca noe cauate cõ menare de pietra queſti
populi adoperão le pietre Como nui el fero ꝓ nõ hauere ſtanno
trenta et quaranta homini in vna de queſte. vogano cõ palle como
da forno et cuſſi negri nubi et tosi asimigliano quando vogano aqelli
de laſtigie palude. Sono diſpoſti homini et femine como noi
Mangiano carne humana de Li ſui nemici non ꝓ bonna ma ꝓ vna certa
vzanſa Queſta vzanſa Lo vno con laltro. fu principio vna vequia
Laqalle haueua ſolamente vno figliolo q̃ fu amazato dali suoi nemici
ꝓ iL q̃ paſſati alguni giorni li ſui pigliorono vno de la
Compagnia q̃ haueua morto Suo figliolo et Lo condusero doue ſtaua
queſta vequia ela vedendo et ricordandoſe deL ſuo figliolo como
cagnia rabiata li corſe adoſſo et Lo mordete in vna ſpala coſtui
deli a pocho fugi neli ſoi et diſſe Como Lo volſero mangiare
moſtrandoli eL ſegnialle de La ſpala. qñ queſti pigliarono
poi de qelli li mangiorono et qelli de queſti ſiche ꝓ queſto he
venuta tal vzanſa. Non ſe mangiano ſubito ma ogni vno taglia vno
pezo et lo porta in caſa metendola al fumo poi ogni 8. Jorni taglia
vno pezeto mangiandolo bruto lado cõ le altre cose p memoria degli
ſui nemici Queſto me diſſe Johane carnagio piloto q̃ veniua cõ
nuy el qalle era ſtato in queſta tera quatro anny Queſta gente
ſe depingeno marauiglioſamẽte tuto iL corpo et iL volto con foco in
diuerſi a maniere ancho le done ſono [sono: doublet in original MS.]
toſi et ſenſa barba perche ſe la pelanno. Se veſteno de
veſtitur̃ de piume de papagalo cõ rode grande aL cullo de Le penne
magiore cosa ridicula caſi tuti li homini eccepto le femine et
fanciuli hano tre buſi ne lauro deſoto oue portano pietre rotonde et
Longue vno dito et piu et meno de fora pendente. nõ ſonno del tuto
negri ma oliuaſtri portano deſcoperte le parte vergonioſe iL
Suo corpo e ſenza peli et coſſi homini qaL donne Sempre Vano nudi iL
Suo re e chiamato cacich anno infinitiſſimi papagali et ne danno
8 ho 10 ꝓ vno ſpecho et gati maimoni picoli fati como leoni ma Jalli
coſa belissima fano panne rotondo biancho de medola de arbore non
molto bonno q̃ naſce fra larbore et La ſcorſa et he como recotta.
hanno porci q̃ ſopa La ſquena teneno eL suo lombelico et vcceli
grandi q̃ anno eL becho como vn cuquiaro ſenſa linga ne dauano
ꝓ vno acceta ho cortello grãde vna ho due dele ſue figliole giouane
ꝓ fchiaue ma ſua mogliere nõ darianno ꝓ coſa alguna Elle
nõ farebenno vergonia a suoi mariti ꝓ ogni grã coſa come ne ſtate
referito de giorno nõ conſenteno a li Loro mariti ma ſolamẽte
de nocte. Esse Lauorano et portano tuto eL mãgiar̃ suo da li monti in
zerli ho vero caneſtri ſuL capo ho atacati aL capo pero eſſendo
ſempre ſeco ſui mariti ſolamẽte cõ vno archo de verzin o de
palma negra et vno mazo de freze di canna et queſto fano per che
ſonno geloſi le femine portano ſui figlioli tacadi aL colo in
vna rete de banbazo. Laſcio altre coſe ꝓ nõ eſſere piu longo. Se
diſſe due volte meſſa in tera ꝓ il que queſti ſtauano cõ tanto
contrictiõe in genoquionj aLſando le mano giunte q̃ era grandisso
piacere vederli Edificareno vna caſa per nui penſando
doueſſemo ſtar ſeco algun tempo et taglia rono molto verſin per
darnela a la noſtra partida era ſtato forſe duy meſi nõ
haueua pioueſto in queſta terra et Quando ajongeſemo aL porto per
caſo piouete ꝓ queſto deceuano noi vegnire daL cieLo et hauer̃
monato noſco la piogia queſti populi facilmente Se
conuerterebenno a la fede de Jeſu xpõ.
Jmprima coſtoro penſauano li batelli foſſero figlioli de le naue et
que elle li purturiſſeno quando ſe butauano fora di naue in mare et
ſtando coſi aL coſta do como he vzanſa credeuano le naue li
nutriſſeno Vna Jouene bella vene vn di nela naue capitania, houe
yo ſtaua non ꝓ alto ſenon ꝓ trouar̃ alguno recapito ſtando
coſi et aſpectando buto lo ochio supa la camera deL maiſto et victe
vno quiodo Longo piu de vn dito il que pigliando cõ grande
gentileſſa et galantaria se lo fico aparte aparte de li labri della
ſua natura et subito baſſa baſsa Se partite. Vedendo queſto iL
capo. generale et yo.
Alguni Vocabuli de qʒſti populi deL verzin.
AL miglio. Maiz
Alla farina. hui
AL hamo. pinda
AL cortello tacse
Al petine chigap
Alla forfice pirame
AL ſonaglio Jtanmaracz
Buono piu q̃ bono tum maragathum
Steſſemo 13. giorni in queſta tera ſeguendo poi il nr̃o
camino andaſemo fin a 34 gradi et vno terſo aL polo antarticho doue
trouaſſemo in vno fiume de acqua dolce homini q̃ ſe chiamano
Canibali et mangiano la carne humana vene vno de la ſtatura caſi como
vno gigante nella ñaue capitania ꝓ asigurare li alti suoi
haueua vna voce ſimille a vno toro in tanto que queſto ſtete ne la
naue li alti portoronno via Le ſue robe daL loco doue habitauão dento
nella terra ꝓ paura de noi Vedendo queſto ſaltaſſimo in
terra cento homini ꝓ hauer̃ linga et parlare ſecho ho vero ꝓ
forſa pigliarne alguno fugiteno et fugẽdo face uano tanto grã
paſſo q̃ noi ſaltando nõ poteuamo avanſare li sui paſſi.
in queſto fiume ſtanno ſette Jzolle. ne la maior de queſte ſe
troua pietre precioſe Qui se chiama capo de sta maria gia ſe penſaua
q̃ de qui ſe paſaſſe aL mare de Sur cioe mezo di ne may piu altra
fu diſcouerto adeſſo nõ he capo ſinon fiume et a larga La boca 17
legue. Altre volte in queſto fiume fu mangiado da questi Canibali per
tropo fidarſe vno Capitanio Spagniolo q̃ ſe chiamaua Johã de solis
et ſesanta homini q̃ andauano a diſcourire terra como nui.
Po ſeguendo eL medeſimo camino ꝟſo eL polo antarticho acoſto de
terra veniſſimo adare in due Jſolle pienni de occati et loui marini
veramente non ſe porla narare iL grã numero de queſti occati in vna
hora cargaſſimo le cinque naue Queſti occati ſenno negri et
anno tute le penne aduno modo coſsi neL corpo como nelle ale. nõ
volano et viueno de peſe eranno tanti graſſi q̃ non
biſogniaua pelarli ma ſcor tiglarli anno lo beco como vno coruo
Queſti loui marini ſonno de diuerſi colori et groſſi como viteli
et eL capo como loro cõ le orechie picole et tõde et denti grandi
nõ anno gambe ſenon piedi tacade aL corpo ſimille a le nr̃e
mani cõ onguie picolle et fra li diti anno qella pele. le ochie
ſarebenno fe rociſſime ſe poteſſeno corere nodano et viueno de
peſcie Qui hebenno li naue grandiſſima fortuna ꝓ il que ne
aparſeno molte volte li tre corpi ſancti çioe sto. elmo sto. nicolo
et sta chiara et ſubito ſeſſaua la fortuna.
Partendone de qi ariuaſſemo fin a 49 gradi et mezo aL antarticho
eſsendo linuerno le naui introrono in vno bon porto ꝓ inuernarſe
quiui ſteſemo dui meſi ſenza vedere ꝓſonna alguna. Vndi a
linprouiſo vedeſſemo vno homo de ſtatura de gigante q̃ ſtaua nudo
nella riua deL porto balando cantando et butandoſe poluere Soura la
teſta. JL capitanio gñale mando vno deli nr̃i a lui acio faceſſe
li medeſimi acti in ſegno de pace et fati lo conduce in vna Jzolleta
dinanzi aL capo gñalle Quando fo nella ſua et nr̃a preſentia
molto ſe marauiglio et faceua ſegni cõ vno dito alzato credendo
veniſſemo daL ciello Queſto erra tanto grande q̃ li dauamo a
La cintura et ben diſpoſto haueua La faza grande et depinta intorno
de roſſo et Jntorno li ochi de Jallo cõ dui cori depinti in mezo de
le galte. li pocqi capili q̃ haueua erano tinti de biancho. era
veſtito de pelle de animale coſi de Sotilmente inſieme el
qualle animalle a eL capo et orechie grande como vna mula iL colo et iL
corpo como vno camello, le gambe de ceruo et La coda de caualo et
nitriſſe como lui ge ne ſonno aſaysimi in queſta tera haueua
a li piedi albarghe de le medeſme pelle q̃ copreno li piedi a vzo de
ſcarpe et nella mano vno archo curto et groſſo. La corda alquando
piu groſſa di qelle deL lauto fata de le budelle deL medemo animale
cõ vno mazo de frece de canna non molto longue inpenade como le
noſtre ꝓ fore põte de pietra de fuoca biancha et negra amodo de
freze turqueſque facendole cõ vn alta pietra. Lo capo genneralle li
fece dare da mangiare et bere et fra le altre coſe q̃ li moſtrete li
moſtro vno ſpequio grande de azalle. quando eL vide ſua figura
grandamente ſe ſpauento et ſalto in drieto et buto tre o quato de li
noſti homini ꝓ terra da poy li dete Suonagli vno ſpequio vno
petine et certi pater noſti et mando lo in tera cõ 4 homini armati
Vno ſuo compagnio q̃ may volſe venire a le naue quando eL vite
venire coſtui cõ li noſti corſe doue ſtauano li alti Se
miſſeno in fila tuti nudi ariuando li noſti a eſſi
comenſorono abalare et cantare leuando vno dito aL ciello et
moſtrandoli poluere bianca de radice de erba poſta in pigniate de
tera q̃ la mangiaſſeno ꝓche non haueuano altra coſa li
noſti li feceno ſegnio doueſſeno vegnire a le naui et que li
ajuterebenno portare le ſue robe ꝓ il que Queſti homini subito
pigliorono Solamente li ſui archi et le ſue femine cargate como asine
portorono il tuto. queſte nõ ſonno tanti grandi ma molto piu
groſſe quando le vedeſſimo grandamẽte ſteſſemo ſtupefati
anno le tete longue mozo brazo. ſonno depinte et veſtite como
loro mariti ſinon dinanzi a la natura anno vna peleſſina q̃ la
copre menavano quato de qʒſti animali picoli ligadi cõ ligami
amodo de caueza. Queſta gente quanto voleno pigliare de queſti
animale ligano vno de queſti picoli a vno ſpino poi veneno li
grandi ꝓ Jocare cõ li picoli et eſſi ſtando aſconſi li amazano
cõ Le freze. li noſti ne canduſſero a le naui dizidoto tra
homini et femine et foreno repartiti de due parte deL porto açio
pigliaſſeno de li dicti animalj.
Deli a 6. Jorni fu viſto vno gigante depinto et veſtito de la
mediſima ſorta de alguni q̃ faceuano legnia haueua in mano vno
archo et freze acoſtandoſe a li noſti pima ſe tocaua eL capo eL
volto et eL corpo et iL ſimile faceua ali noſti et dapoy leuaua li
mani aL ciello. Quando eL capo gñale Lo ſepe. Lo mando atore cõ
Loſquifo et menolo in qella Jzola che era neL porto doue haueuano
facta vna caſa ꝓ li fabri et ꝓ meter li alcune coſe de le naue.
coſtui era piu grande et meglio diſpoſti de li alti et tanto trata
bile et gratioſo. ſaltando balaua et quando balaua ogni volta
cazaua li piedi Soto tera vno palmo. Stete molti giorni cõ nui tanto
qeL batiſaſſemo chiamandolo Johannj cos chiaro prenuntiaua Jeſu
pater noſter aue maria et Jouani como nui ſe non cõ voce
grociſſima. poi eL capo gñale li dono vna camiza vna camiſota
de panno bragueſſe di pano vn bonet vn ſpequio vno petine ſonagli
et altre coſe et mandolo da li sui ge li ando molto alegro et
cõtento eL giorno ſeguente coſtui porto vno de quelli animali grandi
aL capo gñale ꝓ il que li dete molte coſe acio ne portaſſe de li
alti ma piu noL vedeſemo penſaſemo li Suoi lo haueſſero amazato
ꝓ hauer̃ conuerſato cõ nuy.
Paſſati 15 giorni vedeſſemo quato de queſti giganti ſenza le ſue
arme ꝓ che le aueuano aſcoſſe in certi ſpini poi li dui che
pigliaſſemo ne li inſegniaro ogni vno era depinto diferentiatamente
JL capo genneralle retenne duy li piu Joueni et piu diſpoſti cõ
grande aſtutia ꝓ condurli in ſpagnia Se alta mente haueſſe facto
facilmente hauerebenno morto alguni de nui. La stutia q̃ vzo in
retenerli fo queſta ge dete molti cortelli forfice ſpeqi
ſonagli et chriſtalino hauendo queſti dui li mani pienne de le detti
coſe iL capo gñale fece portare dui para de feri q̃ ſe meteno a li
piedi moſtrando de donnarli et elli ꝓ eſſere fero li piaceuão
molto ma non ſapeuano Como portarli et li rincreſceua laſsarli nõ
haueuano oue meter̃ qelle merce; et beſogniauali tenerli co le mani
la pelle q̃ haueuão intorno li alti duy voleuano ajutarli ma iL
capo nõ volſe vedendo q̃ li rincreſciua laſsiare qelli feri li
fece ſegnio li farebe ali piedi et queli portarebenno via eſſi
riſpoſero cõ la teſta de ſi Subito aduno medeſimo tempo li
fece metere a tucti dui et quando linquiauão cõ lo fero q̃ trauerſa
dubitauano ma ſigurandoli iL capo pur ſteteno fermi a vedendoſe poi
de lingano Sbufauano como tori quiamando fortemente setebos q̃ li
ajutaſſe agli alti dui apena poteſimo ligarli li mani li
mandaſſemo a terra cõ noue homine açio guidaſſeno li noſti doue
ſtaua La moglie de vno de qelli haueuano preſi perche fortemẽte cõ
ſegni la lamentaua açio ella intendeſſemo. Andando vno ſe deſligo
li mani et corſe via cõ tanta velocita q̃ li nr̃i lo perſeno de
viſta ando doue ſtaua La ſua brigata et nõ trouo vno de li ſoi q̃
era rimaſto cõ le femine ꝓ che era andato a la caza ſubito lo
ando atrouare et contoli tuto eL fatto Lalto tanto ſe ſforſaua
ꝓ deſligarſe q̃ li noſti lo ferirono vn pocho ſopa la teſta et
sbufando conduce li nr̃i doue ſtauão le loro donne. gioan cauagio
piloto capo de queſti nõ volſe tore la donna qella ſera ma dormite
yui ꝓ che se faceua nocte li alti duy veneno et vedendo coſtui
ferito se dubitauão et nõ diſero niente alhora ma ne lalba
parloro a le donne ſubito fugiteno via et coreuão piu li picoli q̃
li grandi lassando tute le sue robe dui ſe traſſeno da parte tirã
do ali nr̃i frece. lalto menaua via qelli ſoi animaleti ꝓ
cazare et coſi cõba tendo vno de qelli paſſo la coſſa cõ vna
freza a vno deli nr̃i il qalle ſubito mori quando viſteno
queſto ſubito corſeno via li nr̃i haueuano ſquiopeti et
baleſtre et may nõ li poterono ferire quando queſti combateuão
may ſtauano fermi ma ſaltando de qua et della. li noſti ſe
pelirono Lo morto et braſarono tute le robe q̃ haueuano laſſata
Certamente queſti giganti Coreno piu Cauali et Sonno
geloſiſſimi de loro mogliere.
Quando queſta gente ſe sente malle aL ſtomacho in loco de purgarſe
se metẽo nela golia dui palmi et piu duna firza et gomitano coloro
ꝟde miſquiade cõ ſangue ꝓq̃ mangiano certi cardi Quando li
dole eL capo Se danno neL fronte vna tagiatura neL trauerſo et cuſſi
nele brace ne le gambe et in ciaſcuno locho deL corpo cauandoſſe
molta ſangue. vno de qelli hauiuão pre ſi q̃ ſtaua nela nr̃a naue
diceua como qeL ſangue nõ voleua ſtare iui et ꝓ qello li daua
paſſione anno li capeli tagliati cõ la quierega amodo de frati
ma piu longui cõ vno cordonne di bambaso intorno lo capo neL qalle
ficano le freze quando vano ala caza ligano eL Suo membro dentro deL
corpo ꝓ lo grandiſsimo fredo. Quando more vno de queſti
apareno x ho dudice demonj balando molto alegri in torno deL morto
tucti depinti ne vedeno vno ſoura altri asay piu grande gridando
et facendo piu grã feſta cosi como eL demonio li apare de pinto de
qella Sorte ſe depingeno quiamano eL demonio magior ſetebos ali
alti cheleulle anchora coſtui ne diſſe cõ ſegni hauere viſto li
demonj con dui corni in teſta et peli longui q̃ copriuano li piedi
getare focho ꝓ La boca et ꝓ iL culo JL capo gñale nomino
queſti populi patagoni tutti ſe veſtino de la pelle de qello
animale gia deto nõ anno case ſenon trabacque de la pelle deL
medeſimo animale et cõ qelli vano mo di qua mo di la como fanno li
cingani viueno de carne cruda et de vna radice dolce q̃ la quiamão
chapae ogni vno de li dui q̃ pigliaſſemo mangiaua vna ſporta
de biſcoto et beueua in vna fiata mezo ſechio de hacqua et mangiauão
li ſorgi ſenza ſcorti carli.
Steſſemo in queſto porto el qaL chiamaſſemo porto de sto. Julianno
cirqua de cinque mesi doue acadetenno molte coſe. Açio q̃ vr̃a
IlLma sa ne ſapia algune fu q̃ ſubito entrati neL porto li capitani
de le altre quato naue ordinorono vno tradimẽto ꝓ amazare iL capo
genneralle et queſti erano eL vehadore de Larmata q̃ ſe chiamaua
Johan de cartegena eL theſorero alouise de mendoſa eL contadore
anthonio cocha et gaſpar de cazada et ſquartato eL veador de li
homini fo amazato lo theſorʒ apognialade eſendo deſcoperto Lo
tradimento de li alquantj giornj gaſpar de caſada ꝓ voler fare
vno alto tradimẽto fo ſbandito cõ vno prete in queſta tera
patagonia. eL Capo generale nõ volſe far lo amazare perche Lo
imperator̃ don carlo lo haueua facto capo Vna naue chiamata
ſancto Jacobo ꝓ andare a deſcourire la coſta Se perſe tucti
li homini Si ſaluarono ꝓ miracolo nõ bagniandoſſe apenna dui
de queſti venirono ali naui et ne diſcero el tuto ꝓ il que eL capo
gñale ge mando alguni homini cõ ſacqi pienny de biſcoto ꝓ dui
meſi ne fu forſa portarli eL viuere ꝓ che ogni giorno trouauano
qalque coſa de la naue eL viagio ad andare era longuo 24 legue q̃
ſonno cento millia la via aſpriſſima et pienna de ſpini ſtauano 4
giorni in viagio le nocte dormiuano in machioni nõ trouauano hacqua da
beuere ſenon giaçio il que ne era grandisima fatiga. Jn queſto
porto era aſayſſime cape Longue q̃ le chiamano missiglioni
haueuano perle neL mezo ma picole q̃ non le poteuano mangiare
ancho ſe trouaua Jnſenſo ſtruzi volpe paſſare et conigli piu
picoli aſſay de li noſtri Qui in cima deL piu alto monte
drizaſſemo vna croce in ſigno de queſta terra, q̃ err deL re de
ſpagnia et chiamaſſemo queſto monte monte de xo.
Partendone de qui in 51 grado mancho vno terſo al antartico trouaſemo
vno fiome de hacqua dolce nel qalle le naui quasi ꝓſenno ꝓ li
venti teri bili ma dio et li corpi ſancti le ajutarono Jn Queſto
fiume tardaſſemo circa duy meſi ꝓ fornirne de hacqua legnia et
peſcie longho vno braſo et piu cõ ſquame. era molto bonno ma
pocho et inanſi ſe partiſſemo de qui eL capo genneralle et tuti nuy
Se confeſſasemo et Comunicaſsemo Como veri chriſtianni.
Poi andando a cinquanta dui gradi aL medeſimo polo trouaſſemo neL
giorno delle vndici millia vergine vno ſtreto eL capo deL qalle
chiamão capo dele vndici millia vergine ꝓ grandiſsimo miracolo
Queſto ſtreto e longo cento et diece legue q̃ ſonno 440 millia et
largo piu et mancho de meza legua q̃ va a referire in vno alto mare
chiamato mar pacificho circundato da mõtagnie altiſſime caricate de
neue nõ li poteuamo tro uare fondo ſinon con lo proiſe in tera in 25
et 30 braza et ſe non era eL capitanio gennerale nõ trouauamo Queſto
ſtrecto perch̃ tuti penſauamo et diceuamo como era ſerato tuto
intorno. ma iL capitano gñale q̃ ſapeua de douer fare la ſua
nauigatiõe ꝓ vno ſtreto molto aſcoſo como vite nela theſoraria
deL re de portugaL in vna carta fata ꝓ qella exelentiſſimo huomo
martin de boemia Mando due naui Sto. anthonio et la conceptiõe q̃
coſſi le quiamauano auedere q̃ era neL capo de la baia noi cõ le
altre due naue la capitania Se chiamaua trinitade Laltra la victoria
ſteſſemo ad aſpectarle dento ne la baya La nocte ne souravenne
vna grande fortuna q̃ duro fino al alto mezo Jorno ꝓ il que ne fu
forza leuare lanchore et laſsiare andare de qua et dela per la baia
a le altre due naui li era trauerſia et nõ poteuão caualcare
vno capo q̃ faceua la baya quaſi in fine ꝓ voler venir̃ a noi ſi
que li era forſa adare in ſeco pur acoſtandoſe aL fine de La baya
penſando de eſſere perſi viteno vna boca picola q̃ no [paſaua:
crossed out in original MS.] pariua boca ma vno Cantone et como
abandonadi ſe cazaronno dentro ſi que perforza diſco perſeno el
ſtreto et vedendo q̃ nõ era cantone ma vno ſtreto de tera andarono
piu inanzi et trouoro no vna baya. poi andando piu oltra trouorono vno
alto ſtretto et vnalta baya piu grande q̃ le due pime molto
alegri subito voltor̃o Jndrieto ꝓ dirlo aL capitanio gñale noi
penſauamo foſſeno perſe prima ꝓ La fortuna grande. Lalta perche
eranno paſſati dui giorni et nõ aparauão et ancho per certi fumi
q̃ faceuano duy deli ſui mandati in tera ꝓ auiſarne et coſi
ſtando ſuſpeſi vedemo venire due naui cõ le velle pienne et cõ le
bã dere ſpiegate verſo de noi. eſſendo coſi vicine subito
ſcaricorono molte bom barde et gridi poy tuti inſieme
rengratiando ydio et la vergine maria anda ſemo acercare piu inanzi.
Essendo entrati in queſto ſtreto trouaſſemo due bocque vna aL
Siroco laltra aL garbino iL capitanio gñale mando la naue ſancto
anthonio insieme cõ la concitione ꝓ vedere ſe qella boca q̃ era
ꝟſo ſirocho haueua exito neL mare pacifico la naue ſancto
anthonio noL volſe aſpectare la conceptiõe ꝓ q̃ voleua fugire ꝓ
retornare in Spagnia como fece iL piloto de queſta naue Se chiamaua
ſtefan gomes Loqalle hodiaua molto lo Capo gennerale ꝓq̃ inanzi Se
faceſſe queſta armata coſtui era andato da Lo imperator̃ ꝓ
farſe dare algune carauele ꝓ diſcourire terra ma ꝓ la venuta deL
Capo gennerale ſua mageſta nõ le li dete ꝓ queſto ſe acordo cõ
certi ſpagniolli et nella nocte ſeguente pigliarono lo capo de la
ſua naue el qalle era germano deL capo gñale et haueua nome aluaro de
meſchita Lo ferirono et Lo meſſeno in feri et coſi lo
conduſſero in spagnia in queſto naue. era lalto gigante q̃ haueuamo
prezo ma quanto entro neL caldo morse. La Conceptiõe ꝓ nõ potere
ſeguire queſta La aſpectaua andando fugi ꝓ lo medeſimo [porto:
crossed out in original diqua et dela sto. anto a la nocte torno
indrieto et ſe MS.] ſtrecto nuy eramo andati a deſcourire lalta
bocha verſo eL garbin trouando pur ogni hora eL medeſimo [porto:
crossed out in original MS.] ſtreto ariuaſſemo a vno fiume qeL
chiamaſſemo eL fiume delle ſardine ꝓche apreſſo de queſto ne
eranno molte et coſi quiuy tardaſſemo quatro Jorni ꝓ aſpectare le
due naue in queſti giorni mãdaſemo vno batello ben fornito ꝓ
deſcoprire eL capo de lalto mare venne in termi ne de tre Jorni et
diſſero como haueuano [haueuano: doublet in original MS.] veduto eL
capo et eL mare amplo eL capitanio gennerale lagrimo ꝓ allegreza et
nomino qeL capo Capo dezeado perche laueuano Ja grã tempo diſiderato.
Tornaſemo indrieto ꝓ sercar le due naue et nõ trouaſſemo ſinõ
la conceptiõe et domandandoli doue era lalta. riſpoſe Johan ſeranno
q̃ era capo et piloto de queſta et ancho de qella q̃ ſe perſe q̃
nõ ſapeua et q̃ may nõ Laueua veduta dapoy que ella entro ne la
boca la Cercaſſemo ꝓ tuto lo ſtreto fin in qella boca doue ella
fugite. il capo gennerale mando indrieto la naue victoria fina aL
principio deL ſtreto auedere ſe ella era iui et non trouandola
meteſſe vna bandera in cima de alguno mõticello cõ vna letera in
vna pigniatella ficada in tera apreſſo la bandera acio vedendola
trouaſſeno la lr̃a et ſapaſſeno lo viagio q̃ faceuamo ꝓ che
cuſſi era dato le ordine fra noi Quando ſe ſmariuamo le naue vna de
lalta. ſe miſſe due bandere cõ le lr̃e luna avno mõticello nela
prima baya lalta in vna Jzoleta nella terza baya doue eranno molti Loui
marini et vcceli grandi. JL capo gñale leſpeto cõ lalta naue
apreſſo eL fiume Jsleo et fece metere vna croce in vna Jzoleta zirca
de queſto fiume eL qalle era fra alte montagnie caricate de neue et
deſcendeneL mare apreſſo Lo fiume de le ſardine. Se nõ trouauamo
queſto ſtreto eL capo. gñale haueua deliberato andare fino a
ſetanta cinqʒ gradi aL polo artãticho [sic] doue in taL altura aL
tempo de la eſtate nõ ge e nocte et ſe glie ne he poche et coſſi
neL inuerno Jorno. açio q̃ vr̃a IlLma. sa iL creda quando eramo
in queſto ſtrecto le nocte eranno ſolamẽte de tre hore et era neL
meſe doctobr̃ La terra de queſto ſtrecto amã mancha era voltata aL
ſiroco et era baſſa chiamaſſemo aqueſto ſtreto eL ſtreto
patagoni cho ĩ Lo qaL ſe troua ogni meza lega Seguriſſimi porti
hacque exelentiſſime Legnia ſinon di cedro peſchie ſardine
miſſiglioni et appio erba dolce ma gene anche de amare naſce atorno
le fontane del qalle mangiaſſimo aſſay Jorni ꝓ nõ hauer̃ alto
credo nõ ſia aL mondo el piu bello et meglior̃ ſtreto como
equeſto. Jn queſto mar occeanno Se vede vna molto delecteuoL caza de
peſci ſonno tre ſorte de peſſi Longui vno brazo et piu q̃ ſe
chiamano doradi, albacore et bonniti, li qalli ſequitano peſci q̃
volanno chiamattj colondrini Longui vno palmo et piu et ſonno obtini
aL mangiare. Quando qelle tre ſorte trouão alguni de queſti volanti
Subito li volanti ſaltanno fora de lacqua et volano fin q̃ anno le
alle bagniate piu de vno trar de baleſtra in tanto q̃ queſti volano
li alti li corenno indrieto ſocta hacqua a La ſua ombra nõ ſonno
cuſſi preſto caſcati ne lacqua q̃ queſti ſubito li piglianno et
mangiano coſa in vero beliſſima de vedere.
Vocabuli de li giganti pataghoni
AL capo her.
aL ochio. other.
AL nazo or
Alle cillie occhecheL
ALe palpebre SechechieL
Ali bussi deL nazo oresche
ALa boca xiam
Ali Labri Schiahame
Ali denti phor.
ALa linga SchiaL
AL mento Sechen
A li pelli archiz
AL volto cogecheL
Ala golo ohumez
ALa copa Schialeschin
ALe ſpalle pelles.
AL gomedo CoteL
ALa man chene
ALa palma de Laman Caimeghin
AL dito Cori
Ale orechie Sane
Soto eL broço Salischin
Ala mamela othen
AL peto ochij
AL corpo gecheL
AL menbro ſachet
Ali teſticuli Sacancas
Ala natura de le donne Jsse
AL vzar cõ eſſe Jo hoi
ALe coſſe chiane
AL genochio tepin
AL chulo Schiaguen
Ale culate hoij
AL brazo maz
AL polso holion
A le gambe coss
AL piede thee
AL calcagno tere
ALa chauequie deL pie perchi
Ala ſola deL pie caotſcheni
Ale onguie Colim
AL core thoL
AL gratare gechare
Al homo ſguerco Calischen
AL giuane Calemi
AL hacqua holi
AL fuoco ghialeme
AL fumo giaiche
Al no ehen
AL si Rey
AL oro pelpeli
ALe petre lazure Secheg
AL solle Calexcheni
Alle ſtelle ſettere.
AL mare Aro
AL vento oni
ALa fortuna ohone
AL peſse hoi
AL mangiare mechiere
ALa ſcutella elo
ALa pigniata aschanie
AL demandare ghelhe
Vien qui hai si
AL gardar chonne
AL andar Rey
AL Combater oamaghce
Ale freze Sethe
AL Cane holL
AL lupo Ani
AL andare longi Schien
ALa guida anti
ALa neue theu
AL courire hiani
AL Seruzo ucelo hoihoi
A li sui oui Jani
Ala poluere derba
che mangião Capac.
AL odorare os
AL papagalo cheche
ALa gabiota ucelo Cleo
AL misiglioni Siameni.
AL panno roſso Terechae.
AL bonet AicheL
Al colore nego. AineL
AL roſso taiche
AL gialo peperi
AL coçinare yrocoles
ALa cintura Catechin
AL ocha cache
AL diauolo grande Setebos
Ali picoli cheleule.
Tucti queſti vocabuli ſe prenuntiano in gorgha ꝓche cuſſi li
prenũtiauão Loro.
Me diſſe queſti vocabuli queL gigante q̃ haueuamo nella naue per
q̃ domandandome Capac çioe pane che chusi chiamano quela radice q̃
vzanno Loro ꝓ panne et oli çioe hacqua Quando eL me vite
ſcriuer queſti nomi domandandoli poi de li alti cõ la penna in mano
me Jntendeua vna volta feci la croce et la basai moſtrandoglila
Subito grido ſetebos et fecemi ſegno Se piu faceſſe la croce
me intrarebe neL corpo et farebe crepare Quando queſto gigante
ſtaua male domando la croce abraſsandola et baſandola molto Se volse
far Xp̃iano inanzi la ſua morte eL chiamaſemo paulo Queſta
gente Quando voleno far fuoco fregano vno legnio pontino cõ vno alto
in fine q̃ fanno Lo fuocho in vna certa medola darbore q̃ fra queſti
dui legni.
Mercore a 28 de nouembre 1520 Ne diſbucaſemo da queſto ſtrecto
ingolfandone neL mare pacifico ſteſſemo tre mesi et vinti Jorni
senſa pigliare refrigerio de coſa alguna mangiauamo biſcoto non piu
biſcoto ma poluere de qello cõ vermi apugnate ꝓ che eſſi haueuano
mãgiato iL buono puzaua grã damẽte de orina de Sorzi et
beueuamo hacqua Jalla gia putrifata per molti giorni et mangiauamo
certe pelle de boue q̃ erano ſopa Lantena mangiore açio q̃ Lantena
nõ rompeſſe la ſarzia duriſſime ꝓ iL Solle piogia et vento Le
laſciauamo ꝓ quato ho cinque giorni neL mare et poi le meteua vno
pocho ſopa le braze et cosi le mangiauamo et ancora aſſay volte
ſegature de aſe li sorgi ſe vendeuano mezo ducato lo vno et ſe
pur ne haueſſemo potuto hauer̃ ma ſoura tute le alti ſquiagu re
Queſta era la pegiore. Creſsiuano le gengiue ad alguni ſopa li
denti Cosi de Soto Como de ſoura q̃ ꝓ modo alguno nõ poteuamo
mãgiare et coſſi moriuano ꝓ queſta infirmita morirono 19.
homini et iL gigãte cõ vno Jndio de La terra deL verzin vinti
cinque ho trenta homini ſe infirmorono q̃ neli brazi neli gambe o in
alto loco ſicque poqi reſta rono ſani ꝓ La gratia de dio yo
nõ hebi algunna infirmitade. Jn Queſti tre meſi et vinti giorni
andaſemo circa de quatro millia legue in vn golfo ꝓ queſto mar
pacifico in vero he benne pacifico ꝓ q̃ in qʒſto tempo nõ
haueſsemo fortuna Senſa vedere tera alcuna sinõ due yſolete
deſhabitate nelle qaL nõ trouaſſemo alto ſenon vcelli et arbori la
chiamaſſemo yſolle infortunate Sono longi luna da lalta ducento
legue nõ trouauamo fondo apreſſo de loro ſe nõ vedeuamo molti ti
buroni La pima Jzolla ſta in quindiſi gradi de latitudine aL
hauſtralle, et lalta in noue ogni Jorno faceuamo cinquanta
ſesanta et ſetanta Legue a La catena ho apopa et ſe ydio et ſala
ſua madre bennedeta nõ ne daua cosi bõ tempo moriuamo tucti de fame
in queſto mare grandiſſimo Credo certamẽte nõ ſi fara may
piu taL viagio.
Quando fuſſimi vſciti da queſto ſtrecto Se haueſſemo nauigato
Sempre aL ponẽte hauereſſemo dato vna volta aL mondo ſenza trouare
terra niuna Se nõ el capo deli xjos vergine che he capo de queſto
ſtrecto aL mare occeanno leuante ponẽte cõ Lo capo deſeado del
mare pacifico liqalli dui capi ſtanno in cinquãta duy gradi di
latitudine puntualmente aL polo antarticho.
JL polo antartico no ne cosi ſtellato como Lo artico ſe vede molto
ſtelle picolle congregate inſieme q̃ fanno in guiza de due nebulle
poco ſeparate luna de lalta et vno poco ofuſche in mezo de leqalle
ſtanno due ſtelle molto grandi ne molto relucenti et poco ſe moueno.
Queſte due ſtelle ſonno iL polo antarticho La Calamita
noſtra Zauariando vno sempre tiraua aL suo polo artico niente de meno
non haueua tanta forza como de la banda Sua. Et pero Quando eramo in
Queſto golfo iL Capo generalle domando a tucti li piloti andando
ſempre a la vela ꝓ qaL Camino nauigando pontasemo nele carte
riſpoſero tucti ꝓ la Sua via puntaLmẽte datta li riſpoſi q̃
pontauano falso cosi como era et che conueniua agiutare la guchia deL
nauegare ꝓ che nõ receueua tanta forza da la parte ſua. Quando
eramo in mezo di queſto golpho Vedessemo vna croce de cinque ſtelle
lucidiſſime drito aL ponente, et Suono iuſtiſſime luna cõ lalta.
Jn queſti giorni mauigaſſemo fra iL ponente et iL maeſtralle et a
La quarta deL maeſtralle in verſo ponente et aL maeſtralle fin p̃
ajungeſſemo a la linea equinoti alle longi da la linea de la
ripartitiõe Cento et vinti dui gradi la linea de la ripartitiõe
e trenta gradi longi daL meridionale el meridionale e tre gradi al
leuante longi de capo verde Jn queſto Camino paſaſſemo poco
longi da due Jzolle richisie vna in vinti gradi de latitudine al polo
antarticho q̃ Se chiama Cipangu Lalta in quindici gradi chiamata
Sũbdit pradit paſſata la linea equinotialle nauigaſſemo tra
ponente et maiſtralle et a la carta deL ponente verſo eL maeſtralle
poi duzente legue aL ponente mudando eL viago. a La Quarta in verſo
garbin fin in tredici gradi aL polo articho ꝓ apropinquarſe piu a La
tera deL capo de gaticara iL qaL capo cõ perdon de li Coſmo grafi ꝓ
q̃ nõ Lo viſteno nõ ſi troua doue loro iL penſauão ma aL
ſetentrione in dodeci gradj poco piu o mancho.
Circa de setanta legue a la detta via in dodeci gradi di latitudine et
146 de longitudine Mercore a 6 de marſo diſcopreſſemo vna yſola aL
maiſtralle picola et due alte aL garbino vna era piu alta et piu
granda de Laltre due iL capo generale voleua firmarſe nella
grande ꝓ pigliare qalque refrigerio ma nõ puote perche la gente de
queſta Jzolla entrauano nele naui et robauano qi vna coſa qi lalta
talmente q̃ non poteuamo gardarſi. Voleuano calare le vele acio
andaſemo in tera ne roborono lo ſquifo q̃ eſtaua ligato a La
popa de la naue capa cõ grandissa preſteza ꝓ il que corozato eL
capo generalle ando in tera con Quaranta huomini armati et bruzarono da
quaranta o cinquanta caze cõ molti barquiti et amazorono ſette
huomini et rehebe lo ſquifo Subito ne parti ſemo ſequendo Lo
medeſimo camino. Jnanzi q̃ diſmontaſemo in tera alguni noſti
infermi ne pregorono ſe amazauamo huomo o donna li portaſemo Ly
interiori ꝓ che Subito ſarebenno ſani.
Quando feriuamo alguni de queſti cõ li veretuni q̃ li paſſauano li
fianqi da luna banda alaltra tirauano il veretone mo diqua mo diLa
gardandoLo poi Lo tirauano fuora marauigliandoſe molto et cuſſi
moriuano et alti q̃ erano feriti neL peto faceuano eL Simille ne
moſſeno agrã compaſione Coſtoro vedendõe partire ne ſeguitorono
cõ piu de Cento barchiti piu de vna legua Se acoſtauano ale naui
moſſtrandone peſce cõ ſimulatiõe de darnello ma traheuano ſaxi
et poi fugiuano andando le naue cõ velle piene paſa vano fra loro et
li batelli con qelli ſui barcheti molto deſtriſſimi vedeſemo
algune femine in li barqueti gridare et ſcapigliarſe credo ꝓ amore
de li Suoi morti.
Ognuno de queſti vive ſecondo la Sua volonta non anno ſignori
vano nudi et alguni barbati con li capeli negri fino a lo cinta
ingropati portano capeleti de palma como li albanezi ſonno
grandi como nui et ben diſpoſti nõ adorão niente ſonno
aliuaſtri ma naſcono bianqi anno li denti roſſi et negri ꝓ
che la reputano beliſſima coſa le femine vano nude ſenon q̃
dinanzi a la ſua natura portano vna ſcorſa ſtreta ſotille come la
carta q̃ naſce fra larbore et la ſcorza de la palma ſonno
belle delicate et bianque piu que li huomini cõ li capilli ſparſi et
longui negriſſimi fino in tera Queſte nõ lauorano ma ſtanno
in caſa teſſendo ſtore casse de palma et altre coſe neceſſarie
acaſa ſua mangiano cochi batate vcceli figui longui vno palmo
canne dolci et peſci volatori cõ altre coſe ſe ongieno eL
corpo et li capili cõ oleo de cocho et de giongioli le ſue caſe
tute ſonno facte di legnio coperte de taule cõ foglie defigaro de
ſopa longue due braza con ſolari et cõ feneſtre li camare et li
lecti tucti forniti di ſtore beliſſime de palma dormeno ſoura
paglia di palma molto mole et menuta nõ anno arme Senon certe
aſte cõ vno oſſo pontino de peſce ne La cima Queſta gente e
pouera ma ingenioſa et molto ladra ꝓ queſto chiamaſſemo queſte
tre Jſole le yſole de li ladroni eL ſuo ſpaſo e andare cõ Le
donne ꝓ mare cõ qelle ſue barquete Sono como le fucelere ma
piu ſtrecti alguni negri bianqi et alti roſſi anno da lalta parte
dela vella vno legno groſſo pontino nele cime cõ pali atrauerſadi
qeL ſuſtentano neL acqua ꝓ andare piu ſeguri aLa vela la vela
e di foglie de palma cosite inſieme et facta amodo de latina ꝓ
timone anno certe pale como da for no cõ vno legnio in cima fanno
de la popa proua et de la proua popa et ſonno Como delfini ſaltar a
lacqua de onda in onda Queſti ladroni penſauano ali ſegni q̃
faceuão nõ fuſero alti homini aL mondo ſenon loro.
Sabato a ſedize de marſo 1521 deſſemo neLa aurora soura vna tera
alta lõgi trecento legue delle yſolle de li latroni laqaL e yſola et
ſe chiama Zamal eL capo gñale nel giorno ſeguente volſe diſmontare
in vnalta yſola deſhabitata ꝓ eſſere piu seguro q̃ era di dietro
de queſta ꝓ pigliare hacqua et qalque diporto fece fare due tende in
terra ꝓ li infermi et feceli amazare vna porcha Luni a 18. de
marſo vedeſſemo dapoi diſnare venire ꝟſo de nui vna barca cõ
noue homini ꝓ ilque lo capo generale comando q̃ niuno Si moueſſe
ne diceſſe parolla alguna ſenza ſua liſentia Quando ariuorono
queſti in terra ſubito Lo ſuo principalle ando aL capo gñale
moſtrandoſe alegro ꝓ la nr̃a venuta reſtarono cinqʒ de
queſti piu ornati cõ nuy li alti andorono a leuare alguni alti q̃
peſcauano et cuſſi venirono tucti vedendo Lo capo gñale que queſti
erano homini cõ ragionne li fece dare da mangiare et li donno bonneti
roſſi spequi petini ſonagli Auorio bocaſſini et alte coſe
Quando viſtenno la corteſia deL capo li preſentorono peſci vno
vaſo de vino de palma q̃ Lo chiamano Vraca figui piu longui dun palmo
et altri piu picoli piu ſaporiti et dui cochi alhora nõ haueuano alto
ne fecoro ſegni cõ La mano q̃ in fino aquatro giorni portarebenno
vmay q̃ e riſo cochi et molta altra victuuaglia.
Li coqi ſonno fructi deLa palma coſi como nui hauemo iL panne iL
vino lo oleo et lacetto coſi anno queſti populi ogni coſa da queſti
arbori anno eL vino in queſto modo forano La dicta palma in cima
neL coreſino de to palmito dalqalle ſtilla vna lichore como e moſto
biancho dolce ma vn pocho bruſqueto in canne groſſe come La gamba et
piu latacano alarbor̃ la ſera ꝓ la matina et la matina ꝓ la
ſera Queſta palma fa vno fructo iL qalle he lo cocho Queſto cocho e
grande como iL capo et piu et meno La ſua pima ſcorſa e ꝟde et
groſſa piu de dui diti nelaqalle trouano Certi filittj q̃ fanno le
corde q̃ liganno le ſue barque ſoto di queſta ne he vna dura
et molto piu groſſa di quella de la noce queſta la bruſano et
fano poluere bonna ꝓ loro ſoto di queſto e vna medola biancha
groſſa come vn dito LaqaL mangiano freſca cõ La carne et peſſi
como nui lo panne et de qeL ſapore q̃ he la mandola qui la ſecaſſe
ſe farebe panne in mezo di queſta medola e vna hacqua quiara
dolce et molto cordialle et quando queſta hacqua ſta vn pocho acolta
ſe congella et diuenta como vno pomo Quando voleno fare oglio
piglianno queſto cocho et laſſano putrefare qella medola cõ lacqua
et poi la fanno buglire et vene oleo como butiro Quando voleno far
aceto laſanno putrefare lacqua ſolamente poi lameteno aL ſolle et e
aceto como de vino biancho ſi po fare ancho latte como nui
faceuamo gratauamo qʒſta medola poi la miſquiauamo cō lacqua
ſua medeſima ſtrucandola in vno panno et coſi era late como di
capra. Queſte palme ſonno como palme deli datali ma non coſi nodoſe
ſe non liſce. Vna famiglia de x perſonne cō dui de queſte ſe
manteneno fruando octo giorni luna et octo giorni La alta ꝓ Lo vino
ꝓ che ſe altramenti faceſſeno Se ſecharebenno et durano cento
anny.
Grande familliaritade pigliarono cō nui Queſti populi ne
diſcero molte coſe como le chiamauano et li nomi de algune yſole q̃
ſe vedeuano de qi La ſua ſe chiama Zuluan laqalle non etropo
grande pigliaſcemo grā piacere cā queſti perche eranno aſay
piaceuoli et conuerſabili iL capo gñale ꝓ farli piu honnore li
meno ala ſua naue et li moſtro tuta la ſua mercadanſia garofoli
cannella peuere gengero noſce moſcade Matia oro et tute le coſe q̃
eranno nella naue fece deſcaricare algune bombarde hebero grā paura
et volſero ſaltar fuora de la naue ne fecero ſegni que li doue nuj
andauamo naſceſſeuano coſe Ja dete Quando ſi volſero partire
pigliarono liſentia con molta gratia et gentileza dicendo q̃
tornarebeno ſegondo la ſua ꝓmeſſa La yſola doue eramo ſe
chiama humunu ma noy ꝓ trouarli due fondana de hacqua chiariſſima
la chiameſſemo lacquada dali buoni ſe gnialli ꝓ che fu iL pimo
ſegnio de oro q̃ trouaſſemo in queſta parte. Qiui ſi troua grā
cantitade de coralli biancho et arbori grandi q̃ fanno fructi pocho
menori de La mandola et ſonno Como li pignioli et ancho molte palme
algune bonne et algune altre catiue in Queſto Locho ſonno molte
yſole. ꝓ ilque Lo chiamaſſemo larcipelago de s. lazaro
deſcourendo lo nella ſua dominicha iL quale ſta in x gradi de
latitudine aL polo articho et Cento e ſesanta vno di longitudine della
linea deLa repartitiõe.
Vennere a 22 de marzo venirono in mezo di qelli homini Secondo ne
haueuano ꝓmeſſo in due barcque cõ cochi naranſi dolci vno vaſo
de vino de palma et vno galo ꝓ dimoſtrare que in queſte parte
eranno galine se moſtrarono molto alegri verſo de noi compraſſemo
tute qelle ſue coſe iL ſuo sor era vechio et de pinto portaua due
Schione de oro a le oreqie li altri molte maniglie de oro ali brazi cõ
fazoli in torno Lo capo Steſemo quiui octo [giorni] neliqalli eL nr̃o
capo andaua ogni di in terra auiſitare ly infirmi et ogni matina li
daua cõ le ſue mani acqua deL cocho q̃ molto li confortaua di dietro
de queſta yſola ſtanno homini q̃ anno tanto grandi li picheti de
Lorechie q̃ portanno le braci ficati in loro Queſti popoli
ſonno caphri çioe gentili vanno nudi cõ tella de ſcorſa darbore
intorno le ſue vergonie se nõ alguni principali cõ telle de banbazo
lauorate neli capi cõ ſeda aguchia sonno oliuaſti graſſi de pinti
et ſe ongeno cõ olio de cocho et de giongioli ꝓ lo ſolle et ꝓ iL
vento anno li capili negriſſimi fina a La cinta et anno dague
cortelli lanſe fornite de oro targoni facine arponi et rete da
peſcare come Rizali le ſue barche ſonno corno le noſte
NeL luni ſancto a vinticinqʒ de marſo giorno de La nr̃a donna
paſſato mezo di eſſendo de hora in ora ꝓ leuarſi anday abordo de
la naue ꝓ peſcare et metendo li piedi ſopra vna antena ꝓ
deſcedere nela mesa degarni tiõe me slizegarono ꝓ che era pioueſto
et coſi caſtai neL mare q̃ ninguno me viſte et eſſendo quaſi
ſumerſo me venne ne La mano Siniſtra La ſcota de La vella magiore
q̃ era aſcoſa ne lacqua me teni forte et Comenſai agridare tanto
q̃ fui ajutato cõ Lo batelo nõ credo Ja per mey meriti ma ꝓ
la miſericordia di qella fonte de pieta foſſe ajutato. neL medeſimo
Jorno pigliaſſemo tra iL ponente et garbĩ infra quato yſolle çioe
Cenalo hiunanghan Jbusson et abarien
Joue a vinti octo de marzo ꝓ hauere viſto la nocte paſſata fuocho
in vna yſola ne la matina ſurgiſſemo apreſſo de queſta vedeſemo
vna barcha picola q̃ la chiamano boloto cõ octo nomini de dento
aꝓpincarſe nela naue Ca pitanea Vno ſchiauo deL capo gñale
q̃ era de zamatra gia chiamata traprobana li parlo ilqalle ſubito
inteſeno venero neL bordo de la naue nõ volendo intrare dento, ma
ſtauano vno pocho diſcoſti vedendo eL capo q̃ nõ voleuano fidarſi
de nui li buto vn bonnet roſſo et altre coſe ligate ſupa vn pezo de
taula La piglioronno molto alegri et Subito Se partirono ꝓ
auiſare el ſuo re deli circa due hore vedeſſemo vegnire due
balanghai ſonno barche grande et cuſſe le chiamano pienni de huomini
neL magior̃ era Lo suo re Sedendo ſoto vno coperto de ſtore
Quando eL giunſe ap̃ſſo La capitania iL Schiauo li parlo iL re lo
inteſe ꝓ che in queſte parte li re ſanno piu linguagij q̃ li alti
comando q̃ alguni ſoi intraſſeno nele naue luy ſempre
ſtete neL ſuo balanghai poco longi de La naue fin che li ſuoi
tornoronno et ſubito tornati ſe parti. iL Capo gñalle fece grande
honnore aqelli q̃ venirono nela naue et donnoli algune coſe per ilche
il re inanzi la ſua partita volſe donnare aL capo vna bava de oro
grande et vna ſporta piena de gengero ma luj rengratiandoL molto nõ
volce acceptarle neL tardi andaſemo cõ le naue apreſſo la
habitatiõe deL re.
JL giorno ſeguente q̃ era eL venerdi ſancto eL capo gñale mando lo
ſquia ua q̃ era lo interprete nr̃o in tera in vno batello adire aL
re ſe haueua alguna coſa da mangiare la faceſſe portar̃ in naue
q̃ reſtariano bene ſatiſfati da noi et como amici et nõ Como
nimici era venuti a laſua yſola eL re venne cõ ſey vero octo homini
neL medeſimo batello et entro nela naue abrazandoſi col capo gñale
et donoli tre vazi di porcelanna coperti de foglie pienne de rizo crudo
et due orade molto grande cõ altre coſe eL capo dete al re vna
veſte de panno roſſo et giallo fato a La torcheſca et vno bonnet
roſſo fino ali alti Sui aqi cortelli et aqi ſpecqi poy le fece dare
la Colatiõe et ꝓ il chiauo li fece dire q̃ voleua eſſere cun lui
caſi caſi cioe fratello riſpoſe q̃ coſſi voleua eſſere
ꝟſo de lui dapoy lo capo ge moſtro panno de diverſi colori tela
corali et molta alta mercantia et tuta lartigliaria facendola
deſcargare alguni molto ſi ſpauentorno poi fece armare vno homo cõ
vno homo darme et li meſſe atorno tre cõ ſpade et pugniale q̃ li
dauano ꝓ tuto iL corpo ꝓ laqaL coſa eL re reſto caſi fora diſe
li diſſe ꝓ il Schiauo q̃ vno de queſti armati valeua ꝓ cento de
li suoi reſpoſe q̃ era cuſſi et q̃ in ogni naue ne menaua duzento
q̃ ſe armauano de qella ſorte li moſtro Corazine ſpade et rodelle
et fece fare a vno vna leuata poi Lo conduſſe ſupa la tolda dela
naue q̃ he in cima de la popa et fece portare la ſua carta de
nauigare et La buſſola et li diſſe ꝓ linterprete como trouo Lo
ſtreto ꝓ vegnire alui et Quante lune ſonno ſtati ſenza vedere
terra Se marauiglio in vltimo li diſce q̃ voleua ſe li
piaceſſe mandare ſeco dui homini acio li moſtraſſe algune de le
ſue coſe reſpoſe q̃ era contento yo ge anday cõ vno alto
Quando fui in tera il re leuo le mani aL ciello et poi ſe volta conta
nuy dui faceſſemo lo ſimille verſo de lui coſi tuti li alti
fecero il re me piglio ꝓ La mano vno ſuo principale piglio lalto
compago et cuſſi ne menorõ ſoto vno coperto de cane doue era vno
balanghai longo octanta palmi deli mey Simille a vna fuſta ne
sedeſſemo ſopa la popa de queſto ſempre parlando con ſegni li
suoi ne ſtauano in piedi atorno atorno cõ ſpade dague Lanze et
targoni fece portare vno piato de carne de porco cõ vño vazo grande
pienno de vino beueuamo adogni boconne vna taſſa de vino lo
vino q̃ li auanſaua qalque volta ben q̃ foſceno poche ſe meteua in
vno vazo da ꝓ ſi la ſua taſa ſempre ſtaua coperta ninguno
alto li beueua Se nõ il re et yo Jnanzi q̃ lo re pigliaſſe la
taſſa ꝓ bere alzaua li mani giunte al çielo et ꝟſo de nui et
Quando voleua bere extendeua lo pugnio dela mano sini ſtra verſo dime
prima penſaua me voleſſe dare vn pognio et poi beueua faceua coſi
yo verſo il re Queſti ſegni fanno tuti luno verſo de Laltro
quando beueno cõ queſte cerimonie et alti ſegni de amiſitia
merenda ſemo mangiay neL vennere ſancto carne ꝓ nõ potere
fare alto Jnanzi q̃ veniſſe lora de cenare donay molte coſe al
re q̃ haueua portati ſcriſſe aſai coſſe como le chiamanão
Quanto Lo re et li alti me viſtenno fcriuere et li diceua qelle ſue
parolle tutti reſtorono atoniti in queſto mezo venne lora de
cenare portoronno duy plati grandi de porcelanna vno pienno de
rizo et lalto de carne de porcho cõ ſuo brodo cenaſſemo cõ li
medeſimj ſegni et cerimonie poi andaſſemo aL palatio deL re eLqalle
era facto como vna teza da fienno coperto de foglie de figaro et de
palma era edificato ſoura legni groſſi alti de terra qeL ſe
conuiene andare cõ ſcalle ne fece ſedere ſopa vna ſtora de canne
tenendo le gambe atracte como li Sarti deli ameza ora fo portato vno
piato de peſce bruſtolato in pezi et gengero ꝓ alora colto et vino
eL figliolo magiore deL re chera iL principe vene doue eramo
il re li diſſe q̃ ſedeſſe apreſſo noi et coſſi ſedete
fu portato dui piati vno de peſce cõ lo ſue brodo et lalto de rizo
acio q̃ mangiaſſemo col principe il nr̃o compago p̃ tanto
bere et mangiare diuento briaco Vzano ꝓ lume goma de arbore q̃
la quiamão anime voltata in foglie de palma o de figaro el re ne
fece ſegno qeL voleua andare adormire laſſo cõ nui lo principe
cõ qalle dormiſemo ſopa vna ſtora de canne cõ coſſini de foglie
venuto lo giorno eL re venne et me piglio ꝓ La mano coſſi
andaſſemo doue aveuamo cenato ꝓ fare colatiõe ma iL batelle ne
venne aleuare Jnanzi la partita eL re molto alegro ne baſo le
mani et noi le ſue venne cõ nui vno ſuo fratello re dunalta
yſola cõ tre homini Lo capo gñale lo retenete adiſnare cõ nui
et donoli molte coſe.
Nella yſola de queſto re que conduſſi ale naui ſe troua pezi de
oro grandi como noce et oui criuelando la terra tutti li vaſo de
queſto re ſonno de oro et anche alguna parte de dela caſa ſua coſi
ne referite Lo medeſimo re ſe gondo lo ſue coſtume era molto in
ordine et Lo piu bello huomo que vedeſſemo fra queſti populi haueua
li capili negriſſimi fin alle ſpalle cõ vno velo de ſeta ſopa Lo
capo et due ſquione grande de horo tacatte ale orechie portaua
vno panno de bombazo tuto Lauorato de ſeta q̃ copriua dala cinta fino
aL ginoquio aL lato vna daga cõ Lo manicho al canto longo tuto de oro
iL fodro era de legnio lauorato in ogni dente haueua tre machie
doro q̃ pareuano foſſeno ligati cõ oro oleua de ſtorac et
beligioui era oliuaſtro et tuto depinto. Queſta ſua yſola ſe
chiama butuan et calagan. Quando queſti re ſe voleuano vedere ve neno
tuti due aLa caza in queſta yſola doue eramo eL re pimo ſe qiama
raia colambu iL ſegundo raia siaui.
Domenicha vltimo de marſo giorno de paſca nela matina ꝓ tempo eL
capo gñale mando il prete cõ alcanti aparechiare ꝓ douere dire
meſſa cõ lo interprete a dire al re q̃ nõ voleuamo diſcendere in
terra ꝓ diſinar ſecho ma ꝓ aldire meſſa ꝓ ilque Lo re ne
mando dui porqi morti Quando fu hora de meſſa andaſſemo in
terra forſe cinquanta huomini nõ armati la ꝓſo na ma cõ le altre
nr̃e arme et meglio veſtite q̃ poteſſemo Jnanzi que
aruaſſemo aLa riua cõ li bateli forenno ſcaricati sej pezi de
bombarde in ſegnio de pace ſaltaſſemo in terra li dui re
abraſſarono lo capo gñale et Lo meſſeno in mezo de loro
andaſſemo in ordinanza fino aL locho conſacrato non molto longi de
la riua Jnanzi ſe comenſaſſe la meſſa iL capo bagno tuto eL
corpo de li dui re con hacqua moſta da Se oferſe ala meſſa
li re andorono abaſſiare la croce como nuy ma nõ oferſeno
Quando ſe leuaua lo corpo de nr̃o sor ſtauano in genoquioni et
adorauanlo cõ le mane gionte le naue tirarono tuta La artigliaria
in vno tempo quando ſe leuo Lo corpo de xo dando ge Lo ſegnio de la
tera cõ li ſchiopetj finita la meſſa alquanti deli noſti ſe
comunicorono Lo capo generale fece fare vno ballo cõ le ſpade
deque le re hebenno grã piacere poi fece portare vna croce cõ li
quiodi et la coronna alaqaL ſubito fecero reuerentia li diſſe
per Lo interprete como queſto era iL vessilo datoli daLo inperator̃
ſuo ſignore açio in ogni parte doue andaſſe meteſſe queſto ſuo
ſegnialle et che voleua meterlo iui ꝓ ſua vtilita ꝓ che ſe
veneſſeno algune naue dele nr̃e ſaperianno cõ queſta croce noj
eſſere ſtati in queſto locho et nõ farebenno deſpiacere aloro ne
ale coſe [coſe: doublet in original MS.] et ſe pigliaſſeno alguno
de li ſoi ſubito moſtrandoli queſto ſegnialle le laſſerianno
andare et q̃ conueniua meter̃ queſta croce in cima deL piu alto
monte que foſſe açio vedendola ogni matina La adoraſſeno et
ſeqʒſto faceuano ne troui ne fulmini ni tempeſta li nocerebe in
coſa alguna lo ringratiorno molto et q̃ farebenno ogni coſa
volentieri ancho li fece dire ſe eranno morj ho gentili o inque
credeuão riſpoſero q̃ nõ adorauão alto ſinon alſauano le
mani giunti et la faza al ciello et q̃ chiamauão Lo ſua dio Abba ꝓ
laqaL coſa lo capo hebe grande alegreſſa vedendo queſto eL
pimo re leuo le mani aL ciello et diſſe q̃ voria ſe foſſe
poſſibille farli veder̃ iL ſuo amore verſo de lui Lo interprete ge
diſſe ꝓ qaL cagiõe haueua quiui coſi pocho da mangiare
reſpoſe q̃ nõ habitaua in qʒſto Locho ſe nõ quãdo veniua a La
caza et a vedere Lo ſuo fratello ma ſtaua in vna alta yſola doue
haueua tuta la ſua famiglia li fece dire ſe haueua Jnimici Lo
diceſſe ꝓ cio andarebe cõ queſte naue adeſtrugerli et faria lo
hobedirianno Lo rengratio et diſſe q̃ haueua benne due yſolle
nemiche maque alhora nõ era tempo de andarui Lo Capo li diſſe
ſe dio faceſſe q̃ vnalta fiatta ritornaſce in queſte parte
conduria tanta gente q̃ farebe ꝓ forſa eſerli ſugette et que
voleua andare adiſnare et dapoy tornarebe ꝓ far pore la croce in
cima deL monte riſpoſero eranno Contenti facendoſſe vn bata glione
cõ ſcaricare li ſquiopeti et abraſandoſi lo capo cõ li due re
pigliaſſemo liſentia.
Dopo diſnare tornaſſemo tucti in gioponne et andaſsemo inſieme cõ
li duy Re neL mezo di in cima deL piu alto monte q̃ foſſe
Quando ariuaſſemo in cima Lo capo genneralle li diſſe como li era
caro hauere ſudato ꝓ loro ꝓ che eſendo iui la croce nõ poteua
ſinon grandamẽte Jouarli et domandoli qaL porto era migliore
ꝓ victuuaglie diceſſero q̃ ne erano tre çioe Ceylon Zubu et
calaghann ma che Zubu era piu grande et de meglior trafico et ſe
proferſenno di darni piloti q̃ ne inſegniarebenno iL viago Lo capo
gñale li rengratio et delibero de andarli ꝓ q̃ cuſſi voleua la
sua infelice ſorte. poſta la cruce ognuno dice vno pater noſter et
vna aue maria adorandola coſi li re fecenno poy deſcendeſſemo
ꝓ li ſui campi Lauorattj et andaſſemo doue era lo balanghai
li re feceno portare alquanti cochi açio ſe rinfreſcaſſimo Lo
capo li domando li piloti ꝓ che la matina ſequente voleua partirſi
et q̃ li tratarebe como ſe medeſimo Laſandoli vno de li nr̃j ꝓ
oſtagio riſpoſero q̃ ogni ora li voleſſe eranno aL ſuo
comãdo ma nela nocte iL pimo re ſe mudo dopigniõe La
matina quando eramo ꝓ partirſi eL re mando adire aL capo generalle
q̃ per amore ſuo aſpectaſſe duj giornj fin q̃ faceſſe coglire
el rizo et alti ſui menuti pregandolo mandaſſe alguni homini ꝓ
ajutareli açio piu preſto ſe ſpazaſſe q̃ luy medeſimo voleua
eſſere lo nr̃o piloto. lo Capo mandoli alguni homini ma li Re
tanto mangiorono et beueteno q̃ dormiteno tuto il giorno alguni
ꝓ eſcuſarli dicero q̃ haueuano vno pocho de malle ꝓ qeL giorno
li noſti nõ fecero niente ma neli alti dui ſeguenti lauorono.
Vno de queſti populi ne porte force vna ſcudela de rizo cõ octo o
dieze figue ligaty inſieme ꝓ baratarli in vno cortello q̃ valeua iL
piu tre catrini eL capo vedendo que queſto nõ voleua alto Senon
vno cortello lo chiamo ꝓ vedere piu coſe miſſe mano a la
borſa et li volce dare ꝓ qelle coſe vno realL lui noL volſi
lui moſtro vno ducato mancho lo accepto al fine li volce
dare vno dopionne de duy ducati nõ volce mai alto q̃ vn corte lo
et cuſſi li lo fece dare Andando vno de li nr̃i in terra ꝓ
tore acqua vno de queſti li volce dare vno coronna pontina de oro
maſiçio grãde como vna colona ꝓ ſey filce de criſtalino ma iL
capo non volce q̃ la bara taſſe açio que in queſto principio
ſapeſſero q̃ pritiauamo piu la nr̃a mercantia q̃ Lo ſuo oro.
Queſti populi ſonno gentili vanno nudi et de pinti portano
vno pezo de tella de arbore intorno le ſue vergonie Sonno
grandiſſimi beuitori le ſue femi ne vanno veſtite de tella de
arbore de la cinta in giu cõ li capili negri fina in terra anno
forate le orechie et pienne de oro. Queſta gente ſempre
maſticanno vno fruto q̃ Lo quiamano Areca e como vno pero lo
taglianno in quato parti et poi lo volueno nele foglie deL ſuo arburo
q̃ le nominano betre ſonno como foglie di moraro cõ vno poco de
calcina et quando le anno bē maſticate le ſputano fora fanno
diuentare la boca rociſſima Tucti li populi de queſta parte deL
mondo le vzanno ꝓ che rinfreſcali molto eL core Se
reſtaſſeno de vzarle morirebenno in queſta izolla ſonno cany
gati porci galine capre rizo gengero cochi figui naranzi limoni miglio
panizo ſorgo cera et molto oro ſta de Latitudine in noue gradi
et dui terſi aL artico et cento et ſeſanta dui de longitudine della
linea de La ripartitiõe et vinti cinque legue longi de la acquada et
ſe chiama Mazaua
Steſsemo sette giorni quiui poi pigliaſſemo la via deL
maiſtrale paſſando fa cinqʒ yſolle cioe Ceylon bohol canighan
baybai et gatighan in queſta yſola de gatigan ſonno barbaſtili
grandi como aquille ꝓ q̃ era tardi ne amaçaſſemo vno
era como vna galina aL mangiare ge ſonno colombi tortore papagali et
certi vcelli negri grandi como galine cõ la coda lõga fanno oui
grandi como de ocqua li meteno ſoto la ſabia ꝓ lo grã caldo li
crea Quando ſonno naſciuti alzano la arena et vieneno fora
queſti oui ſonno bony de mangiare. De mazaua agatighan ſonno
vinti leghe partendone da gatighan aL ponente iL re de mazaua non
ne puote ſeguir̃ ꝓ che lo eſpectaſſemo circa tre yſolle cioe
polo ticobon et pozon quando eL gionſe molte ſe marauiglio deL nr̃o
nauigare Lo capo gñale lo fece mõ tare nela ſua naue cõ alguni ſoi
principali dilque hebero piacere et coſſi andaſſemo in zubu da
gatighan azubu ſonno quindice legue.
Domeniga a sete de apille amezo di intraſſemo neL porto de Zubu
paſſando per molti vilagij vedeuamo molte caze facte ſopra li arbori
Apropinquãdone ala cita Lo capo gñale comando le naui
sinbanderaſſeno furono Calate le velle et poſte amodo de bataglia et
ſcarico tuta lartigliaria ꝓ ilque queſti populi hebero
grandiſſima paura Lo capo mando vno ſuo alieuo cõ lo
interprete inbaſſiatore aL re de Zubo. Quando ariuorono nela
cita trouorono Jnfiniti huomini inſieme cõ Lo re tuti pauroſi ꝓ le
bombarde linterprete li diſſe queſto eſere nr̃o coſtume
intrando in ſimili luogui in ſegnio de pace et amiſitia et ꝓ
honnorare lo re deL luogo ſcaricauamo tuctele bombarde eL re et
tucti li ſuoi ſe aſegurorono et fece dire ali noſti ꝓ lo ſuo
gouuernatore q̃ voleuamo linterprete riſpoſe como eL ſuo
ſigniore era capo deL magiore re et principe foſſe neL mondo et q̃
andaua adiſcourir̃ malucho ma ꝓ la ſua bonna fama Como haueua
Jntezo daL re de mazaua era venuto ſolamente ꝓ vizitarlo et pigliare
victuuaglia cõ la ſua merchadantia li diſſe q̃ in bonna hora
foſſe venuto ma q̃ haueua queſta vzanſa tutte le naui q̃
intrauano neL porto ſuo pagauão tributu et q̃ nõ eranno quato gi
che vno Juncho de Ciama cargato doro et de ſchiaui li haueua dato
tributo et ꝓ ſegnio di queſto li moſtro vno mer chadante de çiama
que era reſtato ꝓ merchadantare oro et ſquiaui Lo interprete
li diſſe como eL ſuo ſigniore ꝓ eſſere capo de tanto grã re
non pagaua tributo ad alguno ſigniore deL mondo et ſe voleua pace
pace ha uerebe et ſe non guerra guera Alhoro eL moro merchadante
diſſe aL re Cata raia chita çioe garba ben ſigniore queſti ſonno
de qelli q̃ anno conquiſtato Calicut malaca et tuta lindia magiore
Si bene ſi li fa ben ſe a ſe male male et pegio como anno facto
a calicut et amalaca linterprete Jnteſo lo tuto et diſſegli qeL
re de ſuo ſigniore era piu potente de gente et de nauj q̃ Lo re de
portogalo et era re de ſpagnia et Jmperator̃ de tuttj li xp̃iani et
ſe nõ voleua eſſerli amicho li mandaria vnalta fiata tanta gente
qeL deſtruerião iL moro naro ogni coſa aL re alhora li diſſe ſe
conſigliarebe cõ li ſui et nel di ſeguente li riſponderebe poy
fece portare vna colatiõe de molte viuãde tute de carne poſte in
piati de porcelane cõ molti vazi di vino data La Colatiõe li
noſti retornoronno et ne diſſero lo tuto iL re de mazaua q̃
era lo pimo dopo queſto re et ſigniore de alcante yſolle ando in
tera ꝓ dire al re la grande cortezia deL nr̃o capo genneralle.
Luni matina iL nr̃o ſcriuão inſieme cõ linterprete andorono in
zubu vene iL re con li ſui principali in piaza et fece ſedere li
noſti apreſſo lui li diſe ſe piu duno capo era in qʒſta
compania et ſeL voleua lui pagaſſe tributo aL imperatore ſuo Sor.
riſpoſe de nõ ma voleua ſolamente merchadantaſe cõ lui et non con
alti diſſe q̃ era contento et ſe Lo capo nr̃o voleua eſſere
ſuo amicho li mandaſſe von pocho de ſangue deL ſuo bracio drito et
coſſi farebe luy ꝓ ſegnio de piu vera amiſitia reſpoſe q̃
Lo faria poy Lo re li diſſe como tucti li capi q̃ veniuão
quiui se dauano pñti luno cõ lalto et ſe Lo nr̃o capo olui doueua
comenſare linterprete li diſſe poy q̃ lui voleua mantegnire
queſto coſtume cominciaſſe et cuſſi comenſo.
Marti matina iL re de mazaua con lo moro venne ale naui ſaluto lo
capitano gñale da parte diL re et diſcelli como iLre de Zubu faceua
adunare piu victuuaglia poteua ꝓ darnela et como mandarebe dopo
diſnare vno ſuo nepote con dui otre de ſui principali ꝓ fare la
pace. lo capo gñale fece armare vno de le ſue ꝓprie arme et
feceli dire como tuti nuy combateuamo de qella ſorta; iL moro molto
ſi ſpauento iL capo li diſſe nõ ſi ſpauentaſſe perche le
nr̃e ar me eranno piaceuoli ali amici et aſpere ali nemici et
coſi como li fazoli aſciugano yl ſudore coſi le nr̃e arme ateranno
et deſtrugeno tuti li aduerſarj et maleuoli de La nr̃a fede fece
queſto acio el moro q̃ pareua eſſere piu aſtuto de li alti lo
diceſſe aL re.
Dopo diſnare vene ale naui Lo nipote deL re q̃ era principe coL re de
mazaua iL moro iL gouuernatore et iL barizello magiore cõ octo
principali ꝓ fare La pace con noi Lo capo gñale ſedendo in vna
cadedra de veluta roſſa li prin cipali in ſedie de corame et li alti
in tera ſoura ſtore li diſſe ꝓ Lo interprete ſe Lo ſuo coſtume
era de parlare in ſecreto houero in publico et Se queſto principe col
re de mazaua haueuão potere de fare la pace riſpoſero q̃ parla
vano in publico et q̃ coſtoro haueuão iL potere de far la pace
Lo capo diſſe molte coſe ſoura la pace et qeL pregaua ydio la
confirmaſſe in cielo diſcero que may nõ haueuão aldite
cotalle parolle et que pigliauão grã piacere a vdir le Vedendo
Lo capo q̃ queſto volenti eri aſcoltauão et reſpondeuão li
comincio dire coſe per indurli ala fede: Domando qaL dopo la morte deL
re ſuccedeſſe aLa sa. riſpoſe q̃ Lo re nõ haueua figlioli ma
figliole et q̃ queſto ſuo nipote haueua ꝓ moglie la magiore percio
era Lo principe et quando li padri et madri eranno vequi non ſi
honorauão piu mali figlioli li comandauão lo capo li diſſe
como ydio fece Lo ciello La terra Lo mare et tucte le alte coſe et
como inpoſſe ſe doueſſeno honnorare li padri et madri et qi
altramẽte faceua era condempnato neL fuoco eterno et como tuti
deſcendeuão de adam et eua noſti primi parenti et como haueuamo
Lanima in mortalle et molte altre coſe pertinenti ala fede tuti alegri
li ſuplicorono voleſſe laſarli dui homini ho aL meno vno acio li
amayſtraſſe ne La fede et che li farebẽo grande honnore gli
reſpoſe q̃ alhora nõ poteua laſciarli alguno ma ſe vole uão
eſſere xp̃iano Lo prete nr̃o li baptezarebe et q̃ vnalta fiata
menaria preti et frati queli inſegniarebẽo la fede nr̃a
riſpoſero que pima voleuão parlare al re et poy diuentarebenno
xp̃iani lagrimaſſemo tuti ꝓ la grande alegreza Lo capo li
diſce q̃ non ce facero xp̃iani ꝓ paura ne ꝓ compiacerne ma vo
lontariamẽte et acoloro q̃ voleuão viuere ſecondo la ſua lege nõ
li farebe facto diſpiacer alguno mali xp̃iani ſerianno meglio viſti
et caregiati q̃ li alti Tuti gridaronno aduna voce q̃ nõ ſe
faceuão xp̃iani ꝓ paura ne ꝓ compiacerne ma ꝓ ſua ſpontanea
volontate Alhora li diſſe q̃ ſi deuentauão xp̃iani gli
Laſſarebe vna armatura ꝓ che cuſſi li era ſtato inpoſto deL
ſuo re et como nõ poteuão vzare cõ le ſue donne eſendo gentilli
ſenza grandiſſimo pecato et como li aſeguraua q̃ eſſendo xiani
non li aparerebe piu eL domonio ſinon neL ponto extremo de la ſua
morte diceno q̃ no ſapeuano reſponderli ꝓ le ſue belle parolle ma
ſe rimeteuano nele ſue manj et faceſſe de loro como de ſoy
fideliſſimi ſeruitori Lo capo piangendo li abrazo et
agiungendo vna mano del principe et vna deL re fra le ſue li diſſe
ꝓ la fede portaua a dio et alimperator̃ ſuo ſigniore et ꝓ Lo
habito q̃ haueua li prometeua q̃ li daua la pace ꝓpe tua col re
deſpagnia reſpoſero que lo ſimille prometeuão Coneluſa
la pace Lo capo fece dare vna colatiõe poy lo principe et re
preſentarono aL capo da parte deL ſuo re alquanti ceſtoni de rizo
porci capre et galine et li diſcero li perdonaſce ꝓ cio taL coſe
erano pocque avno ſimille alui Lo capo dono aL principe vno panno
biancho di tella ſotiliſſima vno bonnet rozo aL quante felce de
chriſtalino et vno biquier dorato de vetro. li vetri ſonno molto
apreciati in queſte parte. AL re di mazaua nõ li deto alguno
pñte ꝓ che gia li aueua dato vna veſte de cambaya con altre coſe
et ali altri aqi vna coſa aqi vnalto. Mando poy aL re de zubu ꝓ
mi et vnalto vna veſte de ſeta gialla et morella aguisa Turcheſca
vno bonnet roſo fino alquante filce de criſtalino poſto ogni coſa
in vno piato dargento et dui biqui eri dorati in mano Quando
focemo nela cita trouaſſemo Lo re in ſuo palatio cõ molti homini
q̃ ſe deua in tera ſoura vna ſtora di palma haueua ſola mente
vno panno de tella de bombazo dinanzi ale ſue ꝟgonie vno velo
intorno lo capo Lauorato aguchia vna Colana aL colo de grã precio due
ſquione grande de oro tachate ale orecquie cõ petre precioſe atorno
era graſſo et picolo et depinto cõ lo fuocho a diuerſe maniere
mangiaua in tera ſoura vnalta ſtora oui de bissascutelaza poſti in
dui vazi de porcelañ et haueua dinanzi quato vazi piennj de vino de
palma ſerati con erbe odiri fere et ficati catro cannuti con ogni vno
cõ queſti beueua. Facta la debita reuerentia linterprete li diſſe
como lo ſuo ſigniore lo rengratiaua molto deL ſuo pñte et que li
mandaua queſto nõ ꝓ il ſuo ma ꝓ lo trinſicho amore li portaua
li veſteſſemo la veſte gli poneſſemo iL bonnet in capo et li
deſſemo le altre coſe et poy baſandoli vetri et ponendoli ſoura lo
capo le li preſentai et facendo lui eL ſimilli li accepto poi iL re
ne fece mãgiare de qelli oui et bere con qelli canuti li alti ſui in
queſto mezo gli diſſero lo parlamto deL capo ſopa la pace et lo
exortamento ꝓ farli xp̃iani iL Re ne volce te ner ſecho acene
li diceſſemo non poteuamo aloro reſtare pigliata la liſentia iL
principe ne meno ſeco a caſa ſua doue ſonauano catro fanciulle vna
de tamburo amodo nr̃o ma era poſta in tera Vnalta daua vno
legnio facto alcanto groſſo neL capo con tella de palma in due
borquia pichate mo in la vna mo in lalta Lalta in vna borquia
grande col medeſimo modo. La vltima cõ due brochiete in mão dando
luna ne lalta faceua vno ſuaue ſonno tanto atempo ſonauão que
pareua haueſſeno grã ragion deL canto Queſte eranno aſay belle et
bian que caſi como le noſtre et coſi grande eranno nude ſinon
q̃ haueuão tella de arbore de la cinta fina aL ginoquio et algune
tute nude col pichieto dele orechie grande con vno cerquieto de legnio
dentro quelo tene tondo et largo cõ li capeli grandi et negri et cõ
vno velo picolo atorno iL capo et ſempre diſcalce iL principe ne fece
balare cõ tre tutte nude merendaſſemo et dapoy veniſſemo ale
naui Queſte borchie ſonno de metalo et ſe fanno ne La regiõe
deL ſignio magno q̃ e detta La China Quiui le vzanno Como nuy le
campane et le chiamano aghon.
Mercore matina ꝓ eſſere morto vno deli noſti nella nocte paſſata
linterprete et yo andaſſemo adomander aL re doue lo poteriamo ſe
pelire trouaſſemo Lo re aCompagniato de molti homini acui facta la
debita reuerenſia li lo diſſe riſpoſe ſe io et li mey vaſalli
ſemo tucti deL tuo ſigniore Quãto magiormte debe eſſere la terra
et li dice como voleuamo conſacrare il luoco et meterlj vna croce
riſpoſe que era molto contento et q̃ la voleua adorare como nuy alti
fu ſepolto lo morto nela piaza aL meglio poteſſemo ꝓ darli
bõ exempio et poy la conſacraſſemo ſultardi ne sepeliſſemo
vno alto portaſſemo molta merchantia in terra et la meteſſemo in
vna caſa qaL el re Latolſe ſoura ſua fede et Quatro homini q̃
eranno reſtati per merchadantare in groſſo. Queſti populi viueno
cõ Juſtitia peſo et mezura amano la pace lotio et laquiete
anno bilancie de legnio lo legnio a vna corda neL mezo cõ LaqaL
ſetiene duno capo e piombo et delalto ſegni como carti terci et
librr̃ Quando voleno pezare pigliano la belanſia ch̃ e cõ tre filli
como le nr̃e et la meteno ſoura li ſegni et cuſi peſano Juſto
anno mezure grandiſſime ſenza fondo le Jouane Jogano de
Zampognia fate Como le nr̃e et le chiamano Subin le caſe ſonno
de legni de taule et de cane edificate ſopa pali groſſi alti de
terra q̃ biſognia andarui dento cõ ſcalle et anno camare como le
nr̃e ſoto le caſe teneno li porci capre et galine ſe trouono quiui
corniolli grandi belli aL vedere q̃ amazano le balene leqalle le
Jnguiotano viui Quando loro ſonno neL corpo veneno fuora deL ſuo
coperto et li magiano eL core Queſta gente le trouano poi viui
apreſſo deL core dele ballenne morte Quenti anno denti la pelle
negra iL coperto biancho et La carne Sonno boni da mangiare et le
chiamano laghan.
Vennere li moſtraſſemo vna botega pienna de le nr̃e merchantie ꝓ
ilque reſtoronno molto admirati ꝓ metalle fero et lalta merchantia
groſſa ne dauano horo ꝓ le altre menute ne dauão riſo porci et
capre cõ altre vi tuualgie Queſti populi ne dauano x peci de oro
ꝓ xiiij libre de ferro vno pezo e circo duno ducato emezo Lo
capo gñale non volſe ſe pigliaſſe tropo oro perque ſarebe ſtato
alguno marinaro q̃ hauerebe dato tuto Lo ſuo ꝓ vno poco de oro et
haueria diſconciato Lo trafigo ꝓ semper Sabato ꝓ hauer̃
ꝓmeſſo Lo re aL capo de farſi xp̃iano ne la dominicha ſe fece ne
la piaza q̃ era ſacrata vno tribunalle adornato de tapiſſeria et
rami de palma ꝓ baptizarlo et mandoli adire q̃ nella matina nõ
haueſe paure dele bombarde per cio era noſto coſtume ne le feſte
magiore deſcaricar̃ ſenza pietre.
Domeniga matina a Quatordize de apille andaſſemo in terra Quaranta
hõj cõ duy homini tucti armati denanzi aLa bandiera realle
Quante diſmõ taſſemo ſe tira tucta lartigliaria Queſti
populi ſiguião diqua et de la Lo capo et lo re ſe abraciorono li
diſſe q̃ la bandera realle nõ ſi portaua in terra ſinon cõ
cinquanta homini Como erano li dui armati et cõ cinquanta ſchiopeteri
ma ꝓ lo ſuo grande amore coſi la haueua portata poi tuti
alegri andaſſemo preſſo aL tribunalle Lo capo et Lo re
ſedeuão in cathedre de veluto roſſo et morello li principalli in
cuſſini li alti ſoura ſtore lo Capo diſſe aL re ꝓ lo
interprete ringratiaſſe ydio ꝓ cio lo haueua inſpirato a farſe
xp̃ano et que vincerebe piu facilmente li ſui nemiſi q̃ prima
riſpoſe q̃ voleua eſſere xp̃iano ma alguni ſui principali nõ
voleuano ho bedire ꝓ che diceuano eſſere cuſſi homini como lui
alhora lo nr̃o capo fece chiamare tucti li principali deL re et
diſſeli ſenon hobediuão aL re como ſuo re li farebe amazare et
daria la ſua roba aL re Riſpoſeno lo hebedirebẽo diſſe
aL re ſe andaua in ſpagnia retornarebe vnalta volta cõ tanto potere
q̃ lo faria Lo magior re de qelle parte per che era ſtato pimo a
voler farſe xp̃iano leuando li many aL ciello Lo rengratio et
pregolo alguni de Ly ſoy rimaneſſe açio meglio lui et li ſui
populi focero inſtructi nelafede Lo capo reſpoſe que ꝓ Contentarlo
li Laſſarebe duy ma voleua menar ſeco dui fanciulli deli principalli
acio in paraſſeno la linga nr̃a et poi aLa ritornato ſapeſſero
dire aqueſti altri le coſe deſpagnia ſe miſſe vna croce
grande neL mezo de la piaza Lo capo li diſſe ſeſi voleuão far
xp̃iani Como haueuão deto nelli giornj paſſati li biſogniaua bru
ſare tucti li ſui ydoli et neL luoco loro metere vna croce et ogni di
cõ le mane Joncte adorarla et ogni matina neL vzo farſi lo ſegnio de
La croce moſtrandoli como li faceua et ogni hora al meno de matina
doueſſeno veni re a queſta croce et adorarla in genoquioni et qeL
q̃ haueuão Ja deto voleſer̃ cõ le bonne opere confirmarlo el
re cõ tucti li alti voleuão confirmare lo tucto lo capo gñale
li diſſe como ſera veſtito tuto de biancho ꝓ moſtrarli Lo ſuo
ſincero amore verſo de loro riſpoſero ꝓ li ſui dolci paroli
nõ ſaperli reſpondere. Con queſte bonne parolle lo capo conduſſe
lo re ꝓ la mão ſuL tribunalle ꝓ baptizarlo et diſſeli ſe
chiameria don carlo como alinperator̃ ſuo ſigniore aL principe don
fernando como aL fratello delinperator̃ al Re de mazaua Johanni a vno
principalle fernando como iL principalle noſto çioe Lo capo. Al moro
xoforo poy ali alti aqi vno nome et aqi vno alto forenno baptizati
inanzi meſſa cinque cento hominj Vdita la meſſa lo capo
conuito adiſnar ſeco lo re cõ altri principali nõ volſero ne
acompagniarono fina ala riua le naui ſcaricorono tutte le
bombarde et abrazandoſe preſſero Combiatto.
Dopo diſnare il prete et alguni altri andaſſemo in terra ꝓ
baptizar La reyna laqalle venne cõ quaranta dame la conduceſſemo
ſopa lo tribunalle facendola ſedere ſoura vno coſſino et lalte
Zirca ella fin qeL prete Sapara li moſtray vno Jmagine de La nr̃a
donna vno bambino di legnio beliſſimo et vna croce ꝓ il que li
venne vna contrictiõe q̃ piangendo domando lo bateſimo la nomina
ſemo Johanna como la madre de linperator̃ ſua figliola moglie deL
principe Catherina la reyna de mazaua lizabeta a le altre ognuna lo
ſuo nome bap tizaſſemo octo cento anime fra homini donne et
fanciulli la regina era Jouene et bella tuta coperta duno panno
biancho et nero haueua la bocha et le onghie roſiſſime in capo vno
capello grande de foglie de palma amodo de ſolana cõ vna coronna in
circa de le medeſme foglie como qella deL papa ne may va in
alguno locho ſenza vna de queſte ne demando iL banbino ꝓ
tenerlo in locho de li ſoi ydoli et poy ſe parti ſultardi iL re
et la reyna cõ aſayſſime perſonne vennerono aL lito lo capo
alhora fece tirare molte trombe de fuocho et bombarde groſſe ꝓ
ilche pigliaronno grandiſimo piacer̃ eL capo et lo re ſe
chiamanão fratelli Queſto re ſe chiamaua raia humabõ
Jnanzi paſaſſeno octo giorni forenno baptizati tucti de queſta
yſola et dele altre alguni bruſaſſemo vna vila ꝓ nõ vollere
hobedire aL re ne a noy la qalle era in vna yſola vicina aqueſta
poneſſemo quiui la croce ꝓ que queſti populi eranno gentilli
ſe foſſero ſtato mori li hauereſſemo poſto vna colonna in
ſegnio de piu dureza ꝓ che li mori ſonno aſay piu duri ꝓ
conuertirli cha li gentilli.
Jn queſti giorni lo capo gñalle andaua ogni di in terra ꝓ vdire
meſſa et diceua aL re molte coſe de La fede La regina vene vno
giorno cõ molta pompa ad vdir la meſſa tre donzelle li andauão
dinanzi con tre de li ſui capelli in mão eLa era veſtita de negro et
biancho cõ vno velo grande de ſeta trauerſato cõ liſte de oro in
capo q̃ li copriua li ſpalle et cõ Lo ſuo capello aſaiſſime
donne la ſeguiuão leqalle erão tute nude et diſcalce ſenon Jntorno
le parte ꝟgonioſe haueuão vno paniocolo de tella de palma et atorno
lo capo vno velo picollo et tucti li capilli ſparſi La regina
facta la reuerentia aL altare ſedete ſupa vno coſſino Lauorato di
ſeta inanzi ſe comenſaſſe la meſſa iL capo la ba gnio cõ
alquante ſue dame de hacqua roza muſchiata molto ſe delectauão de
talle odore ſapendo Lo capo qeL bambino molto piaceua a la reyna
liel dono et li diſſe Lo teneſſe in Locho de li ſui ydoli ꝓ che
era in memoria deL figloL de dio ringratiandolo molto lo accepto.
Vno giorno lo capo gñale inanzi meſſa feſſe venire lo re veſtito
cõ la ſua veſta de ſeta et li principali de la cita iL fradello deL
re padre deL principe Se chiamaua bendara vno alto fratello deL re
Cadaio et alguni Simiut ſibuaia Sisacai et maghalibe et molti alti que
laſſo ꝓ non eſſere longo fece tuti q̃ſti Jurare eſſere
hobedienti aL ſuo re et li baſaronno la mano poi fece qeL re
deſſere ſempre hobediente et fidelle aL re deſpagnia coſi lo
Juro alhora iL capo cauo la ſua ſpada inanzi la ymagina de nr̃a
donna et diſſe aL re Quando coſſi ſe Juraua piu preſto doueriaſi
morire que aromper vno ſimiL Juramẽto ſiqueL Juraua ꝓ queſta
ymagine ꝓ la vita de limperator̃ ſuo se. et ꝓ il ſuo habito
deſſerle ſempre fidelle facto queſto lo capo donno aL re vna
cathedra de veluta roſſo dicendoli ounque andaſſe ſemꝓ La
faceſſe portare dinanzi avn ſuo piu porpinque et moſtroli Como La
ſi doueua portare reſpoſe Lo farebe volentierj ꝓ amore ſuo et
diſce aL capo Como faceua far vna Joya ꝓ donarlila laqaL era due
ſchione doro grande ꝓ tacare ali oreqie due ꝓ metere ali brazi
Soura li gomedi et due altre ꝓ pore ali piedi ſoura le calcagnie et
altre petre precioſe ꝓ adornare le orechie Queſti ſonno li
piu belli adornamẽti poſſano vzare li re de queſte bande liqalli
ſempre vano deſcalci con vno panno de tella de la cinta fina aL
ginochio.
JL capo gñale vno Jorno diſſe al re et ali alti ꝓ qaL cagionne nõ
bruzauão li ſoi ydoli como li haueuão ꝓmeſſo eſendo
chriſtiannj et ꝓ che ſe Ly ſacrificaua tanta Carne
riſpoſero qeL q̃ faceuão non Lo faceuão ꝓ loro ma ꝓ vno
infermo açio li ydoli li daſſe ſalute laqeL non parlaua Ja cato
giorni era fratello deL principe et Lo piu valente et Sauio de La
yſolo Lo capo gli diſſe q̃ bruſſaſero le ydoli et credeſſeno
in chriſto et ſe linfermo ſe baptiſaſſe ſubito garirebe et ſe
cio nõ foce li tagliaſſero Lo capo alhora alhora riſpoſe lo re lo
farebe ꝓ che varamẽte credeua in chriſto faceſſemo vna
ꝓceſſione dela piaza fino aLa caſa de linfermo aL meglio
poteſſemo oue Lo trouaſſemo que non poteua parlare ne mouerſe
Lo baptizaſſemo cõ due ſue mogliere et x donzelle poi lo capo li
fece dire como ſtaua ſubito parlo et diſſe como ꝓ la graca de
nr̃o sor. ſtaua aſſay benne Queſto fu vno manifeſſimo
miraculo nelli tempi noſti Quando Lo capo Lo vdi parlare
rengratio molto ydio et aloro li fece beuere vna mandolata q̃ gia
laueua facta fare ꝓ lui poi mandogli vno matarazo vno paro de
lenſoli vna Coperta de panno Jallo et vno cuſſino et ogni giorno fin
q̃ fo ſanno li mãdo mandolattj acqua roſa oleo rozato et algune
conſerue de zucaro nõ ſtete cinque giorni qeL comincio a andare fece
bruzare vno ydolo q̃ teniuão aſcoſo certe vecquie in caſa ſua in
p̃ntia deL re et tuto Lo populo et fece diſfare molti tabernacoli ꝓ
la riua deL mare neliqalli mangiauão la carne conſacrata Loro
medeſimi Cridarono caſtiglia caſtiglia li rouinauão et
diſſeno ſe dio li preſtaua vita bruſarebenno quanti ydoli
poteſſe trouare et ſe benne fuſſero in caſa deL re. Queſti ydoli
ſonno de legnio Concaui ſenza li parti de drieto anno Ly brazi
aperti et li piedi voltati in ſuſo con le gambe aperte et Lo volto
grande cõ quato denti grandiſſimj como porci cingiari et ſonno
tucti depintj
Jn Queſta ysola ſonno molte ville li nomi de leqalle et deli suoi et
deli ſui principali ſonno queſti Cinghapola li ſui principali
Cilaton Ciguibucan Cimaningha Cimatichat CicanbuL Vna mandaui iL ſuo
principalle apanoaan Vna lalan iL ſuo principalle theteu Vna lalutan
iL ſuo principalle Tapan Vna cilumai et vnalta lubucun Tucti
qʒſti ne hobediuão et ne dauão victuuaglia et tributo Apreſſo
queſta yzola de zubu ne era vna q̃ ſe chiamaua matan laqaL faceua Lo
porto doue eramo iL nome dela ſua villa era matan li ſui principali
zula et Cilapulapu Quella villa q̃ bruzaſſemo era in queſta
yzola et Se chiama ua bulaia
Açio que vr̃a ilLma sa ſapia le Cerimonie q̃ vzanno Coſtoro in
benedire Lo porco primamente Sonano qelle borchie grandi poi ſe porta
tre piati grãdj dui cõ roze et fogace de rizo et miglio cote et
riuolte in foglie con peche bruſtolato. Lalto con panne de Cambaia et
due banderete di palma Vno pano de Cambaia ſe diſtende in terra
poi veneno duy femine Vequiſſime ciaſcuna con vno tronbonne de
cana in mão Quando ſonno montate ſuL panno fanno reuerentia aL
ſolle poi ſe veſtenno cõ li pannj Vna ſe pone vno faciollo ne La
fronte con dui cornj et piglia vnalto faciolo ne le manj et balando et
ſunando con qello chiama iL ſolle lalta piglia vna de qelle
banderete et balla et ſuona col ſuo trõbonne ballõ et chiamão
cuſſi vno pocho fra ſe dicendo molte coſe aL ſolle Quella deL
faciolo piglia lalta bandereta et laſcio Lo faciolo et ambe due
ſonando cõ li trombonj gran pezo balanno intorno Lo porco ligato
Quella dali corni ſempre parla tacitamẽte aL ſolle et qeLa alta li
riſponde poy aqella de li corni li e apreſentato vna taça de
vino et balando et dicendo certe parolle et lalta reſpondendoli et
facendo vista cato ho cinque volte de beuere eL vino ſparge qello
ſoura eL core deL porcho poy ſubito torna aballare a
Queſta medeſima vien dato vna lancia Ley vibrandola et dicendo
alquante parolle ſempre tute due balando et moſtrã do cato ho cinque
volte de dare [de dare: doublet in original MS.] cõ la lancia neL core
aL porcho con vna ſubbita preſteza Lo paſſa da parte aparte
preſto ſi ſera la ferita con erba qe’lla q̃ amazato iL porcho
ponendoſe vna torſa acceſa in boca laſmorza laqalle ſta ſempre
acceſa in queſte Ceremonie Lalta coL capo deL trombonne bagniandolo
neL ſangue de porcho va ſanguinando coL ſuo dito La fronte pima ali
ſoi mariti poy ali alti ma nõ veñeroño may a noi poy ſe
diſueſteno et vano amangiare Quelle coſe q̃ ſonno nelli piati et
Conuitano Senon femine Lo porcho ſi pella cõ lo fuocho ſique ni
ſuno alto que Le vequie conſacrano La carne di porcho et nõ La
magiauão ſe non foſſe morta de queſta ſorte.
Queſti populi vano nudi portano ſolamente vno pezo de tella de palma
otorno Le ſue vergonie grandi et picoli hanno paſſato iL ſuo membro
circa dela teſta de luna parte alalta con vno fero de oro houero de
ſtanio groſſo como vna penna de ocha et in vno capo et lalto deL
medeſimo fero alguni anno Como vna ſtella con ponte ſoura li capi
alti como vna teſta de chiodo da caro aſaiſſime volte Lo
volſi vedere da molti coſi veqi Como Joueni ꝓ che nõ lo potteua
credere neL mezo dil fero e vn buso ꝓ ilqalle vrinano iL
fero et le ſtelle ſemp̃ ſtanno ferme Loro diceno q̃ le ſue moglie
voleno cuſſi et ſe foſſero de altra ſorte nõ vzariano cõ elli
quando queſti voleno vzare cõ le femine Loro mediſime Lo
pigliano nõ in ordine et Cominciano pian piano a meterſi dentoo pimo
qella ſtella de ſoura et poy Lalta Quanto edento diuenta in ordine et
cuſi ſempre ſta dento fin que diuenta molle perche altramẽti nõ
Lo porianno cauare fuora. Queſti populi vzanno queſto ꝓche
ſonno de debille natura anno Quante moglie voleno ma vna
principalle Se vno deli nr̃i andaua in tera coſi dedi Como de
nocte ogni uno Lo Conuitaua que mangiaſſe et qeL beueſſe Le
ſue viuande ſonno mezo cote et molto ſalate beueno ſpeſſo et
molto con qelli ſui Cannuti dali valzi et duro cinqʒ oſey hore vno
ſuo mangiare Le donne amauão aſay piu noy que queſti atucti da
ſey anny in ſu apoco apoco li apreno la natura ꝓ cagion de qelli
ſui membrj.
Quando vno deli ſui principali emorto li vzanno queſte Cerimonie
pima mente tutte le donne principale de la terra vano ala caſa deL
morte in mezo dela caſa ſta lo morto in vna caſa in torno
la caſa poneno corde a mo do duno ſtecato neliqali atachano molti
ramy de arbore in mezo de ogni ramo e vno panno de bonbaſo
aguiſa de pauigliõe Soto liqualli ſedeanno le donne piu principali
tute coperte de panne bianqi de bombaſo per vna donzella ꝓ ogni vna
q̃ li faceua vento cõ vno ſparauentolo di palma le alte
ſedeanno intorno la camera meſte poy era vna q̃ tagliaua apoco
apoco cõ vno cortello li capilli aL morto vnalta q̃ era ſtata la
moglie principale deL morto giaceua ſoura lui et giungeua la ſua boca
le ſue many et li ſui piedi con qelli deL morto. Quando qella
tagliaua li capilj queſta piangeua et Quando reſtaua de tagliarli
queſta Cantaua atorno la Camera erano molti vazi di porcelanna
con fuoco et ſupa qello mira ſtorac et belgioui q̃ faceuano olere la
caſa grandemẽte lo teneno in caſa cinque aſey giorni cõ
Queſte Cerimonie Credo ſia onto de canfora poi Lo
ſepeliſſeno cõ La medeſima caſa Serata con quiodi de legnio in
vno legnio coperto et circundato de legni. ogni nocte in queſta cita
circa de la meza nocte veniua vno vccelo negriſſimo grande Como vno
Coruo et nõ era cuſſi preſto ne le caſe cheL gridaua ꝓ ilque
tucti li canj vrlauão et duraua quato ocinque ore queL ſuo gridare et
vrlare nõ ne volſeno may dire la cagiõ de queſto.
Vennere a vintiſey de aqilLe Zula principale de qella yſola matan
mando vno ſuo figliolo con due capre apreſentarle aL capo gñale et
dicendoli Como li mandaua tuta ſua ꝓmeſſa ma ꝓ cagion de lalto
principalle Cilapulapu q̃ nõ voleua hobedire aL re deſpagnia nõ
haueua potuto mandarglila et que neLa nocte ſeguente li mandaſſe
ſolamente vno batello pienno de homini ꝓ che lui li aiutaria et
combateria Lo capo gñale delibero de andarui cõ tre batelli
Lo pregaſſemo molto nõ voleſſe vegnire ma lui Como bon paſtore
non volſe abandonare lo ſuo grege. Ameza nocte ſe partiſſemo
ſexanta homini armati de corſeletti et celade inſieme col re
xp̃iano iL principi et alguni magiori et vinti o trenta ba languai et
tre hore inanſi Lo Jorno ariuaſſemo a matan Lo capo non volſe
Combater alhora mali mando adire ꝓ lo moro ſe voleuano hobedire aL
re de spagnia et recognioſcere Lo re xp̃iano ꝓ ſuo se. et darne lo
nr̃a tributo li ſarebe amicho maſe voleuano altramente
aſpectaſſeno como feriuão le nr̃e Lance riſpoſero ſe
haueuamo lance haueuão lancie de canne bruſtolatte et pali
bruſtolate et que nõ andaſſemo alhora ad aſaltarli ma
aſpectaſemo veniſſe Lo giorno perche ſarebenno piu gente. Queſto
diceuão açio anda ſemo aritrouarli ꝓ che haueuão facto certi
foſſi fra le caze ꝓ farne caſcare dento. Venuto Lo giorno
ſaltaſſemo ne Lacqua fina ale coſſie caranta noue homini et
cuſſi andaſſemo piu de dui trati de baleſta inanzi poteſẽo
ariuar aL litto li bateli non potereno vegnire piu inanzi ꝓ
certe petre q̃ erano neL acqua li alti vndici homini reſtarono
ꝓ gardia de li bateli Quando ariuaſſemo in terra Queſta gente
haueuão facto tre ſcadrony de piu de mille cinque cento ꝓſonne
ſubito ſentendone ne venirono a doſſo con voci grandiſſimi dui
ꝓ fiancho et Lalto ꝓ contro. Lo capo quã do viſte queſto ne
fece dui parti et coſi cominciaſſemo a Combater li ſquiopeti et
baleſtieri tirarano da longi caſi meza hora in vano ſola mente
paſſandoli li targoni facti de tauole ſotille et li brazi Lo
cappo gridaua nõ tirare nõ tirare ma non li valeua niente. Quando
queſti viſtenno que tirauamo li ſquiopeti in vano gridando
deliborono a ſtar forte ma molto piu gridauão Quando erano
deſcarigati li ſquiopeti may nõ ſtauano fermi ſaltando dequa et
dela coperti con li ſui targonj ne tirauão tante frechie Lance de
canna alguno di fero aL capo gñalle pali pontini bruſtolati pietre et
Lo fango apena ſe poteuão defendere. Vedendo queſto Lo capo gñale
mando alguni abruſare le ſue caſe per ſpauentarli Quando queſti
viſtenno bruzare le ſue caze deuentorono piu fero ci apreſſo
de le caſe forenno amazati dui deli nrj et vinti o trenta caſe li
bruſaſſemo ne venirono tanti adoſſo q̃ paſſarono cõ vna
freza ve nenata La gamba drita aL capo per il que comando q̃ ſe
retiraſſemo a poco apoco ma loro fugirono ſique reſtaſſemo da
ſey o octo cõ lo capitanio Queſti non ne tirauão in alto
ſinon ale gambe per q̃ erano nude ꝓ tante Lancie et pedre q̃
ne trahevano non poteſſemo reſiſtere le bombarde de li batelli
ꝓ eſſere tropo longui nõ ne poteuão ajutare ſiche veniſſemo
retirandoſi piu de vna bonna baleſtrata longi de la riua ſempre
comba tendo ne lacque fin aL ginoquio ſempre ne ſeguitoro et
repigliando vna medeſima Lancie quato oſey volte ne La Lanciauano
queſti Connioſſendo Lo capo tanti ſi voltorono ſopa de lui
q̃ dui volte li botarono lo celadõe fora deL capo ma lui como bon
Caualiero ſempre ſtaua forte cõ alguni alti piu de vno hora coſſi
combateſſemo et non volendoſi piu retirare vno indio li lancio vna
lanza di cana deL vizo lui ſubito cõ la ſua Lancia Lo amazo et
laſciolila neL corpo poy volendo dar de mano a La ſpada non puote
cauarla ſenon meza per vna ferita de canna haueua neL brazo
Quando viſteno queſto tuti andorono adoſſo alui vno cõ vno
grã terciado che e como vna ſimitara ma piu groſſo li dete vna
ferita nelagamba ſiniſtra ꝓ Laqalle caſco coL volto inanzi
subito li foreno adoſſo con Lancie de fero et de cana et con qelli
ſui terciadi fin que iL ſpechio iL lume eL conforto et la vera guida
nr̃a amazarono Quando lo feriuão molte volte ſe volto indrieto
ꝓ vedere ſe eramo tucti dento neli bateli poi vedendolo morto
aL meglio poteſemo feriti ſe ritraſſemo ali batelli q̃ gia ſe
partiuão Lo re xp̃iano ne hauereba ajutato ma Lo capo inanzi
diſmontaſſemo in tera li comiſſe non ſi doueſſe partire dal
ſuo balanghai et ſteſſe auedere in que modo Combateuão Quando
lo re ſepe como era morto piance ſe non era queſto pouero capo niuno
de noy Si ſaluaua neli bateli ꝓ che Quando lui Combateua li alti ſe
retiravão ali batelli. Spero in vr̃a IlLma sa La fama duno ſi
generoſo capo non debia eſſere extinta neli tempi noſti fra le
altre vertu q̃ eranno in lui era Lo piu Coſtante in vna grandiſſima
fortuna q̃ may alguno alto foſſe ſupõ taua la fame piu q̃ tucti
li alti et piu Juſtamente q̃ homo foſſe aL mondo carteaua et
nauigaua et ſe Queſto fu iL vero ſe ve de aperta mente ninguno alto
hauer̃ auuto tanto Jngenio ni ardire de ſaper dar vna volta aL mondo
como Ja cazi lui haueua dato. Queſta bataglia fo facta aL Sabato
vintiſete de apille 1521. iL capo La volſe fare in ſabato ꝓ q̃
era lo giorno ſuo deuoto nelaqalle foreno morti con lui octo de li
nr̃i et cato Jndij facto xp̃iani dale bombarde deli bateli q̃ eranno
da poy venutj ꝓ aiutarne et deli nimici Se non Quindici ma molti de
noy feriti.
Dopo diſnare le re xp̃iano mando adire cõ Lo noſto conſentimẽto
aquelli de matan se ne voleuão dare lo capo con li alti morti q̃ li
dareſſemo Quanta merchadantia voleſſero riſpoſero non ſi daua
vno taL homo como penſauamo et q̃ non Lo darebenno ꝓ la magior
richeſſa deL mondo ma lo voleuano tenire ꝓ memoria ſua.
Sabato q̃ fo morto Lo capo qelli cato q̃ ſtauano nela cita ꝓ
merchadantare fecero portare le noſtre merchantie alle naui poy
faceſſemo dui gu bernatori duarte barboza portugueſe parente deL
capo. et Johã ſeranno ſpagniolo linterprete nr̃o q̃ ſe
chiamaua henrich ꝓ eſſere vno poco ferito nõ andaua piu in terra
ꝓ fare le coſe nr̃e neceſſarie ma ſtaua ſempre ne La ſquiauina
ꝓ ilque duarte Barboſa guuernator̃ de la naue capa li grido et
diſſegli ſe benne e morto Lo capo ſuo se. ꝓ queſto non era
libero anzi voleua Quando foſſemo ariuati in eſpagnia ſempre
foſſe ſchiauo de ma dona beatrice moglie deL capo gñale et
minaciandoli ſe non anda ua in terra Lo frustaria Lo ſchiauo ſi leuo
et moſtro de non far cõto de queſte parolle et ando in tera adire al
re xp̃iano Como ſe voleuão partire preſto ma ſe lui voleua far a
ſuo modo gadaneria li naue et tucte le nr̃e merchadantie et cuſſi
ordinorono vno tradimento Lo ſquiauo retorno ale naue et moſtro
eſſere piu ſacente que pima
Mercore matina pimo de magio Lo re xp̃ono mando adire ali gouuernatory
Como erano preparate le gioie haueu ꝓmeſſo de mandare aL re
deſpagnia et que li pregaua cõ li alti ſoi andaſero diſinare
ſecho qella matina q̃ li la darebe andorono 24 homini in tera
cõ queſti ando Lo nr̃o aſtrologo che ſe chiamaua s. martín de
siuilla yo non li pote andare ꝓ che era tuto infiato per vna ferita
de freza venenata che haueua nela fronte Jouan caruaio cõ Lo
barizello tornorono indietro et ne diſcero como viſteno colui reſa
nato ꝓ miracolo menare Lo prete acaſa ſua et ꝓ queſto ſeranno
partittj per che dubitauão de qalque malle nõ diſſero coſi
preſto le parolle que ſentiſſimo grã gridi et Lamenti ſubito
leuaſſemo lanchore et tirando molte bombarde nele caſe ne
aꝓpinquaſſemo piu ala terra et cuſſi tirãdo vedeſſemo Johã
ſeranno in camiza ligato et ferito gridare nõ doueſſemo piu tirare
per che Lamazarebenno li domandaſſemo ſe tucti li alti con lo
interprete erano morti diſſe tucti erano morti ſaluo
linterprete ne prego molto Lo doueſſemo reſcatare cõ qalque
merchadantia ma Johã caruiao ſuo compare non volſero ꝓ reſtare
loro patronj andaſſe Lo batello in tera Ma Johan ſeranno pur
piangendo ne diſſe q̃ nõ hauereſſemo coſi preſto facto vella
q̃ lauerianno amazato et diſſe q̃ pregaua ydio neL Jorno deL
Juditio dimandaſſe Lanima ſua a Johan caruiao ſuo compadre
ſubito ſe partiſſemo nõ ſo ſe morto o viuo lui reſtaſſe.
Jn queſta yzola ſe troua cani gati rizo millio panizo ſorgo gengero
figui neranzi limone Canne dolci agio meL cochi chiacare zuche carne de
molte ſorte vino de palma et oro et e grande yſola con vno bon porto
q̃ a due intrate vna aL ponente lalta aL grego et leuante ſta de
Latitudine aL polo articho in x gradi de longitudine de la linea de la
repartitiõe cento ſexanta cato gradi et ſe chiama Zubu Quiui
inanzi q̃ moriſſe lo capo genneralle haueſſemo noua de malucho
Queſta gente ſonano de viola cõ corde de ramo.
Vocabuli de queſti populi gentili.
AL homo: lac
ALa donna paranpaon
ALa Jouene beni beni
Ala maritata babay
Ali capilli bo ho
AL vizo guay
Ale palpebre pilac
Ale ciglie chilei.
Al ocquio matta.
AL nazo Jlon.
Ale maſſelle apin
Ali labri oloL.
A la bocca baba.
A li denti nipin
Ale gengiue leghex.
Ala linga dilla
Alle orechie delengan.
Ala gola liogh.
AL collo tangip
AL mento q̃ilan.
ALa barba bonghot
Ale ſpalle bagha.
A la ſchena licud.
AL peto dughan
AL corpo tiam
Soto li braci Jlot
AL bracio botchen
AL gomedo ſico
AL polſo molanghai
ALa mano camat
A la palma de la man palan
AL dito dudlo
Ala ongia coco
AL Lombelico puſut
AL membro vtin
Ali teſticoli boto
Ala natura de le donne billat
AL vzar cõ loro Jiam
Ale cullate ſamput
Ala coſsa paha
AL ginochio tuhud.
AL Schincho baſsag baſsag
ALa polpa de la gamba bitis
ALa cauechia bolboL
AL calcagnio tiochid
Ala ſolla deL pie Lapa lapa
AL horo balaoan
AL argento pilla
AL Laton concach
AL fero butan
Ale canne dolce tube
AL cuchiaro gandan
AL rizo bughax baras
AL melle deghex
ALa cera talho
AL ſalle acin
AL vino tuba nio nipa
AL bere MinuncubiL
AL mangiare maCan.
AL porcho babui
ALa capra candin
ALa galina monoch
AL miglio humas
AL ſorgo batat
AL panizo dana
AL peuere maniſſa
Ali garofoli chianche.
ALa Cannella mana.
AL gengero luia
AL ayo Laxuna
Ali naranſi acſua
AL ouo ſilog
AL coco lubi.
AL acceto zlucha
AL acqua tubin
AL fuoco Clayo.
AL fumo assu.
AL ſofiare tigban.
Alle belancie tinban
AL pezo tahiL
Ala perla mutiara.
Ale madre de le perle tipay.
Ala zampognia Subin
AL mal de sto Job. Alupalan
portame palatin comorica
Acerte fogacie de rizo tinapai
buono main
Nõ ti da le
AL cortello capol ſundan
Ale forfice catle
A tosare chunthinch
AL homo ben hornato pixao
Ala tella balandan
A li panni q̃ ſe copreno Abaca
AL conaglio colon colon
Ali pater nr̃j dogni
ſorte tacle
AL petine cutlei miſsamis
AL pentinare monssughud.
ALa Camiza Sabun.
ALa gugia de coſire daghu
AL cuſire mamis
A La porcelana mobuluc
AL cana aian ydo
AL gato epos.
Ali ſui veli gapas
Ali criſtalini balus
Vien qi marica
Ala caza Jlaga balai
AL legniame tatamue
Alle ſtore doue dormeno Tagichan
Ale ſtore de palma bani
Ale cuſſini de foglie Vliman
A li piati de legnio dulan
AL ſuo ydio Abba.
AL ſolle adlo
ALa luna ſonghot
Ala ſtela bolan bunthun.
ALa aurora mene
Ala matina vema
Ala taza tagha
grande baſsaL
AL archo boſsugh.
ALa freza oghon.
Ali targoni calaſsan.
A le veſte inbotide ꝓ
combater baluti
Ale ſue daghe calix baladao
Ali ſui tertiadi Campilan.
A la Lancia bancan.
El talle tuan.
Ali figui ſaghin
Ale zuche baghin
Ale corde dele ſue
violle gotzap
AL fiume tau.
AL riſaio ꝓ peſcare pucat laia
AL batello ſampan.
A le canne grande cauaghan.
Ale picole bonbon.
Ale ſue barche grande balanghai
Ale ſue barque picolle boloto
Ali granci Cuban
AL peſce Jcam yſſida
A vno peſcie tuto
depinto panap ſapã
A vno alto roſſo timuan.
A vno certo alto pilax
A vno alto emaluan.
Tuto e vno Siama siama
A vno ſchiauo bonſuL
A la forca bolle
ALa naue benaoa
A vno re o capo gñale raia.
Numero:
Vno Vzza
duy dua
tre tolo.
Quato vpat
Cinque lima
Sey onom
Sette pitto
octo gualu
Noue Ciam.
Diece polo.
Longi dizodoto legue de queſta yſola zzubu aL capo de qeLa alta q̃
ſe chiama bohol bruzaſſemo in mezo de queſto arcipelago la naue
conceptiõe per eſſere reſtati tropo pochi et forniſſemo le altre
due de le coſe ſue megliore pi gliaſſemo poy la via deL garbin et
mezo di coſtando la Jzola q̃ ſi diſe panilongon nela qalle ſonno
homini negi Como in etiopia poy ariuaſẽo a vna yſola grande Lo re
delaqalle ꝓ fare pace cõ noy Se cauo ſangue de La mano ſiniſtra
ſanguinandoſe lo corpo Lo volto et la cima de la linga in ſegnio de
magior amitiſia coſi faceſſemo ancho nui Jo ſolo anday
cõ Lo rey in tera ꝓ vedere Queſta yſola ſubito q̃
Jntraſſemo in vno fiume molti peſcatori preſentarono peſce al re
poy lo re ſe cauo li pannj que haueua intorno le ſue ꝟgonie
cõ alguni ſui principali et cantando Co minciorono a vogare
paſſando ꝓ molti habitationi q̃ erano ſoura Lo fiume
ariuaſſemo a due hore de nocte in caſa ſua daL principio de
qʒſto fiume doue eſtauamo le naui fino a caſa del re erão due
legue entrãdo nela caſa ne venirono incontra molte torcie de
canna et de foglie de palma Queſte torcie erano de anime Como li
dete de soura fin q̃ ſe aparechio la cene lo re con dui
principali et due ſue femine belle beue rono vno grã vazo de vino
pienno de palma ſenza mangiare niente Jo eſcuſandomi hauere
cennato non volce berre ſinon vna volta beuendo faceuazão tute le
cerimonie Como eL re de mazaua venne poy La Cena de rizo et
peſcie molto ſalato poſto in ſcutelle de porcelana mangiauão
lo rizo ꝓ panne Cocono Lo rizo in queſto modo prima meteno
dento in pigniate de terra como le nr̃e vna fogla grande che circunda
tuta la pigniata poy li meteno lacque et iL rizo coprẽdola la
laſciano bugliere fin q̃ venne lo rizo duro como panne poi Lo
cauano fuora in pezi in tucte queſte parte cocono Lo rizo in
queſta ſorte Cenato q̃ haueſſemo Lo re fece portare vna
ſtora de canne con vnalta de palma et vna cucino de foglie acio yo
dormiſſe ſoura queſte iL re con le due femine ando a dormire
in vno luoco ſeparato dormi cõ vno ſuo principali Venuto
il giorno mentre ſe aparechio Lo diſnare anday ꝓ queſta izolla
vidi in queſte loro caſe aſſay maſſaritie de oro et poca
victuuaria poy diſnaſſemo rizo et peſcie finito Lo diſnare
dice aL [re] con ſegni vederia La reyna me reſpoſe era contento
andaſſemo de Compania in çima duno alto monte doue era la caſa
de la reyna Quando entray in caſa Le fece la reuerentia et ley coſſi
verſo de me ſedeti apreſſo a ella Laqalle faceua vna ſtora de
palma ꝓ dormire ꝓ La caſa ſua eraño atacati molti vazi de
porcelana et Quatro borquie de metalo vna magiore de Lalta et due piu
picole ꝓ ſenare gli eranno molti ſchiaui et ſchiaue q̃ La
ſeruiuão Queſte caſe ſonno facte como le alte Ja dete
pigliata liſentia tornaſemo in caza deL re ſubito fece darne
vna Colatiõe de canne dolce La magior abundantia q̃ ſia in
queſta yſola e de oro mi moſtrorono certj valoni facendomi
ſegnio que in qelli era tanto horo como li ſui capilly ma non anno
fero ꝓ cauarlo ne ancque voleno qela fatiga Queſta parte de La
yſola e vna medeſma terra con butuan et calaghan et paſſa ſopra
bohol et confina cõ mazaua per che tornaremo vna alta fiata in queſta
izolla non dico alto paſſato mezo di volſe tornare ale naui eL
re volſe venire et li alti principali et cuſſi veneſſemo neL
mediſimo balanghai retornando ꝓ lo fiume viti aman drita ſopa
vno monticello tre huominj apicati a vno arbure q̃ haueua tagliati li
ramy Domanday al re qi eran qelli riſpoſi q̃ erano
maLfactorj et robatorj Queſti populi vano nudi Como li alti de
ſupa Lo re ſe chiama raia Calanao eL porto he buono et
quiui ſe troua rizo gengero porci capre galine et alte coſe ſta
de Latitudine aL polo articho in octo gradi et cento ſexantaſete de
longitudine della linea repartitionalle et longi da Zubu cinquanta
legue et ſe chiama chipit due Jornate de ql aL maiſtrale ſe troua
vna Jſola grande detta Lozon doue vanno ogni anno ſey hoꝟo octo
Junci deli populi lechij
Partendone de ql ala meza partita de ponente et garbin deſſemo in vna
yſola non molto grande et caſi deſhabitata La gente de queſta
ſonno mori et eranno banditi duna yſola deta burne vano nudi
Como li alti anno za robotane con li carcaſſeti alato pienni de
freze con erba venenata anno pugnialli con li maniſi ornati de
oro et de pietre precioſe lancie rodelle et corazine de corno de
bufalo ne chiamauão corpi ſancti Jn queſta yſola ſe trouaua
pocha victuuaglia ma arborj grandiſſimj ſta de Latitudine aL
polo articho in ſette gradi et mezo et longi da chippit Quaranta tre
legue et chiamaſſe caghaian.
Da queſta yſola circa de vinti cinque legue fra ponente et
maiſtralle tro uaſſemo vna Jzola grande doue ſi troua rizo gengero
porci capre galīe fighi Longui mezo brazo et groſſi como lo bracio
ſonno boni et alguni alti Longui vno palmo et alti mancho molto
megliori de tucti li altri Cochi batate canne dolci radice como rapi aL
mãgiare et rizo cotto ſoto lo fuocho in canne o in legnio
queſto dura piu que qello coto in pigniatte Queſta tera poteuão
chiamare la terra de ꝓmissione perche Jnanzi la trouaſſemo patiuamo
grã Fame aſsay volte ſteſſemo in force de habandomare le naui et
andare in terra ꝓ non morire de fame. Lo re fece pace cõ noi
tagliandoſſe vno pocho cõ vno nr̃o cortello in mezo deL pecto et
ſanguinando ſe tocho la lingua et La fronte in ſegnio de piu vera
pace coſi fece mo ancho nuy Queſta yſola ſta de Latitudine aL
polo articho in noue gradi et vno terſo et cento et ſeptanta vno et
vno terſo de Longitudine de La lignea ripartitiõe pulaoan.
Queſti populi de polaoan vano nudi como li alti Quaſi tucti Lauaranno
li ſui campi hanno zarabotanne cõ freze de legnio groſſe piu
duno palmo arponate et algune con ſpine de peſce con erba venenata at
alte cõ ponte de cana arponate et venenate anno neL capo ficato vno
pocho de legnio molle in cambio de le penne neL fine dele ſue
zarabotãe liganno vno fero como di Jannetone et Quando anno tracte le
freze combateno cõ queſto precianno aneli cadennete de latone
ſonaglie cor teli et piu aL filo de ramo ꝓ ligare li ſui ami da
peſcare anno gally grandi molto domeſtici nõ li mangião
ꝓ vna certa ſua venneratiõe alguna volta li fanno combatere luno
cõ lalto et ogni vno meta ꝓ Lo ſuo vno tanto et poy de cului q̃ he
ſuo eL vincitore he ſuo eL premio et anno vino de rizo lambicato
piu grande et meglior̃ de qello de palma.
Longi de queſta yſola dieze legue aL garbin deſsemo in vna Jzola et
coſteandola ne pareua alquanto aſcendere intrati neL porte ne a parue
eL corpo ſancto ꝓ vno tempo oſcuriſſimo daL principio de
queſta yſola fina aL porto li ſonno cinquanta legue Lo Jorno
ſequente a noue de Juglio Lo re de queſta yſola ne mando vno prao
molto bello cõ la proua et la popa lauorate doro era ſupa la
proua vna bandiera de biancho et lazuro con penne de pauonne in cima
alguni ſonauão con cinphonie et tamburi veniuão cõ queſto
prao due al ma die li prao ſonno Como fuſte et le almadie ſonno
le ſue barche da peſcare octo homini vecqi deli principali
entrarono nele naui et ſederonno neLa popa ſopa vno tapeto ne
apreſentarono vno vazo de legnio de pinto pieno de betre et areca che
e qeL fructo que maſticano ſempre con fiori de gelſomini et de
naranci coperto de vno panno de ſeta Jallo due gabie pienne de galine
vno paro de capre tre vazi pieni de vino de rizo lanbicato et alquanti
faſci de canne dolci et coſſi de tero a laltra naue et abraciandone
pigliaronno liſentia eL vino de rizo he chiaro como lacqua ma
tanto grande q̃ molti deli noſti ſembriacarõ et lo chiamano arach.
Deli aſey giorni lore mando vnalta volta tre prao con molta pompa
ſonãdo cinphonie tamburi et borchie de latone circondorono le naui et
ne fecero reuerentia cõ certe sue berete de tella q̃ li copreno
ſolamente la cima deL capo li ſalutaſſemo cõle bonbarde
ſenza pietre poy ne detero vno pñte de diuerſe viuande
ſolamente de rizo algune in foglie facte in pezi alquanto longhi
algune como pannj de zucharo et alguni alti facti amodo de torte con
oui et melle ne diſſero como lo ſue re era contento
pigliaſſemo hacqua et legnia et contrataſſemo aL nr̃o piacer̃
vdendo queſto montaſſemo ſette de nuy alti ſopa lo prao et
portaſſemo vno pñte al re elqalle era vna veſta de veluto ꝟde a
la turcheſca vna cathedra de veluto morello cinque bracia de panno
roſſo vno bonnet et vno biquier dorato vno vaso de vetro coperto tre
quinternj de carta et vno Calamaro dorato aLa regina tre bracia de
panno [roſso: crossed out in original MS.] giallo vno paro de ſcarpe
argentate vno guchiarollo dargento pieno de gugie AL gouuernator̃ tre
bracia de panno roſſo vno bonnet et vno bichier dorato aL re
darme q̃ era vennuto nelli prao gli deſemo vna veſta de panno
roſſo et ꝟde aLa turcheſca vno bonnet et vno quinterno de carta a
li alti ſete principali a qi tella a qi bonnetj et a ogni vno vno
quinterno de carta et ſubito ſe partiſſemo.
Quando Jongeſſemo aLa cita ſteſſemo forſi due hore neli prao fin
q̃ venirono dui elephanti coperti de ſeta et dudizi homini cõ vno
vazo ꝓ vno de porce lana coperto deſeta ꝓ coprire nr̃i preſenti
poy montaſſemo ſopa li elefanty et queſti dodice hominj ne andauão
dinanzi cõ li preſenti neli vazi anda ſemo cuſſi fin a la caſa
del gouuernatore oue ne fo data vna cena de molte viuande la nocte
dormiſſemo ſoura mataraſi de bambazo la ſua fodra era de tafeta li
linſoli de cambaia lo giorno ſeguente ſteſſemo in caſa fin
amezo di poy andaſſemo aL palaçio del re ſoura elefanti cõ li
pſ̃entj dinanci como lo giorno dananti da caſa deL gouuernator̃ fin
in caſa deL re tute le ſtrate erano pienne de hominj con ſpade
lancie et targonj ꝓ che cuſſi haueua voluto lo re. Jntraſſemo
ſoura li elefanti ne la corte deL palatio andaſſemo ſu ꝓ vna
ſcala acompagniatj daL gouuernator̃ et alti principali et
Jntraſſemo in vna ſala grande piena de molti baronj oue ſedeſſemo
ſopa vno tapeto cõ li pñti neli vazi apreſſo noi AL capo de
Queſta ſala nehe vnalta piu alta ma alquanto piu picola tuta ornata
de panni de ſeta oue ſe aprirono due feneſtre con due cortine de
brocato daliqalli veniua la luce nella ſala iui erano trecento
homini in piedi cõ ſtocqi nudi soura la coſſa ꝓ guardia deL re aL
capo de Queſta era vna grande feneſta dalaqalle ſe tiro vna cortina
de brocato dento de queſta vedeſſemo el re ſedere ataula con vno
ſuo figliolo picolino et maſticare betre dietro da lui erano
ſinon donne Alhora ne diſſe vno principalle nuy nõ poteuão parlare
al re et ſe voleuamo alguna coſa Lo diceſſemo alui ꝓ che la
direbe avno piu principale et Quello avno fratello deL gouuernator̃
q̃ ſtaua nela ſala piu picola et poi lui la direbe cõ vna
zarabotana ꝓ vna ſfiſura deL pariete a vno q̃ ſtaua dento cõlore
et ne in ſegnio doueſſemo fare al re tre reuerentie cõ li many
Jonte ſo p̃ lo capo alzando li piedi mo vno mo alto et poy le
basaſſemo coſi fo facto Queſta e la ſua reuerentia reale li
diceſſemo como eramo deL re deſpagnia et que lui voleua pace ſeco
et nõ domandauão alto ſaluo potere mẽcadã tare ne fece dire
el re poy cheL re deſpagia voleua eſere ſuo amicho lui era
contentiſſimo de eſſer ſuo et diſſe pigliaſſemo hacqua et
legnia et merchadantaſemo a nr̃o piacere poi li deſſemo li
preſenti faceua dognj coſa cõ Lo capo vn poco de riuerentia
aciaſcuno de nuy alti fo dacto brocadelo et panny de oro et de ſeta
ponendoneli ſopa la ſpala Siniſtra ma poco laſciando negli ne
deteno vna Colatiõe de garofoli et canella alora foreno tirate le
cortine et ſerate le feneſtre li homini q̃ era neL palatio tuti
haueuão panni de oro [de oro: doublet in original MS.] et de ſeta
intorno loro ꝟgonie pugniali cõ Lo manicho de oro et ornato de perle
et petre precioſe et molti aneli nele mani retornaſſemo Soura
le elefanti ala caſa deL gouuernator̃ Sete homini portorono iL
prezente del re ſempre dinanzi Quando foſsemo Jonti acaſa dereno a
ogniuno Lo Suo et nel miſſero ſoura la ſpala Siniſtra
aliqalli ꝓ ſua fatica donaſſemo a ciaſcaduna vno paro de Cortelli
venirono in caſa deL gouuernator̃ noue hominj cõ alti tanti
piati de legnio grandi daL parte de re in ogni piato erão x
hoꝟo dudize ſcudelle de porcelana pienne de Carne de vitello de
caponi galine pauonj et altry animali et de peſce cenaſſemo in
tera ſoura vna ſtora de palma de trenta o trenta dui ſorte de
viuande de carne eccepto Lo peſce et alte coſe beue uão a ogni
bocone pieno vno vazeto de porcelana grande como vno ouo de qeL vino
lanbicato mangiaſſemo rizo et altre viuande de ſucaro cõ
cuchiarj doro Como li nr̃j oue dormiſſemo le due nocte ſtauão
due torcie de cera biancha ſempre acceze ſoura dui Candellieri de
argento vno poco alti et due lampade grande pienne dolio cõ catro
pauerj ꝓ ogni vna et dui homini q̃ ſempre le ſpauilauão
Veniſſemo ſoura li elefanti fino a La riua deL mare doue forono dui
prao q̃ ne conduſcero ale nauj Queſta cita etuta fondata in
acqua ſalſa ſaluo la caſa del re et algune de certy principali et
he de vinti cinque miglia focqi le caſe ſonno tute de legno edificati
ſoura pali groſſi alti da tera Quando lo mare creſcie vanno le
donne ꝓ la tera con barque vendendo coſe neceſſarie aL ſuo viuere
dinanzi la caſa deL re e vno muro de Cadreli groſſo con
barbarcanj a modo de forteza nel qalle erano cinquanta ſey bombarde de
metalo et ſey de fero in li dui giornj ſteſſemo iui
ſcaricorono molte Queſto re e moro et ſe chiama raia Siripada
era de Quaranta anny et graſſo ninguno Lo gouerna ſe non donne
figliole deli principali non ſi parte may fora daL palatio ſe
non Quando va ala caza ninguno li po par lare ſinon ꝓ
zarabotane tene x ſcriuanj q̃ ſcriueno le coſe ſue in ſcorſe de
arbore molto ſotille a Queſti chiamano Xiritoles.
Luni matina a vinti noue de Jullio vedeſſemo venire contra nui piu de
cento prao partiti in tre ſcadronj con alti tanti tunguli q̃ ſonno
li ſue barche picole Quando vedeſſemo Queſto penſando foſſe
qalque Jnganno ne deſſemo Lo piu preſto fo poſſibile nela vella et
ꝓ preſſa Laſciaſſemo vna anchora et molto piu ne dubitauão de
eſſere tolti in mezo de certi Junci q̃ neL giorno paſſato
reſtarono dopo nuy Subito ſe voltaſſemo contra queſti et ne
pigliaſſemo cato amazando molte ꝓ ſonne tri o catro Junci
fugirono in ſeco in vno de qelli q̃ pigliaſſemo era lo figliolo deL
re deLa yſola de Lozon coſtui era capo gñale de queſto re de
burne et veniua cõ queſti Jonci da vna vila grande deta Laoe q̃ he
in capo de queſta iſola verſo Jaua magiore laqalle ꝓ non volere
hobedire aqueſto re ma aqello de Jaua magiore la haueua ruynata et
ſacquegiata giouan Caruiao nr̃o piloto laſſo andare Queſto
capo et Lo Jonco ſenza noſto conſentimẽto ꝓ certa Cantita de oro
como dapoy ſapeſſemo ſe non Laſſaua queſto re lo capo ne
haueria dato tuto qello haueſſemo demandato ꝓ che queſto capo era
molto temuto in queſte parte ma piu da gentilli ꝓ cio ſonno
Jnimiciſſimj de queſto re moro. in queſto porto glie vnalta
cita de gentilli magiori de qella de li mori fondata anche ella in
acqua ſalza ꝓ ilche ogni Jorno Queſti dui populi combateno inſieme
neL medeſimo porto il re gentille e potente como Lo re moro ma
nõ tanto ſuperbo facilmente ſe conuertirebe a la fede de xp̃o
Jl re moro Quando haueua Jnteſo in que modo haueuão tractati li Jonci
ne mando a dire ꝓ vno de li noſti q̃ erão in tera como li prao nõ
veniuão ꝓ farne deſpiacere ma andauão conta li gentilli et ꝓ
verificatiõe de queſto li moſtrorono alguni capi de homini morti et
li diſcero que erão de gentili mandaſſemo dire aL re li piaceſſe
laſciare venire li noſtri duy homini q̃ ſtauano ne la cita ꝓ
contratare et Lo figliolo de Johã caruaio q̃ era naſcuto nela tera
deL ꝟzin ma lui nõ volce de queſto fo cagiõe Johã Caruaio
ꝓ Laſſiare qeL capo reteniſſemo ſedizi homj̃ piu
principali ꝓ menarli in ſpagaia et tre donne in nome de la regina
deſpaga ma Johã caruaio le vſurpo per ſue.
LY Jonci ſonno le ſue naui et facti inqueſto modo Lo fondo e circa
duy palmi ſoura lacqua et de taule con cauechie di legnio aſſay ben
facto ſuura de queſto ſonno tucti de cane groſiſſime
ꝓ contrapezo porta vno de queſti tanta roba como vna naue li ſui
arbore ſonno de canne et le velle de ſcorſe de arbore la
porcellana ſorte de tera bianquiſſima et ſta cinquanta anny ſoto
tera inanzi laſiadopere ꝓ che altramente non ſaria fina lo
padre la ſotera ꝓ lo figliolo ſeL [veleno] ſi ponne in vno
vazo de porcelana fino ſubito ſe rompe la moneta q̃ adoperano
li morj in queſta parte e dimetalo ſbuſata neL mezo ꝓ inſfilzarla
et a ſolamte duna parte quato ſegni q̃ ſonno lr̃e deL grã re
della Chijna et La chiamano picis per vno cathiL de argento viuo
che e due libre de le noſte ne dauano ſey ſcutelle de porcelana per
vno quinterno de carta cento picis ꝓ cento ſexanta cathili de metalo
vno vazeto de porcelana ꝓ tre cortelli vno vazo de porcelana ꝓ
160 cathili de metalo ne danão vno bahar de cera q̃ e duzento et tre
cathili per octanta cathili de metalo vno bahar de ſale ꝓ quaranta
cathili de metalo vno bahar de anime ꝓ conciar le nauj ꝓ que in
queſte parte nõ ſi troua pegola vinti tahiL fanno vno cathiL
Qiui ſe apretia metalo argento viuo vetro cenaprio pannj de lana
telle et tutte le altri nr̃e merce ma piu lo fero et li ochiali
Queſti morj vano nudi como li alti beueno largento viuo Lo
infermo Lo beue per purgarſe et Lo Sano ꝓ reſtare ſanno.
Jl re de burne a due perle groſſe come dui oui de galina et ſonno
tanto rotonde q̃ non puono firmarſe ſoura vna tauola et queſto ſo
certo ꝓ q̃ quando li portaſſemo li preſenti li fo facto ſegnio
nele moſtraſe lui diſſe le moſtrarebe lalto giorno poy alguni
principali ne diſſero Loro hauerle vedute.
Queſti mori adoranno mahometo et la ſua lege et non mangiar carne de
porco lauarſi il culo cõ la mano ſiniſtra non mangiare cõ qella
nõ tagliare coſa alguna cõ la dextra ſedere Quando vrinano nõ
amazare galine ne capre ſe pima nõ parlano aL ſolle tagliare de
galine le cime de le alle cõ le ſue pelecine q̃ li avanzano de ſoto
et li piedi et poy ſcartarla ꝓ mezo lauarſe lo volto cõ la mano
drita nõ lauarſe li denti cõ li ditti et none mangiare coſa alguna
amazata ſe non da loro ſonno circũ ſiſi como li Judei.
Jn queſta yſola naſce la canfora ſpecie de balſamo laqalle naſce
fra li arbori et la ſcorſa e menuta como li remole Se la
ſe tiene diſcoperta apoco apoco diuenta niente et la chiamano Capor
li naſce cannela gengero mirabolani neranci limoni chiacare
meloni cogomari zuche rapani ceuole ſcarlogne vache bufali porci capre
galine oche ceruj elefanti cauali et altre coſe Queſta yſola e
tanto grande q̃ ſi ſta a circundarla con vno prao tre mezi ſta de
latitudine aL polo articho in cinque gradi et vno carto et in cento et
ſetantaſey et duy terſi de Longitudine de la linea Repartitionale et
ſe chiama burne.
Partendone de queſta yſola tornaſſemo in drieto ꝓ truuare vno
loco apto ꝓ conciare le naui ꝓ che faceuano hacqua vna naue
ꝓ poco vedere deL ſuo piloto dete in certi baſſi duna yſola deta
bibalon ma cõ lo ajuto de dio la liberaſſemo vno marinaro de
qella naue nõ hauedendoſe deſpauilo vna candella in vna barille pien
de poluere re de bombarda Subito la tolſe fora ſenſa danno niſſuno
ſeguẽdo poi lo nr̃o camino pigliaſſemo vno prao pienno de
Cochi que andaua a burne le homini fugirono in vna Jſoleta fin
que pigliaſſemo queſto tre alti fugirono de drieto da certe
yſollete.
AL capo de burne fa queſta et vna Jſola deta Cimbonbon q̃ ſta in
octo gradi et ſette menuti e vno porto ꝓfecto ꝓ conciare naui ꝓ
ilque entraſſemo dento et ꝓ hauer̃ tropo le coſe neceſſarie ꝓ
conciare le naui tardaſſemo quarãtaduj giorni Jn Queſti giorni
ognuno de nuy ſe afaticaua qi in vna coſa qi in vnalta ma la magior
faticha haueuão era andar far legnia neli boſchi ſenza ſcarpe
Jn queſta yſola ſonno porci ſaluatici ne amazaſſemo vno de
queſti cõ lo batello ne lacqua paſſando de vna yſola in vnalta
loqalle haueua lo capo longo duy palmi et mezo et li denti grandi
gli ſonno Cocodrili grandi cuſſi de terra como de mare oſtrigue et
cape de diuerſe ſorte fra le altre no trouaſſemo due la carne
de luna pezo vinti ſey libr̃ et lalta quaranta catro
pigliaſſemo vno peſce q̃ haueua Lo capo Como vno porco con dui
Corni eL ſuo corpo era tuto duno oſſo ſolo haueua ſoura
la ſchena como vna ſella et era picolo Ancora qi ſe troua
arbori q̃ fanno la foglia Quando caſcano ſonno viue et Ca minano
Quelle foglie ſonno de piu ne meno Como qelli deL moraro ma nõ tanto
Longue apreſſo eL pecolo de vna parte et delalta anno duy piedi
iL pecollo e corto et pontino non anno ſangue et qi le coca fugino
yo ne teny vna noue giorni in vna ſcatola Quando la apriua
Queſta andaua in torno intorno ꝓ la ſcatola non penſo viueno de
alto ſenon de arie.
Eſſendo partiti de queſta yſola çioe deL porto neL capo de qella
yſola pulaoã in contraſſemo vno Jonco che veniua da burne neLqalle
era lo gouuernator̃ de pulaoan li faceſſemo ſegnio amaynaſſe
le velle et lui nõ volendole amaynare lo pigliaſſemo ꝓ forſa et
Lo ſacquegiaſſemo ſeL gouernator̃ volſe eſſere libero ne
dete in termino de ſette giornj Quatro cento meſure de rizo vinti
porci vinti capre et cento cinquanta galine poy ne a preſento
cochi figui canne dolci vazi de vino de palma et alte coſe vedẽ
do nuy la ſua liberalita gli rendeſſemo alguni ſui pugnialli et
archibuſi poy li donaſſemo vna bandiera vna veſta de damaſco
giallo et xv braçia de tella a vno ſuo figliolo vna capo de panno
lazuro et a vno fratello deL gouuernator̃ vna veſta de panno ꝟde et
alte coſe ſe partiſſemo de lui Como amiçi et tornaſſemo
indrieto fa la yſola de cagajan et qeL porto de Cippit pigliando lo
Camino a la carta deL leuante ꝟſo ſiroco ꝓ trouare le yſolle de
malucho paſaſſemo ꝓ certi monticelli circa de liqalli trouaſſemo
lo mare pienno de herbe cõ lo fondo grandisso Quando paſauarho ꝓ
queſti ne pareua intrare ꝓ vno alto mare reſtãdo chipit al
leuante trouaſſemo due yſolle zolo et taghima aL ponente apreſſe
de le qalle naſcono le perle le due deL re de burne forono
trouatte quiui et le hebe como ne fo referito in queſto modo
Queſto re piglio per moglie vna figliola deL re de zolo laqalle li
diſſe como ſuo padre haueua Queſte due perle coſtui ſi
delibero hauerli in ogni modo ando vna nocte con cinquecento prao
et piglio lore con duy ſui figlioli et meno li a burne ſeL re de zolo
ſe volſe liberare li fu forſa darli le due perle.
Poy al leuante carta del grego paſaſſemo fra dui habitatiõe dete
cauit et subanin et vna Jſola habitata deta monoripa longi x legue da
li monticeli La gente de queſta hanno loro caſe in barche et non
habitano altroue in qelle due habitatiõe de cauit et subanin
liqalli ſonno ne la yſola de butuan et Calaghan naſce la meglior
Canella q̃ ſi poſſa trouare ſe ſtauão iui ꝓ dui giornj
ne carigauano le naui ma ꝓ hauer bon vento apaſare vna ponta et
certe yſollete q̃ erano circha de queſta nõ voleſſemo tardar̃ et
andando a la vella barataſſemo diſiſette libre ꝓ dui cortelli
grandi haue vamo tolti aL gouuernator̃ de pulaoan larbore de
queſta Cannella he alto tre o catro cubito et groſſo como li diti de
La mano et nõ ha piu de tre o catro rameti la ſua foglia he como
qella deL lauro La ſua ſcorſa he La Cannella La ſe coglie
due volte a lanno coſi e forte lo legnio et le foglie eſſendo verde
como la cannella la chiamão caiu mana Caiu vol dire legno et
mana dolce çioe legnio dolce.
Pigliando Lo camino aL grego et andando a vna cita grande detta maingda
nao Laqalle he nela yſola de butuan et calaghan acio ſapeſſemo
qaLque noua de maluco pigliaſſemo ꝓ forſa vno bigniday e come vno
prao et amazaſſemo ſette homini in queſto erano ſolum dizidoto
homini diſpoſti Quanto alguni alti vedeſſemo in queſte parte
tucti deli principali de ma ingdanao fra queſti vno ne diſſe q̃ era
fratello del re de maingdanao et che ſapeua doue era malucho ꝓ
queſto laſaſſemo la via del grego et pigliaſẽo la via de ſiroco
in vno capo de queſta yſola butuan et caleghan apreſſo de vno
fiume ſe trouano hominj pelozi grandiſſimi combatitori et arciere
anno ſpade largue vno palmo mangião ſinon Lo core deL huomo crudo
cõ ſugo de neranzi o limoni et ſe chiamano benaian li peloſi
Quando pigliaſſemo La via deL ſiroco ſtauamo in ſey gradi et ſete
menuti aLartico et trenta legui longi de cauit.
Andando aL ſiroco trouaſſemo Quatro yſolle Ciboco biraham batolach
Saranganj et candighar vno ſabato de nocte a vinti ſey de octobre
coſteando birahan batolach ne aſſalto vna fortuna grandiſſima ꝓ
ilque pregando ydio abaſſa ſemo tucte le velle Subito li tri noſti
ſancti ne aparſero deſcaciando tuta laſcuritate sto. elmo ſtette
piu de due hore incima lagabia como vna torchia sto. nicolo in cima
dela mezana et sta chiara ſoura lo trinqueto ꝓmeteſemo vno
ſchiauo aſancto elmo a sto nicolo et a Sta. chiara gli deſſemo a
ogny vno laſua elemoſina ſeguendo poy nr̃o viagio intraſſemo
in vno porto in mezo de le due yſolle Saranghani et candighar et ſe
afermaſſemo aL leuante apreſſo vna habitatiõe de ſarangani oue
ſe troua oro et perle Queſti populi ſonno gentili et vano nudi
como gli alti Queſto porto ſta de latitudine in cinque gradi et
noue menuti et longi cinquanta legue de cauit.
Stando quiui vno giorno pigliaſſemo dui piloti ꝓ forſa acio ne
inſegniaſeno malucho facendo nr̃o viagio fa mezo giorno et
garbin paſaſſemo ꝓ octo yſole habitate et deſhabitate poſte in
modo de vna via leqalle ſe chiamano Cheaua Cauiao Cabiao Camanuca
Cabaluzao cheai lipan et nuza fin que ariuaſſemo in vna yſola poſta
in fine de queſte molto bella aL vedere ꝓ hauere vento
contrario et ꝓ non potere paſſare vna ponta de queſta yſo la
andauamo dequa et dela çirca de ella ꝓ ilque vno de qelli haueuamo
pigliati a ſaranghai et Lo fratello deL re de maingdanao cõ vno ſuo
figliolo picolo ne la nocte fugirono nuotando in queſta yſola ma iL
figliolo ꝓ nõ potere tenere ſaldo ſoura le ſpalle de ſuo padre
ſe anego ꝓ nõ potere caualcare la dicta punta paſſaſemo de ſoto
dela yſola doue erano molte yſolette Queſta yſola tenne quato
re raia matandatu raia lalagha Raia bapti et raia parabu ſonno
gentili ſta in tre gradi et mezo a lartico et 27. legue longi de
ſaranghany. et edetta ſanghir.
Facendo lo medeſimo Camino paſaſſemo zirca ſey Jſolle cheama
Carachita para zanghalura Ciau lontana diece legue da ſanghir Queſta
tenne vno mõte alto ma nõ largo lo ſuo re chiama raia ponto et
paghinzara Longo octo legue da ciau laqalle a tre montagnie alte Lo
ſuo re ſe chiama raia babintan talaut poy trouaſſemo aL
leuante de paghinzara longi dodici legue due yſolle nõ molto grandi
habitate dette zoar et meau paſſate queſte due yſolle mercore
aſey de nouembr̃ diſcoperſemo quato yſolle alte aL leuante Longi
dale due cadordice legue Lo pilloto q̃ ne era reſtato diſſe
Como qelle quatro yſolle erão maluco ꝓ ilque rengratiaſſemo ydio
et ꝓ allegreza deſcaricaſſemo tuta La artigliaria non era de
marauiliarſi ſe eramo tanto alegri perche haueuão paſſati
vintiſette meſi mancho dui giorni in cercare malucho ꝓ tute qʒſte
yſolle [ꝓ tute queſte yſolle: doublet in original MS.] fin
amalucho eL menor fondo trouaſſemo era in cento et ducento
bracia aL contrario Como diceuão li portugueſi q̃ quiui nõ ſi
poteua nauigare ꝓ li grã baſſi et iL çiello obſcuro como loro Se
haueuão ymaginato.
Venere a octo de nouembr̃ 1521 tre hore inanzi lo tramontar deL ſolle
entraſe mo in vno porto duna yſolla deta Tadore et ſurgendo
apreſſo terra in vinti bracia deſcaricaſſemo tuta lartigliaria
neL giorno ſeguente venne lo re in vno prao a le naui et
circundole vna volta ſubito li andaſſemo contra cõ Lo batello
ꝓ honnorarlo ne fece intrare nel ſuo prao et ſedere apreſſo
deſe lui ſedeua ſotto vna humbrela de Seta q̃ andaua intorno
dinanſi de lui era vno ſuo figliolo coL Scettro realle et dui
cõ dui vazi de oro ꝓ dare hacqua ale manj et dui altrj cõ due
caſſetine dorate pienne de qelle betre. Lo re ne diſſe foſſemo
libẽ venuttj et Como lui Ja grã tempo ſe haueua ſogniato alquante
naue vegnire Amaluco da luogui lontanj et ꝓ piu Certificarſi aueua
voluto vedere ne la luna et vite como veniuano et q̃ nuy eramo qelli
Entrando lo re nelle nauy tucti li baſaronno la mano poi lo
Conducemo ſoura la popa et neL en trare dentro nõ ſe voſce
abaſſare ma entro de ſoura via facendolo ſedere in vna cathedra de
veluto roſſo li veſtiſſemo vna veſta de veluto Jallo aLa
turqueſca nui ꝓ piu ſuo honnore ſedeuão in terra apreſſo lui
eſendo tucti aſentati lo re comincio et diſſe lui et tucti
ſui populi volere ſemꝓ eſſere fideliſſemj amici et vaſſali aL
nr̃o re deſpagnia et acceptaua nuj Como ſui figlioli et doueſcemo
deſcendere in terra Como nele ꝓrie caſe noſte ꝓ che daqi
indietro ſua yſola non ſe chiameria piu tadore ma caſtiglia ꝓ
lamore grande portaua al nr̃o re Suo ſigniore li donaſſemo vno
pñte qaL fo la veſte la cathedra vna peſſa de tella ſotille Quatro
bracia de panno de ſcarlata vno ſaglio de brocato vno panno de
damaſco giallo alguni panny indiany lauorati de oro et de ſeta Vna
peza de berania biancha tella de Cambaia dui bonnetj ſey filce de
criſtalo dodici corteli tre ſpechi grandi sey forfice ſey petini
alquanti bichieri dorati et altre coſe aL ſuo figliolo vno paño
indianno de oro et de ſeta vno ſpechio grande vno bonnet et duy
cortelli a noue alti ſui principali a ogni vno vno panno de ſeta
bonneti et dui cortellj et a molti alti aqi bonneti et aqi cortelli
deſſemo in fin queL re ne diſſe doue ſsemo reſtare dopo
ne diſſe lui nõ hauer alto ſinon la ꝓpia vita ꝓ mãdare al re
ſuo s. doueſſemo nuj piu aꝓpincarſe a la cita et se veniua
de nocte ale naui li amazaſſemo cõ li Schiopeti partendoſſe
de la popa may ſe volce abaſſare pigliata la liſſentia
diſcare caſſemo tucte le bombarde Queſto re he moro et forſi
de quaranta cinque anny ben facto cõ vna pñtia realle et
grandiſſimo aſtrologo alhora era veſtito duna Camiſeta de
tella biancha ſoti liſſima cõli capi de le manigue lauorati doro et
de vno panno dela cinta quaſi fina in terra et era deſcalſo
haueua Jntorno Lo capo [lo capo: doublet in original MS.] vno velo de
ſeta et ſoura vna girlanda de fiory et chiamaſſe raia ſultan
Manzor.
Domenica a x de nouembr̃ Queſto re volſe intendere quanto tempo era
Se eramo partiti deſpagnia et Lo ſoldo et la Quintalada ne daua il re
açiaſcuno de nui et voliua li deſſemo vna firma deL re et vna
bandiera reale ꝓ ch̃ daqi inanzi La ſua Jſola et vnalta chiamata
Tarenate de laqalle ſeL poteua coronare vno ſuo [figlio: crossed out
in original MS.] nepote deto Calonaghapi farebe tucte due ſerianno deL
re deſpagnia et ꝓ honnore del ſuo re era ꝓ combatere inſino aLa
morte et Quando non poteſſe piu reſiſtere veniria in ſpaga lui
etucti li ſui in vno Joncho faceua far de nuoua cõla firma et bãdera
reale percio grã tempo era ſuo ſeruitor̃ ne prego li
laſciaſſemo algunj hominj acio ogni ora ſe arecordaſſe deL re
deſpagnia et non mercadãtie ꝓ che loro non gli reſtarebenno et ne
diſſe voleua andare a vna Jſola chiamata bachian ꝓ fornirne piu
preſto le naui de garoſali ꝓ cio nela ſua non eranno tanti de
ſechi fucero ſoficientj a carigar le due naue ogi ꝓ eſſere
domenicho non volſe contractare JL giorno feſtigiato da queſti
populi he Lo nr̃o vennere.
Açcio vr̃a JILma sa. ſapra le yſolle doue naſcono li garofali
Sunno cinque tarenatte Tadore mutir machian et bachian tarenate he
la principalle et quãdo viueua lo ſuo re signorigiaua caſi tucte le
altre Tadore et qella doue eramo tienne re mutir et machian
non anno re ma ſe regenno a populo et quando li dui re de tarenate et
de tadore fanno guera inſieme Queſte due li ſerueno de gente La
vltima e bachian et tienne re tucta queſta ꝓuin tia doue
naſcono li garofali ſe chiama malucho. non era ancora octo meſy
que ero morto in tarenate vno franco ſeranno portugueſe capo gñale
deL re de tarenate contra Lo re de tadore et opero tanto que
Conſtrinſe Lo re de tadore donnare vna ſua figliola ꝓ moglie aL re
de tarenate et quaſi tueti li figlioli deli principali ꝓ oſtagio de
laqaL figliola naſcete queL nepote deL re de tadore poy facta fa
loro la pace eſſendo venuto vno giorno franco ſeranno in tadore ꝓ
contractare garofali queſto re lo fece velenare cõ qelle foglie de
betre et viuete ſinon catro Jornj il ſuo re lo veleua far
ſepelire ſecondo le ſue lege ma tre xp̃iani ſui ſeruitorj non
conſentirono Lo qaL laſcio vno figliolo et vna figliola picoli de vna
donna que tolſi in Jaua magiore et ducento bahar de garofoli
coſtui era grande amicho et parente deL nr̃o fideL capo. gñale et fo
cauſa de Comouerlo apigliar qʒſta inpreſa perche piu volte
eſſendo Lo ñro capo amalacha li haueua ſcripto Como lui ſtaua iui
D. manueL Ja re de portugaL ꝓ nõ volere acreſcere la
ꝓuiſione deL nr̃o capo gñale ſolamente de vno teſtonne aL meſe
ꝓ li ſui bennemeriti venne in ſpagnia et hebe dala ſacra mageſta
tucto qello ſepe demandare paſſati x giorni dopo la morte de
franco ſeranno iL re de tarenate deto raya Abuleis hauendo deſcaciato
ſuo gennero re de bachian fu avelenato de ſua figliola moglie del
decto re Soto ombra de volere cõcluder̃ la pace fra loro il qalle
ſcampo ſolum duy giornj et laſcio nuoue figlioly principali li
loro nomy ſono queſti Chechili momuli Jadore vunighi Chechili de roix
Cili manzur Cili pagi Chialin Chechilin Cathara vaiechu Serich et
calano ghapi.
Luni a xj de nouembr̃ vno deli figlioli deL re de tarenate chechili de
roix veſtito de veluto roſſo venne ali naui cõ dui prao ſonnando
cõ qelle borchie et nõ volſe alhora entrare neli naui coſtui
teneua la donna li figlioli et li alte coſe de franco ſeranno Quando
lo Cognioſſemo mandaſſemo dire al re ſeL doueuão receuere ꝓ che
eramo neL ſuo porto ne riſpoſe faceſſemo como voleuamo
Lo figliolo deL re vedendone ſtar ſuſpeſi ſe diſcoſto alquanto
da le naui li an daſemo cõlo batello apñtarli vno panno de oro
et de ſeta indiano cõ alquãti Cortelli ſpechi et forfice
accepto li cõ vno pocho de ſdegnio et ſubito ſe parti Coſtui
haueua ſeco vno Jndio xp̃iano chiamato Manuel ſeruitor̃ dun peto
alfonſo de loroſa portugheſe loqaL dopo la morte de franco ſeranno
vene de bandan ataranate iL ſeruitor̃ ꝓ ſapere parlare in
portugheſe entro nele naue et diſſenne ſe ben li figlioli deL re de
tarenate eranno nemici deL re de tadore niente de meno ſempre ſtauamo
aL ſeruitio deL re de ſpagnia mã daſemo vna lr̃a apietro
alfonſo de loroſa ꝓ queſto ſuo ſeruitor̃ doueſſe vegnire
ſenza ſuſpecto niſſuno.
Queſti re teneno quante donne voleno ma ne anno vna ꝓ ſuo moglie
principale et tutte le altre hobediſconno aqueſta il re de
tadore haueua vna caſa grãde fuora de la çita doue eſtauano du
cento ſue donne de li piu principali cõ alte tante le ſeruiuano
Quando lo re mangia ſta ſolo ho vero cõ la ſuo mogle prin cipalle
in vno luoco alto Como vn tribunalle oue po vedere tucte le altre q̃
li ſedenno atorno et aqella piu li piace li comanda vada dormire
ſecho qela nocte finito lo mangiare ſe lui comanda Qʒ queſte
mangião inſieme Lo fanno ſe non ognuna va mangiare nella ſua
camera. Niuno ſenza liſentia deL re le puo vedere et ſe alguno
he trouato o di giorno o de nocte apreſſo la caza del re he amazato
ogni famiglia he hobligata de dare aL re vna et due figliole
Queſto re haueua vinti ſey figlioli octo maſchi lo reſto femine
Dinanzi a queſta yſola nehe vna grandiſſima chiamata giailolo
che he habitata de mory et da gentilli ſe trouerano duy re fra li
mory Si como ne diſſe eL re vno ha uer̃ hauuto ſeycento figlioli et
lalto cinque cento et vinticinque li gentili nõ teneno tante
donne ne viueno cõ tante ſuperſtitioni ma adorana la pia coſa q̃
vedeno la matina quando eſconno fora de caſa ꝓ tuto qeL giorno
JL re de queſti gentilli deto raya papua e richiſſimo de oro et
habita dento ne layſola in queſta Jſola de giaiallo naſcono
Soura ſaſſi viui cane groſſe Como la gamba pienne de acqua molto
buona da bere ne Comprauão assay daqueſti populi.
Marti a dudici de nouembre il re fece fare in vno giorno vna caſa nela
cita ꝓ la nr̃a mercantia gli la portaſſemo quaſi tuta et ꝓ
guardia de quella laſciaſſemo tri homini de li nr̃j et ſubito
Cominciaſſemo amerchadantare in queſto modo ꝓ x braçia de
panno roſſo asay bonno ne dauano vno bahar de garofali q̃ he quato
qʒi et ſey libr̃ un Quintale e cento libr̃ per quindici bracia de
panno nõ tropo bonno un bahar ꝓ quindice accette vno bahar ꝓ
trenta cinque bichieri de vetro vno bahar iL re li hebe tucti ꝓ dizi
ſette Cachili de Cenaprio vn bahar ꝓ diziſete cathili de argento
viuo vno bahar ꝓ vintiſey bracia de tella vno bahar ꝓ vinticinque
bracia de tella piu ſotille vno bahar ꝓ cento cinquanta Cortelli vno
bahar per cinquanta forfice vno bahar ꝓ quaranta bonneti vno bahar
ꝓ x panny de guzerati vno bahar per tre de qelle ſue borchie dui
bahar ꝓ vno quintaL de metalo vno bahar tucti li ſpechi eranno
rocti et li pocqi bonny Ly volſe el re molte de queſte coſe
eranno de qelli Junci haueuamo preſi la p̃ſteſa de venire in
ſpagnia ne fece dare le nr̃e merchantie ꝓ miglior mercato non
hauereſſemo facto ogni giorno veniuano ale naui tante barque
pienne de capre galine figui cochi et altre coſe da mangiare q̃ era
vna marauiglia forniſſemo li naui de hacqua buona Queſta hacqua
naſcie calda maſe ſta ꝓ ſpacio duna hora fora de ſuo fonte
diuenta frigidiſſima queſto e ꝓ q̃ naſce neL monte delli
garofoli aL contrario Como ſe diceua in ſpagnia lacqua eſſer
portata amaluco de longi parte.
Mercore lo re mando ſuo figliolo deto mossahap a mutir ꝓ garofoli
açcio piu preſto ne forniſſeno hogi diceſſemo aL re Como haueuamo
preſſi certj indij rengratio molto ydio et dicene lifaceſſemo tanta
gratia gli deſſemo li preſoni ꝓche li mandarebe nelle ſue terre
cõ cinque hominj de li ſui ꝓ manifeſtare deL re deſpagnia et de
ſua fama alhora li donaſſemo li tre donne pigliate in nome de
la reyna ꝓ la cagiõe Ja detta JL giorno ſeguente li
apreſentaſſemo tucti li preſoni ſaluo qelli de burne ne hebe
grandiſſimo piacere. Dapoy ne diſce doueſſemo ꝓ ſuo amore
amazare tucti li porci haueuão nele nauj ꝓ che ne darebe tante capre
et galine gli amazaſſemo ꝓ farli piaçere et li apichaſſemo
ſoto la Couuerta Quado Coſtoro ꝓ ventura li vedeuano ſe
copriuano lo volto ꝓ non vederli ne ſentire lo ſuo odore.
(Continued in Vol. XXXIV, page 38.)
[FIRST VOYAGE AROUND THE WORLD]
Antonio Pigafeta, [1] patrician of Venezia and knight of Rhodi [i.e.,
Rhodes], [2] to the most illustrious and excellent Lord, Philipo de
Villers Lisleadam, [3] renowned grand master of Rhoddi, his most
honored lord. [4]
Inasmuch as, most illustrious and excellent Lord, there are many
curious persons who not only take pleasure in knowing and hearing the
great and wonderful things which God has permitted me to see and suffer
during my long and dangerous voyage, hereto appended, but who also wish
to know the means and manners and paths that I have taken in making
that voyage [literally: “in going thither”]; and who do not lend
that entire faith to the end unless they have a perfect assurance of
the beginning: therefore, your most illustrious Lordship must know
that, finding myself, in the year of the nativity of our Savior
MCCCCCXIX in Spagnia, in the court of the most serene king of the
Romans, [5] with the reverend Monsignor, Francesco Chieregato, then
apostolic protonotary and nuncio of Pope Leo X of holy memory (and who
has since become bishop of Aprutino and prince of Teramo), [6] and
having learned many things from many books that I had read, as well as
from various persons, [7] who discussed the great and marvelous things
of the Ocean Sea with his Lordship, I determined, by the good favor of
his Cæsarean Majesty, and of his Lordship abovesaid, to experience and
to go to see those things for myself, so that I might be able thereby
to satisfy myself somewhat, and so that I might be able to gain some
renown for later posterity. [8] Having heard that a fleet composed of
five vessels had been fitted out in the city of Siviglia for the
purpose of going to discover the spicery in the islands of Maluco,
under command of Captain-general Fernando de Magaglianes, [9] a
Portuguese gentleman, comendador of the [Order of] Santo Jacobo de la
Spada [i.e., “St. James of the Sword”], [10] [who] had many times
traversed the Ocean Sea in various directions, whence he had acquired
great praise, I set out from the city of Barsalonna, where his Majesty
was then residing, bearing many letters in my favor. I went by ship as
far as Malega, where, taking the highroad, I went overland to Siviglia.
Having been there about three full months, waiting for the said fleet
to be set in order for the departure, [11] finally, as your most
excellent Lordship will learn below, we commenced our voyage under most
happy auspices. And inasmuch as when I was in Ytalia and going to see
his Holiness, Pope Clement, [12] you by your grace showed yourself very
kind and good to me at Monteroso, and told me that you would be greatly
pleased if I would write down for you all those things which I had seen
and suffered during my voyage; and although I have had little
opportunity, yet I have tried to satisfy your desire according to my
poor ability; therefore, I offer you, in this little book of mine, all
my vigils, hardships, and wanderings, begging you, although you are
busied with continual Rhodian cares, to deign to skim through it, by
which I shall be enabled to receive a not slight remuneration from your
most illustrious Lordship, to whose good favor I consign and commend
myself. [13]
The captain-general having resolved to make so long a voyage through
the Ocean Sea, where furious winds and great storms are always
reigning, but not desiring to make known to any of his men the voyage
that he was about to make, so that they might not be cast down at the
thought of doing so great and extraordinary a deed, as he did
accomplish with the aid of God (the captains who accompanied him, hated
him exceedingly, I know not why, unless because he was a Portuguese,
and they Spaniards), with the desire to conclude what he promised under
oath to the emperor, Don Carlo, king of Spagnia, prescribed the
following orders and gave them to all the pilots and masters of his
ships, so that the ships might not become separated from one another
during the storms and night. [14] These were [to the effect] that he
would always precede the other ships at night, and they were to follow
his ship which would have a large torch of wood, which they call farol.
[15] He always carried that farol set at the poop of his ship as a
signal so that they might always follow him. Another light was made by
means of a lantern or by means of a piece of wicking made from a rush
and called sparto rope [16] which is well beaten in the water, and then
dried in the sun or in the smoke—a most excellent material for such
use. They were to answer him so that he might know by that signal
whether all of the ships were coming together. If he showed two lights
besides that of the farol, they were to veer or take another tack,
[doing this] when the wind was not favorable or suitable for us to
continue on our way, or when he wished to sail slowly. If he showed
three lights, they were to lower away the bonnet-sail, which is a part
of the sail that is fastened below the mainsail, when the weather is
suitable for making better time. It is lowered so that it may be easier
to furl the mainsail when it is struck hastily during a sudden squall.
[17] If he showed four lights, they were to strike all the sails; [18]
after which he showed a signal by one light, [which meant] that he was
standing still. If he showed a greater number of lights, or fired a
mortar, it was a signal of land or of shoals. [19] Then he showed four
lights when he wished to have the sails set full, so that they might
always sail in his wake by the torch on the poop. When he desired to
set the bonnet-sail, he showed three lights. [20] When he desired to
alter his course, he showed two; [21] and then if he wished to
ascertain whether all the ships were following and whether they were
coming together, he showed one light, so that each one of the ships
might do the same and reply to him. Three watches were set nightly: the
first at the beginning of the night; the second, which is called the
midnight, [22] and the third at the end [of the night]. All of the men
in the ships were divided into three parts: the first was the division
of the captain or boatswain, those two alternating nightly; the second,
of either the pilot or boatswain’s mate; and the third, of the
master. [23] Thus did the captain-general order that all the ships
observe the above signals and watches, so that their voyage might be
more propitious. [24]
On Monday morning, August x, St. Lawrence’s day, in the year
abovesaid, the fleet, having been supplied with all the things
necessary for the sea, [25] (and counting those of every nationality,
we were two hundred and thirty-seven men), made ready to leave the
harbor of Siviglia. [26] Discharging many pieces of artillery, the
ships held their forestaysails to the wind, and descended the river
Betis, at present called Gadalcavir, passing by a village called Gioan
dal Farax, once a large Moorish settlement. In the midst of it was once
a bridge that crossed the said river, and led to Siviglia. Two columns
of that bridge have remained even to this day at the bottom of the
water, and when ships sail by there, they need men who know the
location of the columns thoroughly, so that the ships may not strike
against them. They must also be passed when the river is highest with
the tide; as must also many other villages along the river, which has
not sufficient depth [of itself] for ships that are laden and which are
not very large to pass. Then the ships reached another village called
Coria, and passed by many other villages along the river, until they
came to a castle of the duke of Medina Cidonia, called San Lucar, which
is a port by which to enter the Ocean Sea. [27] It is in an east and
west direction with the cape of Sanct Vincent, which lies in 37 degrees
of latitude, and x leguas from the said port. [28] From Siviglia to
this point [i.e., San Lucar], it is 17 or 20 leguas by river. [29] Some
days after, the captain-general, with his other captains, descended the
river in the small boats belonging to their ships. We remained there
for a considerable number of days in order to finish [30] [providing]
the fleet with some things that it needed. Every day we went ashore to
hear mass in a village called Nostra Dona de Baremeda [our Lady of
Barrameda], near San Lucar. Before the departure, the captain-general
wished all the men to confess, and would not allow any [31] woman to
sail in the fleet for the best of considerations.
We left that village, by name San Luchar, on Tuesday, September xx of
the same year, and took a southwest course. [32] On the 26th [33] of
the said month, we reached an island of the Great Canaria, called
Teneriphe, which lies in a latitude of 28 degrees, [landing there] in
order to get flesh, water, and wood. [34] We stayed there for three and
one-half days in order to furnish the fleet with the said supplies.
Then we went to a port of the same island called Monte Rosso [35] to
get pitch, [36] staying [there] two days. Your most illustrious
Lordship must know that there is a particular one of the islands of the
Great Canaria, where one can not find a single drop of water which
gushes up [from a spring]; [37] but that at noontide a cloud descends
from the sky and encircles a large tree which grows in the said island,
the leaves and branches of which distil a quantity of water. At the
foot of the said tree runs a trench which resembles a spring, where all
the water falls, and from which the people living there, and the
animals, both domestic and wild, fully satisfy themselves daily with
this water and no other. [38]
At midnight of Monday, October three, the sails were trimmed toward the
south, [39] and we took to the open Ocean Sea, passing between Cape
Verde and its islands in 14 and one-half degrees. Thus for many days
did we sail along the coast of Ghinea, or Ethiopia, where there is a
mountain called Siera Leona, which lies in 8 degrees of latitude, with
contrary winds, calms, and rains without wind, until we reached the
equinoctial line, having sixty days of continual rain. [40] Contrary to
the opinion of the ancients, [41] before we reached the line many
furious squalls of wind, and currents of water struck us head on in 14
degrees. As we could not advance, and in order that the ships might not
be wrecked, [42] all the sails were struck; and in this manner did we
wander hither and yon on the sea, waiting for the tempest to cease, for
it was very furious. [43] When it rained there was no wind. When the
sun shone, it was calm. Certain large fishes called tiburoni [i.e.,
sharks] came to the side of the ships. They have terrible teeth, and
whenever they find men in the sea they devour them. We caught many of
them with iron hooks, [44] although they are not good to eat unless
they are small, and even then they are not very good. During those
storms the holy body, that is to say St. Elmo, appeared to us many
times, in light—among other times on an exceedingly dark night, [45]
with the brightness of a blazing torch, on the maintop, where he stayed
for about two hours or more, to our consolation, for we were weeping.
When that blessed light was about to leave us, so dazzling was the
brightness that it cast into our eyes, that we all remained for more
than an eighth of an hour [46] blinded and calling for mercy. And truly
when we thought that we were dead men, the sea suddenly grew calm. [47]
I saw many kinds of birds, among them one that had no anus; and
another, [which] when the female wishes to lay its eggs, it does so on
the back of the male and there they are hatched. The latter bird has no
feet, and always lives in the sea. [There is] another kind which live
on the ordure of the other birds, and in no other manner; for I often
saw this bird, which is called Cagassela, fly behind the other birds,
until they are constrained to drop their ordure, which the former
seizes immediately and abandons the latter bird. I also saw many flying
fish, and many others collected together, so that they resembled an
island. [48]
After we had passed the equinoctial line going south, we lost the north
star, and hence we sailed south south-west [49] until [we reached] a
land called the land of Verzin [50] which lies in 23½ degrees of the
Antarctic Pole [i.e., south latitude]. It is the land extending from
the cape of Santo Augustino, which lies in 8 degrees of the same pole.
There we got a plentiful refreshment of fowls, potatoes [batate], many
sweet pine-apples—in truth the most delicious fruit that can be
found—the flesh of the anta, [51] which resembles beef, sugarcane,
and innumerable other things, which I shall not mention in order not to
be prolix. For one fishhook or one knife, those people gave 5 or 6
chickens; for one comb, a brace of geese; for one mirror or one pair of
scissors, as many fish as would be sufficient for x men; for a bell or
one leather lace, one basketful of potatoes [batate]. These potatoes
resemble chestnuts in taste, and are as long as turnips. [52] For a
king of diamonds [danari], [53] which is a playing card, they gave me 6
[54] fowls and thought that they had even cheated me. We entered that
port on St. Lucy’s day, and on that day had the sun on the zenith;
[55] and we were subjected to greater heat on that day and on the other
days when we had the sun on the zenith, than when we were under the
equinoctial line. [56]
That land of Verzin is wealthier and larger than Spagnia, Fransa, and
Italia, [57] put together, and belongs to the king of Portugalo. The
people of that land are not Christians, and have no manner of worship.
They live according to the dictates of nature, [58] and reach an age of
one hundred and twenty-five and one hundred and forty years. [59] They
go naked, both men and women. They live in certain long houses which
they call boii [60] and sleep in cotton hammocks called amache, which
are fastened in those houses by each end to large beams. A fire is
built on the ground under those hammocks. In each one of those boii,
there are one hundred men with their wives and children, [61] and they
make a great racket. They have boats called canoes made of one single
huge tree, [62] hollowed out by the use of stone hatchets. Those people
employ stones as we do iron, as they have no iron. Thirty or forty men
occupy one of those boats. They paddle with blades like the shovels of
a furnace, and thus, black, naked, and shaven, they resemble, when
paddling, the inhabitants of the Stygian marsh. [63] Men and women are
as well proportioned as we. They eat the human flesh of their enemies,
not because it is good, but because it is a certain established custom.
That custom, which is mutual, was begun by an old woman, [64] who had
but one son who was killed by his enemies. In return some days later,
that old woman’s friends captured one of the company who had killed
her son, and brought him to the place of her abode. She seeing him, and
remembering her son, ran upon him like an infuriated bitch, and bit him
on one shoulder. Shortly afterward he escaped to his own people, whom
he told that they had tried to eat him, showing them [in proof] the
marks on his shoulder. Whomever the latter captured afterward at any
time from the former they ate, and the former did the same to the
latter, so that such a custom has sprung up in this way. They do not
eat the bodies all at once, but every one cuts off a piece, and carries
it to his house, where he smokes it. Then every week, [65] he cuts off
a small bit, which he eats thus smoked with his other food to remind
him of his enemies. The above was told me by the pilot, Johane
Carnagio, [66] who came with us, and who had lived in that land for
four years. Those people paint the whole body and the face in a
wonderful manner with fire in various fashions, as do the women also.
The men are [are: doublet in original manuscript] smooth shaven and
have no beard, for they pull it out. They clothe themselves in a dress
made of parrot feathers, with large round arrangements at their
buttocks made from the largest feathers, and it is a ridiculous sight.
Almost all the people, except the women and children, [67] have three
holes pierced in the lower lip, where they carry round stones, one
finger or thereabouts in length and hanging down outside. Those people
are not entirely black, but of a dark brown color. They keep the
privies uncovered, and the body is without hair, [68] while both men
and women always go naked. Their king is called cacich [i.e., cacique].
They have an infinite number of parrots, and gave us 8 or 10 for one
mirror: and little monkeys that look like lions, only [they are]
yellow, and very beautiful. [69] They make round white [loaves of]
bread from the marrowy substance of trees, which is not very good, and
is found between the wood and the bark and resembles buttermilk curds.
[70] They have swine which have their navels [lombelico] on their
backs, [71] and large birds with beaks like spoons and no tongues. [72]
The men gave us one or two of their young daughters as slaves for one
hatchet or one large knife, but they would not give us their wives in
exchange for anything at all. The women will not shame their husbands
under any considerations whatever, and as was told us, refuse to
consent to their husbands by day, but only by night. [73] The women
cultivate the fields, and carry all their food from the mountains in
panniers or baskets on the head or fastened to the head. [74] But they
are always accompanied by their husbands, who are armed only with a bow
of brazil-wood or of black palm-wood, and a bundle of cane arrows,
doing this because they are jealous [of their wives]. The women carry
their children hanging in a cotton net from their necks. I omit other
particulars, in order not to be tedious. Mass was said twice on shore,
during which those people remained on their knees with so great
contrition and with clasped hands raised aloft, that it was an
exceeding great pleasure [75] to behold them. They built us a house as
they thought that we were going to stay with them for some time, and at
our departure they cut a great quantity of brazil-wood [verzin] to give
us. [76] It had been about two months since it had rained in that land,
and when we reached that port, it happened to rain, whereupon they said
that we came from the sky and that we had brought the rain with us.
[77] Those people could be converted easily to the faith of Jesus
Christ.
At first those people thought that the small boats were the children of
the ships, and that the latter gave birth to them when they were
lowered into the sea from the ships, and when they were lying so
alongside the ships (as is the custom), they believed that the ships
were nursing them. [78] One day a beautiful young woman came to the
flagship, where I was, for no other purpose than to seek what chance
might offer. While there and waiting, she cast her eyes upon the
master’s room, and saw a nail longer than one’s finger. Picking it
up very delightedly and neatly, she thrust it through the lips of her
vagina [natura], and bending down low immediately departed, the
captain-general and I having seen that action. [79]
Some words of those people of Verzin [80]
For Millet maiz
for Flour hui
for Fishhook pinda
for Knife tacse
for Comb chigap
for Scissors pirame
for Bell itanmaraca
Good, better tum maragathum
We remained in that land for 13 days. Then proceeding, on our way, we
went as far as 34 and one-third degrees [81] toward the Antarctic Pole,
where we found people at a freshwater river, called Canibali [i.e.,
cannibals], who eat human flesh. One of them, in stature almost a
giant, came to the flagship in order to assure [the safety of] the
others his friends. [82] He had a voice like a bull. While he was in
the ship, the others carried away their possessions from the place
where they were living into the interior, for fear of us. Seeing that,
we landed one hundred men in order to have speech and converse with
them, or to capture one of them by force. They fled, and in fleeing
they took so large a step that we although running could not gain on
their steps. There are seven islands in that river, in the largest of
which precious gems are found. That place is called the cape of Santa
Maria, and it was formerly thought that one passed thence to the sea of
Sur, that is to say the South Sea, but nothing further was ever
discovered. Now the name is not [given to] a cape, but [to] a river,
with a mouth 17 leguas in width. [83] A Spanish captain, called Johan
de Solis and sixty men, who were going to discover lands like us, were
formerly eaten at that river by those cannibals because of too great
confidence. [84]
Then proceeding on the same course toward the Antarctic Pole, coasting
along the land, we came to anchor at two islands full of geese and
sea-wolves. [85] Truly, the great number of those geese cannot be
reckoned; in one hour we loaded the five ships [with them]. Those geese
are black and have all their feathers alike both on body and wings.
They do not fly, and live on fish. They were so fat that it was not
necessary to pluck them but to skin them. Their beak is like that of a
crow. Those sea-wolves are of various colors, and as large as a calf,
with a head like that of a calf, ears small and round, and large teeth.
They have no legs but only feet with small nails attached to the body,
which resemble our hands, and between their fingers the same kind of
skin as the geese. They would be very fierce if they could run. They
swim, and live on fish. At that place the ships suffered a very great
storm, during which the three holy bodies appeared to us many times,
that is to say, St. Elmo, St. Nicholas, and St. Clara, whereupon the
storm quickly ceased.
Leaving that place, we finally reached 49 and one-half degrees toward
the Antarctic Pole. As it was winter, the ships entered a safe port to
winter. [86] We passed two months in that place without seeing anyone.
One day we suddenly saw a naked man of giant stature on the shore of
the port, dancing, [87] singing, and throwing dust on his head. The
captain-general sent one of our men to the giant so that he might
perform the same, actions as a sign of peace. Having done that, the man
led the giant to an islet into the presence of the captain-general.
When the giant was in the captain-general’s and our presence, he
marveled greatly, [88] and made signs with one finger raised upward,
believing that we had come from the sky. He was so tall that we reached
only to his waist, and he was well proportioned. His face was large and
painted red all over while about his eyes he was painted yellow; and he
had two hearts painted on the middle of his cheeks. His scanty hair was
painted white. [89] He was dressed in the skins of animals skilfully
sewn together. That animal has a head and ears as large as those of a
mule, a neck and body like those of a camel, the legs of a deer, and
the tail of a horse, like which it neighs, and that land has very many
of them. [90] His feet were shod with the same kind of skins which
covered his feet in the manner of shoes. [91] In his hand he carried a
short, heavy bow, with a cord somewhat thicker than those of the lute,
[92] and made from the intestines of the same animal, and a bundle of
rather short cane arrows feathered like ours, and with points of white
and black flint stones in the manner of Turkish arrows, instead of
iron. Those points were fashioned by means of another stone. [93] The
captain-general had the giant given something to eat and drink, and
among other things which were shown to him was a large steel mirror.
When he saw his face, he was greatly terrified, and jumped back
throwing three or four [94] of our men to the ground. After that he was
given some bells, a mirror, a comb, and certain Pater Nosters. The
captain-general sent him ashore with 4 armed men. When one of his
companions, who would never come to the ships, saw him coming with our
men, he ran to the place where the others were, who came [down to the
shore] all naked one after the other. When our men reached them, they
began to dance and to sing, lifting one finger to the sky. They showed
our men some white powder made from the roots of an herb, which they
kept in earthen pots, and which they ate because they had nothing else.
Our men made signs inviting them to the ships, and that they would help
them carry their possessions. Thereupon, those men quickly took only
their bows, while their women laden like asses carried everything. The
latter are not so tall as the men but are very much fatter. When we saw
them we were greatly surprised. Their breasts are one-half braza long,
and they are painted and clothed like their husbands, except that
before their privies [natura] they have a small skin which covers them.
They led four of those young animals, fastened with thongs like a
halter. When those people wish to catch some of those animals, they tie
one of these young ones to a thornbush. Thereupon, the large ones come
to play with the little ones; and those people kill them with their
arrows from their place of concealment. Our men led eighteen of those
people, counting men and women, to the ships, and they were distributed
on the two sides of the port so that they might catch some of the said
animals.
Six days after the above, a giant painted [95] and clothed in the same
manner was seen by some [of our men] who were cutting wood. He had a
bow and arrows in his hand. When our men approached him, he first
touched his head, face, [96] and body, and then did the same to our
men, afterward lifting his hands toward the sky. When the
captain-general was informed of it, he ordered him to be brought in the
small boat. He was taken to that island in the port where our men had
built a house for the smiths [97] and for the storage of some things
from the ships. That man was even taller and better built than the
others and as tractable and amiable. Jumping up and down, he danced,
and when he danced, at every leap, his feet sank a palmo into the
earth. He remained with us for a considerable number of days, so long
that we baptized him, calling him Johanni. He uttered [the words]
“Jesu,” “Pater Noster,” “Ave Maria” and “Jovani” [i.e.,
John97 as distinctly as we, but with an exceedingly loud voice. Then
the captain-general gave him a shirt, a woolen jerkin [camisota de
panno], cloth breeches, a cap, a mirror, a comb, bells, and other
things, and sent him away like his companions. He left us very joyous
and happy. The following day he brought one of those large animals to
the captain-general, in return for which many things were given to him,
so that he might bring some more to us; but we did not see him again.
We thought that his companions had killed him because he had conversed
with us.
A fortnight later we saw four of those giants without their arms for
they had hidden them in certain bushes as the two whom we captured
showed us. Each one was painted differently. The captain-general kept
two of them—the youngest and best proportioned—by means of a very
cunning trick, in order to take them to Spagnia. [98] Had he used any
other means [than those he employed], they could easily have killed
some of us. [99] The trick that he employed in keeping them was as
follows. He gave them many knives, scissors, mirrors, bells, and glass
beads; and those two having their hands filled with the said articles,
the captain-general had two pairs of iron manacles brought, such as are
fastened on the feet. [100] He made motions that he would give them to
the giants, whereat they were very pleased since those manacles were of
iron, but they did not know how to carry them. They were grieved at
leaving them behind, but they had no place to put those gifts; for they
had to hold the skin wrapped about them with their hands. [101] The
other two giants wished to help them, but the captain refused. Seeing
that they were loth to leave those manacles behind, the captain made
them a sign that he would put them on their feet, and that they could
carry them away. They nodded assent with the head. Immediately, the
captain had the manacles put on both of them at the same time. When our
men were driving home the cross bolt, the giants began to suspect
something, but the captain assuring them, however, they stood still.
When they saw later that they were tricked, they raged like bulls,
calling loudly for Setebos [102] to aid them. With difficulty could we
bind the hands of the other two, whom we sent ashore with nine of our
men, in order that the giants might guide them to the place where the
wife of one of the two whom we had captured [103] was; for the latter
expressed his great grief at leaving her by signs so that we understood
[that he meant] her. While they were on their way, one of the giants
freed his hands, and took to his heels with such swiftness that our men
lost sight of him. He went to the place where his associates were, but
he did not find [there] one of his companions, who had remained behind
with the women, and who had gone hunting. He immediately went in search
of the latter, and told him all that had happened. [104] The other
giant endeavored so hard to free himself from his bonds, that our men
struck him, wounding him slightly on the head, whereat he raging led
them to where the women were. Gioan Cavagio, the pilot and commander of
those men, refused to bring back the woman [105] that night, but
determined to sleep there, for night was approaching. The other two
giants came, and seeing their companion wounded, hesitated, [106] but
said nothing then. But with the dawn, they spoke [107] to the women,
[whereupon] they immediately ran away (and the smaller ones ran faster
than the taller), leaving all their possessions behind them. Two of
them turned aside to shoot their arrows at our men. The other was
leading away those small animals of theirs in order to hunt. [108] Thus
fighting, one of them pierced the thigh of one of our men with an
arrow, and the latter died immediately. When the giants saw that, they
ran away quickly. Our men had muskets and crossbows, but they could
never hit any of the giants, [for] when the latter fought, they never
stood still, but leaped hither and thither. Our men buried their dead
companion, and burned all the possessions left behind by the giants. Of
a truth those giants run swifter than horses and are exceedingly
jealous of their wives.
When those people feel sick at the stomach, instead of purging
themselves, [109] they thrust an arrow down their throat for two palmos
or more [110] and vomit [substance of a] green color mixed with blood,
for they eat a certain kind of thistle. When they have a headache, they
cut themselves across the forehead; and they do the same on the arms or
on the legs and in any part of the body, letting a quantity of blood.
One of those whom we had captured, and whom we kept in our ship, said
that the blood refused to stay there [i.e., in the place of the pain],
and consequently causes them suffering. They wear their hair cut with
the tonsure, like friars, but it is left longer; [111] and they have a
cotton cord wrapped about the head, to which they fasten their arrows
when they go hunting. They bind their privies close to their bodies
because of the exceeding great cold. [112] When one of those people
die, x or twelve demons all painted appear to them and dance very
joyfully about the corpse. They notice that one of those demons is much
taller than the others, and he cries out and rejoices more. [113] They
paint themselves exactly in the same manner as the demon appears to
them painted. They call the larger demon Setebos, [114] and the others
Cheleulle. That giant also told us by signs that he had seen the demons
with two horns on their heads, and long hair which hung to the feet
belching forth fire from mouth and buttocks. The captain-general called
those people Patagoni. [115] They all clothe themselves in the skins of
that animal above mentioned; and they have no houses except those made
from the skin of the same animal, and they wander hither and thither
with those houses just as the Cingani [116] do. They live on raw flesh
and on a sweet root which they call chapae. [117] Each of the two whom
we captured ate a basketful of biscuit, and drank one-half pailful of
water at a gulp. They also ate rats without skinning them.
In that port which we called the port of Santo Julianno, we remained
about five months. [118] Many things happened there. In order that your
most illustrious Lordship may know some of them, it happened that as
soon as we had entered the port, the captains of the other four ships
plotted treason in order that they might kill the captain-general.
Those conspirators consisted of the overseer of the fleet, one Johan de
Cartagena, the treasurer, Alouise de Mendosa, the accountant, Anthonio
Cocha, and Gaspar de Cazada. The overseer of the men having been
quartered, the treasurer was killed by dagger blows, for the treason
was discovered. Some days after that, Gaspar de Casada, was banished
with a priest in that land of Patagonia. The captain-general did not
wish to have him killed, because the emperor, Don Carlo, had appointed
him captain. [119] A ship called “Sancto Jacobo” was wrecked in an
expedition made to explore the coast. All the men were saved as by a
miracle, not even getting wet. Two of them came to the ships after
suffering great hardships, and reported the whole occurrence to us.
Consequently, the captain-general sent some men with bags full of
biscuits [sufficient to last] for two months. It was necessary for us
to carry them the food, for daily pieces of the ship [that was wrecked]
were found. The way thither was long, [being] 24 leguas, [120] or one
hundred millas, and the path was very rough and full of thorns. The men
were 4 days on the road, sleeping at night in the bushes. They found no
drinking water, but only ice, which caused them the greatest hardship.
[121] There were very many long shellfish which are called missiglioni
[122] in that port [of Santo Julianno]. They have pearls, although
small ones in the middle, but could not be eaten. Incense, ostriches,
[123] foxes, sparrows, and rabbits much smaller than ours were also
found. We erected a cross on the top of the highest summit there, as a
sign in that land that it belonged to the king of Spagnia; and we
called that summit Monte de Christo [i.e., Mount of Christ].
Leaving that place, we found, in 51 degrees less one-third [124]
degree, toward the Antarctic Pole, a river of fresh water. There the
ships almost perished because of the furious winds; but God and the
holy bodies [125] aided them. We stayed about two months in that river
in order to supply the ships with water, wood, and fish, [the latter
being] one braccio in length and more, and covered with scales. They
were very good although small. [126] Before leaving that river, the
captain-general and all of us confessed and received communion as true
Christians. [127]
Then going to fifty-two degrees toward the same pole, [128] we found a
strait on the day of the [feast of the] [129] eleven thousand virgins
[i.e. October 21], whose head is called Capo de le Undici Millia
Vergine [i.e., cape of the Eleven Thousand Virgins] because of that
very great miracle. That strait is one hundred and ten leguas or 440
millas long, and it is one-half legua broad, more or less. [130] It
leads to another sea called the Pacific Sea, and is surrounded by very
lofty mountains laden with snow. There it was impossible to find bottom
[for anchoring], but [it was necessary to fasten] the moorings [131] on
land 25 or 30 brazas away. Had it not been for the captain-general, we
would not have found that strait, for we all thought and said that it
was closed on all sides. But the captain-general who knew where to sail
to find a well-hidden strait, which he saw depicted on a map in the
treasury of the king of Portugal, which was made by that excellent man,
Martin de Boemia, sent two ships, the “Santo Anthonio” and the
“Conceptione” (for thus they were called), to discover what was
inside the cape de la Baia [i.e., of the Bay]. [132] We, with the other
two ships, [namely], the flagship, called “Trinitade,” and the
other the “Victoria,” stayed inside the bay to await them. [133] A
great storm struck us that night, which lasted until the middle of next
day, which necessitated our lifting anchor, and letting ourselves drift
hither and thither about the bay. The other two ships suffered a
headwind and could not double a cape [134] formed by the bay almost at
its end, as they were trying to return to join us; so that they thought
that they would have to run aground. But on approaching the end of the
bay, and thinking that they were lost, they saw a small opening which
did not [exceed: crossed out in original MS.] appear to be an opening,
but a sharp turn [cantone]. [135] Like desperate men they hauled into
it, and thus they discovered the strait by chance. Seeing that it was
not a sharp turn, but a strait with land, they proceeded farther, and
found a bay. [136] And then farther on they found another strait and
another bay larger than the first two. [137] Very joyful they
immediately turned back to inform the captain-general. We thought that
they had been wrecked, first, by reason of the violent storm, and
second, because two days had passed and they had not appeared, and also
because of certain [signals with] smoke made by two of their men who
had been sent ashore to advise us. [138] And so, while in suspense, we
saw the two ships with sails full and banners flying to the wind,
coming toward us. When they neared us in this manner, they suddenly
discharged a number of mortars, and burst into cheers. [139] Then all
together thanking God and the Virgin Mary, we went to seek [the strait]
farther on.
After entering that strait, we found two openings, one to the
southeast, and the other to the southwest. [140] The captain-general
sent the ship “Sancto Anthonio” together with the “Concitione”
to ascertain whether that opening which was toward the southeast had an
exit into the Pacific Sea. The ship “Sancto Anthonio” would not
await the “Conceptione,” because it intended to flee and return to
Spagnia—which it did. The pilot of that ship was one Stefan Gomes,
[141] and he hated the captain-general exceedingly, because before that
fleet was fitted out, the emperor had ordered that he be given some
caravels with which to discover lands, but his Majesty did not give
them to him because of the coming of the captain-general. On that
account he conspired with certain Spaniards, and next night they
captured the captain of their ship, a cousin [142] of the
captain-general, one Alvaro de Meschita, whom they wounded and put in
irons, and in this condition took to Spagnia. The other giant whom we
had captured was in that ship, but he died when the heat came on. The
“Conceptione,” as it could not follow that ship, waited for it,
sailing about hither and thither. The “Sancto Anthonio” turned back
at night and fled along the same [port: crossed out in original MS.]
strait. [143] We had gone to explore the other opening toward the
southwest. Finding, however, the same [port: crossed out in original
MS.] strait continuously, we came upon a river which we called the
river of Sardine [i.e., Sardines], because there were many sardines
near it. [144] So we stayed there for four days in order to await the
two ships. During that period we sent a well-equipped boat to explore
the cape of the other sea. The men returned within three days, and
reported that they had seen the cape and the open sea. The
captain-general wept for joy, and called that cape, Cape Dezeado [i.e.,
Desire], [145] for we had been desiring it for a long time. We turned
back to look for the two ships, [146] but we found only the
“Conceptione.” Upon asking them where the other one was, Johan
Seranno, [147] who was captain and pilot of the former ship (and also
of that ship that had been wrecked) replied that he did not know, and
that he had never seen it after it had entered the opening. We sought
it in all parts of the strait, as far as that opening whence it had
fled, and the captain-general sent the ship “Victoria” back to the
entrance of the strait to ascertain whether the ship was there. Orders
were given them, if they did not find it, to plant a banner on the
summit of some small hill with a letter in an earthen pot buried in the
earth near the banner, so that if the banner were seen the letter might
be found, and the ship might learn the course that we were sailing. For
this was the arrangement made between us in case that we went astray
one from the other. [148] Two banners were planted with their
letters—one on a little eminence in the first bay, and the other in
an islet in the third bay [149] where there were many sea-wolves and
large birds. The captain-general waited for the ship with his other
ship near he river of Isleo, [150] and he had a cross set up in an
islet near that river, which flowed between high mountains covered with
snow and emptied into the sea near the river of Sardine. Had we not
discovered that strait, the captain-general had determined to go as far
as seventy-five degrees toward the Antarctic Pole. There in that
latitude, during the summer season, there is no night, or if there is
any night it is but short, and so in the winter with the day. In order
that your most illustrious Lordship may believe it, when we were in
that strait, the nights were only three hours long, and it was then the
month of October. [151] The land on the left-hand side of that strait
turned toward the southeast [152] and was low. We called that strait
the strait of Patagonia. One finds the safest of ports every half legua
in it, [153] water, the finest of wood (but not of cedar), fish,
sardines, and missiglioni, while smallage, [154] a sweet herb (although
there is also some that is bitter) grows around the springs. We ate of
it for many days as we had nothing else. I believe that there is not a
more beautiful or better strait in the world than that one. [155] In
that Ocean Sea one sees a very amusing fish hunt. The fish [that hunt]
are of three sorts, and are one braza and more in length, and are
called dorado, albicore, and bonito. [156] Those fish follow the flying
fish called colondrini, [157] which are one palmo and more [158] in
length and very good to eat. When the above three kinds [of fish] find
any of those flying fish, the latter immediately leap from the water
and fly as long as their wings are wet—more than a crossbow’s
flight. While they are flying, the others run along back of them under
the water following the shadow of the flying fish. The latter have no
sooner fallen into the water than the others immediately seize and eat
them. It is in fine a very amusing thing to watch.
Words of the Patagonian giants
For Head her
for Eye other
for Nose or
for Eyebrows occhechel
for Eyelids sechechiel
for Nostrils oresche
for Mouth xiam
for Lips schiahame
for Teeth phor
for Tongue schial
for Chin sechen
for Hair archiz
for Face cogechel
for Throat ohumez
for Occiput schialeschin [159]
for Shoulders pelles
for Elbow cotel
for Hand chene
for Palm of the hand caimeghin
for Finger cori
for Ears sane
Armpit salischin
for Teat othen
for Bosom ochij
for Body gechel
for Penis sachet
for Testicles sacancas
for Vagina [160] isse
for Communication with
women jo hoi
for Thighs chiane
for Knee tepin
for Rump schiaguen
for Buttocks hoij
for Arm maz
for Pulse holion
for Legs coss
for Foot thee
for Heel tere
for Ankle perchi
for Sole of the foot caotscheni
for Fingernails colim
for Heart thol
for to Scratch gechare
for Cross-eyed man calischen
for Young man calemi
for Water holi
for Fire ghialeme
for Smoke giaiche
for No ehen
for Yes rey
for Gold pelpeli
for Lapis lazuli secheg
for Sun calexcheni
for Stars settere
for Sea aro
for Wind oni
for Storm ohone
for Fish hoi
for to Eat mechiere
for Bowl elo
for Pot aschanie
for to Ask ghelhe
Come here hai si
for to Look chonne
for to Walk rey
for to Fight oamaghce
for Arrows sethe
for Dog holl
for Wolf ani
for to Go a long distance schien
for Guide anti
for Snow theu
for to Cover hiani
for Ostrich, a bird hoihoi
for its Eggs jani
for the powder of the herb
which they eat capac
for to Smell os
for Parrot cheche
for Birdcage cleo
for Misiglioni siameni
for Red Cloth terechae
for Cap aichel
for Black ainel
for Red taiche
for Yellow peperi
for to Cook yrocoles
for Belt catechin
for Goose cache
for their big Devil Setebos
for their small Devils Cheleule
All the above words are pronounced in the throat, for such is their
method of pronunciation. [161]
That giant whom we had in our ship told me those words; for when he,
upon asking me for capac, [162] that is to say, bread, as they call
that root which they use as bread, and oli, that is to say, water, saw
me write those words quickly, and afterward when I, with pen in hand,
asked him for other words, he understood me. Once I made the sign of
the cross, and, showing it to him, kissed it. He immediately cried out
“Setebos,” and made me a sign that if I made the sign of the cross
again, Setebos would enter into my body and cause it to burst. When
that giant was sick, he asked for the cross, and embracing it and
kissing it many times, desired to become a Christian before his death.
We called him Paulo. When those people wish to make a fire, they rub a
sharpened piece of wood against another piece until the fire catches in
the pith of a certain tree, which is placed between those two sticks.
[163]
Wednesday, November 28, 1520, we debouched from that strait, engulfing
ourselves in the Pacific Sea. [164] We were three months and twenty
days without getting any kind of fresh food. We ate biscuit, which was
no longer biscuit, but powder of biscuits swarming with worms, for they
had eaten the good. It stank strongly of the urine of rats. [165] We
drank yellow water that had been putrid for many days. We also ate some
ox hides that covered the top of the mainyard to prevent the yard from
chafing the shrouds, and which had become exceedingly hard because of
the sun, rain, and wind. [166] We left them in the sea for four or five
days, and then placed them for a few moments on top of the embers, and
so ate them; and often we ate sawdust from boards. Rats were sold for
one-half ducado apiece, and even then we could not get them. [167] But
above all the other misfortunes the following was the worst. The gums
of both the lower and upper teeth of some of our men swelled, so that
they could not eat under any circumstances and therefore died. [168]
Nineteen men died from that sickness, and the giant together with an
Indian from the country of Verzin. Twenty-five or thirty men fell sick
[during that time], in the arms, legs, or in another place, so that but
few remained well. However, I, by the grace of God, suffered no
sickness. We sailed about four thousand leguas during those three
months and twenty days through an open stretch in that Pacific Sea.
[169] In truth it is very pacific, [170] for during that time we did
not suffer any storm. We saw no land except two desert islets, where we
found nothing but birds and trees, for which we called them the Ysolle
Infortunate [i.e., the Unfortunate Isles]. They are two hundred leguas
apart. We found no anchorage, [but] near them saw many sharks. [171]
The first islet lies in fifteen degrees of south latitude, and the
other in nine. Daily we made runs of fifty, sixty, or seventy leguas at
the catena or at the stern. [172] Had not God and His blessed mother
given us so good weather we would all have died of hunger in that
exceeding vast sea. Of a verity I believe no such voyage will ever be
made [again].
When we left that strait, if we had sailed continuously westward we
would have circumnavigated the world without finding other land than
the cape of the xi thousand Virgins. [173] The latter is a cape of that
strait at the Ocean Sea, straight east and west with Cape Deseado of
the Pacific Sea. Both of those capes lie in a latitude of exactly
fifty-two degrees toward the Antarctic Pole.
The Antarctic Pole is not so starry as the Arctic. Many small stars
clustered together are seen, which have the appearance of two clouds of
mist. There is but little distance between them, and they are somewhat
dim. In the midst of them are two large and not very luminous stars,
which move only slightly. Those two stars are the Antarctic Pole. Our
loadstone, although it moved hither and thither, always pointed toward
its own Arctic Pole, although it did not have so much strength as on
its own side. And on that account when we were in that open expanse,
the captain-general, asking all the pilots whether they were always
sailing forward in the course which we had laid down on the maps, all
replied: “By your course exactly as laid down.” He answered them
that they were pointing wrongly—which was a fact—and that it would
be fitting to adjust the needle of navigation, for it was not receiving
so much force from its side. When we were in the midst of that open
expanse, we saw a cross with five extremely bright stars straight
toward the west, those stars being exactly placed with regard to one
another. [174]
During those days [175] we sailed west northwest, northwest by west,
and northwest, until we reached the equinoctial line at the distance of
one hundred and twenty-two degrees from the line of demarcation. The
line of demarcation is thirty degrees from the meridian, and the
meridian is three degrees eastward from Capo Verde. [176] We passed
while on that course, a short distance from two exceedingly rich
islands, one in twenty degrees of the latitude of the Antarctic Pole,
by name Cipangu, and the other in fifteen degrees, by name Sumbdit
Pradit. [177] After we had passed the equinoctial line we sailed west
northwest, and west by north, and then for two hundred leguas toward
the west, changing our course to west by south until we reached
thirteen degrees toward the Arctic Pole in order that we might approach
nearer to the land of cape Gaticara. That cape (with the pardon of
cosmographers, for they have not seen it), is not found where it is
imagined to be, but to the north in twelve degrees or thereabouts.
[178]
About seventy [179] leguas on the above course, and lying in twelve
degrees of latitude and 146 in longitude, we discovered on Wednesday,
March 6, a small island to the northwest, and two others toward the
southwest, one of which was higher and larger than the other two. The
captain-general wished to stop at the large island and get some fresh
food, but he was unable to do so because the inhabitants of that island
entered the ships and stole whatever they could lay their hands on, so
that we could not protect ourselves. The men were about to strike the
sails so that we could go ashore, but the natives very deftly stole
from us the small boat [180] that was fastened to the poop of the
flagship. Thereupon, the captain-general in wrath went ashore with
forty armed men, who burned some forty or fifty houses together with
many boats, and killed seven men. [181] He recovered the small boat,
and we departed immediately pursuing the same course. Before we landed,
some of our sick men begged us if we should kill any man or woman to
bring the entrails to them, as they would recover immediately. [182]
When we wounded any of those people with our crossbow-shafts, which
passed completely through their loins from one side to the other, they,
looking at it, pulled on the shaft now on this and now on that side,
[183] and then drew it out, with great astonishment, and so died.
Others who were wounded in the breast did the same, which moved us to
great compassion. Those people seeing us departing followed us with
more than one hundred [184] boats for more than one legua. They
approached the ships showing us fish, feigning that they would give
them to us; but then threw stones at us and fled. And although the
ships were under full sail, they passed between them and the small
boats [fastened astern], very adroitly in those small boats of theirs.
We saw some women in their boats who were crying out and tearing their
hair, for love, I believe, of those whom we had killed. [185]
Each one of those people lives according to his own will, for they have
no seignior. [186] They go naked, and some are bearded and have black
hair that reaches to the waist. They wear small palmleaf hats, as do
the Albanians. They are as tall as we, and well built. They have no
worship. They are tawny, but are born white. Their teeth are red and
black, for they think that is most beautiful. The women go naked except
that they wear a narrow strip of bark as thin as paper, which grows
between the tree and the bark of the palm, before their privies. They
are goodlooking and delicately formed, and lighter complexioned than
the men; and wear their hair which is exceedingly black, loose and
hanging quite down to the ground. The women do not work in the fields
but stay in the house, weaving mats, [187] baskets [casse: literally
boxes], and other things needed in their houses, from palm leaves. They
eat cocoanuts, camotes [batate], [188] birds, figs one palmo in length
[i.e., bananas], sugarcane, and flying fish, besides other things. They
[189] anoint the body and the hair with cocoanut and beneseed oil.
Their houses are all built of wood covered with planks and thatched
with leaves of the fig-tree [i.e., banana-tree] two brazas long; and
they have floors and windows. The rooms and the beds are all furnished
with the most beautiful palmleaf mats. [190] They sleep on palm straw
which is very soft and fine. They use no weapons, except a kind of a
spear pointed with a fishbone at the end. Those people are poor, but
ingenious and very thievish, on account of which we called those three
islands the islands of Ladroni [i.e., of thieves]. [191] Their
amusement, men and women, is to plough the seas with those small boats
of theirs. [192] Those boats resemble fucelere, [193] but are narrower,
and some are black, [some] white, and others red. At the side opposite
the sail, they have a large piece of wood pointed at the top, with
poles laid across it and resting on the water, in order that the boats
may sail more safely. The sail is made from palmleaves sewn together
and is shaped like a lateen sail. For rudders they use a certain blade
resembling a hearth shovel which have a piece of wood at the end. They
can change stern and bow at will [literally: they make the stern, bow,
and the bow, stern], [194] and those boats resemble the dolphins which
leap in the water from wave to wave. Those Ladroni [i.e., robbers]
thought, according to the signs which they made, that there were no
other people in the world but themselves. [195]
At dawn on Saturday, March sixteen, [196] 1521, we came upon a high
land at a distance of three hundred leguas from the islands of
Latroni—an island named Zamal [i.e., Samar]. The following day, the
captain-general desired to land on another island which was uninhabited
and lay to the right of the abovementioned island, in order to be more
secure, and to get water and have some rest. He had two tents set up on
the shore for the sick and had a sow killed for them. On Monday
afternoon, March 18, we saw a boat coming toward us with nine men in
it. Therefore, the captain-general ordered that no one should move or
say a word without his permission. When those men reached the shore,
their chief went immediately to the captain-general, giving signs of
joy because of our arrival. Five of the most ornately adorned of them
remained with us, while the rest went to get some others who were
fishing, and so they all came. The captain-general seeing that they
were reasonable men, ordered food to be set before them, and gave them
red caps, mirrors, combs, bells, ivory, bocasine, [197] and other
things. When they saw the captain’s courtesy, they presented fish, a
jar of palm wine, which they call uraca [i.e., arrack], figs more than
one palmo long [i.e., bananas], [198] and others which were smaller and
more delicate, and two cocoanuts. They had nothing else then, but made
us signs with their hands that they would bring umay or rice, [199] and
cocoanuts and many other articles of food within four days.
Cocoanuts are the fruit of the palmtree. [200] Just as we have bread,
wine, oil, and milk, so those people get everything from that tree.
They get wine in the following manner. They bore a hole into the heart
of the said palm at the top called palmito [i.e., stalk], from which
distils a liquor [201] which resembles white must. That liquor is sweet
but somewhat tart, and [is gathered] in canes [of bamboo] as thick as
the leg and thicker. They fasten the bamboo to the tree at evening for
the morning, and in the morning for the evening. That palm bears a
fruit, namely, the cocoanut, which is as large as the head or
thereabouts. Its outside husk is green and thicker than two fingers.
Certain filaments are found in that husk, whence is made cord for
binding together their boats. Under that husk there is a hard shell,
much thicker than the shell of the walnut, which they burn and make
therefrom a powder that is useful to them. [202] Under that shell there
is a white marrowy substance one finger in thickness, which they eat
fresh with meat and fish as we do bread; and it has a taste resembling
the almond. It could be dried and made into bread. There is a clear,
sweet water in the middle of that marrowy substance which is very
refreshing. When that water stands for a while after having been
collected, it congeals and becomes like an apple. When the natives wish
to make oil, they take that cocoanut, and allow the marrowy substance
and the water to putrefy. Then they boil it and it becomes oil like
butter. When they wish to make vinegar, they allow only the water to
putrefy, and then place it in the sun, and a vinegar results like [that
made from] white wine. Milk can also be made from it for we made some.
We scraped that marrowy substance and then mixed the scrapings with its
own water which we strained through a cloth, and so obtained milk like
goat’s milk. Those palms resemble date-palms, but although not smooth
they are less knotty than the latter. A family of x persons can be
supported on two trees, by utilizing them week about for the wine; for
if they did otherwise, the trees would dry up. They last a century.
[203]
Those people became very familiar with us. They told us many things,
their names and those of some of the islands that could be seen from
that place. Their own island was called Zuluan and it is not very
large. [204] We took great pleasure with them, for they were very
pleasant and conversable. In order to show them greater honor, the
captain-general [205] took them to his ship and showed them all his
merchandise—cloves, cinnamon, pepper, ginger, nutmeg, mace, gold, and
all the things in the ship. He had some mortars fired for them, whereat
they exhibited great fear, and tried to jump out of the ship. [206]
They made signs to us that the abovesaid articles grew in that place
where we were going. When they were about to retire they took their
leave very gracefully and neatly, saying that they would return
according to their promise. The island where we were is called Humunu;
but inasmuch as we found two springs there of the clearest water, we
called it Acquada da li buoni Segnialli [i.e., “the Watering-place of
good Signs”], for there were the first signs of gold which we found
in those districts. [207] We found a great quantity of white coral
there, and large trees with fruit a trifle smaller than the almond and
resembling pine seeds. There are also many palms, some of them good and
others bad. There are many islands in that district, and therefore we
called them the archipelago of San Lazaro, as they were discovered on
the Sabbath of St. Lazurus. [208] They lie in x degrees of latitude
toward the Arctic Pole, and in a longitude of one hundred and sixty-one
degrees from the line of demarcation.
At noon on Friday, March 22, those men came as they had promised us in
two boats with cocoanuts, sweet oranges, a jar of palm-wine, and a
cock, [209] in order to show us that there were fowls in that district.
They exhibited great signs of pleasure at seeing us. [210] We purchased
all those articles from them. Their seignior was an old man who was
painted [i.e., tattooed]. He wore two gold earrings [schione] in his
ears, [211] and the others many gold armlets on their arms and
kerchiefs about their heads. We stayed there one week, and during that
time our captain went ashore daily to visit the sick, and [212] every
morning gave them cocoanut water from his own hand, which comforted
them greatly. There are people living near that island [213] who have
holes in their ears so large that they can pass their arms through
them. Those people are caphri, [214] that is to say, heathen. They go
naked, with a cloth woven from the bark of a tree about their privies,
except some of the chiefs who wear cotton cloth embroidered with silk
at the ends by means of a needle. They are dark, fat, and painted. They
anoint themselves with cocoanut and with beneseed oil, as a protection
against sun and wind. They have very black hair that falls to the
waist, and use daggers, knives, and spears [215] ornamented with gold,
large shields, fascines, [216] javelins, and fishing nets that resemble
rizali; [217] and their boats are like ours.
On the afternoon of holy Monday, the day of our Lady, March
twenty-five, while we were on the point of weighing anchor, I went to
the side of the ship to fish, and putting my feet upon a yard leading
down into the storeroom, they slipped, for it was rainy, and
consequently I fell into the sea, so that no one saw me. When I was all
but under, my left hand happened to catch hold of the clew-garnet of
the mainsail, which was dangling [ascosa] in the water. I held on
tightly, and began to cry out so lustily that I was rescued by the
small boat. I was aided, not, I believe, indeed, through my merits, but
through the mercy of that font of charity [i.e., of the Virgin]. That
same day we shaped our course toward the west southwest between four
small islands, namely, Cenalo, Hiunanghan, [218] Ibusson, and Abarien.
On Thursday morning, March twenty-eight, as we had seen a fire on an
island the night before, we anchored near it. [219] We saw a small boat
which the natives call boloto with eight men in it, approaching the
flagship. A slave belonging to the captain-general, who was a native of
Zamatra [i.e., Sumatra], which was formerly called Traprobana, spoke to
them. They immediately understood him, came alongside the ship,
unwilling to enter but taking a position at some little distance. [220]
The captain seeing that they would not trust us, threw them out a red
cap and other things tied to a bit of wood. They received them very
gladly, and went away quickly to advise their king. About two hours
later we saw two balanghai coming. They are large boats and are so
called [by those people]. They were full of men, and their king was in
the larger of them, being seated under an awning of mats. When the king
came near the flagship, the slave spoke to him. The king understood
him, for in those districts the kings know more languages than the
other people. He ordered some of his men to enter the ships, but he
always remained in his balanghai, at some little distance from the ship
until his own men returned; and as soon as they returned he departed.
The captain-general showed great honor to the men who entered the ship,
and gave them some presents, for which the king wished before his
departure to give the captain a large bar [221] of gold and a basketful
of ginger. The latter, however, thanked the king heartily but would not
accept it. In the afternoon we went in the ships [and anchored] near
the dwellings of the king.
Next day, holy Friday, the captain-general sent his slave, who acted as
our interpreter, ashore in a small boat to ask the king if he had any
food to have it carried to the ships; [222] and to say that they would
be well satisfied with us, for he [and his men] had come to the island
as friends and not as enemies. The king came with six or eight men
[223] in the same boat and entered the ship. He embraced the
captain-general to whom he gave three porcelain jars covered with
leaves and full of raw rice, two very large orade, [224] and other
things. The captain-general gave the king a garment of red and yellow
cloth made in the Turkish fashion, and a fine red cap; and to the
others (the king’s men), to some knives and to others mirrors. Then
the captain-general had a collation spread for them, and had the king
told through the slave that he desired to be casi casi [225] with him,
that is to say, brother. The king replied that he also wished to enter
the same relations with the captain-general. Then the captain showed
him cloth of various colors, linen, coral [ornaments], and many other
articles of merchandise, and all the artillery, some of which he had
discharged for him, whereat the natives were greatly frightened. Then
the captain-general had a man armed as a soldier, [226] and placed him
in the midst of three men armed with swords and daggers, who struck him
on all parts of the body. Thereby was the king rendered almost
speechless. The captain-general told him through the slave that one of
those armed men was worth one hundred of his own men. The king answered
that that was a fact. The captain-general said that he had two hundred
men in each ship who were armed in that manner. [227] He showed the
king cuirasses, swords, and bucklers, and had a review made for him.
[228] Then he led the king to the deck of the ship, that is located
above at the stern; and had his sea-chart and compass brought. [229] He
told the king through the interpreter how he had found the strait in
order to voyage thither, and how many moons he had been without seeing
land, whereat the king was astonished. Lastly, he told the king that he
would like, if it were pleasing to him, to send two of his men with him
so that he might show them some of his things. The king replied that he
was agreeable, and I went in company with one of the other men. [230]
When I reached shore, the king raised his hands toward the sky and then
turned toward us two. We did the same toward him [231] as did all the
others. The king took me by the hand; one of his chiefs took my
companion; and thus they led us under a bamboo covering, where there
was a balanghai, [232] as long as eighty of my palm lengths, and
resembling a fusta. We sat down upon the stern of that balanghai,
constantly conversing with signs. The king’s men stood about us in a
circle with swords, daggers, spears, and bucklers. [233] The king had a
plate of pork brought in and a large jar filled with wine. At every
mouthful, we drank a cup of wine. The wine that was left [in the cup]
at any time, although that happened but rarely, was put into a jar by
itself. The king’s cup was always kept covered and no one else drank
from it but he and I. Before the king took the cup to drink, he raised
his clasped hands toward the sky, and then toward me; and when he was
about to drink, he extended the fist of his left hand toward me (at
first I thought that he was about to strike me) and then drank. I did
the same toward the king. They all make those signs one toward another
when they drink. We ate with such ceremonies and with other signs of
friendship. I ate meat on holy Friday, for I could not help myself.
Before the supper hour I gave the king many things which I had brought.
I wrote down the names of many things in their language. When the king
and the others saw me writing, and when I told them their words, they
were all astonished. [234] While engaged in that the supper hour was
announced. Two large porcelain dishes were brought in, one full of rice
and the other of pork with its gravy. We ate with the same signs and
ceremonies, after which we went to the palace of the king which was
built like a hayloft and was thatched with fig [i.e., banana] and palm
leaves. It was built up high from the ground on huge posts of wood and
it was necessary to ascend to it by means of ladders. [235] The king
made us sit down there on a bamboo mat with our feet drawn up like
tailors. After a half-hour a platter of roast fish cut in pieces was
brought in, and ginger freshly gathered, and wine. The king’s eldest
son, who was the prince, came over to us, whereupon the king told him
to sit down near us, and he accordingly did so. Then two platters were
brought in (one with fish and its sauce, and the other with rice), so
that we might eat with the prince. My companion became intoxicated as a
consequence of so much drinking and eating. They used the gum of a tree
called anime wrapped in palm or fig [i.e., banana] leaves for lights.
The king made us a sign that he was going to go to sleep. He left the
prince with us, and we slept with the latter on a bamboo mat with
pillows made of leaves. When day dawned the king came and took me by
the hand, and in that manner we went to where we had had supper, in
order to partake of refreshments, but the boat came to get us. Before
we left, the king kissed our hands with great joy, and we his. One of
his brothers, the king of another island, and three men came with us.
The captain-general kept him to dine with us, and gave him many things.
[236]
Pieces of gold, of the size of walnuts and eggs are found by sifting
the earth in the island of that king who came to our ships. All the
dishes of that king are of gold and also some portion of his house, as
we were told by that king himself. According to their customs he was
very grandly decked out [molto in ordine], [237] and the finest looking
man that we saw among those people. His hair was exceedingly black, and
hung to his shoulders. He had a covering of silk oh his head, and wore
two large golden earrings fastened in his ears. He wore a cotton cloth
all embroidered with silk, which covered him from the waist to the
knees. At his side hung a dagger, the haft of which was somewhat long
and all of gold, and its scabbard of carved wood. He had three spots of
gold on every tooth, and his teeth appeared as if bound with gold.
[238] He was perfumed with storax and benzoin. He was tawny and painted
[i.e., tattooed] all over. That island of his was called Butuan and
Calagan. [239] When those kings wished to see one another, they both
went to hunt in that island where we were. The name of the first king
is Raia Colambu, and the second Raia Siaui. [240]
Early on the morning of Sunday, the last of March, and Easter-day, the
captain-general sent the priest with some men to prepare the place
where mass was to be said; [241] together with the interpreter to tell
the king that we were not going to land in order to dine with him, but
to say mass. Therefore the king sent us two swine that he had had
killed. When the hour for mass arrived, we landed with about fifty men,
without our body armor, but carrying our other arms, and dressed in our
best clothes. [242] Before we reached the shore with our boats, six
pieces were discharged as a sign of peace. We landed; the two kings
embraced the captain-general, and placed him between them. We went in
marching order to the place consecrated, which was not far from the
shore. Before the commencement of mass, the captain sprinkled the
entire bodies of the two kings with musk water.” [243] The mass was
offered up. The kings went forward to kiss the cross as we did, but
they did not offer the sacrifice. [244] When the body of our Lord was
elevated, they remained on their knees and worshiped Him with clasped
hands. The ships fired all their artillery at once when the body of
Christ was elevated, the signal having been given from the shore with
muskets. After the conclusion of mass, some of our men took communion.
[245] The captain-general arranged a fencing tournament, [246] at which
the kings were greatly pleased. Then he had a cross carried in and the
nails and a crown, to which immediate reverence was made. [247] He told
the kings through the interpreter that they were the standards given to
him by the emperor his sovereign, so that wherever he might go he might
set up those his tokens. [He said] that he wished to set it up in that
place for their benefit, for whenever any of our ships came, [248] they
would know that we had been there by that cross, and would do nothing
to displease them or harm their property [property: doublet in original
MS.]. If any of their men were captured, they would be set free
immediately on that sign being shown. It was necessary to set that
cross on the summit of the highest mountain, so that on seeing it every
morning, they might adore it; and if they did that, neither thunder,
lightning, nor storms would harm them in the least. They thanked him
heartily and [said] that they would do everything willingly. The
captain-general also had them asked whether they were Moros or heathen,
or what was their belief. They replied that they worshiped nothing, but
that they raised their clasped hands and their face to the sky; and
that they called their god “Abba.” [249] Thereat the captain was
very glad, and seeing that, the first king raised his hands to the sky,
and said that he wished that it were possible for him to make the
captain see his love for him. The interpreter asked the king why there
was so little to eat there. The latter replied that he did not live in
that place except when he went hunting and to see his brother, but that
he lived in another island where all his family were. The
captain-general had him asked to declare whether he had any enemies, so
that he might go with his ships to destroy them and to render them
obedient to him. [250] The king thanked him and said that he did indeed
have two islands hostile to him, but that it was not then the season to
go there. The captain told him that if God would again allow him to
return to those districts, he would bring so many men that he would
make the king’s enemies subject to him by force. He said that he was
about to go to dinner, and that he would return afterward to have the
cross set up on the summit of the mountain. They replied that they were
satisfied, and then forming in battalion and firing the muskets, and
the captain having embraced the two kings, we took our leave.
After dinner we all returned clad in our doublets, and that afternoon
[251] went together with the two kings to the summit of the highest
mountain there. When we reached the summit, the captain-general told
them that he esteemed highly having sweated for them, for since the
cross was there, it could not but be of great use to them. On asking
them which port was the best to get food, they replied that there were
three, namely, Ceylon, Zubu, and Calaghann, but that Zubu was the
largest and the one with most trade. They offered of their own accord
to give us pilots to show us the way. The captain-general thanked them,
and determined to go there, for so did his unhappy fate will. After the
cross was erected in position, each of us repeated a Pater Noster and
an Ave Maria, and adored the cross; and the kings did the same. Then we
descended through their cultivated fields, and went to the place where
the balanghai was. [252] The kings had some cocoanuts brought in so
that we might refresh ourselves. The captain asked the kings for the
pilots for he intended to depart the following morning, and [said] that
he would treat them as if they were the kings themselves, and would
leave one of us as hostage. The kings replied that every hour he wished
the pilots were at his command, but that night the first king changed
his mind, and in the morning when we were about to depart, sent word to
the captain-general, asking him for love of him to wait two days until
he should have his rice harvested, and other trifles attended to. He
asked the captain-general to send him some men to help him, so that it
might be done sooner; and said that he intended to act as our pilot
himself. The captain sent him some men, but the kings ate and drank so
much that they slept all the day. Some said to excuse them that they
were slightly sick. Our men did nothing on that day, but they worked
the next two days. [253]
One of those people brought us about a porringer full of rice and also
eight or ten figs [i.e., bananas] fastened together to barter them for
a knife which at the most was worth three catrini. [254] The captain
seeing that that native cared for nothing but a knife, called him to
look at other things. He put his hand in his purse and wished to give
him one real for those things, but the native refused it. The captain
showed him a ducado but he would not accept that either. Finally the
captain tried to give him a doppione [255] worth two ducados, but he
would take nothing but a knife; and accordingly the captain had one
given to him. When one of our men went ashore for water, one of those
people wanted to give him a pointed crown of massy gold, of the size of
a colona [256] for six strings of glass beads, but the captain refused
to let him barter, so that the natives should learn at the very
beginning that we prized our merchandise more than their gold. [257]
Those people are heathens, [258] and go naked and painted. They wear a
piece of cloth woven from a tree about their privies. [259] They are
very heavy drinkers. [260] Their women are clad in tree cloth from
their waist down, and their hair is black and reaches to the ground.
They have holes pierced in their ears which are filled with gold. Those
people are constantly chewing a fruit which they call areca, and which
resembles a pear. They cut that fruit into four parts, and then wrap it
in the leaves of their tree which they call betre [i.e., betel]. Those
leaves resemble the leaves of the mulberry. They mix it with a little
lime, and when they have chewed it thoroughly, they spit it out. [261]
It makes the mouth exceedingly red. All the people in those parts of
the world use it, for it is very cooling to the heart, and if they
ceased to use it they would die. There are dogs, cats, swine, fowls,
goats, rice, ginger, cocoanuts, figs [i.e., bananas], oranges, lemons,
millet, panicum, sorgo, [262] wax, and a quantity of gold in that
island. It lies in a latitude of nine and two-thirds degrees toward the
Arctic Pole, and in a longitude of one hundred and sixty-two degrees
from the line of demarcation. It is twenty-five from the Acquada, and
is called Mazaua. [263]
We remained there seven days, after which we laid our course toward the
northwest, passing among [264] five islands, namely, Ceylon, Bohol,
Canighan, Baybai, and Gatighan. [265] In the last-named island of
Gatigan, there are bats as large as eagles. As it was late we killed
one of them, [266] which resembled chicken in taste. There are doves,
turtledoves, [267] parrots, and certain black birds as large as
domestic chickens, which have a long tail. The last mentioned birds lay
eggs as large as the goose, and bury them under the sand, through the
great heat of which they hatch out. When the chicks are born, they push
up the sand, and come out. Those eggs are good to eat. There is a
distance of twenty leguas from Mazaua to Gatighan. We set out westward
from Gatighan, but the king of Mazaua could not follow us [closely],
and consequently, we awaited him near three islands, namely, Polo,
Ticobon, and Pozon. [268] When he caught up with us he was greatly
astonished at the rapidity with which we sailed. The captain-general
had him come into his ship with several of his chiefs at which they
were pleased. Thus did we go to Zubu from Gatighan, the distance to
Zubu being fifteen leguas. [269]
At noon on Sunday, April seven, we entered the port of Zubu, passing by
many villages, where we saw many houses built upon logs. On approaching
the city, the captain-general ordered the ships to fling their banners.
The sails were lowered and arranged as if for battle, and all the
artillery was fired, an action which caused great fear to those people.
The captain sent a foster-son of his as ambassador to the king of Zubo
with the interpreter. When they reached the city, they found a vast
crowd of people together with the king, all of whom had been frightened
by the mortars. The interpreter told them [270] that that was our
custom when entering into such places, as a sign of peace and
friendship, and that we had discharged all our mortars to honor the
king of the village. The king and all of his men were reassured, and
the king had us asked by his governor what we wanted. The interpreter
replied that his master was a captain of the greatest king and prince
in the world, and that he was going to discover Malucho; [271] but that
he had come solely to visit the king because of the good report which
he had heard of him from the king of Mazaua, and to buy food with his
merchandise. The king told him that he was welcome [literally: he had
come at a good time], but that it was their custom for all ships that
entered their ports to pay tribute, and that it was but four days since
a junk from Ciama [i.e., Siam] laden with gold and slaves had paid him
tribute. As proof of his statement the king pointed out to the
interpreter a merchant from Ciama, who had remained to trade the gold
and slaves. The interpreter told the king that, since his master was
the captain of so great a king, he did not pay tribute to any seignior
in the world, and that if the king wished peace he would have peace,
but if war instead, war. Thereupon, the Moro merchant said to the king
Cata raia chita that is to say, [272] “Look well, sire.” “These
men are the same who have conquered Calicut, Malaca, and all India
Magiore [i.e., India Major]. [273] If they are treated well, they will
give good treatment, but if they are treated evil, evil and worse
treatment, as they have done to Calicut and Malaca.” The interpreter
understood it all and told the king that his master’s king was more
powerful in men and ships than the king of Portogalo, that he was the
king of Spagnia and emperor of all the Christians, and that if the king
did not care to be his friend [274] he would next time send so many men
that they would destroy him. The Moro related everything to the king,
[275] who said thereupon that he would deliberate with his men, and
would answer the captain on the following day. Then he had refreshments
of many dishes, all made from meat and contained in porcelain platters,
besides many jars of wine brought in. After our men had refreshed
themselves, they returned and told us everything. The king of Mazaua,
[276] who was the most influential after that king and the seignior of
a number of islands, went ashore to speak to the king of the great
courtesy of our captain-general.
Monday morning, our notary, together with the interpreter, went to
Zubu. The king, accompanied by his chiefs, came to the open square
where he had our men sit down near him. He asked the notary whether
there were more than one captain in that company, and whether that
captain wished him to pay tribute to the emperor his master. The notary
replied in the negative, but that the captain wished only to trade with
him and with no others. The king said that he was satisfied, and that
if the captain wished to become his friend, he should send him a drop
of blood from his right arm, and he himself would do the same [to him]
as a sign of the most sincere friendship. [277] The notary answered
that the captain would do it. Thereupon, the king told him that all the
captains who came to that place, were wont to give presents one to the
other [i.e., mutual presents between the king and the captain], and
asked whether our captain or he ought to commence. [278] The
interpreter told the king that since he desired to maintain the custom,
he should commence, and so he did. [279]
Tuesday morning the king of Mazaua came to the ships with the Moro. He
saluted the captain-general in behalf of the king [of Zubu], and said
that the king of Zubu was collecting as much food as possible to give
to him, and that after dinner he would send one of his nephews and two
others of his chief men to make peace. The captain-general had one of
his men armed with his own arms, and had the Moro told that we all
fought in that manner. The Moro was greatly frightened, but the captain
told him not to be frightened for our arms were soft toward our friends
and harsh toward our enemies; and as handkerchiefs wipe off the sweat
so did our arms overthrow and destroy all our adversaries, and those
who hate our faith. [280] The captain did that so that the Moro who
seemed more intelligent than the others, might tell it to the king.
After dinner the king’s nephew, who was the prince, came to the ships
with the king of Mazaua, the Moro, the governor, the chief constable,
and eight chiefs, to make peace with us. The captain-general was seated
in a red velvet chair, the principal men [281] on leather chairs, and
the others on mats upon the floor. The captain-general asked them
through the interpreter whether it were their custom to speak in secret
or in public, and whether that prince and the king of Mazaua had
authority to make peace. [282] They answered that they spoke in public,
and that they were empowered to make peace. The captain-general said
many things concerning peace, and that he prayed God to confirm it in
heaven. They said that they had never heard any one speak such words,
but that they took great pleasure in hearing them. The captain seeing
that they listened and answered willingly, began to advance arguments
to induce them to accept the faith. Asking them who would succeed to
the seigniory after the death of the king, he was answered that the
king had no sons but only daughters, the eldest of whom was the wife of
that nephew of his, who therefore was the prince. [They said that] when
the fathers and mothers grew old, they received no further honor, but
their children commanded them. The captain told them that God made the
sky, the earth, the sea, and everything else, and that He had commanded
us to honor our fathers and mothers, and that whoever did otherwise was
condemned to eternal fire; that we are all descended from Adam and Eva,
our first parents; that we have an immortal spirit; [283] and many
other things pertaining to the faith. All joyfully entreated the
captain to leave them two men, or at least one, [284] to instruct them
in the faith, and [said] that they would show them great honor. The
captain replied to them that he could not leave them any men then, but
that if they wished to become Christians, our priest would baptize
them, and that he would next time bring priests and friars who would
instruct them in our faith. They answered that they would first speak
to their king, and that then they would become Christians, [whereat] we
all wept with great joy. The captain-general told them that they should
not become Christians for fear or to please us, but of their own free
wills; [285] and that he would not cause any displeasure to those who
wished to live according to their own law, but that the Christians
would be better regarded and treated than the others. All cried out
with one voice that they were not becoming Christians through fear or
to please us, but of their own free will. Then the captain told them
that if they became Christians, he would leave a suit of armor, [286]
for so had his king commanded him; that we could not have intercourse
with their women without committing a very great, sin, since they were
pagans; and that he assured them that if they became Christians, the
devil would no longer appear to them except in the last moment at their
death. [287] They said that they could not answer the beautiful words
of the captain, but that they placed themselves in his hands, and that
he should treat them as his most faithful servants. The captain
embraced them weeping, and clasping one of the prince’s hands and one
of the king’s between his own, said to them that, by his faith in God
and to his sovereign, the emperor, and by the habit which he wore,
[288] he promised them that he would give them perpetual peace with the
king of Spagnia. They answered that they promised the same. After the
conclusion of the peace, the captain had refreshments served to them.
Then the prince and the king [of Mazaua] presented some baskets of
rice, swine, goats, and fowls to the captain-general on behalf of their
king, and asked him to pardon them, for such things were but little [to
give] to one such as he. The captain gave the prince a white cloth of
the finest linen, a red cap, some strings of glass beads, and a gilded
glass drinking cup. Those glasses are greatly appreciated in those
districts. He did not give any present to the king of Mazaua, for he
had already given him a robe of Cambaya, besides other articles. [289]
To the others he gave now one thing and now another. Then he sent to
the king of Zubu through me and one other a yellow and violet silk
robe, made in Turkish style, a fine red cap, some strings of glass
beads, all in a silver dish, and two gilt drinking cups in our hands.
[290] When we reached the city we found the king in his palace
surrounded by many people. He was seated on a palm mat on the ground,
with only a cotton cloth before his privies, and a scarf embroidered
with the needle about his head, a necklace of great value hanging from
his neck, and two large gold earrings fastened in his ears set round
with precious gems. He was fat and short, and tattooed with fire [291]
in various designs. From another mat on the ground he was eating turtle
eggs which were in two porcelain dishes, and he had four jars full of
palm wine in front of him covered with sweet-smelling herbs and
arranged with four small reeds in each jar by means of which he drank.
[292] Having duly made reverence to him, the interpreter told the king
that his master thanked him very warmly for his present, and that he
sent this present not in return for his present but for the intrinsic
love which he bore him. [293] We dressed him in the robe, placed the
cap on his head, and gave him the other things; then kissing the beads
and putting them upon his head, I presented them to him. He doing the
same [i.e., kissing them] accepted them. Then the king had us eat some
of those eggs and drink through those slender reeds. The others, his
men, told him in that place, the words of the captain concerning peace
and his exhortation to them to become Christians. The king wished to
have us stay to supper with him, but we told him that we could not stay
then. Having taken our leave of him, the prince took us with him to his
house, where four young girls were playing [instruments]—one, on a
drum like ours, but resting on the ground; the second was striking two
suspended gongs alternately with a stick wrapped somewhat thickly at
the end with palm cloth; the third, one large gong in the same manner;
and the last, two small gongs held in her hand, by striking one against
the other, which gave forth a sweet sound. They played so harmoniously
that one would believe they possessed good musical sense. Those girls
were very beautiful and almost as white as our girls and as large. They
were naked except for tree cloth hanging from the waist and reaching to
the knees. Some were quite naked and had large holes in their ears with
a small round piece of wood in the hole, which keeps the hole round and
large. They have long black hair, and wear a short cloth about the
head, and are always barefoot. The prince had three quite naked girls
dance for us. We took refreshments and then went to the ships. Those
gongs are made of brass [metalo] and are manufactured in the regions
about the Signio Magno [294] which is called China. They are used in
those regions as we use bells and are called aghon. [295]
On Wednesday morning, as one of our men had died during the previous
night, the interpreter and I [296] went to ask the king where we could
bury him. We found the king surrounded by many men, of whom, after the
due reverence was made, I asked it. [297] He replied, “If I and my
vassals all belong to your sovereign, how much more ought the land.”
I told the king that we would like to consecrate the place, [298] and
to set up a cross there. He replied that he was quite satisfied, and
that he wished to adore the cross as did we. The deceased was buried in
the square with as much pomp as possible, in order to furnish a good
example. Then we consecrated the place, and in the evening buried
another man. We carried a quantity of merchandise ashore which we
stored in a house. The king took it under his care as well as four men
who were left to trade the goods by wholesale. [299] Those people live
in accordance with justice, and have weights and measures. They love
peace, ease, and quiet. They have wooden balances, the bar of which has
a cord in the middle by which it is held. At one end is a bit of lead,
and at the other marks like quarter-libras, third-libras, and libras.
When they wish to weigh they take the scales which has three wires like
ours, and place it above the marks, and so weigh accurately. [300] They
have very large measures without any bottom. [301] The youth play on
pipes made like ours which they call subin. Their houses are
constructed of wood, and are built of planks and bamboo, raised high
from the ground on large logs, and one must enter them by means of
ladders. They have rooms like ours; and under the house they keep their
swine, goats, and fowls. Large sea snails [corniolli], beautiful to the
sight, are found there which kill whales. For the whale swallows them
alive, and when they are in the whale’s body, they come out of their
shells and eat the whale’s heart. Those people afterward find them
alive near the dead whale’s heart. Those creatures have black teeth
and skin and a white shell, and the flesh is good to eat. They are
called laghan. [302]
On Friday we showed those people a shop full of our merchandise, [303]
at which they were very much surprised. For metals, iron, and other
large merchandise they gave us gold. For the other smaller articles
they gave us rice, swine, goats, and other food. Those people gave us x
pieces of gold for xiiii libras of iron [304] (one piece being worth
about one and one-half ducados). The captain-general did not wish to
take too much gold, for there would have been some sailors who would
have given all that they owned for a small amount of gold, and would
have spoiled the trade for ever. [305] On Saturday, as the captain had
promised the king to make him a Christian on Sunday, a platform was
built in the consecrated square, which was adorned with hangings and
palm branches for his baptism. The captain-general sent men to tell the
king not to be afraid of the pieces that would be discharged in the
morning, for it was our custom to discharge them at our greatest feasts
without loading with stones. [306]
On Sunday morning, April fourteen, forty men of us went ashore, two of
whom were completely armed and preceded the royal banner. [307] When we
reached land all the artillery was fired. [308] Those people followed
us hither and thither. The captain and the king embraced. The captain
told the king that the royal banner was not taken ashore except with
fifty men armed as were those two, and with fifty musketeers; but so
great was his love for him that he had thus brought the banner. [309]
Then we all approached the platform joyfully. The captain and the king
sat down in chairs of red and violet velvet, [310] the chiefs on
cushions, and the others on mats. [311] The captain told the king
through the interpreter that he thanked God for inspiring him to became
a Christian; and that [now] he would more easily conquer his enemies
than before. The king replied that he wished to become a Christian, but
that some of his chiefs did not wish to obey, because they said that
they were as good men as he. Then our captain had all the chiefs of the
king called, and told them that, unless they obeyed the king as their
king, he would have them killed, and would give their possessions to
the king. They replied that they would obey him. The captain told the
king that he was going to Spagnia, but that he would return again with
so many forces that he would make him the greatest king of those
regions, as he had been the first to express a determination to become
a Christian. The king, lifting his hands to the sky, thanked the
captain, and requested him to let some of his men remain [with him], so
that he and his people might be better instructed in the faith. The
captain replied that he would leave two men to satisfy him, but that he
would like to take two of the children of the chiefs with him, so that
they might learn our language, who afterward on their return would be
able to tell the others the wonders [cose] of Spagnia. A large cross
was set up in the middle of the square. The captain told them that if
they wished to become Christians as they had declared on the previous
days, that they must burn all their idols and set up a cross in their
place. They were to adore that cross daily with clasped hands, and
every morning after their [i.e., the Spaniards’] custom, they were to
make the sign of the cross (which the captain showed them how to make);
and they ought to come hourly, at least in the morning, to that cross,
and adore it kneeling. The intention that they had already declared,
they were to confirm with good works. The king and all the others
wished to confirm it thoroughly. The captain-general told the king that
he was clad all in white to demonstrate his sincere love toward them.
They replied that they could not respond to his sweet words. The
captain led the king by the hand to the platform while speaking these
good words in order to baptize him. He told the king that he would call
him Don Carlo, after his sovereign the emperor; the prince, Don
Fernando, after the emperor’s brother; the king of Mazaua, Johanni; a
chief, Fernando, after our chief, that is to say, the captain; the
Moro, Christoforo; and then the others, now one name, and now another.
Five hundred men were baptized before mass. After the conclusion of
mass, the captain invited the king and some of the other chiefs to
dinner, but they refused, accompanying us, however, to the shore. The
ships discharged all the mortars; and embracing, the king and chiefs
and the captain took leave of one another. [312]
After dinner the priest and some of the others went ashore to baptize
the queen, who came with forty women. We conducted her to the platform,
and she was made to sit down upon a cushion, and the other women near
her, until the priest should be ready. She was shown an image of our
Lady, a very beautiful wooden child Jesus, and a cross. Thereupon, she
was overcome with contrition, and asked for baptism amid her tears.
[313] We named her Johanna, after the emperor’s mother; her daughter,
the wife of the prince, Catherina; the queen of Mazaua, Lisabeta; and
the others, each their [distinctive] name. Counting men, women, and
children, we baptized eight hundred souls. [314] The queen was young
and beautiful, and was entirely covered with a white and black cloth.
Her mouth and nails were very red, while on her head she wore a large
hat of palm leaves in the manner of a parasol, [315] with a crown about
it of the same leaves, like the tiara of the pope; and she never goes
any place without such a one. [316] She asked us to give her the little
child Jesus to keep in place of her idols; [317] and then she went
away. In the afternoon, [318] the king and queen, accompanied by
numerous persons, came to the shore. Thereupon, the captain had many
trombs of fire and large mortars discharged, by which they were most
highly delighted. [319] The captain and the king called one another
brothers. That king’s name was Raia Humabon. Before that week had
gone, all the persons of that island, and some from the other island,
were baptized. We burned one hamlet which was located in a neighboring
island, because it refused to obey the king or us. We set up the cross
there for those people were heathen. Had they been Moros, we would have
erected a column there as a token of greater hardness, for the Moros
are much harder to convert than the heathen.
The captain-general went ashore daily during those days to hear mass,
and told the king many things regarding the faith. [320] One day the
queen came with great pomp to hear mass. Three girls preceded her with
three of her hats in their hands. [321] She was dressed in black and
white with a large silk scarf, crossed with gold stripes thrown over
her head, which covered her shoulders; and she had on her hat. A great
number of women accompanied her, who were all naked and barefoot,
except that they had a small covering of palm-tree cloth before their
privies, and a small scarf upon the head, and all with hair flowing
free. The queen, having made the due reverence to the altar, seated
herself on a silk embroidered cushion. Before the commencement of the
mass, the captain sprayed her and some of her women with musk
rosewater, for they delighted exceedingly in such perfumes. The captain
knowing that the queen was very much pleased with the child Jesus, gave
it to her, telling her to keep it in place of her idols, for it was in
memory [322] of the son of God. Thanking him heartily she accepted it.
Before mass one day, the captain-general had the king come clad in his
silk robe, and the chief men of the city, [to wit], the king’s
brother and prince’s father, whose name was Bendara; another of the
king’s brothers, Cadaio; and certain ones called Simiut, Sibuaia,
Sisacai, Maghalibe, and many others whom I shall not name in order not
to be tedious. [323] The captain made them all swear to be obedient to
their king, and they kissed the latter’s hand. Then the captain had
the king declare that he would always be obedient and faithful to the
king of Spagnia, and the king so swore. [324] Thereupon, the captain
drew his Sword before the image of our Lady, and told the king that
when anyone so swore, he should prefer to die rather than to break such
an oath, [325] if he swore by that image, by the life of the emperor
his sovereign, and by his habit to be ever faithful. After the
conclusion of that the captain gave the king a red velvet chair,
telling him that wherever he went he should always have it carried
before him by one of his nearest relatives; and he showed him how it
ought to be carried. The king responded that he would do that willingly
for love of him, and he told the captain that he was making a jewel to
give to him, namely, two large earrings of gold to fasten [326] in his
ears, two armlets to put on his arms, above the elbows, and two other
rings for the feet above the ankles, besides other precious gems to
adorn [327] the ears. Those are the most beautiful ornaments which the
kings of those districts can wear. They always go barefoot, and wear a
cloth garment that hangs from the waist to the knees.
One day the captain-general asked the king and the other people why
they did not burn their idols as they had promised when they became
Christians; and why they sacrificed so much flesh to them. They replied
that what they were doing was not for themselves, but for a sick man
who had not spoken now for four days, so that the idols might give him
health. He was the prince’s brother, and the bravest and wisest man
in the island. The captain told them to burn their idols and to believe
in Christ, and that if the sick man were baptized, he would quickly
recover; and if that did not so happen they could behead him [i.e., the
captain] then and there. Thereupon, the king replied that he would do
it, for he truly believed in Christ. We made a procession from the
square to the house of the sick man with as much pomp as possible.
There we found him in such condition that he could neither speak nor
move. We baptized him and his two wives, and x girls. Then the captain
had him asked how he felt. He spoke immediately and said that by the
grace of our Lord he felt very well. That was a most manifest miracle
[that happened] in our times. When the captain heard him speak, he
thanked God fervently. Then he made the sick man drink some almond
milk, which he had already had made for him. Afterward he sent him a
mattress, a pair of sheets, a coverlet of yellow cloth, and a pillow.
Until he recovered his health, the captain sent him almond milk,
rosewater, oil of roses, and some sweet preserves. Before five days the
sick man began to walk. He had an idol that certain old women had
concealed in his house burned in the presence of the king and all the
people. He had many shrines along the seashore destroyed, [328] in
which the consecrated meat was eaten. The people themselves cried out
“Castiglia! Castiglia!” and destroyed [329] those shrines. They
said that if God would lend them life, they would burn all the idols
that they could find, even if they were in the king’s house. Those
idols are made of wood, and are hollow, and lack the back parts. Their
arms are open and their feet turned up under them with the legs open.
They have a large face with four huge tusks like those of the wild
boar; and are painted all over.
There are many villages in that island. Their names, those of their
inhabitants, and of their chiefs are as follows: Cinghapola, and its
chiefs, Cilaton, Ciguibucan, Cimaningha, Cimatichat, and Cicanbul; one,
Mandaui, and its chief, Apanoaan; one Lalan, and its chief, Theteu;
one, Lalutan, and its chief, Tapan; one Cilumai; and one, Lubucun.
[330] All those villages rendered obedience to us, and gave us food and
tribute. Near that island of Zubu was an island called Matan, which
formed the port where we were anchored. The name of its village was
Matan, and its chiefs were Zula and Cilapulapu. That city which we
burned was in that island and was called Bulaia.
In order that your most illustrious Lordship may know the ceremonies
that those people use in consecrating the swine, they first sound those
large gongs. [331] Then three large dishes are brought in; two with
roses and with cakes of rice and millet, baked and wrapped in leaves,
and roast fish; the other with cloth of Cambaia [332] and two standards
made of palm-tree cloth. One bit of cloth of Cambaia is spread on the
ground. Then two very old women come, each of whom has a bamboo trumpet
in her hand. When they have stepped upon the cloth they make obeisance
to the sun. Then they wrap the cloths about themselves. One of them
puts a kerchief with two horns on her forehead, and takes another
kerchief in her hands, and dancing and blowing upon her trumpet, she
thereby calls out to the sun. The other takes one of the standards and
dances and blows on her trumpet. They dance and call out thus for a
little space, saying many things between themselves to the sun. She
with the kerchief takes the other standard, and lets the kerchief drop,
and both blowing on their trumpets for a long time, dance about the
bound hog. She with the horns always speaks covertly to the sun, and
the other answers her. A cup of wine is presented to her of the horns,
and she dancing and repeating certain words, while the other answers
her, and making pretense four or five times of drinking the wine,
sprinkles it upon the heart of the hog. Then she immediately begins to
dance again. A lance is given to the same woman. She shaking it and
repeating certain words, while both of them continue to dance, and
making motions four or five times of thrusting the lance through the
heart of the hog, with a sudden and quick stroke, thrusts it through
from one side to the other. The wound is quickly stopped [333] with
grass. The one who has killed the hog, taking in her mouth a lighted
torch, which has been lighted throughout that ceremony, extinguishes
it. [334] The other one dipping the end of her trumpet in the blood of
the hog, goes around marking with blood with her finger first the
foreheads of their husbands, and then the others; but they never came
to us. Then they divest themselves and go to eat the contents of those
dishes, and they invite only women [to eat with them]. The hair is
removed from the hog by means of fire. Thus no one but old women
consecrate the flesh of the hog, and they do not eat it unless it is
killed in this way. [335]
Those people go naked, wearing but one piece of palm-tree cloth about
[336] their privies. The males, large and small, have their penis
pierced from one side to the other near the head, with a gold or tin
bolt as large as a goose quill. In both ends of the same bolt, some
have what resembles a spur, with points upon the ends; others are like
the head of a cart nail. I very often asked many, both old and young,
to see their penis, because I could not credit it. In the middle of the
bolt is a hole, through which they urinate. The bolt and the spurs
always hold firm. They say that their women wish it so, and that if
they did otherwise they would not have communication with them. When
the men wish to have communication with their women, the latter
themselves take the penis not in the regular way and commence very
gently to introduce it [into their vagina], with the spur on top first,
and then the other part. When it is inside it takes its regular
position; and thus the penis always stays inside until it gets soft,
for otherwise they could not pull it out. Those people make use of that
device because they are of a weak nature. They have as many wives as
they wish, but one of them is the principal wife. [337] Whenever any of
our men went ashore, both by day and by night, every one invited him to
eat and to drink. Their viands are half cooked and very salty. They
drink frequently and copiously from the jars [338] through those small
reeds, and one of their meals lasts for five or six hours. The women
loved us very much more than their own men. All of the women from the
age of six years and upward, have their vaginas [natura] gradually
opened because of the men’s penises. [339]
They practice the following ceremonies when one of their chiefs dies.
First all the chief [340] women of the place go to the house of the
deceased. The deceased is placed in the middle of the house in a box.
Ropes are placed about the box in the manner of a palisade, to which
many branches of trees are attached. In the middle of each branch hangs
a cotton cloth like a curtained canopy. The most principal women sit
under those hangings, and are all covered with white cotton cloth, each
one by a girl who fans her with a palm-leaf fan. The other women sit
about the room sadly. [341] Then there is one woman who cuts off the
hair of the deceased very slowly with a knife. Another who was the
principal wife of the deceased, lies down upon him, and places her
mouth, her hands, and her feet upon those of the deceased. When the
former is cutting off the hair, the latter weeps; and when the former
finishes the cutting, the latter sings. There are many porcelain jars
containing fire about the room, and myrrh, storax, and bezoin, which
make a strong odor through the house, are put on the fire. They keep
the body in the house for five or six days during those ceremonies. I
believe that the body is anointed with camphor. Then they bury the body
and the same box which is shut in a log by means of wooden nails and
covered and enclosed by logs of wood. [342] Every night about midnight
in that city, a jet black bird as large as a crow was wont to come, and
no sooner had it thus reached the houses than it began to screech, so
that all the dogs began to howl; and that screeching and howling would
last for four or five hours, [343] but those people would never tell us
the reason of it.
On Friday, April twenty-six, Zula, a chief of the island of Matan,
[344] sent one of his sons to present two goats to the captain-general,
and to say that he would send him all that he had promised, but that he
had not been able to send it to him because of the other chief
Cilapulapu, who refused to obey the king of Spagnia. He requested the
captain to send him only one boatload of men on the next night, so that
they might help him and fight against the other chief. The
captain-general decided to go thither with three boatloads. We begged
him repeatedly not to go, but he, like a good shepherd, refused to
abandon his flock. At midnight, sixty men of us set out armed with
corselets and helmets, together with the Christian king, the prince,
some of the chief men, and twenty or thirty balanguais. We reached
Matan three hours before dawn. The captain did not wish to fight then,
but sent a message to the natives by the Moro to the effect that if
they would obey the king of Spagnia, recognize the Christian king as
their sovereign, and pay us our tribute, he would be their friend; but
that if they wished otherwise, they should wait to see how our lances
wounded. [345] They replied that if we had lances they had lances of
bamboo and stakes hardened with fire. [They asked us] not to proceed to
attack them at once, but to wait until morning, so that they might have
more men. They said that in order to induce us to go in search of them;
for they had dug certain pitholes between the houses in order that we
might fall into them. When morning came forty-nine of us leaped into
the water up to our thighs, and walked through water for more than two
crossbow flights before we could reach the shore. The boats could not
approach nearer because of certain rocks in the water. The other eleven
men remained behind to guard the boats. When we reached land, those men
had formed in three divisions to the number of more than one thousand
five hundred persons. When they saw us, they charged down upon us with
exceeding loud cries, two divisions on our flanks and the other on our
front. When the captain saw that, he formed us into two divisions, and
thus did we begin to fight. The musketeers and crossbowmen shot from a
distance for about a half-hour, but uselessly; for the shots only
passed through the shields which were made of thin wood and the arms
[of the bearers]. The captain cried to them, “Cease firing! cease
firing!” but his order was not at all heeded. When the natives saw
that we were shooting our muskets to no purpose, crying out they
determined to stand firm, but they redoubled their shouts. When our
muskets were discharged, the natives would never stand still, but
leaped hither and thither, covering themselves with their shields. They
shot so many arrows at us and hurled so many bamboo spears (some of
them tipped with iron) at the captain-general, besides pointed stakes
hardened with fire, stones, and mud, that we could scarcely defend
ourselves. Seeing that the captain-general sent some men to burn their
houses in order to terrify them. When they saw their houses burning,
they were roused to greater fury. Two of our men were killed near the
houses, while we burned twenty or thirty houses. So many of them
charged down upon us that they shot the captain through the right leg
with a poisoned arrow. On that account, he ordered us to retire slowly,
but the men took to flight, except six or eight of us who remained with
the captain. The natives shot only at our legs, for the latter were
bare; and so many were the spears and stones that they hurled at us,
that we could offer no resistance. The mortars in the boats could not
aid us as they were too far away. So we continued to retire for more
than a good crossbow flight from the shore always fighting up to our
knees in the water. The natives continued to pursue us, and picking up
the same spear four or six times, hurled it at us again and again.
Recognizing the captain, so many turned upon him that they knocked his
helmet off his head twice, but he always stood firmly like a good
knight, together with some others. Thus did we fight for more than one
hour, refusing to retire farther. An Indian hurled a bamboo spear into
the captain’s face, but the latter immediately killed him with his
lance, which he left in the Indian’s body. Then, trying to lay hand
on sword, he could draw it out but halfway, because he had been wounded
in the arm with a bamboo spear. When the natives saw that, they all
hurled themselves upon him. One of them wounded him on the left leg
with a large cutlass, [346] which resembles a scimitar, only being
larger. That caused the captain to fall face downward, when immediately
they rushed upon him with iron and bamboo spears and with their
cutlasses, until they killed our mirror, our light, our comfort, and
our true guide. When they wounded him, he turned back many times to see
whether we were all in the boats. Thereupon, beholding him dead, we,
wounded, retreated, as best we could, to the boats, which were already
pulling off. The Christian king would have aided us, but the captain
charged him before we landed, not to leave his balanghai, but to stay
to see how we fought. When the king learned that the captain was dead,
he wept. Had it not been for that unfortunate captain, not a single one
of us would have been saved in the boats, for while he was fighting the
others retired to the boats. I hope through [the efforts of] your most
illustrious Lordship that the fame of so noble a captain will not
become effaced in our times. Among the other virtues which he
possessed, he was more constant than ever any one else in the greatest
of adversity. He endured hunger better than all the others, and more
accurately than any man in the world did he understand sea charts [347]
and navigation. And that this was the truth was seen openly, for no
other had had so much natural talent nor the boldness to learn how to
circumnavigate the world, as he had almost done. That battle was fought
on Saturday, April twenty-seven, 1521. [348] The captain desired to
fight on Saturday, because it was the day especially holy to him. Eight
of our men were killed with him in that battle, [349] and four Indians,
who had become Christians and who had come afterward to aid us were
killed by the mortars of the boats. Of the enemy, only fifteen were
killed, while many of us were wounded.
In the afternoon the Christian king sent a message with our consent to
the people of Matan, to the effect that if they would give us the
captain and the other men who had been killed, we would give them as
much merchandise as they wished. They answered that they would not give
up such a man, as we imagined [they would do], and that they would not
give him for all the riches in the world, but that they intended to
keep him as a memorial. [350]
On Saturday, the day on which the captain was killed, the four men who
had remained in the city to trade, had our merchandise carried to the
ships. Then we chose two commanders, namely, Duarte Barboza, [351] a
Portuguese and a relative of the captain, and Johan Seranno, a
Spaniard. [352] As our interpreter, Henrich by name, was wounded
slightly, he would not go ashore any more to attend to our necessary
affairs, but always kept his bed. On that account, Duarte Barboza, the
commander of the flagship, cried out to him and told him, that although
his master, the captain, was dead, he was not therefore free; on the
contrary he [i.e., Barboza] would see to it that when we should reach
Espagnia, he should still be the slave of Doña Beatrice, the wife of
the captain-general. [353] And threatening the slave that if he did go
ashore, he would be flogged, the latter arose, and, feigning to take no
heed to those words, went ashore to tell the Christian king [354] that
we were about to leave very soon, but that if he would follow his
advice, he could gain the ships and all our merchandise. Accordingly
they arranged a plot, and the slave returned to the ship, where he
showed that he was more cunning [355] than before.
On Wednesday morning, the first of May, the Christian king sent word to
the commanders that the jewels [356] which he had promised to send to
the king of Spagnia were ready, and that he begged them and their other
companions to come to dine with him that morning, when he would give
them the jewels. Twenty-four men went ashore, among whom was our
astrologer, San Martín de Sivilla. I could not go because I was all
swollen up by a wound from a poisoned arrow which I had received in my
face. Jovan Carvaio and the constable [357] returned, and told us that
they saw the man who had been cured by a miracle take the priest to his
house. [358] Consequently, they had left that place, because they
suspected some evil. Scarcely had they spoken those words when we heard
loud cries and lamentations. We immediately weighed anchor and
discharging many mortars into the houses, drew in nearer to the shore.
While thus discharging [our pieces] we saw Johan Seranno in his shirt
bound and wounded, crying to us not to fire any more, for the natives
would kill him. [359] We asked him whether all the others and the
interpreter were dead. He said that they were all dead except the
interpreter. He begged us earnestly to redeem him with some of the
merchandise; but Johan Carvaio, his boon companion, [and others] would
not allow the boat to go ashore so that they might remain masters of
the ships. [360] But although Johan Serrano weeping asked us not to set
sail so quickly, for they would kill him, and said that he prayed God
to ask his soul of Johan Carvaio, his comrade, in the day of judgment,
we immediately departed. I do not know whether he is dead or alive.
[361]
In that island are found dogs, cats, rice, millet, panicum, sorgo,
ginger, figs [i.e., bananas], oranges, lemons, sugarcane, garlic,
honey, cocoanuts, nangcas, [362] gourds, flesh of many kinds, palm
wine, and gold. [363] It is a large island, and has a good port with
two entrances—one to the west and the other to the east northeast.
[364] It lies in x degrees [365] of latitude toward the Arctic Pole,
and in a longitude of one hundred and sixty-four [366] degrees from the
line of demarcation. Its name is Zubu. We heard of Malucho there before
the death of the captain-general. Those people play a violin with
copper strings.
Words of those heathen people
For Man lac
for Woman paranpaon
for Young woman beni beni
for Married woman babay
for Hair boho
for Face guay
for Eyelids pilac
for Eyebrows chilei
for Eye matta
for Nose ilon
for Jaws apin
for Lips olol
for Mouth baba
for Teeth nipin
for Gums leghex
for Tongue dilla
for Ears delengan
for Throat liogh
for Neck tangip
for Chin queilan
for Beard bonghot
for Shoulders bagha
for Spine licud
for Breast dughan [367]
for Body tiam
Armpit ilot
for Arm botchen
for Elbow sico
for Pulse molanghai
for Hand camat
for the Palm of the hand palan
for Finger dudlo
for Fingernail coco
for Navel pusut
for Penis utin
for Testicles boto
for Vagina [368] billat
for to have Communication
with women jiam
for Buttocks samput
for Thigh paha
for Knee tuhud
for Shin bassag bassag [369]
for Calf of the leg bitis
for Ankle bolbol
for Heel tiochid
for Sole of the foot lapa lapa
for Gold balaoan
for Silver pilla
for Brass concach
for Iron butan
for Sugarcane tube
for Spoon gandan
for Rice bughax baras
for Honey deghex
for Wax talho
for Salt acin
for Wine tuba nio nipa
for to Drink minuncubil
for to Eat macan
for Hog babui
for Goat candin
for Chicken monoch
for Millet humas
for Sorgo batat
for Panicum dana [370]
for Pepper manissa
for Cloves chianche
for Cinnamon mana
for Ginger luia
for Garlic laxuna
for Oranges acsua
for Egg silog
for Cocoanut lubi
for Vinegar zlucha
for Water tubin
for Fire clayo
for Smoke assu
for to Blow tigban
for Balances tinban
for Weight tahil [371]
for Pearl mutiara
for Mother of pearl tipay
for Pipe [a musical
instrument] sub in
for Disease of St. Job alupalan [372]
Bring me palatin comorica
for certain Rice cakes tinapai [373]
Good main
No tidale
for Knife capol, sundan
for Scissors catle
To shave chunthinch
for a well adorned Man pixao
for Linen balandan
for the cloth with which
they cover themselves abaca
for hawk’sbell coloncolon [374]
for Pater nosters of all
classes tacle
for Comb cutlei, missamis
for to Comb monssughud
for Shirt sabun
for Sewing-needle daghu
for to Sew mamis
for Porcelain mobuluc
for Dog aian, ydo
for Cat epos
for their Scarfs gapas
for Glass Beads balus
Come here marica
for House ilaga, balai
for Timber tatamue
for the Mats on which they
sleep tagichan
for Palm-mats bani
for their Leaf cushions uliman
for Wooden platters dulan
for their God abba
for Sun adlo
for Moon songhot
for Star bolan, bunthun
for Dawn mene
for Morning uema
for Cup tagha
Large bassal
for Bow bossugh
for Arrow oghon
for Shields calassan
for Quilted garments used
for fighting baluti
for their daggers calix, baladao
for their Cutlasses campilan
for Spear bancan
for Like tuan
for Figs [i.e., bananas] saghin
for Gourds baghin
for the Cords of their
violins gotzap
for River tau
for Fishing-net pucat, laia
for small Boat sampan
for large Canes cauaghan
for the small ones bonbon
for their large Boats balanghai
for their small Boats boloto [375]
for Crabs cuban
for Fish icam, yssida
for a Fish that is all
colored panapsapan
for another red [Fish] timuan
for a certain other [kind
of Fish] pilax
for another [kind of Fish] emaluan
All the same siama siama
for a Slave bonsul
for Gallows bolle
for Ship benaoa
for a King or
Captain-general raia
Numbers
One uzza
two dua
three tolo
four upat
five lima
six onom
seven pitto
eight gualu
nine ciam
ten polo [376]
In the midst of that archipelago, [377] at a distance of eighteen
leguas from that island of Zzubu, at the head of the other island
called Bohol, we burned the ship “Conceptione,” for too few men of
us were left [to work it]. [378] We stowed the best of its contents in
the other two ships, and the laid our course toward the south
southwest, coasting along the island called Panilongon, [379] where
black men like those in Etiopia live. Then we came to a large island
[Mindanao], whose king in order to make peace with us, drew blood from
his left hand marking his body, face, and the tip of his tongue with it
as a token of the closest friendship, and we did the same. I went
ashore alone with the king in order to see that island. We had no
sooner entered a river than many fishermen offered fish to the king.
Then the king removed the cloths which covered his privies, as did some
of his chiefs; and began to row while singing past many dwellings which
were upon the river. Two hours after nightfall we reached the king’s
house. The distance from the beginning of the river where our ships
were to the king’s house, was two leguas. When we entered the house,
we came upon many torches of cane and palm leaves, [380] which were of
the anime, of which mention was made above. Until the supper was
brought in, the king with two of his chiefs and two of his beautiful
women drank the contents of a large jar of palm wine without eating
anything. I, excusing myself as I had supped, would only drink but
once. In drinking they observed all the same ceremonies that the king
of Mazaua did. Then the supper, which consisted of rice and very salt
[381] fish, and was contained in porcelain dishes, was brought in. They
ate their rice as if it were bread, and cook it after the following
manner. They first put in an earthen jar like our jars, a large leaf
which lines all of the jar. Then they add the water and the rice, and
after covering it allow it to boil until the rice becomes as hard as
bread, when it is taken out in pieces. Rice is cooked in the same way
throughout those districts. [382] When we had eaten, the king had a
reed mat and another of palm leaves, and a leaf pillow brought in so
that I might sleep on them. The king and his two women went to sleep in
a separate place, while I slept with one of his chiefs. [383] When day
came and until the dinner was brought in, I walked about that island. I
saw many articles of gold in those houses [384] but little food. After
that we dined on rice and fish, and at the conclusion of dinner, I
asked the king by signs whether I could see the queen. He replied that
he was willing, and we went together to the summit of a lofty hill,
where the queen’s house was located. When I entered the house, I made
a bow to the queen, and she did the same to me, whereupon I sat down
beside her. She was making a sleeping mat of palm leaves. In the house
there was hanging a number of porcelain jars and four metal gongs—one
of which was larger than the second, while the other two were still
smaller—for playing upon. There were many male and female slaves who
served her. Those houses are constructed like those already mentioned.
Having taken our leave, we returned to the king’s house, where the
king had us immediately served with refreshments of sugarcane. The most
abundant product of that island is gold. They showed me certain large
valleys, [385] making me a sign that the gold there was as abundant as
the hairs of their heads, but they have no iron with which to dig it,
and they do not dare to go to the trouble [to get it]. [386] That part
of the island belongs to the same land as Butuan and Calaghan, and lies
toward Bohol, and is bounded by Mazaua. As we shall return to that
island again, I shall say nothing further [now]. The afternoon having
waned, I desired to return to the ships. The king and the other chief
men wished to accompany me, and therefore we went in the same
balanghai. [387] As we were returning along the river, I saw, on the
summit of a hill at the right, three men suspended from one tree, the
branches of which had been cut away. I asked the king what was the
reason for that, and he replied that they were malefactors and robbers.
Those people go naked as do the others above mentioned. The king’s
name is Raia Calanao. [388] The harbor is an excellent one. Rice,
ginger, swine, goats, fowls, and other things are to be found there.
That port lies in a latitude of eight degrees toward the Arctic Pole,
and in a longitude of one hundred and sixty-seven degrees [389] from
the line of demarcation. It is fifty leguas from Zubu, and is called
Chipit. [390] Two days’ journey thence to the northwest is found a
large island called Lozon, [391] where six or eight junks belonging to
the Lequian people go yearly. [392]
Leaving there and laying our course west southwest, we cast anchor at
an island not very large and almost uninhabited. The people of that
island are Moros and were banished from an island called Burne. They go
naked as do the others. They have blowpipes and small quivers at their
side, full of arrows and a poisonous herb. They have daggers whose
hafts are adorned with gold and precious gems, spears, bucklers, and
small cuirasses of buffalo horn. [393] They called us holy beings.
Little food was to be found in that island, but [there were] immense
trees. It lies in a latitude of seven and one-half degrees toward the
Arctic Pole, and is forty-three leguas [394] from Chippit. Its name is
Caghaian. [395]
About twenty-five leguas to the west northwest from the above island we
found a large island, where rice, ginger, swine, goats, fowls, figs
one-half braza long and as thick as the arm [i.e., bananas] (they are
excellent; and certain others are one palmo and less in length, and are
much better than all the others), cocoanuts, camotes [batate],
sugarcane, and roots resembling turnips in taste, are found. Rice is
cooked there under the fire in bamboos or in wood; and it lasts better
than that cooked in earthen pots. We called that land the land of
promise, because we suffered great hunger before we found it. We were
often on the point of abandoning the ships and going ashore in order
that we might not die of hunger. [396] The king made peace with us by
gashing himself slightly in the breast with one of our knives, and upon
bleeding, touching the tip of his tongue and his forehead in token of
the truest peace, and we did the same. That island lies in a latitude
of nine and one-third degrees toward the Arctic Pole, and a longitude
of one hundred and seventy-one and one-third [397] degrees from the
line of demarcation. [It is called] Pulaoan. [398]
Those people of Polaoan go naked as do the others. Almost all [399] of
them cultivate their fields. They have blowpipes with thick wooden
arrows more than one palmo long, with harpoon points, and others tipped
with fishbones, and poisoned with an herb; while others are tipped with
points of bamboo like harpoons and are poisoned. [400] At the end of
the arrow they attach a little piece of soft wood, instead of feathers.
At the end of their blowpipes they fasten a bit of iron like a spear
head; [401] and when they have shot all their arrows they fight with
that. They place a value on brass rings and chains, bells, knives, and
still more on copper wire for binding their fishhooks. They have large
and very tame cocks, which they do not eat because of a certain
veneration that they have for them. Sometimes they make them fight with
one another, and each one puts up a certain amount on his cock, and the
prize goes to him whose cock is the victor. They have distilled rice
wine which is stronger and better than that made from the palm. [402]
Ten leguas southwest of that island, we came to an island, which, as we
coasted by, seemed to us to be going upward. After entering the port,
the holy body [i.e., St. Elmo’s fire] appeared to us through the
pitchy darkness. There is a distance of fifty leguas [403] from the
beginning of that island to the port. On the following day, July nine,
the king of that island sent a very beautiful prau to us, whose bow and
stern were worked in gold. At the bow flew a white and blue banner
surmounted with peacock feathers. Some men were playing on musical
instruments [cinphonie] and drums. Two almadies [404] came with that
prau. Praus resemble fustas, while the almadies are their small fishing
boats. Eight old men, who were chiefs, entered the ships and took seats
in the stern upon a carpet. They presented us with a painted wooden jar
full of betel and areca (the fruit which they chew continually), and
jessamine [405] and orange blossoms, a covering of yellow silk cloth,
two cages full of fowls, a couple of goats, three jarsful of distilled
rice wine, and some bundles of sugarcane. They did the same to the
other ship, and embracing us took their leave. The rice wine is as
clear as water, but so strong that it intoxicated many of our men. It
is called arach [i.e., arrack].
Six days later the king again sent three praus with great pomp, which
encircled the ships with musical instruments [cinphonie] playing and
drums and brass gongs beating. They saluted us with their peculiar
cloth caps which cover only the top of their heads. We saluted them by
firing our mortars without [loading with] stones. Then they gave us a
present of various kinds of food, made only of rice. Some were wrapped
in leaves and were made in somewhat longish pieces, some resembled
sugar-loaves, while others were made in the manner of tarts with eggs
and honey. They told us that their king was willing to let us get water
and wood, and to trade at our pleasure. Upon hearing that seven [406]
of us entered their prau bearing a present to their king, which
consisted of a green velvet robe made in the Turkish manner, a violet
velvet chair, five brazas of red cloth, a cap, [407] a gilded drinking
glass, a covered glass vase, three writing-books of paper, and a gilded
writing-case. To the queen [we took] three brazas of [red: crossed out
in original MS.] yellow cloth, a pair of silvered shoes, and a silvered
needle-case full of needles. [We took] three brazas of red cloth, a
cap, and a gilded drinking-glass to the governor. To the herald who
came in the prau we gave a robe of red and green cloth, made in the
Turkish fashion, a cap, and a writing book of paper; and to the other
seven chief men, to one a bit of cloth, and to another a cap, and to
all of them a writing book of paper. Then we immediately departed [for
the land].
When we reached the city, we remained about two hours in the prau,
until the arrival of two elephants with silk trappings, and twelve men
each of whom carried a porcelain jar covered with silk in which to
carry our presents. Thereupon, we mounted the elephants while those
twelve men preceded us afoot with the presents in the jars. In this way
we went to the house of the governor, where we were given a supper of
many kinds of food. During the night we slept on cotton mattresses,
[408] whose lining was of taffeta, and the sheets of Cambaia. Next day
we stayed in the house until noon. Then we went to the king’s palace
upon elephants, with our presents in front as on the preceding day. All
the streets from the governor’s to the king’s house were full of
men with swords, spears, and shields, for such were the king’s
orders. We entered the courtyard of the palace mounted on the
elephants. We went up a ladder accompanied by the governor and other
chiefs, and entered a large hall full of many nobles, [409] where we
sat down upon a carpet with the presents in the jars near us. At the
end of that hall there is another hall higher but somewhat smaller. It
was all adorned with silk hangings, and two windows, through which
light entered the hall and hung with two brocade curtains, opened from
it. There were three hundred footsoldiers with naked rapiers at their
thighs in that hall to guard the king. [410] At the end of the small
hall was a large window from which a brocade curtain was drawn aside so
that we could see within it the king seated at a table with one of his
young sons chewing betel. [411] No one but women were behind him. Then
a chief told us that we could not speak to the king, and that if we
wished anything, we were to tell it to him, so that he could
communicate it to one of higher rank. The latter would communicate it
to a brother of the governor who was stationed in the smaller hall, and
this man would communicate it by means of a speaking-tube through a
hole in the wall to one who was inside with the king. The chief taught
us the manner of making three obeisances to the king with our hands
clasped above the head, raising first one foot and then the other and
then kissing the hands toward him, and we did so, that being the method
of the royal obeisance. We told the king that we came from the king of
Spagnia, and that the latter desired to make peace with him and asked
only for permission to trade. The king had us told that since the king
of Spagnia desired to be his friend, he was very willing to be his, and
said that we could take water and wood, and trade at our pleasure. Then
we gave him the presents, on receiving each of which he nodded
slightly. To each one of us was given some brocaded and gold cloth and
silk, which were placed upon our left shoulders, where they were left
but a moment. [412] They presented us with refreshments of cloves and
cinnamon, after which the curtains were drawn to and the windows
closed. The men in the palace were all attired in cloth of gold and
silk which covered their privies, and carried daggers with gold hafts
adorned with pearls and precious gems, and they had many rings on their
hands. We returned upon the elephants to the governor’s house, seven
men carrying the king’s presents to us and always preceding us. When
we reached the house, they gave each one of us his present, placing
them upon our left shoulders. We gave each of those men a couple of
knives for his trouble. Nine men came to the governor’s house with a
like number of large wooden trays from the king. Each tray contained
ten or twelve porcelain dishes full of veal, capons, chickens,
peacocks, and other animals, and fish. We supped on the ground upon a
palm mat from thirty or thirty-two different kinds of meat besides the
fish and other things. At each mouthful of food we drank a small cupful
of their distilled wine from a porcelain cup the size of an egg. We ate
rice and other sweet food with gold spoons like ours. In our sleeping
quarters there during those two nights, two torches of white wax were
kept constantly alight in two rather tall silver candlesticks, and two
large lamps full of oil with four wicks apiece and two men to snuff
them continually. We went elephant-back to the seashore, where we found
two praus which took us back to the ships. That city [413] is entirely
built in salt water, except the houses of the king and certain chiefs.
It contains twenty-five thousand fires [i.e., families]. [414] The
houses are all constructed of wood and built up from the ground on tall
pillars. When the tide is high the women go in boats through the
settlement [tera] selling the articles necessary to maintain life.
There is a large brick wall in front of the king’s house with towers
like a fort, in which were mounted fifty-six bronze [metalo] pieces,
and six of iron. During the two days of our stay there, many pieces
were discharged. That king is a Moro and his name is Raia Siripada. He
was forty years old and corpulent. No one serves him except women who
are the daughters [415] of chiefs. He never goes outside of his palace,
unless when he goes hunting, and no one is allowed to talk with him
except through the speaking tube. He has x scribes, called Xiritoles,
[416] who write down his deeds on very thin tree bark.
On Monday morning, July twenty-nine, we saw more than one hundred praus
divided into three squadrons and a like number of tunguli [417] (which
are their small boats) coming toward us. Upon catching sight of them,
imagining that there was some trickery afoot, we hoisted our sails as
quickly as possible, abandoning an anchor in our haste. We expected
especially that we were to be captured in between certain junks which
had anchored behind us on the preceding day. We immediately turned upon
the latter, capturing four of them and killing many persons. Three or
four of the junks sought flight by beaching. In one of the junks which
we captured was the son of the king of the island of Lozon. He was the
captain-general of the king of Burne, and came with those junks from a
large city named Laoe, [418] which is located at the end of that island
[i.e., Borneo] toward Java Major. He had destroyed and sacked that city
because it refused to obey the king [of Burne], but the king of Java
Major instead. Giovan Carvaio, our pilot, allowed that captain and the
junks to go without our consent, for a certain sum of gold, as we
learned afterward. Had the pilot not given up the captain to the king,
the latter would have given us whatever we had asked, for that captain
was exceedingly feared throughout those regions, especially by the
heathens, as the latter are very hostile to that Moro king. In that
same port there is another city inhabited by heathens, which is larger
than that of the Moros, and built like the latter in salt water. On
that account the two peoples have daily combats together in that same
harbor. The heathen king is as powerful as the Moro king, but is not so
haughty, and could be converted easily to the Christian faith. When the
Moro king heard how we had treated the junks, he sent us a message by
one of our men who was ashore to the effect that the praus were not
coming to do us any harm, but that they were going to attack the
heathens. As a proof of that statement, the Moros showed him some heads
of men who had been killed, which they declared to be the heads of
heathens. We sent a message to the king, asking him to please allow two
of our men who were in the city for purposes of trade and the son of
Johan Carvaio, who had been born in the country of Verzin, to come to
us, but the king refused. That was the consequences of Johan Carvaio
letting the above captain go. We kept sixteen of the chiefest men [of
the captured junks] to take them to Spagnia, and three women in the
queen’s name, but Johan Carvaio usurped the latter for himself. [419]
Junks are their ships and are made in the following manner. The bottom
part is built about two palmos above the water and is of planks
fastened with wooden pegs, which are very well made; above that they
are entirely made of very large bamboos. They have a bamboo as a
counterweight. One of those junks carries as much cargo as a ship.
Their masts are of bamboo, and the sails of the bark of trees. [420]
Their porcelain is a sort of exceedingly white earth which is left for
fifty years under the earth before it is worked, for otherwise it would
not be fine. The father buries it for the son. If [poison] is placed in
a dish made of fine porcelain, the dish immediately breaks. [421] The
money made by the Moros in those regions is of bronze [metalo] pierced
in the middle in order that it may be strung. On only one side of it
are four characters, which are letters of the great king of Chiina. We
call that money picis. [422] They gave us six porcelain dishes for one
cathil [423] (which is equivalent to two of our libras) of quicksilver;
one hundred picis for one book of writing paper; one small porcelain
vase for one hundred and sixty cathils of bronze [metalo]; one
porcelain vase for three knives; one bahar (which is equivalent to two
hundred and three cathils), of wax for 160 cathils of bronze [metalo];
one bahar of salt for eighty cathils of bronze [metalo]; one bahar of
anime to calk the ships (for no pitch is found in those regions) for
forty cathils of bronze [metalo]. [424] Twenty tahils make one cathil.
At that place the people highly esteem bronze [metalo], quicksilver,
glass, cinnabar, [425] wool cloth, linens, and all our other
merchandise, although iron and spectacles [426] more than all the rest.
Those Moros go naked as do the other peoples [of those regions]. They
drink quicksilver—the sick man drinks it to cleanse himself, and the
well man to preserve his health.
The king of Burne has two pearls as large as two hen’s eggs. They are
so round that they will not stand still on a table. I know that for a
fact, for when we carried the king’s presents to him, signs were made
for him to show them to us, but he said that he would show them next
day. Afterward some chiefs said that they had seen them.
Those Moros worship Mahomet. The latter’s law orders them not to eat
pork; as they wash the buttocks with the left hand, not to use that
hand in eating; [427] not to cut anything with the right hand; to sit
down to urinate; not to kill fowls or goats without first addressing
the sun; to cut off the tops of the wings with the little bits of skin
that stick up from under and the feet of fowls; then to split them in
twain; to wash the face with the right hand, but not to cleanse the
teeth with the fingers; and not to eat anything that has been killed
unless it be by themselves. [428] They are circumcised like the Jews.
Camphor, a kind of balsam, is produced in that island. It exudes
between the wood and the bark, and the drops are as small as [grains
of] wheat bran. [429] If it is exposed it gradually evaporates
[literally: becomes nothing]. Those people call it capor. Cinnamon,
ginger, mirabolans, oranges, lemons, nangcas, watermelons, cucumbers,
gourds, turnips, cabbages, scallions, cows, buffaloes, swine, goats,
chickens, geese, deer, elephants, horses, and other things are found
there. [430] That island is so large that it takes three months to sail
round it in a prau. It lies in a latitude of five and one-fourth
degrees toward the Arctic Pole, and in a longitude of one hundred and
seventy-six and two-thirds degrees from the line of demarcation, and
its name is Burne. [431]
Leaving that island, we turned back in order to find a suitable place
to calk the ships, for they were leaking. One ship ran on to some
shoals of an island called Bibalon, [432] because of the carelessness
of its pilot, but by the help of God we freed it. A sailor of that ship
incautiously snuffed a candle into a barrel full of gunpowder, but he
quickly snatched it out without any harm. [433] Then pursuing our
course, we captured a prau laden with cocoanuts on its way to Burne.
Its crew sought refuge on an islet, until we captured it. [434] Three
other praus escaped behind certain islets.
At the head of Burne between it and an island called Cimbonbon, which
lies in [a latitude of] eight degrees and seven minutes, [435] is a
perfect port for repairing ships. Consequently, we entered it; but as
we lacked many things for repairing the ships, we delayed there for
forty-two days. During that time, each one of us labored hard, one at
one thing and one at another. Our greatest fatigue however was to go
barefoot to the woods for wood. In that island there are wild boars, of
which we killed one which was going by water from one island to another
[by pursuing it] with the small boat. Its head was two and one-half
palmos long, [436] and its teeth were large. There are found large
crocodiles, both on land and sea, oysters and shellfish of various
kinds. Among the last named we found two, the flesh of one of which
weighed twenty-six libras, and the other forty-four. [437] We caught a
fish, which had a head like that of a hog and two horns. Its body
consisted entirely of one bone, and on its back it resembled a saddle;
and it was small. [438] Trees are also found there which produce leaves
which are alive when they fall, and walk. Those leaves are quite like
those of the mulberry, but are not so long. On both sides near the
stem, which is short and pointed, they have two feet. They have no
blood, but if one touches [439] them they run away. I kept one of them
for nine days in a box. When I opened the box, that leaf went round and
round it. [440] I believe those leaves live on nothing but air.
Having left that island, [441] that is, the port, we met at the head of
the island of Pulaoan a junk which was coming from Burne, on which was
the governor of Pulaoan. We made them a signal to haul in their sails,
and as they refused to haul them in, we captured the junk by force, and
sacked it. [We told] the governor [that] if [he] wished his freedom, he
was to give us, inside of seven days, four hundred measures of rice,
twenty swine, twenty goats, and one hundred and fifty fowls. After that
he presented us with cocoanuts, figs [i.e., bananas], sugarcanes, jars
full of palm wine, and other things. Seeing his liberality, we returned
some of his daggers and arquebuses to him, giving him in addition, a
flag, a yellow damask robe, and xv brazas of cloth; to his son, a cloak
of blue cloth; to a brother of the governor, a robe of green cloth and
other things; and we parted from them as friends. We turned our course
back between the island of Cagaian and the port of Cippit, and laid our
course east by south in order that we might find the islands of
Malucho. We passed by certain reefs [literally: small elevations] near
which we found the sea to be full of grass, although the depth was very
great. When we passed through them, it seemed as though we were
entering another sea. Leaving Chipit to the east, we found two island,
Zolo and Taghima, [442] which lie toward the west, and near which
pearls are found. [443] The two pearls of the king of Burne were found
there, and the king got them, as was told us, in the following manner.
That king took to wife a daughter of the king of Zolo, who told him
that her father had those two pearls. The king determined to get
possession of them by hook or by crook. Going one night with five
hundred praus, [444] he captured the king and two of his sons, and took
them to Burne with him. [He told] the king of Zolo that if he wished
freedom, he must surrender the two pearls to him.
Then we laid our course east by north between two settlements called
Cauit and Subanin, and an inhabited island called Monoripa, located x
leguas from the reefs. [445] The people of that island make their
dwellings in boats and do not live otherwise. In those two settlements
of Cavit and Subanin, which are located in the island of Butuan and
Calaghan, is found the best cinnamon that grows. Had we stayed there
two days, those people would have laden our ships for us, but as we had
a wind favorable for passing a point and certain islets which were near
that island, we did not wish to delay. While under sail we bartered two
large knives which we had taken from the governor of Pulaoan for
seventeen libras [of cinnamon]. The cinnamon tree grows to a height of
three or four cubits, and as thick as the fingers of the hand. It has
but three or four small branches and its leaves resemble those of the
laurel. Its bark is the cinnamon, and it is gathered twice per year.
The wood and leaves are as strong as the cinnamon when they are green.
Those people call it caiu mana. Caiu means wood, and mana, sweet,
hence, “sweet wood.” [446]
Laying our course toward the northeast, and going to a large city
called Maingdanao, which is located in the island of Butuan and
Calaghan, so that we might gather information concerning Maluco, we
captured by force a bigniday, [447] a vessel resembling a prau, and
killed seven men. It contained only eighteen men, and they were as well
built as any whom we had seen in those regions. [448] All were chiefs
of Maingdanao, among them being one who told us that he was a brother
of the king of Maingdanao, and that he knew the location of Malucho.
Through his directions we discontinued our course toward the northeast,
and took that toward the southeast. At a cape of that island of Butuan
and Caleghan, and near a river, are found shaggy men who are
exceedingly great fighters and archers. They use swords one palmo in
length, and eat only raw human hearts with the juice of oranges or
lemons. [449] Those shaggy people are called Benaian. When we took our
course toward the southeast, we lay in a latitude of six degrees and
seven minutes toward the Arctic Pole, and thirty [450] leguas from
Cavit. [451]
Sailing toward the southeast, we found four islands, [namely], Ciboco,
Biraham Batolach, [452] Sarangani, and Candighar. [453] One Saturday
night, October twenty-six, while coasting by Birahan Batolach, we
encountered a most furious storm. Thereupon, praying God, we lowered
all the sails. Immediately our three saints appeared to us and
dissipated all the darkness. [454] St. Elmo remained for more than two
hours on the maintop, like a torch; St. Nicholas on the mizzentop; and
St. Clara on the foretop. We promised a slave to St. Elmo, St.
Nicholas, and St. Clara, and gave alms to each one. Then continuing our
voyage, we entered a harbor between the two islands of Saranghani and
Candighar, and anchored to the eastward near a settlement of Sarangani,
where gold and pearls are found. Those people are heathens and go naked
as do the others. That harbor lies in a latitude of five degrees nine
minutes, and is fifty leguas from Cavit.
Remaining one day in that harbor, we captured two pilots by force, in
order that they might show us where Malucho lay. [455] Then laying our
course south southwest, we passed among eight inhabited and desert
islands, which were situated in the manner of a street. Their names are
Cheaua, Cauiao, Cabiao, Camanuca, Cabaluzao, Cheai, Lipan, and Nuza.
[456] Finally we came to an island at their end, which was very
beautiful to look at. As we had a contrary wind, so that we could not
double a point of that island, we sailed hither and thither near it.
Consequently, one of the men whom we had captured at Saranghai, and the
brother of the king of Maingdanao who took with him his small son,
escaped during the night by swimming to that island. But the boy was
drowned, for he was unable to hold tightly to his father’s shoulder.
Being unable to double the said point, we passed below the island where
there were many islets. That island has four kings, [namely], Raia
Matandatu, Raia Lalagha, Raía Bapti, and Raia Parabu. The people are
heathens. The island lies in a latitude of three and one-half degrees
toward the Arctic Pole and is 27 leguas from Saranghany. Its name is
Sanghir. [457]
Continuing the same course, we passed near six islands, [namely],
Cheama, Carachita, Para, Zanghalura, Ciau (which is ten leguas from
Sanghir, and has a high but not large mountain, and whose king is
called Raia Ponto), and Paghinzara. [458] The latter is located eight
leguas from Ciau, and has three high mountains. The name of its king is
Raia Babintan. [459] [Then we found the island] Talaut; and we found
twelve leguas to the east of Paghinzara two islands, not very large,
but inhabited, called Zoar and Meau. [460] After passing those two
islands, on Wednesday, the sixth of November, we discovered four lofty
islands fourteen leguas east of the two [abovementioned islands]. The
pilot who still remained with us told us that those four islands were
Maluco. Therefore, we thanked God and as an expression of our joy
discharged all our artillery. It was no wonder that we were so glad,
for we had passed twenty-seven months less two days in our search for
Malucho. [461] Among all those islands [among all those islands:
doublet in original MS.], even to Malucho, the shallowest bottom that
we found was at a depth of one or two hundred brazas, notwithstanding
the assertion of the Portuguese that that region could not be navigated
because of the numerous shoals and the dark sky as they have imagined.
[462]
Three hours before sunset on Friday, November eight, 1521, [463] we
entered into a harbor of an island called Tadore, and anchoring near
the shore in twenty brazas we fired all our artillery. Next day the
king came to the ships in a prau, and circled about them once. We
immediately went to meet him with the small boat, in order to show him
honor. He made us enter his prau and seat ourselves near him. He was
seated under a silk awning which sheltered him on all sides. In front
of him was one of his sons with the royal scepter, and two persons with
two gold jars to pour water on his hands, and two others with two
gilded caskets filled with their betel. The king told us that we were
welcome there, and that he had dreamt some time ago that some ships
were coming to Malucho from remote parts; and that for more assurance
he had determined to consult the moon, [464] whereupon he had seen the
ships were coming, and that we were they. Upon the king entering our
ships all kissed his hand and then we led him to the stern. When he
entered inside there, he would not stoop, but entered from above. [465]
Causing him to sit down in a red velvet chair, we clothed him in a
yellow velvet robe made in the Turkish fashion. In order to show him
greater honor, we sat down on the ground near him. Then when all were
seated, the king began to speak and said that he and all his people
desired ever to be the most loyal friends and vassals to our king of
Spagnia. He received us as his children, and we could go ashore as if
in our own houses, for from that time thenceforth, his island was to be
called no more Tadore but Castiglia, because of the great love which he
bore to our king, his sovereign. We made him a present which consisted
of the robe, the chair, a piece of delicate linen, four brazas of
scarlet cloth, a piece of brocaded silk, a piece of yellow damask, some
Indian cloth embroidered with gold and silk, a piece of berania (the
white linen of Cambaia), two caps, six strings of glass beads, twelve
knives, three large mirrors, six pairs of scissors, six combs, some
gilded drinking-cups, [466] and other articles. To his son we gave an
Indian cloth of gold and silk, a large mirror, a cap, and two knives;
[467] and to each of nine others—all of them his chiefs—a silk
cloth, caps, and two knives; and to many others caps or knives. We kept
giving presents until the king bade us desist. After that he declared
to us that he had nothing else except his own life to send to the king
his sovereign. We were to approach nearer to the city, and whoever came
to the ships at night, we were to kill with our muskets. In leaving the
stern, the king would never bend his head. [468] When he took his leave
we discharged all the guns. That king is a Moro and about forty-five
years old. He is well built and has a royal presence, [469] and is an
excellent astrologer. At that time he was clad in a shirt of the most
delicate white stuff with the ends of the sleeves embroidered in gold,
and in a cloth that reached from his waist to the ground. He was
barefoot, and had a silk scarf wrapped about his head [his head,
doublet in original MS.], and above it a garland of flowers. His name
is Raia Sultan Manzor. [470]
On Sunday, November x, that king desired us to tell him how long it was
since we had left Spagnia, and what pay and quintalada [471] the king
gave to each of us. He requested us to give him a signature of the king
and a royal banner, for then and thenceforth, he would cause it that
his island and another called Tarenate (provided that he were able to
crown one of his [sons: crossed out in original MS.] grandsons, [472]
named Calonaghapi) would both belong to the king of Spagnia; and for
the honor of his king he was ready to fight to the death, and when he
could no longer resist, he would go to Spagnia with all his family in a
junk [473] which he was having built new, carrying the royal signature
and banner; and therefore he was the king’s servant for a long time.
He begged us to leave him some men so that he might constantly be
reminded of the king of Spagnia. He did not ask for merchandise because
the latter would not remain with him. [474] He told us that he would go
to an island called Bachian, in order sooner to furnish the ships with
cloves, for there were not enough dry cloves in his island to load the
two ships. As that day was Sunday, it was decided not to trade The
festive day of those people is our Friday.
In order that your most illustrious Lordship may know the islands where
cloves grow, they are five, [namely], Tarenatte, Tadore, Mutir,
Machian, and Bachian. Tarenate is the chief one, and when its king was
alive, he ruled nearly all the others. Tadore, the one where we were,
has a king. Mutir and Machian have no king but are ruled by the people,
and when the two kings of Tarenate and of Tadore engage in war, those
two islands furnish them with men. The last island is Bachian, and it
has a king. That entire province where cloves grow is called Malucho.
[475] At that time it was not eight months since one Francesco Seranno
[476] had died in Tarenate. [He was] a Portuguese and the
captain-general of the king of Tarenate and opposed the king of Tadore.
He did so well that he constrained the king of Tadore to give one of
his daughters to wife to the king of Tarenate, and almost all the sons
of the chiefs as hostages. The above mentioned grandson of the king of
Tadore was born to that daughter. Peace having been made between the
two kings, and when Francesco Seranno came one day to Tadore to trade
cloves, the king of Tadore had him poisoned with the said betel leaves.
He lived only four days. His king wished to have him buried according
to his law [i.e., with Mahometan rites], but three Christians who were
his servants would not consent to it. He left a son and a daughter,
both young, born by a woman whom he had taken to wife in Java Major,
and two hundred bahars of cloves. He was a close friend and a relative
of our royal captain-general, and was the cause of inciting the latter
to undertake that enterprise, for when our captain was at Malacha, he
had written to him several times that he was in Tarenate. As Don
Manuel, then king of Portugal, refused to increase our
captain-general’s pension by only a single testoon per month for his
merits, the latter went to Spagnia, where he had obtained everything
for which he could ask from his sacred Majesty. [477] Ten days after
the death of Francesco Seranno, the king of Tarenate, by name, Raya
Abuleis, having expelled his son-in-law, the king of Bachian, was
poisoned by his daughter, the wife of the latter king, under pretext of
trying to bring about peace between the two kings. The king lingered
but two days, and left nine principal sons, whose names are Chechili
Momuli, Jadore Vunighi, Chechili de Roix, Cili Manzur, Cili Pagi,
Chialin, Chechilin Cathara, Vaiechu Serich, and Calano Ghapi. [478]
On Monday, November xi, one of the sons of the king of Tarenate, [to
wit], Chechili de Roix, came to the ships clad in red velvet. He had
two praus and his men were playing upon the abovementioned gongs. He
refused to enter the ship at that time. He had [charge of] the wife and
children, and the other possessions of Francesco Seranno. When we found
out who he was, we sent a message to the king, asking him whether we
should receive Chechili de Roix, since we were in his port, and he
replied to us that we could do as we pleased. But the son of the king,
seeing that we were hesitating, moved off somewhat from the ships. We
went to him with the boat in order to present him an Indian cloth of
gold and silk, and some knives, mirrors, and scissors. He accepted them
somewhat haughtily, and immediately departed. He had a Christian Indian
with him named Manuel, the servant of one Petro Alfonso de Lorosa,
[479] a Portuguese who went from Bandan to Tarenate, after the death of
Francesco Seranno. As the servant knew how to talk Portuguese, he came
aboard our ship, and told us that, although the sons of the king of
Tarenate were at enmity with the king of Tadore, yet they were always
at the service of the king of Spagnia. We [480] sent a letter to Pietro
Alfonso de Lorosa, through his servant, [telling him] that he could
come without any hesitation.
Those kings have as many women as they wish, but only one chief wife,
whom all the others obey. The abovesaid king of Tadore had a large
house outside of the city, where two hundred of his chief women lived
with a like number of women to serve them. When the king eats, he sits
alone or with his chief wife in a high place like a gallery whence he
can see all the other women who sit about the gallery; and he orders
her who best pleases him to sleep with him that night. After the king
has finished eating, if he orders those women to eat together, they do
so, but if not, each one goes to eat in her own chamber. No one is
allowed to see those women without permission from the king, and if
anyone is found near the king’s house by day or by night, he is put
to death. Every family is obliged to give the king one or two of its
daughters. That king had twenty-six children, eight sons, and the rest
daughters. Lying next that island there is a very large island, called
Giailolo [i.e., Gilolo], which is inhabited by Moros and heathens. Two
kings are found there among the Moros, one of them, as we were told by
the king, having had six hundred children, and the other five hundred
and twenty-five. [481] The heathens do not have so many women; nor do
they live under so many superstitions, but adore for all that day the
first thing that they see in the morning when they go out of their
houses. The king of those heathens, called Raya Papua, is exceedingly
rich in gold, and lives in the interior of the island. Reeds as thick
around as the leg and filled with water that is very good to drink,
grow on the flinty rocks in the island of Giaiallo. [482] We bought
many of them from those people.
On Tuesday, November twelve, the king had a house built for us in the
city in one day for our merchandise. We carried almost all of our goods
thither, and left three of our men to guard them. We immediately began
to trade in the following manner. For x brazas of red cloth of very
good quality, they gave us one bahar of cloves, which is equivalent to
four quintals and six libras; for fifteen brazas of cloth of not very
good quality, one quintal and one hundred libras; for fifteen hatchets,
one bahar; for thirty-five glass drinking-cups, one bahar (the king
getting them all); for seventeen cathils of cinnabar, one bahar; for
seventeen cathils of quicksilver, one bahar; for twenty-six brazas of
linen, one bahar; for twenty-five brazas of finer linen, one bahar; for
one hundred and fifty knives, one bahar; for fifty pairs of scissors,
one bahar; for forty caps, one bahar; for x pieces of Guzerat cloth,
[483] one bahar; for three of those gongs of theirs, two bahars; [484]
for one quinta of bronze [metalo], one bahar. [Almost] all the mirrors
were broken, and the few good ones the king wished for himself. Many of
those things [that we traded] were from the abovementioned junks which
we had captured. Our haste to return to Spagnia made us dispose of our
merchandise at better bargains [to the natives] than we should have
done. [485] Daily so many boatloads of goats, fowls, figs [i.e.,
bananas], cocoanuts, and other kinds of food were brought to the ships,
that we were surprised. We supplied the ships with good water, which
issues forth hot [from the ground], but if it stands for the space of
an hour outside its spring, it becomes very cold, the reason therefor
being that it comes from the mountain of cloves. This is quite the
opposite from the assertion in Spagnia that water must be carried to
Maluco from distant parts. [486]
On Wednesday, the king sent his son, named Mossahap, to Mutir, so that
they might supply us more quickly. On that day we told the king that we
had captured certain Indians. The king thanked God heartily, and asked
us to do him the kindness to give him their persons, so that he might
send them back to their land, with five of his own men, in order that
they might make the king of Spagnia and his fame known. Then we gave
him the three women who had been captured in the queen’s name for the
reason already advanced. Next day, we gave the king all the prisoners,
except those from Burne, for which he thanked us fervently. Thereupon,
he asked us, in order thereby to show our love for him, to kill all the
swine that we had in the ships, in return for which he would give us an
equal number of goats and fowls. We killed them in order to show him a
pleasure, [487] and hung them up under the deck. When those people
happen to see any swine they cover their faces in order that they might
not look upon them or catch their odor.
(Continued in Vol. XXXIV, page 39.)
NOTES
[Note: In the following notes, citations from Richard Eden are made
from Arber’s reprint The first three English books on America
(Birmingham, 1885), from the third book, entitled The decades of the
newe worlde, first printed in London in 1555; from Mosto, from Il primo
viaggio, intorno al globo di Antonio Pigafetta, by Andrea da Mosto
(Roma, 1894), which was published as a portion of part v of volume iii
of Raccolta di documenti e studi pubblicati dalla R. Commissione
Colombiana pel quarto centenario dalla scoperta dell’America,
appearing under the auspices of the Minister of Public Instruction; and
from Stanley, from his First voyage round the world, by Magellan
(Hakluyt Society publications, London, 1874), which was translated by
Lord Stanley in part from the longer French MS. in the Bibliothèque
Nationale, Paris, and in part from the Amoretti publication (Milan,
1800) made from the Italian MS. in the Biblioteca Ambrosiana.]
[1] The greater part of the life of Antonio Pigafetta is shrouded in
darkness. The Pigafetta family, who resided at Venice, and was formerly
of Tuscan origin, dates back before him for several centuries. The
Pigafetta escutcheon was white above and black below with a white
transverse bar running from left to right. On the lower part were three
red roses, one of them on the bar. The old family house is still
standing and shows the motto Il nest rose sans espine, i.e., “No rose
without a thorn,” which was probably carved in 1481, when the house
was repaired, and not by Antonio Pigafetta after his return from his
voyage as some assert. Antonio Pigafetta was born toward the close of
the fifteenth century, but the date cannot be positively fixed, some
declaring it to be 1491; but Harrisse who follows Marzari, gives the
date as 1480. It is unknown who his parents were and some have asserted
that he was a natural child, although this is evidently unfounded, as
he was received into the military order of St. John. At an early age he
probably became familiar with the sea and developed his taste for
traveling. He went to Spain with the Roman ambassador Chieregato, in
1519, but in what capacity is unknown. Hearing details of
Magalhães’s intended voyage he contrived to accompany him. Navarrete
surmises that he is the Antonio Lombardo mentioned in the list of the
captain’s servants and volunteers who sailed on the expedition, so
called as his country was Lombardy. After the return of the
“Victoria,” he journeyed in Spain, Portugal, and France, and
returned to Italy probably in January, 1523. The relation presented by
him to Cárlos I was probably a draft of his notes taken daily
throughout the voyage. His Relation as we know it was undertaken at the
request of the marchioness of Mantova, but its composition was arrested
by an order from Clement VII to come to Rome, whither he went in
December, 1523, or January, 1524, meeting Villiers l’Isle-Adam on his
journey thither. He remained in the pope’s service but a short time,
for in April, 1524, he was back in Venice. That same year he was
granted a copyright on his Relation, which he intended to print, for
twenty years. Pozzo says that he was received into the Order of St.
John, October 3, 1524, but it was probably somewhat before that date.
Between the dates of August, 1524, and August, 1530, his work was
presented to Villiers l’Isle-Adam. Nothing further is known of him,
though some say that he fought against the Turks as late as 1536, while
others have placed his death in 1534 or 1535 and at Malta. In addition
to his Relation Pigafetta wrote a Treatise on the art of navigation,
which follows his Relation. This is not presented in the present
publication, notwithstanding its importance, as being outside of the
present scope. It is reproduced by Mosto. He has sometimes been
confused with Marcantonio Pigafetta (a Venetian gentleman), the author
of Itinerario da Vienna a Constantinopoli (London, 1585); and wrongly
called Vincenzo Antonio Pigafetta, the “Vincenzo” being an error
for “vicentino,” i.e., “Venetian.” See Mosto, Il primo viaggio
... di Antonio Pigafetta (Roma, 1894), pp. 13–30; Larousse’s
Dictionnaire; and La grande Encyclopédie (Paris).
[2] The Order of St. John of Jerusalem. See Vol. II, p. 26, note 2.
Throughout this Relation Pigafetta’s spelling of proper names is
retained.
[3] Philippe de Villiers l’Isle-Adam, the forty-third grand master of
the Order of the Knights of St. John (called Knights of Malta after
1530), was born of an old and distinguished family at Beauvais, in
1464, and died at Malta, August 21, 1534, at grief, some say, over the
dissensions in his order. He was elected grand master of his order in
1521 and in the following year occurred his heroic defense of Rhodes
with but four thousand five hundred soldiers against the huge fleet and
army of Soliman. After six months he was compelled to surrender his
stronghold in October, and refusing Soliman’s entreaties to remain
with him, went to Italy. In 1524 he was given the city of Viterbe by
Clement VII, where in June of 1527 he held a general chapter of his
order, at which it was decided to accept the island of Malta which had
been offered by Charles V. The gift was confirmed by the letters-patent
of Charles V in 1530, and Villiers l’Isle-Adam Adam went thither in
October of that year. He was always held in high esteem for his
bravery, prudence, and piety. See Moreri’s Dictionaire, and
Larousse’s Dictionnaire.
[4] The four MSS. of Pigafetta’s Relation are those known as the
Ambrosian or Italian, so called from its place of deposit, the
Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan; no. 5,650, conserved in the
Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, in French; no. 24,224, in the same
library, also in French; and the Nancy MS. (also French) so called
because it was conserved in Nancy, France, now owned by the heirs of
Sir Thomas Phillips, Cheltenham, England. The MSS. of the Bibliothèque
Nationale are both shorter than the Italian MS. The Nancy MS. is said
to be the most complete of the French manuscripts. The best
bibliographical account of these four MSS. that has yet appeared is by
Mosto ut supra. A full bibliographical account of both the MSS. and
printed books will be given in the volume on bibliography in this
series.
There are a number of radical differences between the Paris MS. no.
5,650 (which will be hereafter referred to simply as MS. 5,650) and the
Italian MS., these differences including paragraph structure and the
division of MS. 5,650 into various chapters, although the sequence is
on the whole identical. The most radical of the differences will be
shown in these notes. MS. 5,650 contains the following title on the
page immediately preceding the beginning of the relation proper:
“Navigation and discovery of Upper Indie, written by me, Anthoyne
Pigaphete, a Venetian, and knight of Rhodes.”
[5] The emperor Charles V; but he was not elected to that dignity until
June, 1519. Pigafetta writing after that date is not explicit.
[6] Francesco Chiericati was born in Venice, in one of the most ancient
and famous families of that city, at the end of the fifteenth century.
He attained preëminence at Sienna in both civil and ecclesiastical
law. Aided by Cardinal Matteo Lang, bishop of Sion, he was received
among the prelates of the apostolic palace. Later he conducted several
diplomatic missions with great skill. He left Rome for Spain in
December, 1518, on a private mission for the pope, and especially to
effect a crusade against the Turks who were then invading Egypt and
threatening Christianity. His house at Barcelona became the
meeting-place of the savants of that day who discussed literature and
science. See Mosto, p. 19, note 3.
[7] MS. 5,650 adds: “scholars and men of understanding.”
[8] MS. 5,650 reads: “so that I might satisfy the wish of the said
gentlemen and also my own desire, so that it could be said that I had
made the said voyage and indeed been an eyewitness of the things
hereafter written.”
[9] See Vol. I, p. 250, note 192 for sketch of Magalhães. The only
adequate life of Magalhães in English is that of Guillemard.
[10] That is, the Order of Santiago. See Vol. I, p. 145, note 171.
Magalhães and Falero were decorated with the cross of comendador of
the order by Cárlos I in the presence of the royal Council in July,
1518. See Guillemard’s Ferdinand Magellan, p. 114.
[11] See Vol. I for various documents during the period of the
preparation of the fleet; also Guillemard’s Magellan, pp. 114–116
and 130–134; and Stanley’s First Voyage, pp. xxxiv–xlvi.
[12] Pope Clement VII, who assumed the papacy November 19, 1523.
Pigafetta was summoned to Rome very soon after Clement’s election,
for he was in Rome either in December, 1523, or January, 1524.
[13] The Amoretti edition (Milan, 1800; a wofully garbled adaptation of
the Italian MS.) wrongly ascribes this desire to Clement VII, instead
of Villiers L’Isle-Adam. See Stanley, p. 36, note 3.
[14] MS. 5,650 reads: “Finally, most illustrious Lordship, after all
provisions had been made and the ships were in readiness, the
captain-general, a wise and virtuous man, and one mindful of his honor,
would not commence his voyage without first making some good and
suitable rules, such as it is the approved custom to make for those who
go to sea, although he did not entirely declare the voyage that he was
about to make lest those men, through astonishment and fear, should
refuse to accompany him on the so long voyage that he had determined
upon. In consideration of the furious and violent storms that reign on
the Ocean Sea where he was about to sail, and in consideration of
another reason also, namely, that the masters and captains of the other
ships in his fleet had no liking for him (the reason for which I know
not, unless because he, the captain-general, was a Portuguese, and they
Spaniards or Castilians, who have for a long while been biased and
ill-disposed toward one another, but who, in spite of that, rendered
him obedience), he made his rules such as follow, so that his ships
might not go astray or become separated from one another during storms
at sea. He published those rules and gave them in writing to every
master in the ships and ordered them to be inviolably observed and
kept, unless for urgent and legitimate excuse, and the proof that any
other action was impossible.”
[15] A Spanish word, meaning “lantern.”
[16] Mosto wrongly derives strengue from the Spanish trenza “braid”
or “twist.” Instead it is the Spanish word estrenque, which denotes
a large rope made from Spanish grass hemp (stipa)—known to the
Spaniards as esparto. MS. 5,650 reads: “Sometimes he set out a
lantern; at other times a thick rush cord which was lighted and was
called ‘trenche’ [i.e., ‘estrenque,’ ‘rope of Spanish grass
hemp’].” Barcio (Diccionario general etimológico) says that the
origin of estrenque is unknown.
[17] MS. 5,650 reads: “If he wished the other ships to haul in a
bonnet-sail, which was a part of the sail attached to the mainsail, he
showed three lights. Also by three lights notwithstanding that the
weather might be favorable for making better time, it was understood
that the bonnet-sail was to be hauled in, so that the mainsail might be
sooner and easier struck and furled when bad weather came suddenly in
any squall or otherwise.”
[18] MS. 5,650 adds: “which he had extinguished immediately after;”
and continues: “then showing a single light as a sign that he
intended to stop there and wait until the other ships should do as
he.”
[19] MS. 5,650 adds: “that is to say, a rock in the sea.”
[20] Stanley translates the following passage wrongly. Rightly
translated, it is: “Also when he desired the bonnet-sail to be
reattached to the sail, he showed three fires.”
[21] This passage is omitted in MS. 5,650.
[22] Hora de la modorra is in Spanish that part of the night
immediately preceding the dawn. Mosto, p. 52, note 8.
[23] Contra maestro (boatswain) corresponding to the French
contremaître and the Spanish contramaestre, was formerly the third
officer of a ship’s crew. Nochiero (French nocher) was the officer
next to contramaestre, although the name, according to Littré was
applied to the master or seacaptain of certain small craft. The maestro
(French maître) was a sub-officer in charge of all the crew. The pilot
was next to the captain in importance. The translator or adapter who
made MS. 5,650 confuses the above officers (see following note).
[24] The instructions pertaining to the different watches are as
follows in MS. 5,650: “In addition to the said rules for carrying on
the art of navigation as is fitting, and in order to avoid the dangers
that may come upon those who do not have watches set, the said captain,
who was skilled in the things required and in navigation, ordered three
watches to be set. The first was at the beginning of the night; the
second at midnight; and the third toward daybreak, which is commonly
called the ‘diane’ [i.e., ‘morn’] or otherwise ‘the star of
dawn.’ The abovenamed watches were changed nightly: that is to say,
that he who had stood first watch stood second the day following, while
he who had stood second, stood third; and thus did they continue to
change nightly. The said captain ordered that his rules, both those of
signals and of watches, be thoroughly observed, so that their voyage
might be made with the greatest of safety. The men of the said fleet
were divided into three divisions: the first was that of the captain;
the second that of the pilot or boatswain’s mate; and the third that
of the master. The above rules having been instituted, the
captain-general determined to depart, as follows.”
[25] See Guillemard’s Magellan, pp. 329–336, and Navarrete, Col. de
viages, iv, pp. 3–11, 162–188, for the stores and equipments of the
fleet and their cost. The stores carried consisted of wine, olive oil,
vinegar, fish, pork, peas and beans, flour, garlic, cheese, honey,
almonds, anchovies, raisins, prunes, figs, sugar, quince preserves,
capers, mustard, beef, and rice. The apothecary supplies were carried
in the “Trinidad,” and the ecclesiastical ornaments in that ship
and the “San Antonio.”
[26] The exact number of men who accompanied Magalhães is a matter of
doubt. A royal decree, dated Barcelona, May 5, 1519, conserved in the
papers of the India House of Trade in Archivo general de Indias at
Sevilla, with pressmark est. 41, caj. 6, leg. 2–25, orders that only
two hundred and thirty-five persons sail in the fleet. The same
archives contain various registers of the fleet (sec Llorens
Ascensio’s Primera vuelta al mundo, Madrid, 1903), one of which is
published by Medina in his Colección (i, p. 113). Guillemard
(Magellan, p. 326) says that at least two hundred and sixty-eight men
went as is shown by the official lists and “the casual occurrence of
names in the numerous and lengthy autos fiscales connected with the
expedition.” Guillemard conjectures that the total number must have
been between two hundred and seventy and two hundred and eighty. Mosto
(p. 53, note 2) says: “Castanheda and Barros say that the crews
amounted to 250 men, while Herrera says 234. Navarrete’s lists show a
total of 265 men. At least 37 were Portuguese, and in addition to them
and the Spaniards, the crews contained Genoese and Italians (thirty or
more), French (nineteen), Flemings, Germans, Sicilians, English,
Corfiotes, Malays, Negroes, Moors, Madeirans, and natives of the Azores
and Canary Islands. But seventeen are recorded from Seville, while
there are many Biscayans. (See Guillemard, ut supra, pp. 326–329.)
The registers of men as given by Navarrete (Col. de viages, iv, pp.
12–26) are as follows.
Trinidad
(Flagship of 110 tons)
Capacity Name Nationality
Chief captain Hernando de Magallanes Portuguese, citizen
of the fleet of Oporto
Pilot of his Esteban Gomez Portuguese
Highness
Notary Leon de Espeleta
Master Juan Bautista de Cestre, on the
Punzorol [1] Genoese shore
Alguacil [2] Gonzalo Gomez de Espinosa
Espinosa
Contramaestre Francisco Albo [3] Axio, citizen of
Rodas
Surgeon Juan de Morales [4] Sevilla
Barber Marcos de Bayas San Lucar de Alpechin
Carpenter Master Antonio Genoese
Steward Cristóbal Ros or
Rodriguez Lepe
Calker Felipe [5] Genoese, native of
Reco
Cooper Francisco Martin Sevilla
Sailor Francisco de Espinosa De le Brizuela
Sailor Ginés de Mafra Jerez
Sailor Leon Pancaldo [6] Saona, in Génova
Sailor Juan Ginovés [7] San Remó
Sailor Francisco Piora Saona
Sailor Martin Ginovés Cestre
Sailor Anton Hernandez Huelva
Colmenero
Sailor Anton Ros, or Rodriguez Huelva
Sailor Bartolomé Sanchez Huelva
Sailor Tomas de Natia Cestre
Sailor Diego Martin Huelva
Sailor Domingo de Urrutia [8] Lequeitio
Sailor Francisco Martin Huelva
Sailor Juan Rodriguez Sevilla
Gunner Master Andres, chief Bristol, in England
gunner
Gunner Juan Bautista Mompeller
Gunner Guillermo Tañegui Lila de Groya
Common seaman Antonio de Goa Loró
Common seaman Anton de Noya [9] Noya in Galicia
Common seaman Francisco de Ayamonte Ayamonte
Common seaman Juan de Santandres [10] Cueto
Common seaman Blas de Toledo [11] Almunia in Aragon
Common seaman Anton [12] Black
Common seaman Basco Gomez Gallego Portuguese
Common seaman Juan Gallego Pontevedra
Common seaman Luis de Beas [13] Beas in Galicia
Common seaman Juan de Grijol Grijol in Portugal
Boy Gutierrez Asturian from
Villasevil
Boy Juan Genovés [14] A port on the Genoese
shore
Boy Andres de la Cruz [15] Sevilla
Servants of the captain and sobresalientes [16]
Servant Cristóbal Rabelo Portuguese, native of
Oporto
Sobresaliente Joan Miñez or Martinez Sevilla
Servant Fernando Portogues [17] Portuguese, native of
Oporto
Sobresaliente Antonio Lombardo [18] Lombardía
Peti-Joan French, native of Angeo
[i.e., Anjou]
Gonzalo Rodriguez Portuguese
Diego Sanchez Barrasa Sevilla
Luis Alonso, Portuguese, citizen of
de Gois [19] Ayamonte
Duarte Barbosa Portuguese
Albaro de la Mezquita Portuguese
Servant Nuño Portuguese, native of
Montemayor Nuevo
Servant Diego San Lucar
Captain’s boy Francisco [20] Portuguese, native of
Estremiz
Idem Jorge Morisco Lombardía
Chaplain Pedro de Balderrama Ecija
Merino Alberto [21] Merino Cordova
Servant of the Pero Gomez Hornilla la Prieta
alguacil
Armorer Pero Sanchez [22] Sevilla
Interpreter, a Henrique de Malaca [23] Malaca
servant
Lázaro de Torres Aracena
San Antonio
(120 tons)
Capacity Name Nationality
Captain and Juan de Cartagena
supervisor of the
fleet
Accountant Antonio de Coca
Notary Hierónimo Guerra
His Majesty’s pilot Andres de San Martin
Pilot of his Juan Rodriguez de Mafra
Highness
Master Juan de Elorriaga [24] Guipúzcoa
Boatswain Diego Hernandez Sevilla
Barber Pedro Olabarrieta [25] Bilbao
Steward Juan Ortiz de Bilbao
Gopegar [26]
Calker Pedro de Bilbao Bilbao
Carpenter Pedro de Sabtua Bermeo
Calker Martin de Goytisolo Baquio
Cooper Joan de Oviedo Sevilla
Sailor Sebastian de Olarte Bilbao
Sailor Lope de Uguarte
Sailor Joanes de Segura Segura in
Guipúzcoa
Sailor Joan de Francia Ruan [i.e., Rouen]
Sailor Jácome de Mecina Mesina
Sailor Christóbal García From Palos
Sailor Pero Hernandez Rivadesella
Sailor Antonio Rodríguez, Sevilla
Calderero [i.e.,
blacksmith]
Sailor Hernando de From Moguer
Morales [27]
Sailor Francisco, Marinero Citizen of Huelva
[i.e., a sailor]
Sailor Francisco Ros, or From Huelva
Rodriguez
Sailor Pedro de Laredo Portogalete
Sailor Simon de Asio Axio
Gunner Master Jacques, chief From Tierra Lorena
gunner [i.e., land of
Lorraine]
Gunner Rojer Dupict Monaym
Gunner Joan Jorge Silvedrin
Common seaman Luis, [28] Grumete Galicia
[i.e., a common seaman]
Common seaman Martin de Aguirre Arrigorriaga
Common seaman Columbazo Bolonia [i.e.,
Bologna]
Common seaman Lucas de Mecina Mesina
Common seaman Lorencio Rodriguez From Moguer
Common seaman Miguel Pravia, in
Astúrias
Common seaman Joanes de Irun Iranzo Irun Iranza in
Guipúzcoa
Common seaman Joan Ginoves Saona
Common seaman Joan de Orue Munguia
Common seaman Alonso del Puerto [29] Puerto de Santa
María
Boy Diego, son of Cristóbal From Palos
Garcia
Boy Diego, son of Juan
Rodriguez de Mafra
Servants and sobresalientes
Chaplain Bernardo Calmeta Laytora in France
Sobresaliente Joan de Chinchilla Murcia
Sobresaliente Anton de Escobar Talavera
Sobresaliente Francisco de Angulo Moron
Servant to the captain Francisco de Molino Baeza
Servant to the captain Roque Pelea Salamanca
Servant to the captain Rodrigo Nieto, a Orense Galician
Servant to the captain Alonso del Rio Búrgos
Servant to the captain Pedro de Balpuesta Citizen of Búrgos
Servant to the captain Joan de Leon Leon
Servant to the captain Gutierre de Tuñon [30] Tunon in Astúrias
Servant to the captain Joan de Sagredo, [31] Revenga, in the
merino land of Búrgos
Servant to the captain Joan de Minchaca, a Bilbao
crossbowman
Captain’s servant Antonio Hernandez; Ayamonte
interpreter
Servant to the Juan Gomez de Espinosa Espinosa
accountant
Servant to the Pedro de Urrea Brujas
accountant
Concepcion
(90 tons)
Captain Gaspar de Quesada
Notary Sancho de Heredia
Pilot of his Joan Lopez Caraballo Portuguese
Highness
Master Joan Sebastian de Elcano [32] Guetaria
Boatswain Joan de Acurio Bermeo
Barber Hernando de Bustamente [33] Mérida
Calker Antonio de Basazabal [34] Bermeo
Carpenter Domingo de Iraza [35] Deva
Steward Joan de Campos Alcalá de Henares
Cooper Pero Perez Sevilla
Sailor Francisco Rodriguez [36] Sevilla
Sailor Francisco Ruiz Moguer
Sailor Mateo de Gorfo [37] Gorfo
Sailor Joan Rodriguez [38] Huelva
Sailor Sebastian Garcia [39] Huelva
Sailor Gomez Hernandez Huelva
Sailor Lorenzo de Iruna [40] Socavila in
Guipúzcoa
Sailor Joan Rodriguez, [41] el sordo Sevilla
[i.e., the deaf man]
Sailor Joan de Aguírre Bermeo
Sailor Joan de Ortega Cifuentes
Gunner Hans Vargue, [42] chief German
gunner
Gunner Master Pedro Bruselas
Gunner Roldan de Argote Flandes, in
Brujas
Common seaman Joan de Olivar [43]
Common seaman Guillermo de Lole [44]
Common seaman Cristóbal de Costa [45] Jerez
Common seaman Guillen Galvey
Common seaman Gonzalo de Vigo Vigo
Common seaman Pedro de Muguertegui Muguertegui
Common seaman Martin de Isaurraga Bermeo
Common seaman Rodrigo Macias Sevilla
Common seaman Joan Navarro [46] Pamplona
Common seaman Joanes de Tuy
Boy Juanillo [47] Galbey
Boy Pedro de Churdurza [48] Bermeo
Sobresalientes
Captain’s servant Luis del Molino Baeza
Captain’s servant Antonio Fernandez Portuguese, of Sevilla
Captain’s servant Alonso Coto [49] Genoese
Captain’s servant Francisco Diaz de Madrid Madrid
Merino Martin de Judicibus Genoese
Juan de Silva Isla Graciosa, in Azores
Blacksmith Gonzalo Hernandez Santa María del Puerto
Martin de Magallayns Portuguese, of Lisboa
Joan de la Torre Almonaster, a boundary
of Sevilla
Victoria
(85 tons)
Captain and Luis de Mendoza
treasurer of
fleet
Pilot of his Basco Gallego Portuguese
Highness
Notary Martin Mendez Citizen of Sevilla
Master Anton Salomon Trápana in Sicilia
Boatswain Miguel de Rodas Rodas
Alguacil Diego de Peralta Peralta in Navarra
Steward Alonso Gonzales Portuguese
Calker Simon de la Rochela From La Rochela
Carpenter Martin de Griate [50] From Deva
Sailor Miguel Benesciano Bresá
Sailor Diego Gallego Bayona in Galicia
Sailor Lope Navarro Tudela
Sailor Nicolas Ginoves Génova
Sailor Nicolao de Nápoles Nápoles de Romanía
Sailor Miguel Sanchez Rodas
Sailor Nicolao de Capua Capua
Sailor Benito Genovés Arvenga
Sailor Felipe de Rodas Rodas
Sailor Esteban Villon [51] Troya
Sailor Joan Griego Nápoles de Romanía
Gunner Jorge Aleman [i.e., From Estric
the German],
chief gunner
Gunner Filiberto de Toriana
Torres [52]
Gunner Hans, a German [53] Agan
Common seaman Joanico, [54] a Somorostro
Viscayan
Common seaman Joan de Arratia [55] Bilbao
Common seaman Ochote [56] Bilbao
Common seaman Martin de Ayamonte
Common seaman Pedro de Tolosa Tolosa in Guipúzcoa
Common seaman Sebastian Ortiz Gelver
Common seaman Antonio Baresa in Génova
Common seaman Bernal Mahuri [57] Narbona
Common seaman Rodrigo Gallego [i.e., Coruña
a Galician]
Common seaman Domingo Portogues Coimbra
[i.e., a Portuguese]
Boy Juan de Zuvileta, the Baracaldo
son of Basco Gallego
Sobresalientes
The captain’s Francisco Carvajal Salamanca
servant
Captain’s servant Joan Martin [58] Aguilar de
Campo
Captain’s servant Simon de Burgos Portuguese
Captain’s servant Bartolomé de Saldaña Palos
Blacksmith Gonzalo Rodriguez
Blacksmith Pero Garcia de Ciudad Real
Herrero [59]
Blacksmith Joan Villalon Antequera
Blacksmith Alonso de Mora, or Mora, in Portugal
de Ebora [60]
Cooper Joan de Córdoba Sanlúcar
Cooper Diego Diaz Sanlúcar
Santiago
(75 tons)
Captain and pilot Joan Serrano Citizen of Sevilla
of his Highness
Notary Antonio de Costa
Master Baltasar Ginoves Ribera de Génova
[i.e., the Genoese
shore]
Boatswain Bartolomé Prior [61] San Malo
Steward Gaspar Diaz Isla Graciosa, in the
Azores
Calker Joan García Génova
Carpenter Ripart [62] Bruz in Normandia
[i.e., Normandy]
Sailor Antonio Flamenco [i.e., Enveres
a Fleming]
Sailor Luis Martinez Huelva
Sailor Bartolomé García Palos
Sailor Joan García Palos
Sailor Agustin Saona
Sailor Bocacio Alfonso [63] Bollullos
Sailor Pedro Gascon [64] Burdeos [i.e.,
[i.e., a Gascon] Bordeaux]
Sailor Domingo [65]
Sailor Diego García de Trigueros
Trigueros
Gunner Lorenzo Corrat Talesa in Normandia
[i.e., Normandy]
Gunner Joan Macia [66] Troya
Common seaman Pedro Diaz [67] Huelva
Common seaman Antonio Hernandez [68] Palos
Common seaman Juan, [69] a negro
Common seaman Joan Breton [i.e., a Cruesic in Bretaña
Breton] [i.e., Brittany]
Common seaman Pedro Bello [70] Palos
Common seaman Hierónimo Garcia [71] Sevilla
Common seaman Pero Arnaot Horrai
Common seaman Pero Garcia Trigueros
Boy Joan Flamenco [i.e., a Enveres
Fleming]
Boy Francisco Paxe [72]
Sobresalientes
Merino Joan de Aroche Aroche, boundary of Sevilla
Martin Barrena Villafranco in Guipúzcoa
Hernan Lorenzo Aroche
The total number of men for the ships as above given is 235. Navarrete
made his list from the list conserved in Archivo general de Indias, and
notes of Juan Bautista Muñoz, and various other sources. The obstacles
in the way of a correct register were the abbreviation of names and
places, the custom prevalent of naming people from their native town or
province, and the fact that the various registers were made between
1519 and 1525. From some of these registers, it appears that the
following men were also in the fleet.
Capacity Name Nationality
Carpenter Aroca Viscayan
Steward Blas Alfonso Portuguese
Calker Juan Gutierrez
Maestre Pedro [73]
Sailor Bautista Genovés Génova
Common seaman Perucho de Bermeo
Common seaman Domingo Alvarez
Common seaman Domingo Gonzalez
Common seaman Domingo de Zubillan [74] Portuguese
Common seaman Andres Blanco
Common seaman Antonio Gomez Axio
Common seaman Juan Portugués [i.e., a Portuguese]
Common seaman Juan Bras
Common seaman Gonzalo Gallego
Common seaman Rodrigo de Hurrira
Sebastian Portugués [i.e., a Portuguese]
Juan de Ircepais
Sobresalientes
Secular priest Pero Sanchez de Reina
Licentiate Morales
Hernando Rodriguez
Hartiga
Diugurria
Soldier Diego Arias Sanlúcar
Blacksmith Juan Hernandez Triana
Servant of Luis Hernando de Aguilar
de Mendoza
The negro of the pilot Juan
Carballo
In addition there were probably others, this list being still three
short of Guillemard’s figures, 268. Harrisse (Disc. of N. Amer.,
London and Paris, 1892, pp. 714 et seq.) gives a partial list.
[27] The Moorish name of Guadalquivir (from Arabic Wâd-al-Kebir,
“the great river”), superseded the Roman name of Bætis. The Romans
formed all Southern Spain into one province called Bætica after the
name of the Bætis. By the town Gioan dal Farax is meant San Juan de
Aznalfarache (from Moorish Hisn al-Faradj). Its Gothic name was Osset
and its Roman name Julia Constantia. It is a favorite resort of the
inhabitants of Sevilla. Coría was once a Roman potters’ town and is
still celebrated for its jars. San Lúcar de Barrameda was named in
honor of St. Luke. It was captured from the Moors in 1264 and granted
to the father of Guzman el Bueno. It attained importance after the
discovery of America because of its good harbor. The house of
Medina-Sidonia was founded by Alfonso Pérez de Guzman, a famous
captain.
[28] The original of this passage is obscure. The distance given (ten
leagues; and both MS. 5,650 and Eden agree substantially with it) is
far too short for the distance between San Lucar and Cape St. Vincent,
which is over one hundred miles. Pigafetta may have forgotten the
actual distance, or it may have been an error of his amanuensis. It is
possible to translate as follows: “which lies in 37 degrees of
latitude, [that parallel being] x leguas from the said port;” for
“longui” may be taken as agreeing with “gradi.” In all
rendering of distances, the Spanish form will be used in preference to
the Italian; and the same will apply to the names of Spanish coins.
[29] MS. 5,650 reads: “And after passing many small villages along
the said river, we at last reached a chateau belonging to the duke of
Medinacidonia, and called Sainct Lucar, where there is a port with an
entrance into the Ocean Sea. One enters that port by the east wind, and
leaves by the west. Nearby is the cape of Sainct Vincent, which,
according to cosmography, lies in a latitude of thirty-seven degrees at
a distance of twenty miles from the said port. From the said city [of
Sevilla] to the said port by the river abovesaid, the distance is
thirty-five or forty miles.” This passage might be cited as a proof
that Pigafetta did not translate or write the French version, but that
the work was done by another, who takes various liberties with his
original.
[30] MS. 5,650 reads: “furnish the fleet.”
[31] Ninguna in original, a Spanish word.
[32] MS. 5,650 adds: “otherwise called ‘labeiche.’” Labech
(Italian libeccio) is simply a name for the southwest wind. This is
another instance in which the French adapter adds an explanation to the
Italian, thus explaining the Italian term garbino, “southwest.”
[33] MS. 5,650 reads wrongly: “sixteenth.” The so-called Genoese
pilot (the author of the “Roteiro,” by which name his account will
be hereafter designated, and concerning whom, see Guillemard’s
Magellan, p. 145, and Mosto, p. 32, and note 4) gives the date of
departure as September 21 (with which Barros agrees) and the arrival at
Tenerife as the twenty-ninth (see Stanley, p. 1). Peter Martyr, Gomara,
and Oviedo agree with Pigafetta, while Castanheda makes the departure
in January, 1520. Hughes observes that if one keep in mind the
circumstance that the day of the arrival coincided with the day
dedicated by the Church to St. Michael, the date September 29 seems
more admissible. However, one may reconcile the two dates of the
arrival by observing that the ships stopped at Tenerife until October
2; while Herrera says that the ships fetched Montaña Roja (the Monte
rosso of the text) on September 29. See Mosto, p. 53, notes 4 and 5. It
should be noted that Gomara and Oviedo are not entirely trustworthy
authorities, and that many times they have simply copied from
authorities, such as Maximilianus Transylvanus, who is not always to be
relied upon.
[34] The Canaries were known to the ancients under the names of Islands
of the Blest, Fortunate Islands, and the Hesperides. The Moors knew of
them under the name of Islands of Khaledat, but had no practical
acquaintance with them. In the fourteenth century these islands began
to be known to Europeans, especially through the Portuguese. In 1402,
the Frenchman Jean de Bethencourt went there, and shortly after began
their conquest under the auspices of the crown of Castile. In
consequence of the settlements made by Bethencourt, the islands were
definitely ceded to Spain in 1481 (see Birch’s Alboquerque, London,
1875–1884, Hakluyt Society Publications, ii, p. vi). The inhabitants
of the islands were known as Guanches or Guanchinet, the latter meaning
“men of Tenerife.” The inhabitants of this island, holding out
longer than the others, were not subdued until 1496. See also Conquest
of Canaries (London, 1877); and History and Description of Africa
(London, 1896), i, pp. 99–101: both publications of the Hakluyt
Society. The island of Tenerife was formerly called Nivana and by some
the Island of Hell. Like all the other islands of the Canaries it is
volcanic in formation, and its peak, the Teyde, is one of the largest
volcanic cones known. Its latitude is 28° 15′.
[35] Guillemard conjectures that this is Punta Roxa, located at the
south end of Tenerife.
[36] MS. 5,650 adds: “which is a substance needed by ships.”
Herrera says that they waited three days at the port awaiting a caravel
that was laden with pitch for the fleet (Mosto, p. 53, note 8).
[37] MS. 5,650 reads: “water coming from spring or river.”
[38] Eden (p. 250) adds to this account which he greatly abridges:
“The lyke thynge is alſo ſcene in the Iland of ſaynt Thomas,
lyinge directly vnder the Equinoctiall lyne.” Of this island of
Hierro, Pory (History and description of Africa, Hakluyt Society
edition, p. 100) says: “Hierro hath neither spring nor well, but is
miraculously furnished with water by a cloud which over-spreadeth a
tree, from whence distilleth so much moisture, as sufficeth both for
men and cattel. This cloud ariseth an hower or two before the sunne,
and is dissolued two howers after sunne rising.” This is an old story
and is related by Pliny and founded upon fact “for both in Madeira
and the Canaries the laurel and other heavy-foliaged evergreens
condense abundant water from the daily mists” (Guillemard’s
Magellan, p. 149). Gregorio Chil y Naranio (Estudios históricos ... de
las islas Canarias, 1879) believes Pigafetta means here the island of
Palma, and that the first navigators visited only the coast and so did
not see the lake in the interior (Mosto, p. 53, note 9).
[39] MS. 5,650 adds: “which the sailors of the east call
‘Cyroc’” This is the Italian sirocco, which is the name for the
southeast wind instead of the south. Herrera says they left the port
October 2 (Mosto, p. 54, note 2).
[40] Eden (p. 250) reads incorrectly: “In this coaſt they had no
maner of contrary wynds but a great calme and fayre wether for the
ſpace of three ſcore and tenne dayes, in the which they came vnder
the Equinoctiall lyne.”
[41] MS. 5,650 adds: “and of those persons who have sailed there
often.”
[42] MS. 5,650 reads: “And in order that our ships might not be
wrecked or broach to (which often happens when the squalls come
together).”
[43] This last phrase, as well as the two following sentences are
missing in MS. 5,650. The third sentence following begins: “During
the calm weather, large fish called tiburoni,” etc. The word
tiburoni, “sharks” is from the Spanish tiburon, which comes from
the French tibéron (tiburin, tiburon).—Echagaray’s Diccionario
Etimológico (Madrid, 1889).
[44] MS. 5,650 reads: “The said fish are caught by means of a
contrivance which sailors call ‘hame’ which is an iron fishhook.”
Hame (ain) is the French form of the Italian Amo, meaning
“fishhook.”
[45] MS. 5,650 adds: “because of the bad weather.”
[46] MS. 5,650 reads “a quarter of an hour,” and the same duration
of time is given by Eden (p. 250).
[47] MS. 5,650 adds: “It is to be noted that whenever that fire that
represents the said Saint Anselme ascends and descends the mast of a
ship while in a storm at sea, that the said ship is never wrecked.”
Herrera (cited by Mosto, p. 54, note 5) says that St. Elmo appeared on
the masthead with a lighted candle and sometimes two during the storms
encountered along the coasts of Guinea, and that the sailors were
greatly comforted thereby, and saluted the saint as is the custom of
seamen. When he appeared, he remained a quarter of an hour; and at his
departure a great flash of light occurred which blinded all the men.
Eden (p. 250) calls it the fire of St. Helen. Continuing, Eden injects
into his abridgment of the first circumnavigation a description of St.
Elmo’s fire by Hieronimus Cardanus in the second book of De
Subtilitate. He says: “Of the kynde of trewe fyer, is the fyer baule
or ſtarre commonly cauled ſaynt Helen which is ſumtyme ſeene abowt
the maſtes of ſhyppes, beinge of ſuche fyery nature that it
ſumetyme melteth braſen veſſels, and is a token of drownyng,
foraſmuch as this chaunceth only in great tempeſtes. For the vapoure
or exhalation whereof this fyre is engendered, can not bee dryven
togyther or compacte in forme of fyre, but of a groſe vapoure and by a
great poure of wynde, and is therfore a token of imminent perell.”
The fires called after St. Peter and St. Nicholas are on the contrary,
he says, good omens, and are generally to be seen on the cables, after
a storm. Being little and swift moving they can do no damage as they
could do if massed and of slow movement. St. Elmo’s fire is the
popular name for the atmospheric electricity that gathers in the form
of a star or brush about the masthead of ships and on the rigging. It
was sometimes accompanied by a hissing noise and was considered as a
good omen by sailors. The Greeks who observed this phenomenon wove it
into the Castor and Pollux myth; and the French edition of
Pigafetta’s relation published by Simon de Colines has the passage
(see Mosto, p. 54): “They saw the fires called Sainct Eline and
Sainct Nicolas like blazing torches (whom the ancients called Castor
and Pollux).” “Elmo” is said by some to be a corruption of
“Helena,” the sister of Castor and Pollux, and the name
“Hellene” or “Helen” was often given to the fire when only one
light was visible. It is, however, more probably derived from St. Elmo,
bishop of Formine who died about 304, and who is invoked by sailors on
the Mediterranean. The phenomenon is also called fire of “St.
Elias,” “St. Clara,” “St. Nicolas,” and “composite,”
“composant,” and “corposant (i.e., corpus sanctum).”
[48] The second bird mentioned is the stormy petrel (of the family
Laridæ and genus Thalassidroma), which is found along all the Atlantic
coasts and on some of the Pacific. The tale of the text was current
among sailors (see Wilkes, U. S. Exploring Expedition, viii, pp. 402,
403). The cagassela (“cagaselo” in MS. 5,650) is the Stercorarius
parasiticus, called also the jaeger, and by sailors “boatswain,”
“teaser,” and “dung-hunter.” The last name arose from the
belief, long held even by scientists, that this bird fed on the dung of
gulls and terns. In reality it pursues the latter birds and compels
them to disgorge the fish that they have swallowed. The flying-fish is
either a species of Exocœtus, or the Scomberesox saurus of Europe and
America, both of which feed in large schools and jump from the water to
escape their enemies. See Riverside Natural History (Boston and New
York).
[49] MS. 5,650 adds: “which is the collateral wind between the south
and the west;” and below reads: “twenty-four and one-half
degrees;” while Eden (p. 250) reads: “xxii degrees and a halfe.”
[50] Verzino, the etymology of which is unknown (see Varthema’s
Travels, Hakluyt Society edition, p. lxxviii, note, and 205 note), is
the Italian name for brazil-wood, from which Brazil, which was first
visited by Vicente Pinzon, Diego Lope, Pedro Alvares Cabral, and
Amerigo Vespucci, was named. The first names of the country were Vera
Cruz and Santa Cruz. Cape Santo Agostinho, mentioned below, lies in 8°
21´ south latitude, and is the most eastern headland of South America.
It was the first land of that continent to be discovered, being sighted
at least as early as 1500 by Pinzon. Before sighting the above cape,
Magalhães arrested Juan de Cartagena for insubordination and gave the
command of the “San Antonio” to Antonio de Coca (see Guillemard’s
Magellan, p. 153). Albo’s log begins slightly before the sighting of
the point, his first entry being November 29. See Burton’s
“Introduction” in his Captivity of Hans Stade (Hakluyt Society
publications, London, 1874).
[51] MS. 5,650 reads: “veal.” The anta is the tapir, once very
plentiful in South America, but now rare in the well civilized
districts. See Burton’s Captivity of Hans Stade, p. viii. Albo,
however, seems to designate the llama by this name, for he says when
speaking of the stay at Bay St. Julian: “and many Indians came there,
who are clad in certain skins of antas, which resemble camels without
the hump.” (Navarrete, Col. de viages, iv, p. 214).
[52] Stanley mistranslates the French phrase of MS. 5,650 et est de la
longueur dun naveau, “and is of the length of a shuttle,” confusing
naveau with navette, “shuttle.” Naveau here is equivalent to navet,
“turnip” or navette, “rape,” a plant of the turnip class, as is
proved by the Italian.
[53] MS. 5,650 reads: “And for a king of cards, of the kind which are
used to play with in Italy, they gave me five fowls.” The four suits
of Italian playing cards are called spade (“swords”), bastoni
(“clubs”), danari (literally: “money;” “diamonds”), and
coppe (“cups”).
[54] MS. 5,650 reads: “five.”
[55] MS. 5,650 adds: “which is an astrological term. That zenith is a
point in the sky, according to astrologers, but only in the
imagination, and is in a straight line over our head, as can be seen by
the treatise of the sphere, and in Aristotle, in the first book De
caelo et mondo.” By the treatise of the sphere is evidently meant the
treatise of Pigafetta which follows his relation, and which is not
reproduced here as being outside the scope of the present work. In the
flyleaf of the Italian original is the following: “Notices concerning
the new world, with the charts of the countries discovered, written by
Antonio Pigafeta, Venetian and knight of Rodi. At the end are added
some rules for finding the longitude and latitude of places east and
west.” In the Italian MS. this treatise occupies the last twelve
folios. Stanley translates Amoretti’s version of the Treatise, which
is greatly abridged. Mosto (p. 35) conjectures that the treatise is the
fruits of his three-years’ experience during the expedition.
[56] Albo (Navarrete, iv, p. 210) says that the fleet continued to
coast southwest from November 29 until arriving at St. Lucy’s bay on
December 13 (St. Lucy’s day). Of the coast he says: “The mountains
are peaked and have many reefs about them. There are many rivers and
ports in the said Brasil and San Tomé, and some six leguas down the
coast there are many bays running two leguas into the land. But the
coast runs northeast and southwest to Cape Frio, and has many islands
and rivers. Cape Frio is a very large river.... At the entrance of the
said bay is a very large bay, and at the mouth a very low island, and
inside it spreads out extensively and has many ports ... and is called
the bay of Santa Lucía.... In the said bay, one finds a well-disposed
and numerous race, who go naked and trade for fishhooks, mirrors, and
hawk’s bells with food.... We entered that place on the very day of
St. Lucy, and stayed there until the day of St. John, namely, the
twenty-seventh of the said month of December. On that day we went and
took our course west southwest, and found seven islands. To the right
of them is a bay called the bay of Los Reyes [i.e., the Kings] which
has a good entrance.” The “Roteiro” (Stanley, p. 1) says: “as
soon as they sighted the other coast of Brazil, he steered to the
south-east [sic] along the coast as far as Cabo-frio, which is in
twenty-three degrees south latitude; and from this cape he steered to
the west, a matter of thirty leagues, to make the Rio de Janeiro, which
is in the same latitude as Cabo-frio, and they entered the said river
on the day of St. Lucy, which was the 13th December, in which place
they took in wood, and they remained there until the first octave of
Christmas, which was the 26th of December of the same year.” Brito
(Navarrete, iv, p. 306) says: “Setting sail thence [i.e., from
Tenerife], the first land sighted was the cape of the shoals of Ambas.
They descended the coast as far as the river called Janeiro, where they
stayed 15 or 16 days.”
[57] Eden (p. 251) says: “bygger then all Spayne, Portugale, Fraunce,
and Italie.”
[58] MS. 5,650 adds: “more like beasts than anything else.”
[59] MS. 5,650 reads: “And some of those people live to the age of
one hundred, one hundred and twenty, one hundred and forty, or more.”
Eden (p. 251) says: “C.xx. and C.xl. yeares.” For description of
the Brazil Indians, and their manners and customs, see Captivity of
Hans Stade (Hakluyt Society edition), pp. 117–169.
[60] Wrongly transcribed by Stanley as “boy.”
[61] MS. 5,650 reads: “You must know that a family of one hundred
persons, who make a great racket, lives in each of those houses called
boii.” One of these houses (called Oca, in Tupi) is described by
Wilson (Transactions of Ethnological Society, new series, vol. i) as
being “60 or 70 feet long, divided into rooms for several families by
rush mats, and provided with a central fire whose smoke passed through
the roof. Some of them contained 200 head.” See Burton’s Captivity
of Hans Stade, pp. 59, 60, note. The Indians described by Pigafetta are
probably the Tamoyos of the Tupi or Guarani stock (Mosto, p. 56, note
1; see also Burton, ut supra, pp. lxi-lxxvi).
[62] Amoretti makes this passage read: “Their boats, called canoes,
are hollowed out from the single trunk of a huge tree;” understanding
maschize as massiccio “huge.” Mosto prefers to read maschize as two
words ma schize (notwithstanding that it is one word in the original),
for ma schiacciate, “but flattened.” Accepting this, the
translation would be: “They have boats made from one single tree,
only flattened.” Amoretti’s interpretation is to be preferred.
[63] MS. 5,650 reads: “and one would believe them to be enemies from
hell.”
[64] MS. 5,650 adds: “of the said country of Verzin.”
[65] MS. 5,650 reads: “daily.” Amerigo Vespucci says in a letter
(Mosto, p. 55, note 6): “I saw human flesh salted and suspended from
the beams, in the same way as we are wont to hang up bacon and
swine’s flesh.” See Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents
(Cleveland reissue), for instances of cannibalism among the North
American Indians. See also Captivity of Hans Stade (Hakluyt Society
edition), pp. 151, 155–159; and Dominguez’s Conquest of the River
Plate (Hakluyt Society publications, London, 1891), pp. 129, 130.
[66] For Carvagio, as in MS. 5,650, and later in the Italian; an error
of the amanuensis. This was João Carvalho (the Juan Lopez Caraballo of
the register—see note 26, ante). Carvalho was a Portuguese, of none
too scrupulous morals, even in his age, as appears later in
Pigafetta’s narrative. After the fatal banquet in the island of
Cebú, he became the leader of the remaining men of the fleet, but was
later deposed (see post, note 441). He remained behind with the
ill-fated “Trinidad,” and never returned to Europe. His son, borne
to him by a native woman of Brazil, was left behind in Borneo. See
Stanley, pp. 252–255, for Correa’s account of the actions of
Carvalho after the death of Magalhães.
[67] The early French edition and the Italian edition of 1536 both
include the women and children.—Stanley.
[68] It is a widespread (perhaps universal) characteristic of the
American Indian to pull out the hair of the body. See Jesuit Relations
and Allied Documents (Cleveland reissue).
[69] Eden (p. 45), defines gatti mammoni as monkeys. Monkeys of the
genus Cebus are probably meant (Mosto, p. 55, note 8).
[70] MS. 5,650 reads: “fresh cheese.” Pigafetta may here refer to
the bread made from the casava or manioc root. See Burton’s Captivity
of Hans Stade, pp. 130–132, for a description of the method of
preparing this root.
[71] The swine mentioned by Pigafetta is the Tayasu (Tagaçu), or
peccari (Dicotyles torquatus), which has quills resembling those of the
porcupine, and is generally of a whitish color. It is tailless and very
fierce and difficult to domesticate. The flesh was eaten; and the teeth
were worn by some of the chiefs as necklaces. Burton (ut supra), p.
160, note.
[72] The Platalea ajaja or rosy spoonbill, belonging to the family of
the Plataleidæ, whose habitat extends through all of tropical and
subtropical America, including the West Indies, south to the Falkland
Islands, Patagonia and Chile, and north to the southern part of the
United States.
[73] Hans Stade (Burton, ut supra) testifies to the chastity of the
people of Eastern Brazil among whom he lived as a prisoner.
[74] MS. 5,650 reads: “The women attend to the outside affairs, and
carry everything necessary for their husband’s food in small panniers
on the head or fastened to the head.”
[75] MS. 5,650 adds: “and compassion.”
[76] MS. 5,650 reads: “When we departed they gave us a very great
quantity of verzin;” and adds: “That is a color which comes from
trees which grow in the said country, and so abundantly, that the
country is called Verzin from it.”
[77] MS. adds: “which was a piece of great simplicity.”
[78] This sentence is preceded by the following in MS. 5,650:
“Besides the abovesaid which proclaims their simplicity, the people
of the above place showed us another very simple thing.”
[79] This passage in Stanley reads as follows: “A beautiful young
girl came one day inside the ship of our captain, where I was, and did
not come except to seek for her luck: however, she directed her looks
to the cabin of the master, and saw a nail, of a finger’s length, and
went and took it as something valuable and new, and hid it in her hair,
for otherwise she would not have been able to conceal it, because she
was naked, and, bending forwards, she went away; and the captain and I
saw this mystery.” The matter between the words “length” and
“naked” is taken from MS. 24,224 (wrongly declared by Stanley to be
the copy of his travels presented to the regent Louise by Pigafetta,
the conclusion being based on the fact that some of the details are
softened down), as Stanley considered the incident as told in MS.
5,650, the Italian MS. and the first French edition, as unfit for
publication. Stanley cites the following (in the original) from the
edition of 1536 which omits the above story: “At the first land at
which we stopped, some female slaves whom we had brought in the ships
from other countries and who were heavy with child, were taken with the
pains of childbirth. Consequently, they went alone out of the ships,
went ashore, and after having given birth, returned immediately to the
ships with their infants in their arms.” He also cites the following
passage from the first French printed edition, which also narrates the
above story of the girl: “At the first coast that we passed, some
slave women gave birth. When they were in travail, they left the boat,
after which they immediately returned, and nursed their children.”
Stanley adds that this story of the slave women is improbable, as women
were not allowed to come aboard ship.
[80] MS. 5,650 gives the words of the Brazil as follows: “maiz, huy,
pinda, taesse, chignap, pirame, itenmaraca, tum maraghatom.” Amoretti
(see Stanley’s edition, p. 48) reads tacse as tarse and itanmaraca as
Hanmaraca. Stanley mistranslates the French forcette (“scissors”)
as “fork.”
[81] Eden says (p. 251): “xxxiiii. degree and a halfe toward the pole
Antartike.”
[82] MS. 5,650 reads: “and to ask whether the others might come.”
[83] MS. 5,650 reads: “That place was formerly called Cape Saincte
Marye and it was thought that one could pass thence to the sea of Sur,
that is to say the South Sea, but it has not been ascertained that any
ships have ever discovered anything farther on.” Eden (p. 251) reads:
“Abowt the mouth of this ryuer are ſeven ilandes, in the byggeſt
whereof, they founde certeyne precious ſtones, and cauled it the cape
of Saynt Marie. The Spanyardes thought that by this ryuer they might
haue paſſed into the ſouth ſea. But they were deceaued in theyr
opinion. For there was none other paſſage than by the ryuer which is
xvii. leagues large in the mouth.” This river was the Rio de la
Plata. The “Roteiro” (Stanley, p. 2) says that Magalhães left Rio
de Janeiro December 26, proceeding to the cape Santa María and the
river which was called St. Christopher. There they remained until
February 2, 1520. Albo (Navarrete, iv, p. 211) also mentions the river
which he calls the “river of Solís.” The ships sent to look for a
strait through the river were gone two days, and a careful exploration
of the mouth of the river was made. Brito (Navarrete, iv, pp. 306, 307)
says: “They left that place [i.e., Rio de Janeiro] and coasted along
shore until they reached the river called Solís, where Fernando
Magallanes thought that he could find a strait. They stayed there forty
days. Magallanes ordered the ship ‘Santiago’ to sail forward for
about 50 leguas to see whether there was any passage. Not finding a
passage, he crossed the river which is about 25 leguas wide and found
the [opposite] coast which runs northeast and southwest.” For early
history of this region, see Dominguez’s Conquest of the River Plata.
[84] Juan Diaz de Solis, a famous Spanish navigator, was born at
Lebrixa, in 1470. He is said, although without sufficient authority, to
have discovered Yucatan with Pinzon in 1506. He was appointed chief
pilot of Spain after the death of Amerigo Vespucci in 1512. In October,
1515, he sailed in command of an expedition in search of a southwest
passage to India. He discovered Rio de la Plata which he explored as
far as the region of the Charrua tribe, by whom he and some of his men
were killed and eaten before September, 1516. The remnant of the
expedition was conducted back to Spain by his brother-in-law.
[85] Eden adds (p. 251): “which ſum thynke to bee thoſe fyſſhes
that wee caule pikes.” Below, the sea-wolf is described as having a
head “of golden coloure.” They were probably some species of the
Otariidæ or fur-seals (Giullemard, p. 160, note). The “geese” were
penguins. Albo, Herrera, and others, also mention the “sea-wolves and
ducks.” Kohl (Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft für Erdkunde, xi, 362)
says that this bay where the ships were laden with the seals and
penguins is probably Desvelos Bay, but it is more probably Puerto
Deseado (“Port Desire;” see Mosto, p. 57, note 2). Drake also
secured fresh provisions from these “sea-wolves,” calling the bay
where he secured them “Seale Bay.” See World Encompassed (Hakluyt
Society edition), pp. 54, 55.
[86] Port St. Julian. The “Roteiro” pilot (Stanley, p. 3) says that
they reached it on March 31, 1520, and places it in 49° 20´ south
latitude. Albo (Navarrete, iv, p. 214) says: “We went to a port
called San Julian, where we entered the last day of March, and where we
stayed until the day of St. Bartholomew. The said port lies in a
latitude of 49 and two-thirds degrees. We pitched the ships in that
port.” Other writers give slightly different locations (see Mosto, p.
57, note 5). Antonio Brito, the Portuguese, whose MS. is preserved in
the Torre do Tombo at Lisbon, writes in 1523 to the king of Portugal
certain news obtained from some of the men of the “Trinidad.” His
information as might be expected, is at times faulty. Of Port St.
Julian, he says: “They coasted along shore until they reached a river
called San Juan where they wintered for four months.”
[87] MS. 5,650 adds: “jumping up and down.” The only reference made
to the Patagonians by Albo is as follows: “Many Indians came there,
who dress in certain skins of the anta, which resemble camels without
the hump. They have certain bows made from cane, which are very small
and resemble turkish bows. The arrows also resemble Turkish arrows, and
are tipped with flint instead of iron. Those Indians are very prudent,
swift runners, and very well-built and well-appearing men.”
(Navarrete, iv, pp. 214, 215). Cf. with Pigafetta’s account that
given by Maximilianus Transylvanus, in Vol. I, pp. 303–337.
[88] MS. 5,650 reads: “he began to marvel and to be afraid.”
[89] Guillemard, who follows the Amoretti edition, translates (p. 180)
this passage: “His hair was short and colored white,” but this
translation is borne out by neither the Italian MS. nor MS. 5,650.
Guillemard presents a picture of a Patagonian, as does also Wilkes
(Narrative of U. S. Exploring Expedition, 1838–1842), i, facing p.
95. The latter describes Indians, whom the officers of the expedition
thought to be Patagonians, and who were taller than average Europeans,
as follows: “They had good figures and pleasant looking countenances,
low foreheads, and high cheekbones, with broad faces, the lower part
projecting; their hair was course and cut short on the crown leaving a
narrow border of hair hanging down; over this they wore a kind of cap
or band of skin or woolen yarn. The front teeth of all of them were
very much worn, more apparent, however, in the old than in the young.
On one foot they wore a rude skin sandal. Many of them had their faces
painted in red and black stripes, with clay, soot, and ashes. Their
whole appearance, together with their inflamed and sore eyes, was
filthy and disgusting.” They showed that they had had previous
communication with white men. Their food was fish and shellfish, and
they carried bows and arrows and had dogs. Brinton (American Race, New
York, 1891) says that “The Patagonians call themselves Chonek or
Tzoneca, or Inaken (men, people), and by their Pampean neighbors are
referred to as Tehuel-Che, southerners.” Many of them are “from six
to six feet four inches in height, and built in proportion. In color
they are a reddish brown, and have aquiline noses and good
foreheads.” Ramon Lista (Viage al pais de los Tehuel-Ches) gives the
average height of the Patagonians as 1.854 m., hence the early accounts
of their great stature are greatly exaggerated (Mosto, p. 57, note 6).
See also the description of the Patagonians in the “Roteiro”
(Stanley, p. 5); and World encompassed by Sir Francis Drake (Hakluyt
Society edition), pp. 40, 56–61 (where the origin of the name
“Patagonian” is wrongly given).
[90] The guanaco, a species of llama. See also Vol. II, p. 34, note 5*.
[91] Hence arose the name “Patagonians” or “men with big feet,”
given by Magalhães, because of the awkward appearance of the feet in
such coverings, which were stuffed with straw for greater warmth.
[92] The words “somewhat thicker than those of a lute” are lacking
in MS. 5,650.
[93] This sentence is omitted by MS. 5,650.
[94] Eden (p. 251) says “two,” and following says that Magalhaes
gave the giant “certeyne haukes belles and other great belles, with
alſo a lookynge glaſſe, a combe, and a payre of beades of
glaſſe.”
[95] MS. 5,650 adds: “on the face.”
[96] MS. 5,650 omits “face.”
[97] “For the smiths” is omitted by MS. 5,650.
[98] Maximilianus Transylvanus says that only one Patagonian was
captured, but that he died shortly from self-starvation (Vol. I, pp.
314, 315). The “Roteiro” says (Stanley, p. 5) that three or four
were captured, but all died except one, who went to Spain in the “San
Antonio.” Pigafetta’s account, as given by an eyewitness, is to be
preferred.
[99] MS. 5,650 reads: “for otherwise they could have caused some of
our men trouble.” Below Stanley (p. 53) again mistranslates the
French “forces” as “forks.”
[100] MS. 5,650 adds: “of malefactors,” and reads farther: “and
their faces lighted up at seeing those manacles.”
[101] MS. 5,650 reads: “and they were grieved that they could not
take the irons with their hands, for they were hindered by the other
things that they were holding.” Eden (p. 252) says at the end of his
account of the capture: “Being thus taken, they were immediately
ſeperate and put in ſundry ſhyppes.”
[102] MS. 5,650 adds: “that is, the big devil.”
Arber in his introduction to The first three English books on America
says that Shakespeare had access to The decades of the newe worlde of
Eden, and created the character of Caliban (who invokes Setebos) in the
Tempest from the description of the Patagonian giants. See also World
encompassed by Sir Francis Drake (Hakluyt Society edition), p. 48, for
mention of the god Settaboth.
[103] MS. 5,650 reads: “the wife of one of the giants who had
remained behind in irons.”
[104] MS. 5,650 makes this plural.
[105] See ante, note 103.
[106] This word is omitted in MS. 5,650.
[107] MS. 5,650 adds: “in their language.”
[108] MS. 5,650 omits this sentence.
[109] MS. 5,650 reads “instead of taking medicine.” See Jesuit
Relations and Allied Documents (Cleveland reissue) for examples of
medicine and surgery as practiced by the North American Indians.
[110] MS. 5,650 reads “two feet or so.”
[111] MS. 5,650 reads “cut short and shaven like religious.” Hans
Stade also notices the tonsure among the Indians who captured him (see
Captivity of Hans Stade, Hakluyt Society edition, pp. 136–138, and
note, from which it appears that this manner of wearing the hair, was
practiced among many Tupi tribes).
[112] Stanley (p. 55) does not translate this sentence, but gives the
original from MS. 5,650.
[113] In MS. 5,650 this sentence reads as follows: “They seem to be
painted, and one of those enemies is taller than the others, and makes
a greater noise and gives expression to greater joy than the others.”
[114] Mosto (p. 59) mistranscribes or misprints “Setebas.” Roncagli
(Da punta arenas a Santo Cruz, in “Bollettino della Società
geografica italiana,” 1884, p. 775) says that the Patagonians
sacrificed to an evil spirit called “Wallichu.” Brinton, ut supra,
p. 328, says: “They are not without some religious rites, and are
accustomed to salute the new moon, and at the beginning of any solemn
undertaking to puff the smoke of their pipes to the four cardinal
points, just as did the Algonquins and Iroquois.”
[115] See ante, note 91. Stanley mistranscribes “Pataghoni” of MS.
5,650 as “Palaghom.”
[116] A reference to the gypsies who had made their appearance in Italy
as early as 1422, where they practiced various deceptions upon the
credulous people. The name “Cingani” or Zingari, as they are
generally called in Italy, comes from the Greek word t>asigqanoi, by
which they were called by Byzantine writers of the ix–xii centuries;
the same name appearing also in slightly different forms in Turkey,
Bulgaria, Roumania, Hungary, Bohemia, and Germany. Their ancestral home
was probably in northwestern India, whence they emigrated in successive
waves. In many countries extreme and harsh measures were taken against
them, especially in Germany, where they had appeared as early as 1417.
They were never allowed a foothold in France, but have become a
significant part of the population in Russia, Hungary, and Spain. In
the latter country, where they are called Gitános (Egyptians), in
spite of many severe laws passed against them until the reign of
Cárlos III, they continued, more fortunate than the Jews, to thrive.
They are mentioned by Cervantes in his Don Quixote (pt. i, chap, xxx),
but the name Gitáno had first appeared in a Spanish document of 1499,
where their customs are described. The few in Italy have been allowed
to remain, and those in the Slavic countries and England were generally
treated kindly. Their language is Aryan and was highly inflected; and
while they have been given many names by the nations among whom they
have lived, their own appellation is “Rom” “the man.” See New
International Encyclopedia (New York, 1903).
[117] MS. 5,650 reads: “capae;” but Stanley has mistranscribed
“capac.”
[118] “Albo (Navarrete iv, p. 215), the “Roteiro” (Stanley, p.
4), Transylvanus and Oviedo (Mosto, p. 59, note 3) give the date of
departure from Port San Julian August 24, 1520; but the second errs in
giving 5½ instead of 4½ months for the period for which the fleet
remained there. Peter Martyr places the date of departure as August 21.
Castanheda, who gives the same date says that the name “St. Julian”
or “of the ducks” was given to that bay which he calls a river.
Barros gives the date of arrival as April 2, and says that the place
was called “river of Saõ Julião.” See Mosto, ut supra.
[119] A portion of the passage relating to the attempted mutiny reads
as follows in MS. 5,650: “However the treason was discovered, and as
a consequence the treasurer was killed by a dagger and then quartered.
Gaspar de Casada was beheaded and then quartered. The overseer trying
shortly after to lead another mutiny, was banished together with a
priest and set ashore on that land of Pathagonia.” The Italian MS. is
badly confused, while the above is more in accordance with the facts,
and shows the hand of the translator and adapter. Eden (p. 252) says of
the attempted mutiny: “They remayned fyue monethes in this porte of
Sainte Iulian, where certeyne of the vnder capitaynes conſpirynge the
death of theyr general, were hanged and quartered: Amonge whom the
treaſurer Luigo of Mendozza was one. Certeyne of the other
conſpirators, he left in the ſayd land of Patogoni.” See the short
account of the mutiny given by Transylvanus in Vol. I, p. 317, and the
account given in the same volume, pp. 297, 299. The Roteiro (Stanley,
p. 3) says that three of the ships revolted against Magalhães”
saying that they intended to take him to Castile in arrest, as he was
taking them all to destruction;” but Magalhães subdued the mutiny by
the aid of the foreigners with him. Mendoza was killed by Espinosa the
chief constable of the fleet, and Gaspar Quesada was beheaded and
quartered. Alvaro de Mesquita, Magalhães’s cousin, is wrongly
reported to have been given command of one of the ships of those
killed, but the command of the “San Antonio” that had previously
been given to Antonio de Coca, after Magalhães had deprived Cartagena
of it, had been given him before the real outbreak of the mutiny.
The narrative of the mutiny as given by Navarrete (Col. de viages, iv,
pp. 34–38) which was compiled mainly from documents presented in the
same volume and from Herrera, is as follows:
“March 31, the eve of Palm Sunday, Magallanes entered the port of San
Julian, where he intended to winter, and consequently ordered the
rations to be served by measure. In view of that and of the barrenness
and cold of the country, the men asked Magallanes by various arguments
to increase the rations or turn back, since there was no hope of
finding the end of that country or any strait. But Magallanes replied
that he would either die or accomplish what he had promised; that the
king had ordered the voyage which he was to accomplish; and that he had
to sail until he found that land or some strait which must surely
exist; that in regard to the food, they had no reason to complain,
since that bay had an abundance of good fish, good water, many game
birds, and quantities of wood, and that bread and wine had not failed
them, nor would fail them if they would abide by the rule regarding
rations. Among other observations, he exhorted and begged them not to
be found wanting in the valorous spirit which the Castilian nation had
manifested and showed daily in greater affairs; and offering them
corresponding rewards in the king’s name. By such means did he quiet
the men.
“April 1, Palm Sunday, Magallanes summoned all his captains,
officers, and pilots to go ashore to hear mass and afterward to dine in
his ship. Alvaro de la Mezquita, Antonio de Coca, and all the men went
to hear mass. Louis de Mendoza, Gaspar de Quesada, and Juan de
Cartagena (the latter because he was a prisoner in Quesada’s keeping)
did not go, however; and Alvaro de la Mezquita alone went to dine with
Magallanes.
“During the night, Gaspar de Quesada and Juan de Cartagena with about
thirty armed men of the ship ‘Concepcion’ went to the ‘San
Antonio,’ where Quesada requested that the captain, Alvaro de la
Mezquita, be surrendered to him, and told the crew of the ship to seize
it, as they had already done with the ‘Concepcion’ and
‘Victoria.’ [He said] that they already knew how Magallanes had
treated and was treating them, because they had asked him to fulfil the
king’s orders; that they were lost men; and that they should help him
make another request of Magallanes, and if necessary, seize him. Juan
de Elorriaga, the master of the ‘San Antonio,’ spoke in favor of
his captain, Alvaro de la Mezquita, saying to Gaspar de Quesada: ‘I
summon you, in God’s name and that of the king, Don Cárlos, to go to
your ship, for the present is no time to go through the ships with
armed men; and I also summon you to release our captain.’ Thereupon
Quesada replied: ‘Must our deed remain unaccomplished because of this
madman?’ and drawing his dagger stabbed him four times in the arm,
thus overawing the men. Mezquita was kept prisoner, Elorriaga was cared
for, Cartagena went to the ship ‘Concepcion,’ while Quesada
remained in the ‘San Antonio.’ Thus were Quesada, Cartagena, and
Mendoza masters of the three ships, ‘San Antonio,’
‘Concepcion,’ and ‘Victoria.’
“Thereupon, they sent a message to Magallanes to the effect that they
held three ships and the small boats of all five at their disposal in
order to require him to fulfil his Majesty’s provisions. They said
that they had done that in order that he might no longer illtreat them
as he had done thitherto. If he would agree to fulfil his Majesty’s
orders, they would obey his commands, and [said] that if they had
thitherto treated him as a superior, they would thenceforth treat him
as a master, and would be most respectful to him.
“Magallanes sent word to them to come to his ship, where he would
hear them and do what was proper. They answered that they did not dare
come lest he illtreat them, but that he should go to the ship ‘San
Antonio,’ where they would all assemble and decide definitely on what
the king’s orders commanded.
“Magallanes believing that boldness was more useful than meekness in
the face of such actions, determined to employ craft and force
together. He kept the small boat of the ship ‘San Antonio’ which
was used for those negotiations, at his ship; and sent the alguacil,
Gonzalo Gomez de Espinosa, in the skiff belonging to his ship, to the
‘Victoria,’ with six men armed secretly and a letter for the
treasurer, Luis de Mendoza, in which he told the latter to come to the
flagship. While the treasurer was reading the letter and smiling as if
to say ‘You don’t catch me that way,’ Espinosa stabbed him in the
throat, while another sailor stabbed him at the same instant on the
head so that he fell dead. Magallanes, being a man with foresight, sent
a boat under command of Duarte Barbosa, sobresaliente of the
‘Trinidad’ with fifteen armed men, who entering the ‘Victoria’
flung the banner to the breeze without any resistance. That happened on
April 2. Then the ‘Victoria’ approached the flagship, and they
together immediately approached the ‘Santiago.’
“On the following day, the ‘San Antonio’ and the ‘Concepcion’
which were held by Quesada and Cartagena tried to put to sea, but it
was necessary for them to pass close to the flagship which stood
farthest out. The ‘San Antonio’ raised two anchors, and being in
danger with one, Quesada determined to free Alvaro de la Mezquita, whom
he held a prisoner in his ship, in order to send him to Magallanes to
arrange peace between them. Mezquita, however, told him that nothing
would be obtained. Finally, they arranged that when they set sail,
Mezquita should station himself forward and ask Magallanes as they
approached his ship, not to fire and that they would anchor provided
affairs would be settled favorably.
“Before setting sail in the ‘San Antonio,’ where they were
endangered, as it was night and the crew were asleep, the ship dragged
and ran foul of the flagship. The latter discharged some large and
small shots and men leaped aboard the ‘San Antonio’ crying, ‘For
whom are you?’ they responding, ‘For the king, our sovereign, and
your Grace,’ surrendered to Magallanes. The latter seized Quesada,
the accountant, Antonio de Coca, and other sobresalientes who had gone
to the ‘San Antonio’ with Quesada. Then he sent to the
‘Concepcion’ for Juan de Cartagena and imprisoned him with them.
“Next day Magallanes ordered the body of Mendoza taken ashore and had
it quartered, and Mendoza cried as a traitor. On the seventh, he
ordered Gaspar de Quesada beheaded and quartered with a like cry. That
was done by Quesada’s own follower and sobresaliente, Luis de Molino,
in order to save himself from hanging, for that sentence had been
passed on him. Magallanes sentenced Juan de Cartagena and the lay
priest, Pedro Sanchez de la Reina, who had been active in causing the
men to mutiny, to be marooned in that country. He pardoned more than
forty men who merited death, as they were needed to work the ships, and
so that he might not excite hard feelings by the severity of the
punishment.”
Brito’s account of the mutiny (Navarrete, iv, p. 307) is very brief
and unsatisfactory: “In that port the captains began to ask him where
he was taking them, especially one Juan de Cartagena, who said that he
had a royal cedula naming him as associate with Magallanes, as Rui
Falero would also have been, had he been there. Then they tried to rise
against Magallanes and kill him, and go back to Castilla or to Rodas.
From that point they went to the river of Santa Cruz, where they
endeavored to put their plan in execution. But when Magallanes
discovered their ill-considered attempt, for the captains said that
they would kill him or take him prisoner, he ordered his ship armed and
Juan de Cartagena arrested. As soon as the other captains saw their
chief arrested they thought no longer of prosecuting their attempt.
Magallanes, however, seized them all, for most of the crew were in his
favor. He sent the merino or alguacil to kill Luis de Mendoza with his
dagger, for the latter refused to be arrested; while he had another
named Gaspar Quesada beheaded. When they set sail, he left Juan de
Cartagena together with a secular priest ashore at a place where there
were no inhabitants.”
Correa (Stanley, pp. 247–250) gives a different and imperfect account
of the meeting.
Cf. with these accounts the one given by Guillemard (Magellan), pp.
162–174. When the “San Antonio” deserted, Esteban Gomez is said
to have rescued Cartagena and the priest. João Serrão (after the loss
of the “Santiago”) was given command of the “Concepcion,”
Mesquita of the “San Antonio,” and Duarte Barbosa of the
“Victoria,” all Portuguese (Guillemard, ut supra, p. 179). It is
rather singular that Sir Francis Drake should also have faced a mutiny
in this same port, where Thomas Doughty was executed. That the history
of Magalhães’s expedition was generally known is evident from the
following: “The next day after, being the twentieth of June, wee
harboured ourselues againe in a very good harborough, called by
Magellan Port S. Julian, where we found a gibbet standing upon the
maine, which we supposed to be the place where Magellan did execution
upon some of his disobedient and rebellious company.” World
encompassed (Hakluyt Society edition), p. 234.
[120] MS. 5,650 reads: “twenty-five leagues.”
[121] Instead of this last phrase, MS. 5,650 reads: “and very little
of that.” The account of the shipwreck and rescue as given here is
very confusing and inadequate. Cf. Guillemard, ut supra, pp. 175–179,
and Navarrete, iv, pp. 38, 39. One man was lost, namely, the negro
slave of João Serrão. The “Roteiro” (Stanley, p. 4) gives the
briefest mention of it. Brito (Navarrete, iv, p. 307) says: “After
this [i.e., the mutiny], they wintered for three months; and Magallanes
again ordered the ship ‘Santiago’ to go ahead in order to explore.
The ship was wrecked but all of its crew were saved.” Correa’s
account (Stanley, p. 250) is very short, and mentions that only the
hull of the vessel was lost.
[122] Mosto (p. 60, note 3) derives this word from the Spanish
mejillon, a variety of cockle, which he thinks may be the Mytilus or
common mussel.
[123] See Vol. II, p. 34, note 5*.
[124] Eden (p. 252) says: “52. degree ... lackynge a thyrde parte.”
[125] MS. 5,650 omits: “and the holy bodies,” and has in its place:
“by His grace.”
[126] MS. 5,650 omits these last two words. The Italian form braccio is
retained in view of these words; for the Spanish braza is a measure
about equivalent to the English fathom, while the braccio, although
varying in different cities, is near three palmos (spans) in length.
The term is, however, translated brasse (“fathom”) in MS. 5,650.
Mosto (p. 60, note 8), conjectures this fish to be the Eliginus
maclovinus. Of this fish, Theodore Gill, the well-known ichthyologist,
says in a letter of May 22, 1905: “The Italian editor gave a shrewd
guess in the suggestion that the fish in question was what was formerly
called Eliginus maclovinus. The only vulgar name that I have been able
to find for it is ‘robalo,’ and this name is applied to it by the
Spanish-speaking people of both sides of South America. Like most
popular names, however, it is very misleading. ‘Robalo’ is the
Spanish name for the European bass, which is nearly related to our
striped bass or rock bass. To that fish the robalo of South America has
no affinity or real resemblance, and belongs to a very different family
peculiar to the southern hemisphere—the Nototheniids. The so-called
Eliginus maclovinus (properly, Eliginops maclovinus) is the most common
and widely distributed species and probably the one obtained by the
fleet of Magalhães.”
[127] Of the river Santa Cruz and the stay there, Albo (Navarrete, iv,
p. 215) says: “We left that place [i.e., Port San Julian] on the 24th
of the said month [of August] and coasted along to the southwest by
west. About 30 leguas farther on, we found a river named Santa Cruz,
which we entered on the 26th of the same month. We stayed there until
the day of San Lucas, the 18th of the month of October. We caught many
fish there and got wood and water. That coast extends northeast by east
and southwest by west, and is an excellent coast with good
indentations.” The “Roteiro” (Stanley, p. 4) places the river
Santa Cruz twenty leagues from San Julian and in about 50°. That
narrative says that the four remaining boats continued to pick up the
wreckage of the “Santiago” until September 18. The name Santa Cruz
was said to have been given to the river because they entered it on
September 14, the day of the exaltation of the holy cross (see Stanley,
p. 4, note 4, and Mosto, p. 60, note 7), but Kohl (Mosto, ut supra)
attributes the name to João Serrão who was near that river on May 3,
1520, the day on which the church celebrates the feast of the finding
of the holy cross. Navarrete (iv, p. 41) cites Herrera as authority for
an eclipse of the sun that happened while at this river on October 11,
1520. Guillemard (ut supra, pp. 187, 188) is disinclined to believe the
report, although he mentions an annular eclipse of the sun on October
20, 1520, which was however not visible in Patagonia. Navarrete (ut
supra) says that Magalhães gave instructions to his captains here
“saying that he would follow those coasts until finding a strait or
the end of that continent, even if he had to go to a latitude of 75°;
that before abandoning that enterprise, the ships might be twice
unrigged; and that after that he would go in search of Maluco toward
the east and east northeast, by way of the cape of Buena Esperanza and
the island of San Lorenzo.”
A new chapter begins at this point in MS. 5,650, being simply headed
“chapter.”
[128] The anonymous Portuguese who accompanied Duarte Barbosa says 53°
30´; Barros, 52° 56´; Elcano, 54°; and Albo, 52° 30´. Mosto, p.
60, note 9.
[129] MS. 5.650 has the words in brackets.
[130] Eden (p. 252) says of the strait: “they founde the ſtraight
nowe cauled the ſtraight of Magellanus, beinge in ſum place C.x.
leagues in length: and in breadth ſumwhere very large and in other
places lyttle more than halfe a league in bredth.” Stanley (p. 57) is
uncertain of the French et quasi autant de largeur moins de demye
lieue, which is (translated freely) simply “something like almost a
half-league wide.” The “Roteiro” (Stanley, p. 7) says that the
channel “at some places has a width of three leagues, and two, and
one, and in some places half a league.” Transylvanus (Vol. I, p. 320)
gives the width as two, three, five, or ten Italian miles; Gomara, two
leagues or so; Barros, one league at the mouth, and the strait, from a
musket or cannon shot to one and one and one-half leagues; Castanheda,
at the mouth as wide as two ships close together, then opening up to
one league; Peter Martyr, a sling-shot’s distance in places. (Mosto,
p. 61, note 2.)
[131] Proise or Proi (proy, proic) is an ancient Catalonian word
meaning the “bow moorings;” Cf. Jal, Glossaire nautìque (Mosto, p.
61, note 3). The old Spanish word is “proís,” which signifies both
the thing to which the ship is moored ashore, and the rope by which it
is moored to the shore.
[132] This passage is as follows in MS. 5,650: “The said strait was a
circular place surrounded with mountains (as I have said), and the
majority of the sailors thought that there was no exit from it into the
said Pacific Sea. But the captain-general declared that there was
another strait which led out, and that he knew that well, for he had
seen it on a marine chart of the king of Portugal. That map had been
made by a renowned sailor and pilot, named Martin de Boesme. The said
captain sent two of his ships forward—one named the ‘Sainct
Anthoine,’ and the other the ‘Conception’—in order that they
might look for and discover the exit from the said strait, which was
called the cape de la Baya.”
Martin de Behaim (Beham, Behem, Behemira, Behen, Bœhem), Bœhm) was
born about 1459 (some say also in 1430 or 1436) of a family originally
from Bohemia, in Nuremberg, Germany, and died at Lisbon, July 29, 1506.
He was a draper in Flanders, 1477–1479, after which he went to Lisbon
(1480) where he became acquainted with Columbus. In 1484 he was chosen
geographer of Diego Cam’s expedition to Western Africa. On his
return, he received the order of knighthood in the military order of
Christ of Portugal; after which he went to the island of Fayal in the
Azores where he became interested in colonization and agriculture, and
married the daughter of the governor. In 1491 he returned to Germany,
where he lived at Nuremberg until 1493, and where, at the request of
his townsmen, he constructed an immense globe on the information of
Ptolemy, Strabo, and others, which contains many errors (see facsimile
in Guillemard), In 1493 he returned to Lisbon, and in 1494 to Fayal,
where he remained until 1506, when he went to Lisbon. Many myths sprung
up about him, such that he had visited America before Columbus and the
straits of Magellan before Magalhães, the latter of whom he may have
known at Lisbon. See Rose, New Biographical Dictionary (London, 1848);
Grande Encyclopédie (Paris, Lamirault et Cie.); and Guillemard, pp.
73, 74.
See Guillemard (ut supra, pp. 189–198) for a discussion of knowledge
regarding the existence of a strait to the south of the American
continent, prior to Magalhães’s discovery and passage of it.
Guillemard, after weighing the evidence for and against, decides that
there may have been a “more or less inexact knowledge of the
existence of some antarctic break “that would allow access to the
eastern world.
[133] Possession Bay, according to Mosto, p. 61, note 5, but Guillemard
(pp. 199, 200) thinks it may have been Lomas Bay.
[134] Probably Anegada Point to the northwest of Cape Orange.
[135] The “First Narrows” or Primera Garganta, just beyond Anegada
Point.
[136] Lago de los Estrechos, St. Philip’s Bay, or Boucant Bay.
[137] The “Second Narrows” and Broad Reach.
[138] MS. 5,650 does not mention the smoke signals.
[139] MS. 5,650 reads: “When near us they suddenly discharged a
number of guns, whereat we very joyously saluted them with artillery
and cries.”
[140] The first is the passage east of Dawson Island, which extends to
the northeast into Useless Bay and to the southeast into Admiralty
Sound. The second opening was the passage between the western side of
Dawson Island and Brunswick Peninsula.
[141] Esteban Gomez was an experienced Portuguese navigator and pilot
with ambitions only less than those of Magalhães, his kinsman
(Guillemard, p. 203). His desertion occurred probably in the first part
of November, and was perhaps directly due to pique at what he
considered lack of appreciation from Magalhães. Conspiring with
Gerónimo Guerra, the notary, who was elected captain of the “San
Antonio” they made off with that ship, and after imprisoning Alvaro
de Mezquita, returned to Spain, anchoring at Sevilla May 6, 1521. There
Gomez was imprisoned after the return of the “Victoria,” but was
liberated, and in 1524 proposed an expedition to discover a northwest
passage. An expedition having been fitted out by Cárlos I, he coasted
Florida and the eastern coast, as far as Cape Cod, and returned to
Spain in 1525. See Grande Encyclopédie; Navarrete, iv, pp. 42–45,
and 201–208; and Guillemard, ut supra, pp. 203–205.
Brito’s story of the exploration of the strait and the loss of the
“San Antonio” (Navarrete, iv, pp. 307, 308) is as follows: “They
left that place [i.e., the river of Santa Cruz] on October 20, and went
to enter a strait of which they had no knowledge. The entrance of the
strait extends for about 15 leguas; and after they had entered, it
seemed to them that it was all land-locked, and they accordingly
anchored there. Magallanes sent a Portuguese pilot named Juan Carballo
ashore with orders to ascend a mountain in order to ascertain whether
there was any outlet. Carballo returned saying that it appeared
land-locked to him. Thereupon Magallanes ordered the ships ‘San
Antonio’ and the ‘Concepcion’ to go in advance in order to
explore the strait. After having gone ahead for about 30 leguas, they
returned to tell Magallanes that the river went farther but that they
could not tell where it would take them. Upon receiving that
information Magallanes weighed anchor with all three ships, and
advanced along the strait until reaching the point to which the others
had explored. Then he ordered the ‘San Antonio’ of which Alvaro de
Mezquito, his cousin, was captain, and Esteban Gomez, a Portuguese
pilot, to go ahead and explore a southern channel that opened in the
strait. That ship did not return to the others and it is not known
whether it returned to Castilla or whether it was wrecked. Magallanes
proceeded with his remaining ships until he found an exit.”
Correa’s account of the desertion of the “San Antonio” is as
usual with him, inadequate, and evidently based on hearsay evidence
(see Stanley, p. 250).
[142] Literally “brother;” but to be understood probably as the
expression cugino germano, “cousin german.”
[143] MS. 5,650 begins this sentence as follows: “But that ship lost
its time, for the other.”
[144] Guillemard (p. 206) conjectures from the records of Albo,
Pigafetta, and Herrera that the river of Sardines is Port Gallant which
is located on the Brunswick Peninsula, opposite the Charles Islands.
Albo (Navarrete, iv, p. 215) says that after taking the course to the
northwest they sailed about 15 leagues before anchoring.
[145] Albo (Navarrete, iv, p. 216) says that the two capes at the exit
of the strait were called Fermosa and Deseado, this latter being Cape
Pillar (see Guillemard, map facing p. 198).
[146] MS. 5,650 adds: “which were on the other side.”
[147] João Serrão, the brother of Magalhães’s staunchest friend
Francisco Serrão, and a firm supporter of the great navigator.
Pigafetta errs in calling him a Spaniard (see p. 183), though he may
have become a naturalized Spaniard, since the register speaks of him as
a citizen of Sevilla. One document (Navarrete, iv, p. 155) calls him a
Portuguese pilot, and Brito (Navarrete, iv, p. 308) a Castilian. He was
an experienced navigator and captain, and had served under Vasco da
Gama, Almeida, and Albuquerque. Vasco da Gama (on his second voyage,
1502–1503) made him captain of the ship “Pomposa” which was built
in Mozambique where he was left to attend to Portuguese affairs. On
this expedition he saw the coast of Brazil for the first time, for
Vasco da Gama’s fleet, ere doubling the Cape of Good Hope, crossed to
the Brazilian coast, which they followed as far as Cape Santo
Agostinho. He fought bravely in the battle of Cananor under Almeida
(March 16, 1506, in which Magalhães also participated). He was chief
captain of three caravels in August, 1510, in Eastern water, and was in
the Java seas in 1512, but must have returned to Portugal soon after
that, for he was there in 1513; although he seems to have been
appointed clerk at the fortress of Calicut in the latter year. He
embarked with Magalhães as captain and pilot of the “Santiago,”
but after the wreck of that vessel near port San Julian was given
command of the “Concepcion,” in which he later explored the strait.
Failing to dissuade Magalhães from attacking the natives of Matan, he
became commander, with Duarte Barbosa, of the fleet at Magalhães’s
death, and was murdered by the Cebuans after the treacherous banquet
given by them to the fleet. See Guillemard (ut supra), and Stanley’s
Three voyages of Vasco da Gama (Hakluyt Society publications, London,
1869).
[148] MS. 5,650 reads as follows: “Such was the method ordered by the
captain from the beginning, in order that the ship that happened to
become separated from the others might rejoin the fleet.” Then it
adds: “Thereupon the crew of the said ship did what the captain had
ordered them and more, for they set two banners with their letters,”
etc.
[149] “The island of Santa Magdalena (Mosto, p. 62, note 11).
[150] According to Guillemard the river of Isleo (or “of Islands”)
is located on Brunswick Peninsula, and is identified with the port of
San Miguel, just east of the “River of Sardines;” the island where
the cross was planted would be one of the Charles Islands.
[151] The “Roteiro” (Stanley, p. 3) mentions that the day at the
port of San Julian was about seven hours long; while the anonymous
Portuguese (Stanley, p. 30) says that the sun only appeared for some
“four hours each day” in June and July. Transylvanus says the
nights in the strait were not longer than five hours.
[152] MS. 5,650 adds: “which is the collateral wind between the east
and south.”
[153] MS. 5,650 adds: “and anchorages.”
[154] Various kinds of these umbelliferous parsley plants are still to
be found in Patagonia, where they are highly esteemed (Mosto, p. 63,
note 3).
[155] MS. 5,650 reads: “I do not believe that there is a more
beautiful country or a better strait than that.” See Albo’s
description of the strait, in Vol. I, pp. 264–265; that of
Transylvanus, Vol. I, pp. 319–321; and that in World encompassed
(Hakluyt Society edition), pp. 236, 237 (this last account also
mentioning the difficulty of finding water sufficiently shallow for
anchoring). The anonymous Portuguese (Stanley, p. 31) says that the
strait was called the “Strait of Victoria, because the ship
‘Victoria’ was the first that had seen it: some called it the
Strait of Magalhaens because our captain was named Fernando de
Magalhaens.” Castanheda says that Magalhães gave it the name of
“bay of All Saints” because it was discovered on November 1; and
San Martin in his reply to Magalhães’s request for opinions
regarding the continuance of the expedition calls it “channel of All
Saints:” but this name was first applied to only one gulf or one
branch and later extended to the entire channel. This name is found in
the instructions given for the expedition of Sebastian Cabot in 1527,
and in the map made that same year at Sevilla by the Englishman Robert
Thorne. Sarmiento de Gamboa petitioned Felipe II that it be called
“strait of the Mother of God.” It was also called “strait of
Martin Behaim.” The anonymous Portuguese (Stanley, p. 31) says that
the strait is 400 miles long. The “Roterio” (Stanley, pp. 7, 8)
says that it is 100 leagues in length, and that in traversing it, they
“sailed as long as it was daylight, and anchored when it was
night.” Transylvanus (Vol. I, p. 320) gives the length as 100 Spanish
miles; Oviedo, 100 or 110 leagues; Herrera, 100 leagues, and twenty
days to navigate; Gomara, 110 to 120 leagues; Peter Martyr, 110
leagues. See Mosto, p. 60, note 10, and p. 62, note 2; and ante, note
130.
[156] These fish are: a species of Coryphæna; the Thymnus albacora,
and the Thymnus plamys.
[157] From the Spanish golondrina, the sapphirine gurnard or tubfish
(Trigla hirundo).
[158] MS. 5,650 reads: “one foot or more.”
[159] At this point in the original Italian MS., which ends a page,
occurs the heading of the following page Sequitur Vocabuli pataghoni,
that is, “Continuation of Patagonian words.”
[160] Literally: “for the nature of women.”
[161] MS. 5,650 presents the following differences in the list of
Patagonian words from the Italian MS.
Eyes ather
Eyelashes occhechl
Lips schiane
Hair ajchir
Throat ohumer
Shoulders peles
Penis scachet
Testicles scaneos
Rump schiachen
Arm mar
Pulse ohon
Legs choss
Feet teche
Heel there
Sole of the foot cartscheni
Fingernails colini
To scratch ghecare
Young man calemi
Water oli
Smoke jaiche
We chen
Yes zei
Petre lazure secheghi
Sun calexcheni
To eat mecchiere
To look conne
To walk rhei
Ship theu
To run haim
Ostrich eggs jan
The powder of the herb
which they eat capae
Red cloth terechai
Black amel
Red theiche
To cook jrecoles
A goose chache
Their little devils Cheleult
In the above list, chen corresponds in the Italian MS. to ehen, the
equivalent of “no;” theu is “ship” in the above, and “snow”
in the Italian; courire (the equivalent of covrire or coprire, “to
cover”) in the Italian, becomes courir (“to run”) in MS. 5,650.
All are to be regarded as errors of the French. Certain words are left
in Italian in MS. 5,650, which are as follows: la copa; alcalcagno;
(Italian MS. al calcagno); homo squerzo (Italian MS. sguerco); a la
pignate (Italian MS. pigniata); alstruzzo vcelo (Italian MS. al seruzo
ucelo); and alcocinare (Italian MS. al coçinare). Stanley offers this
as proof that MS. 5,650 was written by Pigafetta, and not translated
from his Italian, but it furnishes no evidence that Pigafetta even saw
the French version of his relation. It must be remembered that Stanley
did not himself see the Italian MS. but only the Amoretti mutilation of
it (from which, and from MS. 5,650, he reproduces the vocabulary,
without English translation); and hence bases his observations on that
and the conjectures of its editor. Stanley points out the fact that
Amoretti has omitted several words of this list, but they are all in
the Italian MS. A sad blunder has been made by Stanley in his
transcription of La pouldre dherbe qui mangent whose Patagonian
equivalent is capac. He transcribes as follows: la pouldre d’herbe
with Patagonian equivalent qui (which it is to be noted is only the
wrong form of the French relative), and mangent with Patagonian
equivalent capac, explaining mangent in a footnote as “Food, the root
used as bread.” Stanley also makes the following mistranscriptions:
orescho for oresche (“nostrils”); canneghin for caimeghin (“palm
of the hand”); ochy for ochii (“bosom”); scancos for scaneos
(“testicles”); hou for hoii (“buttocks”); ohoy for ohon
(“pulse”); cartschem for cartscheni (“sole of the foot”); chol
for thol (“heart”); om for oni (“wind”); aschame for aschanie
(“earthen pot”); oamaghei for oamaghce (“to fight”); amet for
amel (“black”); and ixecoles for jrocoles (“to cook”). Amoretti
has also made many errors (see Stanley’s First Voyage, pp. 62, 63).
Mosto, who is on the whole a faithful transcriber, has sacancos as the
Patagonian equivalent of a li testiculi; om jani for a li sui, the
correct forms of the latter being jani and a li sui oui; and tcrechai
for the equivalent of “red cloth.” Eden (p. 252) gives only the
following words: “breade, Capar: water, Oli: redde clothe, Cherecai:
red colour, Cheiche: blacke colour, Amel.”
Mosto (p. 63, note 8) gives the following words from the vocabulary of
the Tehuel-ches compiled by the second lieutenant of the ship
“Roncagli,” which correspond almost exactly with those given by
Pigafetta.
English Roncagli Pigafetta
Nose or or
eye óthel other
hand tzén chene
ear sha sane
ostrich óyue hoi hoi
Brinton (American Race, p. 328) cites Ramon Lista (Mis exploraciones y
descubrìmientos en Patagonia, Buenos Ayres, 1880) in proof that the
language of the Patagonians has undergone but slight change since the
time of Pigafetta. See also lists of words in Brinton (ut supra), p.
364, from the Patagonian and Fuegian languages. The vocabularies given
by Horatio Hale (Wilkes’s U. S. Exploring Expedition, 1838–1842,
Philadelphia, 1846, viii, pp. 651–656) bear no resemblance to
Pigafetta’s vocabulary. Hale says that guttural sounds are frequent
among the Indians of the Patagonian district.
[162] MS. 5,650 reads: “capae.”
[163] Cf. with the methods of fire-making used by the North American
Indians in Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents (Cleveland reissue);
see also Captivity of Hans Stade (Hakluyt Society edition), p. 126.
At this point (folio 14a) in the original Italian MS. occurs the first
chart, representing the straits of Magellan (see p. 86). The cardinal
points in all of Pigafetta’s charts are the reverse of the ordinary,
the north being below and the south above. MS. 5,650 precedes this
chart (which there occupies folio 21a) by the words: “Below is
depicted the strait of Patagonie.” Immediately following this chart
in the Italian MS. (folio 15a) is the chart of the Ysole Infortunate
(“Unfortunate Isles;” see p. 92). These islands are shown in MS.
5,650 on folio 23a, with the following notice: “Here are shown the
two islands called ‘Unfortunate Islands.’” The charts in the
Italian MS. are brown or dull black on a blue ground.
[164] The “Roteiro” (Stanley, p. 9) says that Magalhães left the
strait November 26 (having entered it October 21); the anonymous
Portuguese (Stanley, p. 31) and Peter Martyr (Mosto, p. 65, note 1),
November 27.
[165] MS. 5,650 reads: “And we ate only biscuits that had fallen to
powder, which was quite full of worms, and stank from the filth of the
urine of rats that covered it, and of which the good had been eaten.”
Eden (p. 252) reads: “And hauynge in this tyme conſumed all theyr
byſket and other vyttales, they fell into ſuche neceſſitie that
they were inforced to eate the pouder that remayned therof beinge nowe
full of woormes and ſtynkynge lyke pyſſe by reaſon of the ſalte
water,” Herrera (Navarrete, iv, p. 51) says that the rice was cooked
with salt water.
[166] A curious coincidence in view of Magalhães’s answer to Esteban
Gomez at a council called in the strait to discuss the continuance of
the voyage that “although he had to eat the cowhide wrappings of the
yardarms, he would still persevere and discover what he had promised
the emperor” (Navarrete, iv, p. 43; cited from Herrera). At that
council André de San Martin, pilot in the “San Antonio,” advised
that they continue explorations until the middle of January, 1521, and
then return to Spain; and urged that no farther southward descent be
made, and that navigation along so dangerous coasts be only by day, in
order that the crew might have some rest (Navarrete, iv, pp. 45–49).
[167] MS. 5,650 reads: “enough of them.”
[168] This was the scurvy. Navarrete (iv, p. 54) following a document
conserved in Archivo general de Indias, says that only eleven men died
of scurvy during the voyage from the strait to the Ladrones.
[169] The anonymous Portuguese says (Stanley, p. 31) that after sailing
west and northwest for 9,858 miles, the equator was reached. At the
line (“Roteiro,” Stanley, p. 9), Magalhães changed the course in
order to strike land north of the Moluccas, as “he had information
that there were no provisions” there.
[170] MS. 5,650 reads: “It is well named Pacific.”
[171] MS. 5,650 adds: “which is a large fish called tiburoni.” The
anonymous Portuguese (Stanley, p. 31), says that the Unfortunate
Islands were met before the line was reached and were eight hundred
miles distant from one another. One was called St. Peter (in 18°) and
the other the island of Tiburones (in 14°). Transylvanus (Vol. I, p.
321), Herrera, and Oviedo, say that the three vessels stopped two days
at those islands for supplies, but Albo’s journal (Navarrete, iv, p.
218) indicates that no stop was made there. The “Roteiro” (Stanley,
p. 9), gives the latitude of these islands as 18° or 19° and 13° or
14°. Albo (Navarrete, iv, p. 218) says that the first was discovered
January 24 in 16° 15´, and was called San Pablo, because that was the
date of St. Paul’s conversion; and the island of Tiburones was
discovered February 4, in 10° 40´, at a distance of 9° (sic) from
the former. Eden (p. 253) says that the second island lay in 5°. These
two islands were probably Puka-puka (the Honden Eyland of the Dutch
atlases) of the Tuamotu group, located in latitude 14° 45´ south, and
longitude 138° 48´ west; and Flint Island of the Manihiki group,
located in latitude 11° 20´ south and longitude 151° 48´ west. The
latter is still uninhabited, but the former contains a population of
over four hundred. See ante, note 163. See Guillemard, p. 220, and
Mosto, p. 65, note 6.
[172] MS. 5,650 reads: “now at the stern, now at the windward side,
or otherwise.” Amoretti changes this passage completely, reading:
“According to our measurement of the distance that we made with the
chain astern, we ran from sixty to seventy leagues daily.” Many
basing themselves on this passage of Amoretti, have believed that the
log was in use at the time of the first circumnavigation. Dr. Breusing
(Die Catena a poppa bei Pigafetta und die Logge, in “Zeitschrift der
Gesellschaft für Erdkunde zu Berlin,” 1869, iv, pp. 107–115)
believes that the “stern chain (catena poppa) is not the log properly
so-called, but an instrument for determining the angle of the ship’s
leeway, an opinion accepted also by Gelcich in his La scoperta
d’America e Cristoforo Colombo nella letteratura moderna (Gorizia,
1890). L’Vzielle (Studi bibliogr. e biogr. sulla storia della geogr.
in Italia, Roma, 1875, part ii, introduction, pp. 294–296), combats
that opinion, as well as the idea that the log is meant. The difficulty
of the passage, he says, hinges on the word ho and whether it is
interpreted as a verb or a conjunction. If it be a conjunction then the
passage, means “estimating by sight, the rate of the ship from the
‘bow catena,’ or at the stern” (‘catena’ being a beam
perpendicular to the ship’s axis at the point near the bow where it
begins to curve inward; that is, at such a point that from that place
to the stern, the direction of the apparent way is parallel to the
longitudinal axis of the ship) his ship made fifty, sixty, or seventy
leagues.” One might suppose, if ho be regarded as a verb, that
Pigafetta called catena a cross beam of the stern (the passage reading
“the catena that was at the stern”); or that the disjunctive ho,
“or” is used in place of e, “and,” and that Pigafetta, dividing
the distance between the stern and the bow catena by the time necessary
for a fixed point of the sea to pass from the elevation of the bow to
that of the stern, thus deduced the ship’s rate. See Mosto, p. 66,
note 1. L’Vzielli’s opinion is the most probable, for although the
log is mentioned by Purchas as early as 1607, its use did not become
general until 1620. An instrument used to measure the rates of vessels
is mentioned as early as 1577, but it was very deficient.
[173] The “Roteiro” (Stanley, p. 6) says that this cape, which he
calls “cape of the virgins” was discovered on October 21, 1520, and
lay in latitude about 52° south. Barros says that it was discovered on
October 20; and Transylvanus and Oviedo, on November 27. See Mosto, p.
61, note 1.
[174] Regarding the reckonings Eden says: “In ſo much that it was
neceſſarie to helpe the needle with the lode ſtone (commonly cauled
the adamant) before they could ſaile therwith, bycauſe it moued not
as it doothe when it is in theſe owre partes.” Eden also gives a cut
of the “ſtarres abowt the pole Antartike.” The same author also
(pp. 277–280) compiles from Amerigo Vespucci and Andreas de Corsali a
treatise entitled “Of the Pole Antartike and the stars abowt the same
and of the qualitie of the regions and disposition of the Elementes
abowt the Equinoctiall line. Alſo certeyne ſecreates touching the
arte of ſaylynge.” The former says: “The pole Antartike hath
nother the great beare nor the lyttle as is ſeene abowte owre pole.
But hath foure ſtarres whiche compaſſe it abowt in forme of a
quadrangle. When these are hydden, there is ſeene on the lefte ſyde a
bryght Canopus of three ſtarres of notable greatneſſe, whiche beinge
in the myddeſt of heauen, repreſenteth this figure.” The latter
says: “Here we ſawe a marueylous order of ſtarres, ſo that in the
parte of heauen contrary to owre northe pole, to knowe in what place
and degree the ſouth pole was, we tooke the day with the ſoonne, and
obſerued the nyght with the aſtrolabie, and ſaw manifeſtly twoo
clowdes of reaſonable bygneſſe mouynge abowt the place of the pole
continually nowe ryſynge and nowe faulynge, ſo keepynge theyr
continuall courſe in circular mouynge, with a ſtarre euer in the
myddeſt which is turned abowt with them abowte. xi. degrees frome the
pole. Aboue theſe appeareth a marueylous croſſe in the myddeſt of
fyue notable ſtarres which compaſſe it abowt.... This croſſe is so
fayre and bewtiful, that none other heuenly gne may be compared to
it....” These are the Magallanic clouds (Nuebecula major and Nubecula
minor) and the constellation of the Southern Cross or Crux. The
Magellanic clouds resemble portions of the milky way, Nubecula major
being visible to the naked eye in strong moonlight and covering about
two hundred times the moon’s surface, while the Nubecula minor,
although visible to the naked eye, disappears in full moonlight, and
covers an area only one-fourth that of the former. They were first
observed by the Arabians. The Portuguese pilots probably called them at
first “clouds of the cape.” (Mosto, p. 66, note 2). The Southern
Cross, which resembles a lute rather than a cross, was first erected
into a constellation by Royer in 1679, although often spoken of before
as a cross. Only one of its five principal stars belongs to the first
magnitude. The cross is only 6° in extent north and south and less
than that east and west.
The second chart of the plate at p. 92 represents the Ladrones Islands
and occurs in the Italian MS. at this point (folio 16b). This chart is
found on folio 25b in MS. 5,650, and is preceded by the inscription:
“The island of the robbers and the style of their boats.”
[175] MS. 5,650 reads: “During that time of two months and twelve
days.”
[176] Amoretti reads: “three degrees east of Capo Verde.” If the
cape is meant, the correction is proper, but if the islands, the MS. is
correct. See Mosto, p. 67, note 4.
[177] Cipangu is Japan, while Sumbdit Pradit may be the island of
Antilia, called “Septe citade” on Martin Behaim’s globe (Mosto,
p. 67, note 5). The locations given by Pigafetta prove that they did
not see them, but that he writes only from vague reports. Europe first
learned of Japan, near the end of the thirteenth century, through Marco
Polo, who had been told in China fabulous tales of the wealth of
Zipangu. This word is derived by Marco Polo from the Chinese
Dschi-pen-Kuë or Dschi-pon, which the Japanese have transformed into
Nippon or Nihon. See Travels of Marco Polo, book iii, ch. ii; and
Rein’s Japan, p. 4.
[178] See Vol. I, pp. 208, 209, 210, 312, 336.
[179] MS. 5,650 reads: “sixty.” Transylvanus (Vol. I, p. 322) names
two islands of the Ladrones Inuagana and Acacan, but says that both
were uninhabited. Guillemard (ut supra, p. 223) conjectures these names
to be identical with Agana in Guam and Sosan in Rota. Hugues (Mosto, p.
67, note 7) believes the first island visited to have been Guam, and
his conjecture is undoubtedly correct.
[180] MS. 5,650 adds: “called skiff.”
[181] MS. 5,650 adds: “of the said island.”
[182] MS. 5,650 has a new unnumbered chapter heading before the
following paragraph.
[183] This phrase is omitted in MS. 5,650, as is also all the following
sentence; but that MS. adds: “We left the said island immediately
afterward, and continued our course.” This was on March 9, on which
day the only Englishman in the fleet, “Master Andrew” of Bristol,
died (Guillemard, ut supra, p. 226).
[184] Eden (p. 254) says: “two hundreth of theyr boates.”
[185] MS. 5,650 has a new chapter at this point, although the chapter
is unnumbered.
When Loaisa’s expedition reached the Ladrones, they found still alive
a Galician, one of three deserters from Espinosa’s ship (see Vol. II,
pp. 30, 34, 35, 110). See the reception accorded Legazpi, and a
description of one of those islands in 1565, Vol. II, pp. 109–113.
The “Roteiro” (Stanley, p. 9) says that the expedition reached the
Ladrones, March 6, 1521 (with which Albo, Navarrete, iv, p. 219
agrees); and that after the theft of the skiff, Magellan landed with
fifty or sixty men, burned the whole village, killed seven or eight
persons, both men and women; and that supplies were taken aboard. The
anonymous Portuguese (Stanley, p. 31) says that the Ladrones (which lay
in 10°–12° north latitude, were 2,046 miles by the course traveled
from the equator. Brito (Navarrete, iv, p. 308) says: “Thence [i.e.,
the Unfortunate Islands] they laid their course westward, and after
sailing 500 leguas came to certain islands where they found a
considerable number of savages. So many of the latter boarded the
vessels that when the men tried to restore order in them, they were
unable to get rid of the savages except by lance-thrusts. They killed
many savages, who laughed as if it were a cause for rejoicing.”
[186] MS. 5,650 adds: “or superior.”
[187] MS. 5,650 reads: “cloth.”
[188] At this point, MS. 5,650 begins a new sentence, thus: “There
are found in that place.”
[189] MS. 5,650 reads: “Those women.”
[190] MS. 5,650 makes use of the Italian word store for stuoje or stoje
meaning “mats,” and explains by adding: “which we call mats.”
[191] They also (according to Herrera) received the name Las Velas,
“the sails” from the lateen-rigged vessels that the natives used
(Mosto, p. 67, note 7). See also Vol. XVI, pp. 200–202.
[192] In MS. 5,650 this sentence reads as follows: “The pastime of
the men and women of the said place and their sport, is to go in their
boats to catch those flying fish with fishhooks made of fishbone.”
[193] Mosto (p. 68, note 5) says that these boats were the fisolere,
which were small and very swift oared-vessels, used in winter on the
Venetian lakes by the Venetian nobles for hunting with bows and arrows
and guns. Amoretti conjectures that Pigafetta means the fusiniere,
boats named after Fusine whence people are ferried to Venice.
[194] MS. 5,650 reads: “The said boats have no difference between
stern and bow.” Albo (Navarrete, iv, p. 219), in speaking of the
boats of the Chamorros, uses almost identically the same expression:
“They went both ways, for they could make the stern, bow, and the
bow, stern, whenever they wished.” The apparatus described by
Pigafetta as belonging to these boats is the outrigger, common to many
of the boats of the eastern islands.
[195] In the Italian MS., the chart of Aguada ly boni segnaly
(“Watering-place of good signs”), Zzamal (Samar), Abarien, Humunu,
Hyunagan, Zuluam, Cenalo, and Ybusson (q.v., p. 102) follows at this
point. It is found on folio 29b of MS. 5,650 and is preceded by the
following: “Here is shown the island of Good Signs, and the four
islands, Cenalo, Humanghar, Ibusson, and Abarien, and several
others.”
[196] “The tenth of March” in Eden, and the distance of Zamal from
the Ladrones is given as “xxx. leagues.” Albo (Navarrete, iv, p.
220) says that the first land seen was called Yunagan, “which
extended north and had many bays;” and that going south from there
they anchored at a small island called Suluan. At the former “we saw
some canoes, and went thither, but they fled. That island lies in 9°
40´ north latitude.” The “Roteiro” (Stanley, p. 10) says that
the first land seen was in “barely eleven degrees,” and that the
fleet “went to touch at another further on, which appeared first.”
Two praus approached a boat sent ashore, whereupon the latter was
ordered back, and the praus fled. Thereupon the fleet went to another
nearby island “which lies in ten degrees, to which they gave the name
of the ‘Island of Good Signs,’ because they found some gold in
it.”
[197] This word is omitted in MS. 5,650.
[198] MS. 5,650 reads: “more than one foot long.”
[199] Since rice is an important staple among all the eastern islands,
it is natural that there are different and distinctive names for that
grain in the various languages and dialects for all stages of its
growth and all its modes of preparation. Thus the Tagálog has words
for “green rice,” “rice with small heads,” “dirty and partly
rotten rice,” “early rice,” “late rice,” “cooked rice,”
and many others. See also U. S. Philippine Gazetteer, pp. 70, 71.
[200] MS. 5,650 reads: “In order to explain what manner of fruit is
that above named, one must know that what is called ‘cochi’ is the
fruit borne by the palm-tree. Just as we have bread, wine, oil, and
vinegar, which are obtained from different things, so those people get
the above named substances from those palm-trees alone.” See
Delgado’s Historia, pp. 634–659, for description of the useful
cocoa palm; also, U. S. Philippine Gazetteer, pp. 72, 73, 75.
[201] MS. 5,650 reads: “along the tree.” Practically the method
used today to gather the cocoanut wine. See U. S. Philippine Gazetteer,
p. 75.
[202] In describing the cocoanut palm and fruit, Eden (p. 254) reads:
“Vnder this rynde, there is a thicke ſhell whiche they burne and
make pouder thereof and vſe it as a remedie for certeyne
diſeaſes.” He says lower, that the cocoanut milk on congealing
“lyeth within the ſhell lyke an egge.”
[203] MS. 5,650 reads: “By so doing they last a century.”
[204] Called “Suluan” by Albo (Navarrete, iv, p. 220). It is a
small island southeast of Samar. See ante, note 196. Dr. David P.
Barrows (Census of the Philippines, Washington, 1905, i, p. 413), says
that the men from Suluan “were perhaps not typical of the rest of the
population which Magellan found sparsely scattered about the coasts of
the central islands, but ... were almost certainly of the same stock
from which the present Visayan people are in the main descended.”
These natives had probably come, he says, “in successively extending
settlements, up the west coast of Mindanao from the Sulu archipelago.
‘Sulúan’ itself means ‘Where there are Suluges,’ that is, men
of Sulu or Joló.”
[205] MS. adds: “seeing that they were thus well dispositioned.”
[206] MS. 5,650 adds: “into the sea.”
[207] Albo calls it (Navarrete, iv, p. 220) the island of Gada (i.e.,
Aguada, “watering-place”) “where we took on water and wood, that
island being very free of shoals” (see ante, note 196). This island
is now called Homonhón, Jomonjol, or Malhón. Its greatest dimensions
are ten miles from northwest to southeast, and five miles from
northeast to southwest. It is eleven miles southwest from the nearest
point in Samar. It is called “Buenas Señas” on Murillo Velarde’s
map.
[208] The “Roteiro” (Stanley p. 11) says that the archipelago was
also called “Vall Sem Periguo,” or “Valley without Peril.” The
name “Filipinas” was not applied to them until 1542 by Villalobos
(see Vol. II, p. 48).
[209] Probably the jungle-fowl (Gallus bankiva) which is caught and
tamed in large numbers by the natives of the Philippines and still used
for crossing with the domestic fowl. See Guillemard (ut supra, p. 228,
note 1).
[210] This sentence is omitted in MS. 5,650.
[211] MS. 5,650 reads: “In his ears he wore pendants of gold jewels,
which they call ‘schione.’”
[212] MS. adds: “whom he had put ashore on that island that they
might recruit their strength.”
[213] MS. 5,650 reads: “There is another island near the above
island, inhabited by people.” Mosto says (p. 70, note 6) that picheti
is from the Spanish piquete, “a small hole made with a sharp pointed
instrument.” This custom of piercing the ears is quite general among
savage, barbarous, and semi-barbarous peoples.
[214] Eden (p. 254) reads: “caphranita that is gentyles.” See Vol.
III, p. 93, note 29.
[215] This word is omitted in MS. 5,650.
[216] Our transcript reads facine, and MS. 5,650 fascine, both of which
translate “fascines.” Mosto reads focine, which is amended by
Amoretti to foscine. This latter is probably the same word as fiocina,
a “harpoon” or “eel-spear,” and hence here a “dart.”
[217] Stanley failed to decipher this word in MS. 5,650, which is the
same as the word in the Italian MS. Mosto, citing Boerio (Dizion.
veneziano), says of rizali: “Rizzagio or rizzagno, ‘sweepnet’ a
fine thickly woven net, which when thrown into rivers by the fisherman,
opens, and when near the bottom, closes, and covers and encloses the
fish. Rizzagio is also called that contrivance or net, made in the
manner of an inverted cone, with a barrel hoop attached to the
circumference as a selvage. It has a hole underneath, through which if
the eels in the ponds slyly enter the net, there is no danger of their
escape.”
Fish are caught in the Philippines by various devices—in favorable
situations by traps, weirs, corrals of bamboo set along the shore in
shallow waters. Various kinds of nets and seines, the hook and line,
and also the spear, are also used. See Census of the Philippine Islands
(Washington, 1905), iv, p. 533.
[218] MS. 5,650 reads: “Hiunanghar.” Stanley has mistranscribed
“Huinanghar.” It is difficult to identify the four islands of
Cenalo, Hiunanghan, Ibusson, and Abarien with certainty. Mosto (p. 71,
notes) suggests that they may be Dinagat, Cabugan, Gibuson, and
Cabalarián. The first three are evidently correct, as those islands
would naturally be sighted in the course followed. The last island is
shown in Pigafetta’s chart to be north of Malhón, and the
probability is that he names and locates it merely from hearsay, and
that they did not see it. Its position seems to indicate Manicani
rather than Cabalarián.
After this paragraph in the Italian MS. (folio 21a) follows the chart
of the islands of Pozzon, Ticobon, Polon, Baibai and Ceilon (together
forming the island of Leyte), Gatighan, Bohol, and Mazzana (sic) (q.v.,
p. 112). This chart in MS. 5,650 (on folio 36a) is preceded by:
“Below is shown the cape of Gatighan and many other islands
surrounding it.”
[219] Albo (Navarrete, iv, p. 220) says: “We departed thence [i.e.,
from Malhón] and went toward the west in order to strike a large
island called Seilani [i.e., Leyte] which is inhabited and has gold in
it. We coasted along it and took our course to the west southwest in
order to strike a small island, which is inhabited and called Mazava.
The people there are very friendly. We erected a cross on a mountain in
that island. Three islands lying to the west southwest were pointed out
to us from that island, which are said to possess gold in abundance.
They showed us how it was obtained. They found pieces as large as
chickpeas and beans. Masava lies in latitude 9 and two-thirds degrees
north.” The “Roteiro” (Stanley, p. 11) says: “They ran on to
another island twenty leagues from that from which they sailed [i.e.,
Malhón], and came to anchor at another island, which is named Macangor
[i.e., Masaua], which is nine degrees; and in this island they were
very well received, and they placed a cross in it.” See also Vol. I,
pp. 322, 323.
[220] MS. 5,650 reads: “But they moved off immediately and would not
enter the ship through distrust of us.” The slave who acted as
interpreter is the Henrique de Malaca of Navarrete’s list.
[221] Bara: the Spanish word barra.
[222] MS. 5,650 reads: “to ask him to give him some food for his
ships in exchange for his money.”
[223] MS. 5,650 reads: “The king hearing that came with seven or
eight men.”
[224] For dorade, i.e., the dorado. MS. 5,650 adds: “which are very
large fish of the kind abovesaid.”
[225] The ceremony of blood brotherhood. Casicasi means “intimate
friends.” See Trumbull’s Blood Covenant (Philadelphia, 1898), which
shows how widespread was the covenant or friendship typified by blood.
[226] MS. 5,650 reads: “After that the said captain had one of his
men-at-arms armed in offensive armor.” Stanley has translated harnois
blanc literally as “white armor.”
[227] This passage may be translated: “Thereby was the king rendered
almost speechless, and told the captain, through the slave, that one of
those armed men was worth a hundred of his own men. The captain
answered that that was a fact, and that he had brought two hundred men
in each ship, who were armed in that manner.” Eden so understood it,
and reads: “whereat the Kynge marualed greatly, and ſayde to th[e]
interpretoure (who was a ſlaue borne in Malacha) that one of thoſe
armed men was able to encounter with a hundreth of his men.” MS.
5,650 agrees with the translation of the text.
[228] Instead of this last phrase MS. 5,650 has: “and he made two of
his men engage in sword-play before the king.”
[229] MS. 5,650 says only: “Then he showed the king the sea-chart,
and the navigation compass.” Eden says (p. 348) that the first to use
the compass was one “Flauius of Malpha, a citie in the kingdom of
Naples.... Next vnto Flauius, the chiefe commendation is dew to the
Spanyardes and Portugales by whoſe daylye experience, the ſame is
brought to further perfection, and the vſe thereof better knowen;
althowghe hytherto no man knoweth the cauſe why the iren touched with
the lode ſtone, turneth euer towarde the north ſtarre, as playnely
appeareth in euery common dyall.” He also says: “As touchynge the
needle of the compaſſe, I haue redde in the Portugales nauigations
that ſaylynge as farre ſouth as Cap. de Bona Speranza, the poynt of
the needle ſtyll reſpected the northe as it dyd on this ſyde the
Equinoctiall, ſauynge that it ſumwhat trembeled and declyned a
lyttle, whereby the force ſeemed ſumwhat to be diminiſſhed, ſo
that they were fayne to helpe it with the lode ſtone.” (See ante, p.
93). The compass was known in a rough form to the Chinese at early as
2634 B.C., and first applied to navigation in the third or fourth
century A.D., or perhaps earlier. It was probably introduced into
Europe through the Arabs who learned of it from the Chinese. It is
first referred to in European literature by Alexander Neckam in the
twelfth century in De Utensilibus. The variations from the true north
were observed as early as 1269.
[230] Stanley says that the Amoretti edition represents the king as
making this request and Magalhães as assenting thereto; but the
Italian MS. reads as distinctly as MS. 5,650, that Magalhães made the
request.
[231] MS. 5,650 omits the remainder of this sentence.
[232] MS. 5,650 adds: “that is, a boat.”
[233] The following passage relating to the meal reads thus in MS.
5,650: “Then the king had a plate of pork and some wine brought in.
Their fashion of drinking is as follows. First they lift their hands
toward the sky, and then take with the right hand the vessel from which
they drink, while extending the fist of the left hand toward the
people. The king did that to me, and extended his fist toward me, so
that I thought that he was going to strike me. But I did the same to
him, and in such wise did we banquet and afterwards sup with him using
that ceremony and others.” See Spencer’s Ceremonial Institutions,
especially chapter I.
[234] Eden reads (p. 255): “When the kynge ſawe Antonie Pigafetta
write the names of many thinges, and afterwarde rehearſe them ageyne,
he marualed yet more, makynge ſygnes that ſuche men deſcended from
heauen.” Continuing he confuses the eldest son of the first king with
the latter’s brother, the second king.
[235] A tolerably good description of the native houses of the present
day in the Philippines. Cf. Morga’s description, Vol. XVI, pp.
117–119.
[236] MS. 5,650 begins a new unnumbered chapter at this point.
[237] This sentence to this point in MS. 5,650, is wrongly made to
refer to the house of the king. The passage there reads: “All the
dishes with which he is served, and also a part of his house, which was
well furnished according to the custom of the country, were of gold.”
[238] MS. 5,650 omits this sentence.
[239] Butuan and Caraga in the northeastern part of Mindanao.
[240] This name is variously rendered: Mosto, Siain; MS. 5,650, Siaui;
Stanley, Siani; and Amoretti and Eden, Siagu.
[241] MS. 5,650 reads: “the captain sent the chaplain ashore to
celebrate mass.”
[242] MS. 5,650 says that they took only their swords; but the Italian
MS. says distinctly that a signal was given to the ships from the shore
by means of muskets, and again that the musketry was fired when the
kings and Magalhães separated, both of which references are omitted by
MS. 5,650. Eden reads: “The Captaine came alande with fyftie of his
men in theyr beſt apparel withowte weapons or harneſſe, and all the
reſydue well armed.”
[243] In Eden (p. 255): “damaſke water.”
[244] MS. 5,650 reads: “but they offered nothing.”
[245] MS. 5,650 says: “every one did his duties as a Christian and
received our Lord.”
[246] MS. 5,650 adds: “for the people.”
[247] The Italian MS. reads literally and somewhat ambiguously: “they
made immediate reverence;” MS. 5,650 says “to which these kings
made reverence,” which is scarcely likely, as the latter would, until
told by Magalhães, see nothing in the ceremony. Rather it was the
Spaniards who made the reverence.
[248] MS. 5,650 reads: “whenever any ships came from Spain.”
[249] Cf. Morga, Vol. XVI, p. 132.
[250] MS. 5,650 reads: “men and ships to render them obedient to
him.”
[251] MS. 5,650 reads: “to the middle of the highest mountain,”
evidently confusing mezo di (“afternoon”) of the Italian MS. with
mezo (mezzo; “middle”); for the cross was set up on the summit of
the mountain. The passage in MS. 5,650 continues: “Then those two
kings and the captain rested, and while conversing, the latter had them
asked [not “I had them asked” as in Stanley, who mistranscribes jl
(il) as je] where the best port was for getting food. They replied that
there were three, namely, Ceylom, Zzubu, and Galaghan, but that Zzeubu
was the largest and the best trading place.” These are the islands of
Leyte (the Seilani of Albo, Navarrete, iv, p. 20; and the Selani of
Transylvanus, Vol. I, p. 322), Cebú, and Mindanao (the Caraga
district).
[252] 5,650 reads simply: “Then we descended to the place where their
boats were.”
[253] This account is very much shortened in MS. 5,650, where it reads
as follows: “As the captain intended to leave next morning, he asked
the king for pilots in order that they might conduct him to the ports
abovesaid. He promised the king to treat those pilots as he would them
themselves, and that he would leave one of his men as a hostage. In
reply the first king said that he would go himself to guide the captain
to those ports and that he would be his pilot, but asked him to wait
two days until he should gather his rice, and do some other things
which he had to do. He asked the captain to lend him some of his men,
so that he could accomplish it sooner, and the captain agreed to it.”
At this point MS. 5,650 begins a new unnumbered chapter.
[254] The billon and afterward copper coin quattrino, which was struck
in the mints of Venice, Rome, Florence, Reggio, the Two Sicilies, etc.
The quattrino of the popes was often distinguished as “quattrino
Romano.” The Venetian copper quattrino was first struck in the reign
of Francesco Foscari (1423–57). See W. C. Hazlitt’s Coinage of
European Continent (London and New York, 1893), p. 226.
[255] Doppione: a gold coin struck by Louis XII of France during his
occupation of the Milanese (1500–1512). Hazlitt, ut supra, p. 196.
[256] Colona: possibly the name of some coin of the period.
[257] This entire paragraph is omitted in MS. 5,650. That MS. has
another chapter division at this point.
[258] Stanley mistranslates the French gentilz as “gentle.”
[259] Probably the abacá, although it may be the cloth made from the
palm. See Morga’s description of the Visayans, Vol. XVI, p. 112.
[260] Cf. Morga’s Sucesos, Vol. XVI, pp. 80, 81.
[261] MS. 5,650 greatly abridges this account, reading as follows:
“They cut that fruit into four parts, and after they have chewed it a
long time, they spit it out and throw it away.” Cf. the account in
Morga’s Sucesos, Vol. XVI, pp. 97–99.
[262] MS. 5,650 omits this product. Cf. Morga’s Sucesos, Vol. XVI,
pp. 84–97.
[263] In MS. 5,650, “Mazzaua;” in Eden, “Meſſana;” in Mosto,
“Mazana,” while in the chart it appears as “Mazzana;”
Transylvanus, “Massana;” and Albo, “Masava.” It is now called
the island of Limasaua, and has an area of about ten and one-half
square miles.
[264] Mosto mistranscribes the Italian word for “among” fra as
prima “first.” The error arises through the abbreviation used,
namely fa, Mosto mistaking it for pa, which would be prima.
[265] Stanley mistranscribes “Gatighan” from MS. 5,650 as
“Satighan.” The names of the five islands as given by Eden are:
“Zeilon, Bohol, Canghu, Barbai, and Catighan.” These are the
islands of Leite, Bohol, Canigao (west of Leyte), the northern part of
Leyte (today the name of a town, hamlet and inlet in Leyte), and
possibly Apit or Himuquitan, or one of the other nearby islands on the
west coast of Leyte. See chart of these islands on p. 112.
Albo (Navarrete, iv, pp. 220, 221) says: “We left Mazava and went
north toward the island of Seilani, after which we ran along the said
island to the northwest as far as 10 degrees. There we saw three rocky
islands, and turned our course west for about 10 leguas where we came
upon two islets. We stayed there that night and in the morning went
toward the south southwest for about 12 leguas, as far as 10 and
one-third degrees. At that point we entered a channel between two
islands, one of which is called Matan and the other Subu. Subu, as well
as the islands of Mazava and Suluan extend north by east and south by
west. Between Subu and Seilani we spied a very lofty land lying to the
north, which is called Baibai. It is said to contain considerable gold
and to be well stocked with food, and so great an extent of land that
its limits are unknown. From Mazava, Seilani, and Subu, on the course
followed toward the south, look out for the many shoals, which are very
bad. On that account a canoe which was guiding us along that course,
refused to go ahead. From the beginning of the channel of Subu and
Matan, we turned west by a middle channel and reached the city of Subu.
There we anchored and made peace, and the people there gave us rice,
millet, and meat. We stayed there for a considerable time. The king and
queen of that place and many of the inhabitants readily became
Christians.” The “Roteiro” (Stanley, p. 11) says that the king of
Macangar (i.e., Mazaua) conducted the Spaniards “a matter of thirty
leagues to another island named Cabo [i.e., Cebú], which is in ten
degrees, and in this island Fernando de Magalhães did what he pleased
with the consent of the country.” Brito says merely (Navarrete, iv,
p. 308): “After that, after passing amid many islands, they reached
one called Mazaba, which lies in 9 degrees. The king of Mazaba
conducted them to another large island called Zubó.”
[266] MS. 5,650 reads: “only one of them.” Barbastili is a Venetian
word for pipistrelli. These bats are the Pteropi or “flying foxes,”
the large fruit-eating bats of which so many species inhabit the Malay
Archipelago. Bats are especially found in Guimarás, Siquijor, and
Cebú, and the skins of some are used as fur. See Guillemard (ut supra,
p. 235). See also Delgado’s Historia, pp. 842, 843; and U. S.
Philippine Gazetteer.
[267] Stanley mistranslates as “tortoises.” The “black birds with
the long tail” are the tabón “mound-building Megapodes,
gallinacious birds peculiar to the Austro-Malayan subregion”
(Guillemard’s Magellan, p. 235). See also Vol. V, p. 167, note 14,
and Vol. XVI, page 198, note 43; also Vol. XVI, p. 81, note 84.
[268] These are the Camotes, which lie west of Leyte, and their names
are Poro, Pasijan, and Pansón. See Pigafetta’s chart showing these
islands on p. 112.
[269] Following this point in the Italian MS. (folio 26a) is the chart
of the islands of Bohol, Mattam, and Zzubu (q.v., p. 136).
MS. 5,650 presents this chart on folio 51a, preceded by the words:
“Below are shown the islands of Zzubu, Mattan, and Bohól.”
[270] MS. 5,650 reads: “But the interpreter reassured them by telling
them.”
[271] MS. 5,650 reads: “and he was going, by the orders of the said
sovereign, to discover the islands of Mallucque.”
[272] MS. 5,650 reads: “Thereupon the abovesaid merchant said to the
king in their language,” etc., without giving the original Malay
words. Eden gives the phrase as catacaia chita.
[273] Calicut, properly Kálíkot (said to be derived from two words
meaning cock-crow, because the territory granted to the first king of
Kálíkot was limited to the extent over which a cock could be heard to
crow; or from Káli, one of the names of the goddess Gauri) is the name
of a district and city on the Malabar coast. The king of all the
Malabar coast from Goa to Cape Comorin, Samari Perymal, having adopted
the Mahometan faith divided his kingdom into the kingdoms of Calicut,
Cochin, Cananor, and Coulão, and gave them to his friends, on
condition that the king of Calicut be termed “Zamorim” or
“Samorim,” i.e., “Supreme emperor and God upon earth” (although
the proper form is said to be “Tamurin” which is conjectured by
some to be a modification of the Sanskrit “Samunri,” “seaking.”
The city of Kálíkot, a noted emporium of trade, was built perhaps as
early as 805 A.D., although the date 1300 A.D. is also given as that of
its founding; and is described by Ibn Batuta in 1342 as one of the
finest ports in the world. It was visited by Covilham in 1486, and
Vasco da Gama’s ships were freighted there in 1498. The latter
attacked the city in 1503 and 1510, and the Portuguese built a
fortified factory there in 1513 which was destroyed by the governor in
1525 to avoid its falling into the enemy’s hands. The English
established a factory in the city in 1616, which was captured in 1766
by Haidar Ali; but after a further series of capture and recapture, the
city and district was permanently turned over to the British (1792).
See Stanley’s Vasco da Gama (Hakluyt Society publications, London,
1869); Birch’s Alboquerque (Hakluyt Society publications, London,
1875–1884); Jones and Badger’s Ludovico di Varthema (Hakluyt
Society publications, London, 1863), pp. 135–177; also Grey’s
Travels of Pietro della Valle (Hakluyt Society publications, London,
1892), pp. 344, 345, note.
Malacca, or more correctly Mâlaka is the name of an ancient territory
and city, which was probably first settled by Javanese, and is possibly
derived from “Malayu” meaning in Javanese “to run” or
“fugitive.” At an early period Malacca fell under the sway of the
Siamese. The city, located on both sides of the Malacca River, and only
one hundred and thirty miles northwest of Singapore (which has usurped
the great volume of trade once centering at Malacca) was founded about
1250 A.D. The first European to visit the city was Varthema, about the
year 1505. It was captured by the Portuguese under Albuquerque in 1511,
and they held it (1580–1640 under Spanish control) until 1641 when it
was captured by the Dutch, who had unsuccessfully besieged it, with the
aid of the king of Jahor, in 1606. The English obtained possession of
it in 1795, and still hold it, although the Dutch possessed it from
1818–1825. For descriptions and history of Malacca, see the following
Hakluyt Society publications: Stanley’s East Africa and Malabar
(London, 1866), pp. 190–195; Birch’s Alboquerque, iii, pp. 71–90
(and other citations); Burnell and Tiele’s Linschoten (London, 1885),
i, pp. 104–106; Gray’s Voyage of François Pyrard (London, 1888),
part i, p. ii. Also see Crawfurd’s Dictionary, pp. 238–249.
The terms India Major (Greater India) and India Minor (Lesser India)
are differently applied by different authors. Schiltbergen applied the
term Lesser India to the northern portion of the peninsula on this side
of the Ganges, while the southern portion of the peninsula was termed
Greater India. Marco Polo’s Lesser India extended from Makran to and
including the Coromandel coast, and his Greater India extended from the
Coromandel coast to Cochin China, while Middle India was Abyssinia.
Mosto wrongly identifies India Major with the present Indian empire.
See Telfer’s Johann Schiltberger (Hakluyt Society publications,
1879). Friar Jordanus (Wonders of the East, Hakluyt Society edition,
London, 1863), describes (pp. 11–45) India the Less, India the
Greater, and India Tertia. Yule points out that Jordanus’s Lesser
India embraces Sindh, and probably Mekran, and India along the coast as
far as some point immediately north of Malabar. Greater India extends
from Malabar very indefinitely to the eastward, for he makes it include
Champa. India Tertia is the east of Africa below Abyssinia. Thus
Jordanus just reverses the Lesser and Greater Indias of Marco Polo.
Ramusio who gives the Summary of Kingdoms of an old Portuguese
geographer, ends First India at Mangalore, and Second India at the
Ganges. Benjamin of Tudela speaks of “Middle India which is called
Aden.” Conti divides India into three parts: the first extending from
Persia to the Indus, the second from the Indus to the Ganges, and the
third all the land beyond. Pliny discusses whether Mekran and other
lands belonged to India or Ariana.
[274] MS. 5,650 adds: “and treat his subjects well.”
[275] This phrase is omitted in MS. 5,650.
[276] MS. 5,650 adds: “who was in the captain’s ship.”
[277] MS. 5,650 reads: “Thereupon the king told them that he was
willing, and that as a greater token of his love, he would send the
captain a drop of his blood from his right arm, and [asked] the captain
to do the same.”
[278] MS. 5,650 reads: “Consequently they should ask their captain
whether he intended to observe the custom.”
[279] MS. 5.650 reads: “he should commence by giving a present,
whereupon the captain would do his duty.” This MS. begins another
chapter at this point.
[280] MS. 5,650 reads: “so do our arms destroy the enemies of our
faith.”
[281] MS. 5,650 adds: “of the ships.”
[282] MS. 5,650 reads: “and whether that prince who had come with
them, was empowered to make peace.”
[283] MS. 5,650 omits these last two clauses.
[284] This phrase is omitted in MS. 5,650.
[285] MS. 5,650 adds: “and for love toward God.”
[286] MS. 5,650: “he would leave them the arms that the Christians
use.”
[287] These last two clauses are omitted in MS. 5,650.
[288] MS. 5,650 adds: “of Sainct Jacques [i.e., Santiago].”
[289] This sentence is omitted in MS. 5,650.
[290] Called “drynking glaſſes of Venice woorke” in Eden (p.
257).
[291] MS. 5,650 reads: “He had his face painted with fire in various
designs.” Eden reads: “and had the residue of his body paynted with
dyuers coloures whereof ſum were lyke vnto flamynge fyre.”
[292] MS. 5,650 reads: “he had four jars full of palm-wine, which he
was drinking through reed pipes.”
[293] MS. 5,650 reads: “We made the due reverence to him while
presenting to him the present sent him by the captain, and told him
through the mouth of the interpreter that it was not to be regarded as
a recompense for his present which he had made to the captain, but for
the love which the captain bore him.” This MS. omits the following
three sentences.
[294] The “Sinus Magnus” of Ptolemy, today the Chinese Gulf (Mosto,
p. 76, note 3).
[295] This passage is considerably abbreviated in MS. 5,650, where it
reads as follows: “The prince, the king’s nephew, took us to his
house, where he showed us four girls who were playing on four very
strange and very sweet instruments, and their manner of playing was
somewhat musical. Afterward he had us dance with them. Those girls were
naked except that they wore a garment made of the said palm-tree cloth
before their privies and which hung from the waist to the knee,
although some were quite naked. We were given refreshments there, and
then we returned to the ships.” These gongs are used in many parts of
the Orient.
[296] MS. 5,650 adds: “by the captain’s order.”
[297] MS. 5,650 reads: “we told him of the death of our man, and that
our captain requested that he might be buried.”
[298] MS. 5,650 adds: “according to our manner.”
[299] MS. 5,650 reads: “The king took it under his charge, and
promised that no trickery or wrong would be done the king. Four of our
men were chosen to despatch and to sell the said merchandise.”
[300] MS. 5,650 reads: “They have wooden balances like those of
Pardeca to weigh their merchandise.” Pardeca, as Stanley points out,
is for par de ça de Loire which is equivalent to Langue d’oil, and
denotes the region in France north of the Loire. Par de la meant
Languedoc. This passage was adapted to the French understanding by the
person who translated and adapted the Italian manuscript.
[301] This sentence is omitted in MS. 5,650. As Mosto points out the
measure here mentioned would be one of capacity, and must have been the
common measure for rice, perhaps the ganta.
[302] Lagan is a shellfish found in the Philippines which has a shell
resembling that of the Nautilus pompilius that is used for holding
incense or as a drinking vessel. This shell is very white inside, while
the exterior is spotted a pale yellow color. It resembles
mother-of-pearl, and is very common. Delgado says that most of the
shellfish, are indigestible but highly esteemed. See Delgado’s
Historia, p. 928.
[303] MS. 5,650 adds: “Which was of various strange kinds.”
[304] Eden says: “xvi. poundes weyght of iren.”
[305] MS. 5,650 reads: “The captain-general did not wish to take too
great a quantity of gold, so that the sailors might not sell their
share in the merchandise too cheaply, because of their lust for gold,
and so that on that account he should not be constrained to do the same
with his merchandise, for he wished to sell it at as high a price as
possible.”
[306] MS. 5,650 adds: “or any other balls”
[307] MS. 5,650 makes the two armed men follow instead of precede the
royal banner.
[308] MS. 5,650 adds: “and the natives of the country for their fear
of it, fled hither and thither,” which is in place of the following
sentence.
[309] This sentence is omitted in MS. 5,650.
[310] MS. 5,650 reads: “One covered with red and the other with
velvet.”
[311] MS. 5,650 adds: “in the manner of the country.”
[312] The account of the baptism of the king is considerably abridged
in MS. 5,650 where it reads as follows: “Then the captain began to
address the king through the interpreter, in order that he might incite
him to the faith of Jesus Christ. He told him that if he wished to
become a good Christian (as he had signified on the preceding day),
that he must have all the idols of his country burned and set up a
cross in their place, which they were all to adore daily on both knees,
with hands clasped and raised toward the heaven. The captain showed the
king how he was to make the sign of the cross daily. In reply the king
and all his men said that they would obey the captain’s commandment,
and do all that he told them. The captain took the king by the hand,
and they walked to the platform. At his baptism the captain told the
king that he would call him Dom Charles, after the emperor his
sovereign. He named the prince Dom Fernand, after the brother of the
said emperor, and the king of Mazzaua, Jehan. He gave the name of
Christofle to the Moro, while he called each of the others by names
according to his fancy. Thus before the mass fifty men [sic: but an
error of the French adapter for five hundred] were baptized. At the
conclusion of mass, the captain invited the king and the others of his
chief men to dine with him, but he would not accept. However, he
accompanied the captain to the shore, where, at his arrival, the ships
discharged all the artillery. Then embracing they took leave of one
another.” Eden gives the number baptized as five hundred men.
[313] MS. 5,650 reads: “On seeing that, she expressed the greatest
desire to became a Christian, and asking for baptism, she was baptized
and given the name of Jehanne, after the emperor’s mother.”
[314] There are many cases of this wholesale baptism in the history of
the Catholic missions in various countries, and it cannot be condemned
entirely and regarded as devoid of good effects, for many instances
reveal the contrary. See Jesuit Relations (Cleveland reissue).
[315] Those last six words are omitted in MS. 5,650. Mosto conjectures
that solana means solecchio or solicchio signifying an apparatus to
protect one from the sun. Pigafetta may have misapplied the Spanish
word solana, which signifies a place bathed by the noontide sun or a
place in which to take the sun.
[316] This last clause is omitted in MS. 5,650.
[317] MS. 5,650 adds: “and we gave it to her.” This was the image
found by one of Legazpi’s soldiers in Cebú in 1565 (see Vol. II, pp.
120, 121, 128, 216, 217; and Vol. V, p. 41). Encarnación (Dic.
bisaya-español, Manila, 1851), says: “The Cebuan Indians, both past
and present, give the name of Bathála [God] to the image of the Holy
Child, which is supposed to have been left by the celebrated
Magallanes.”
[318] MS. 5,650 reads: “evening.”
[319] MS. 5,650 mentions only the artillery. The “tromb” or
“trunk” was a kind of hand rocket-tube made of wood and hooped with
iron, and was used for discharging wild-fire or Greek-fire (see
Corbett’s Spanish War, 1585–87 [London], 1898, p. 335). At this
point Stanley discontinues the narrative of MS. 5,650, and translates
from Amoretti’s version of the Italian MS.
[320] MS. 5,650 reads: “to better instruct and confirm him in the
faith.”
[321] Eden says the queen was preceded by “three younge damoſelles
and three men with theyr cappes in theyr handes.”
[322] MS. 5,650 adds: “and presentation.”
[323] MS. 5,650 reads simply for this last clause: “and several
others,” omitting all the names.
[324] MS. 5,650 reads: “and they all so swore.”
[325] MS. 5,650 reads from this point: “Then they swore, and thus the
captain caused the king to swear by that image, by the life of the
emperor his sovereign, and by his habit, to ever remain faithful and
subject to the emperor,” thus ascribing this oath to the king instead
of to Magalhães. The words “by his habit” can refer only to
Magalhães, who wore that of Santiago, and not to any habit worn by the
barbaric ruler of Cebú.
[326] MS. 5,650 adds: “and hang.”
[327] MS. 5,650 adds: “and deck.”
[328] MS. 5,650 adds: “and demolished.”
[329] MS. 5,650 adds: “and overthrew.”
[330] There is a strange difference between the Italian MS. and MS.
5,650 in regard to these names. The latter reads to this point:
“There are a number of villages in that island, whose names and those
of their chiefs are as follows: Cinghapola, Cilaton, Ciguibucan,
Cimaningha, Cimaticat, and Cicambul; another, Mandaui, and its chief
and seignior, Lambuzzan; another Cot-cot, and its chief, Acibagalen;
another, Puzzo, and its chief, Apanoan; another, Lalan, and its chief,
Theteu; another, Lulutan, and its chief, Tapan [Amoretti, followed by
Stanley, says Japau, and Mosto, Iapan]; another Cilumay; and also
Lubucun.” Amoretti, who places this list after the disastrous battle
and consequent treachery of the Cebuans, and Stanley, have “Lubucin:
its chief is Cilumai.” Mandaui is Mandaue; Lalan may be Liloan;
Cot-cot is on the east coast; Lubucun may be Lubú, but Mosto (p. 78,
note 3) conjectures it to be Lambusan. An examination of the Nancy MS.
may reveal the source of this difference.
[331] MS. 5,650 adds after the word borchies: “instruments so
called.”
[332] Probably cotton cloth. See Stanley’s East African and Malabar
Coasts, p. 65: “They make there [i.e., in Cambay] many cloths of
white cotton, fine and coarse, and other woven and colored fabrics, of
all kinds and colours.”
[333] MS. 5,650 adds: “and closed.”
[334] MS. 5,650 reads: “She who has killed the hog, puts a lighted
torch in her mouth, which she extinguishes, and which she holds
constantly alight with her teeth during that ceremony.”
[335] Cf. the ceremonies of the baylanes described by Loarca, Vol. V,
pp. 131, 133, and by Chirino, Vol. XII, p. 270.
[336] Otorno: Mosto, p. 79, mistranscribes otoro, and queries Attorno
in a note.
[337] MS. 5,650 omits the description of this custom, giving only the
first and last sentence to this point. Stanley omits the translation to
this point. See Vol. V, p. 117, and Vol. XVI, p. 130, where Loarca and
Morga describe this custom.
[338] Valzi: Mosto queries vasi, “jars,” which appears probable.
[339] MS. 5,650 adds: “made in the manner abovesaid;” but this was
crossed out, showing that the writer or adapter of that MS. had at
first intended to narrate the custom that is given in the Italian MS.
[340] This word is omitted in MS. 5,650.
[341] MS. 5,650 reads: “The other women sit about the dead chamber
sadly and in tears.”
[342] Pigafetta uses the present and imperfect tenses rather
indiscriminately throughout this narration, but we have translated
uniformly in the present. Cf. Loarca’s description of burial and
mourning customs among the Visayans, Vol. V, pp. 129, 135, 137–141;
Plasencia’s description among the Tagálogs, Vol. VII, pp. 194, 195;
and Morga, Vol. XVI, p. 133.
[343] MS. 5,650 reads: “five or six hours.”
[344] Eden in describing the island of Matan confuses the Pigafetta
narrative. He says: “Not farre from this Ilande of Zubut, is the Hand
of Mathan, whoſe inhabitauntes vſe maruelous ceremonies in theyr
ſacrifices to the ſoone and burying the deade. They were rynges of
gold abowt theyr priuie members.” In the description of the battle in
Matan, Eden says that each of the three divisions of the islanders
contained “two thouſand and fiftie men armed with bowes, arrowes,
dartes and iauelins hardened at the poyntes with fyer.”
[345] To this point the Italian MS. and MS. 5,650 agree approximately.
The story of the battle in the latter MS., however, is much abridged
and much less graphic. It is as follows: “They replied that they had
bamboo spears and stakes burned and hardened in the fire, and that we
could attack them when we wished. At daybreak, forty-nine of us leaped
into the water, in the place whither we had thus gone, at a distance of
more than three [sic] crossbow flights before we could reach shore, for
the boats could not approach nearer because of the rocks and reefs
which were in the water. Thus we reached land, and attacked them. They
were arranged in three divisions, of more than one thousand five
hundred persons. We shot many arrows at them from a distance, but it
was in vain, for they received them on their shields. They leaped
hither and thither in such a way that scarce could we wound one of
them. On the other hand, our artillery in the boats was so far away
from us that it could not aid us. Those people seeing that, and that
the captain had had some of their houses burned in order to inspire
them with terror, and having become more enraged, threw so many iron
pointed spears at us, and shot so many arrows even at the captain
himself that we could defend ourselves with difficulty. Finally, having
been driven by them quite down to the shore, and while our captain was
fighting bravely although wounded in the leg with an arrow, one of
those Indians hurled a poisoned bamboo lance into his face which laid
him stiff and dead. Then they pressed upon us so closely that we were
forced to retire to our boats and to leave the dead body of the
captain-general, with our other killed.” The eulogy on the dead
commander is approximately the same in both MSS., except at the end,
where MS. 5,650 reads: “Eight of our men died there with him, and
four Indians, who had become Christians. Of the enemy fifteen were
killed by the artillery of the ships, which had at last come to our
aid, while many of us were wounded.”
Brito (Navarrete, iv, p. 308) says of the stay at Cebú and the death
of Magalhães: “They stayed there about one month, and the majority
of the people and the king became Christians. The king of Zubó ordered
the kings of the other islands to come to him, but inasmuch as two of
them refused to come, Magallanes, as soon as he learned it, resolved to
go to fight with them, and went to an island called Mathá. He set fire
to a village, and not content with that, set out for a large
settlement, where he, his servant, and five Castilians were killed in
combat with the savages. The others, seeing their captain dead, went
back to their boats.”
[346] Terciado: a Spanish word.
[347] Carteava: a Spanish word.
[348] The “Roteiro” (Stanley, p. 12) dates the battle April 28. The
account of the battle is as follows: “Fernan de Magalhães desired
that the other kings, neighbours to this one, should become subject to
this who had become Christian: and these did not choose to yield such
obedience. Fernan de Magalhães 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 ships; they replied that
for each article which he sent to ask them three of, they would send to
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,
Fernan de Magalhães ordered three boats to be equipped with a matter
of fifty or sixty men, and went against the said place, which was on
the 28th day of April, 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 a good will that the said Fernan de Magalhães was
killed there, with six of his men, in the year 1521.”
[349] Navarrete (iv, pp. 65, 66) gives the names of the men killed with
Magalhães on April 27 as follows: Christóbal Rabelo, then captain of
the “Victoria;” Francisco Espinosa, a sailor; Anton Gallego, a
common seaman; Juan de Torres, sobresaliente and soldier; Rodrigo
Nieto, servant of Juan de Cartagena; Pedro Gomez, servant of Gonzalo
Espinosa; and Anton de Escovar, sobresaliente, wounded but died April
29.
[350] See Vol. I, pp. 325, 326, note 215*.
[351] MS. 5,650 gives this name as Duart Bobase, although lower it is
spelled Barbase. Duarte or Odoardo Barbosa, the son of Diogo Barbosa,
who after serving in Portugal, became alcaide of the Sevilla arsenal,
was born at Lisbon at the end of the fifteenth century. He spent the
years 1501–1516 in the Orient, the result of that stay being his
Livro emque dà relação do que viu e ouviu no Oriente, which was
first published at Lisbon in 1813 in vol. vii of Collecçao de noticias
para a historia et geographia das nações ultramarinas, and its
translation by Stanley, A description of the coasts of East Africa and
Malabar (Hakluyt Society publications, London, 1866). He became a clerk
in the Portuguese factory at Cananor under his uncle Gil Fernandez
Barbosa, and became so expert in the Malabar language that he was said
to speak it even better than the natives. On account of his facility in
the language he had been appointed commissioner by Nuno da Cunha to
negotiate peace with the Zamorin. He was commissioned in 1515 to
oversee the construction of some galleys by Alboquerque. While at
Sevilla, Magalhães lived in the household of Diogo Barbosa, where he
married Duarte’s sister Beatriz. Duarte embarked on the
“Trinidad” as a sobresaliente, and it was he who captured the
“Victoria” from the mutineers at Port St. Julian, after which he
became captain of that vessel. Failing to recover Magalhães body from
the natives of Mactán, he was himself slain at Cebú at the fatal
banquet May 1, 1521. Besides the above book, which is a most valuable
contribution to early Oriental affairs, there is extant in the Torre do
Tombo a letter written by him from Cananor, January 12, 1513,
complaining of the Portuguese excesses. See Guillemard’s Magellan;
Stanley’s Vasco da Gama; Birch’s Alboquerque; and Hoefer’s
Nouvelle Biographie Générale (Paris, 1855)
[352] See ante, note 147.
[353] Magalhães married Beatriz Barbosa, daughter of Diogo Barbosa in
Sevilla, probably in the year 1517. One son Rodrigo was born of the
union, who was about six months old at the time of the departure.
Rodrigo died in September, 1521, and in the March following Beatriz
died. See Guillemard, ut supra, pp. 89–91, 322.
[354] MS. 5,650 adds: “and to advise the Christian king.”
[355] Mosto transcribes this word wrongly as facente, “busy.” MS.
5,650 reads: “wiser and more affectionate than before.”
[356] MS. 5,650 adds: “and presents.”
[357] The constable was Gonzalo Gomez de Espinosa, who was left behind
with the “Trinidad” and was one of the four survivors of that
ill-fated vessel, returning to Spain long after.
[358] This sentence is confused in MS. 5,650, reading: jehan Caruaie
auecques le bariſel ſen retournerẽt qui nous dirent comment jlz
auoyent veu mener celluy quy fut guery par miracle et le preſtre a ſa
maiſon et que pour cela jlz ſen eſtoyent partiz eulx doubtans de
quelque male aduanture. By dropping the first et this becomes
equivalent to the text.
[359] MS. 5,650 reads: “for we would kill him.”
[360] MS. 5,650 reads: “But Jehan Carvaie, his comrade, and others
refused, for fear lest they would not remain masters there if the boat
went ashore.”
In regard to João Serrão’s death, Brito (Navarrete, iv, p. 309)
says: “As soon as the men in the ships saw that slaughter, they
hoisted their anchors, and tried to set sail in order to return to
Burneo. At that juncture, the savages brought Juan Serrano, one of
those whom they wished to ransom, and asked two guns and two bahars of
copper for him, besides some Brittanias or linens such as they carried
in the ships as merchandise of trade and barter. Serrano told them to
take him to the ship and he would give them what they asked, but they,
on the contrary, insisted that those things be taken ashore. But [the
men in the ships] fearing another act of treachery like the past, set
sail, and abandoned that man there, and nothing more was heard of
him.”
[361] The “Roteiro” (Stanley, p. 13) says nothing about the
banquet, but says that the men, twenty-eight in number, counting the
two captains, went ashore to ask pilots to Borneo, whereupon the
natives, who had determined upon their course of action attacked and
killed them. Peter Martyr (Mosto, p. 81, note 5) asserts that the
violation of the women by the sailors was the cause of the massacre.
Concerning the number killed, Brito (Navarrete, iv, p. 309) says that
thirty-five or thirty-six men went ashore, and Castanheda and Gomara
say thirty, the last asserting that a like number were made slaves, of
whom eight were sold in China. Peter Martyr places the number of the
slain at twelve. Navarrete (iv, pp. 66, 67) gives the names of those
massacred as follows:
Duarte Barbosa captain of the “Trinidad”
Juan Serrano captain of the “Concepcion”
Luis Alfonso de Gois captain of the “Victoria”
Andres de S. Martin pilot of his Majesty
Sancho de Heredia notary
Leon de Ezpeleta notary
Pedro de Valderrama priest
Francisco Martin cooper
Simon de la Rochela calker
Cristóbal Rodriguez steward
Francisco de Madrid sobresaliente and soldier
Hernando de Aguilar servant of Luis de Mendoza
Guillermo Fenesi or
Tanaguì gunner of the “Trinidad”
Anton Rodriguez sailor
Juan Sigura sailor
Francisco Picora sailor
Francisco Martin sailor
Anton de Goa common seaman
Rodrigo de Hurrira common seaman
Pedro Herrero sobresaliente
Hartiga sobresaliente
Juan de Silva, Portuguese sobresaliente
Nuño servant of Magallanes
Henrique, from Málaca servant of Magallanes and interpreter
Peti Juan, French servant of Magallanes
Francisco de la Mezquita servant of Magallanes
Francisco son-in-law of Juan Serrano
All of these names are to be found in Navarrete’s list. See ante,
note 26.
[362] Chiacare: the nangca; see Vol. XXXIV, p. 107, where Pigafetta
describes and names this fruit. Mosto confuses it with the durio
xibethenus, which is abundant in the western islands of the Indian
archipelagoes, Mindanao being the only one of the Philippines where it
is found (Crawfurd, Dictionary); but it is the Artocarpus integrifolia
(see Vol. XVI, p. 88, note 72). MS. 5,650 makes this “capers.”
[363] MS. 5,650 omits mention of the panicum, sorgo, garlic, and
nangcas.
[364] MS. 5,650 reads: “one to the east northeast, and the other to
the west southwest.”
[365] MS. 5,650 adds: “and eleven minutes.”
[366] Stanley says wrongly 154°.
[367] This word ends a page in the original Italian MS. On the
following page is a repetition of the title: Vocabili deli populi
gentilli, that is “Words of those heathen peoples.” MS. 5,650 does
not contain this list, and it is also omitted by Stanley.
[368] See ante, note 160.
[369] Bassag bassag does not correspond to “shin,” but to “basket
for holding clothes, etc.,” or “cartilage of the nose;” or
possibly to basac basac, “the sound made by falling water.”
[370] The equivalent of Pigafetta’s dana is daoa or daua,
“millet.” Mais, probably the equivalent of humas is the word for
“panicum.”
[371] Tahil is found in the Tagálog dictionaries, and is the name of a
specific weight, not weight in general. It is the Chinese weight called
“tael,” which was introduced by the Chinese into the East Indies,
whence it spread throughout the various archipelagoes. See Crawfurd’s
Dictionary; and Vols. III, p. 192, note 57; IV, p. 100, note 11; and
VII, p. 88.
[372] See Note 582, post.
[373] Tinapay (used also by the Bicols to denote any kind of bread)
denotes a kind of cake or loaf made with flour and baked about the size
of a chocolate-cup saucer. Two of these are put together before baking
with some sugar between. The word is extended also to wheat bread and
to the hosts. See Encarnación’s Diccionario.
[374] Amoretti’s conjectured reading of sonaglio
(“hawk’s-bell”) for conaglio (see Mosto, p. 83), proves correct
from the Visayan dictionaries.
[375] Baloto signifies a canoe dug out of a single log. One of twenty
varas in length is termed bilis, while the hull alone is called
dalámas.
[376] Most of the words of Pigafetta’s Visayan vocabulary can be
distinguished in the dictionaries of that language, although it is
necessary to make allowance at times for Pigafetta’s Italian phonetic
rendering. Following is a list of the words that can be distinguished
from Diccionario bisaya-español y español-bisaya (Manila, 1885), by
Juan Félix de la Encarnación, O.S.A. (Recollect); and Diccionario
Hispano-bisaya y bisaya-español (Manila, 1895) by Antonio Sanchez de
la Rosa, O.S.F. See also Pocket dictionary of the English, Spanish and
Visayan languages (Cebu, 1900) by H. M. Cohen; and Mallat’s Les
Philippines (Paris, 1846), ii, pp. 175–238. The words queried in the
following list are simply offered as conjectural equivalents.
English Visayan
(Pigafetta) (Encarnación) (Sanchez)
man lac —— lalaqui (?)
woman (married) babay babaye babaye
hair boho bohóc bohoc
face guay —— bayhon (?)
eyebrows chilei quilay quiray
eye matta matà mata
nose ilon ilong irong
jaw apin aping aping
mouth baba bá-ba bábá
teeth nipin ngipon ngipon
gums leghex lagos lagus
tongue dilla dila dila
ear delenghan dalonggan doronggan
throat liogh liog ——
chin queilan solang (?) sulang (?)
beard bonghot bongot bongot
shoulder bagha abaga abaga
spine
[backbone] licud licod licod
breast dughan doghan dughan
body tiam tian tian
armpit ilot iloc iroc
arm botchen bocton; botcon butcon
elbow sico sico sico
hand camat camot camut
palm of hand palan palad [sa palad [sa
camot] camut]
finger dudlo todlo tudlo
fingernail coco coco coco; colo
navel pusut posad posud
penis utin otin otin
testicles boto boto boto
vagina billat bilat bilat
buttocks samput sampot ——
thigh paha paa paa
knee tuhud tohod tohud
calf of leg bitis bitiis bíti-is
ankle bolbol bool bool boco boco
heel tiochid ticód ticud
sole of foot lapa lapa lapa lapa ——
gold balaoan buláoan bulauan
silver pilla pilác ——
brass concach calonggáqui ——
iron butan pothao puthao
sugarcane tube tobó tubo
honey deghex dogos dugos
wax talho talo talo
salt acin asín asin
wine tuba nia toba nga nipa tuba nga nipa
nipa
to eat macan pagcaon (?) pagcaon (?)
hog babui baboy babuy
goat candin canding canding
chicken monoch manóc manuc
pepper manissa malisa ——
cloves chianche sangqui sangqui
cinnamon mana mana mana
ginger luia loy-a luy-a
garlic laxuna lasona lasona
egg silong itlog itlug
cocoanut lubi lobí lubi
vinegar zlucha suca suca
water tubin tobig; tubig tubig
fire clayo calayo calayo
smoke assu aso aso
balances tinban timbangan timbang;
timbangan
pearl mutiara mutia mutia
mother-of-pearl tipay tipay tipay
pipe subin sobing subing
rice cakes tinapai tinapay tinapay
good main maayo maopay
knife capol; sípol; sondang sipol; sundang
sundan
scissors catle catli catli
to shave chunthinch gunting ——
linen balandan balantan ——
their cloth abaca abacá abacá
[i.e., hemp]
hawk’s bell coloncolon colongcolong goronggorong
comb cutlei surlay sodlay
shirt sabun —— sabong (?)
[i.e.,
ornament]
sewing-needle daghu dagom dagum
dog aian; ydo ——; iro ayam; ——
scarf [veil] gapas gapas [i.e., ——
cotton]
house ilaga; baiai ——; balay ——; balay
timber tatamue tatha (?) [i.e., tahamis (?)
to split] or pata
(?) [i.e., a
piece of wood or
bamboo]
mat tagichan tagicán taguican
palm-mat bani banig banag
cushion uliman olnan, and olonan (?)
allied forms (?)
wooden platters dulan dolong dulang
sun adlo arlao adlao
star bunthun bitoon (?) bitoon (?)
morning uema ogma; odma (?) ——
cup tagha tagay tagay
bow bossugh bosog bosog
arrow oghun odyong odiong
shield calassan calasag calasag
quilted armor baluti baloti ——
dagger calix; calis; baladao caris; baladao
baladao
cutlass campilan campilan campilang
spear bancan bangcao bangcao
like tuan —— to-ang
banana saghin saguing saguing
gourd baghin bagong ——
net pucat; laia ——; laya raya
small boat sampan sampan sampan
large canes cauaghan caoayan cauayan
small canes bonbon bongbong bongbong
large boats balanghai balañgay barangay
small boats boloto baloto baloto
crabs cuban coboa ——
fish ícam; yssida ——; isda ——; isda
a colored fish panapsapan panapsápan panapsapan
a red fish timuan —— tiao (?)
another fish pilax —— pilas
ship benaoa bángca ——
king raia hari hadi
one uzza usá usa
two dua doha duha
three tolo toló tolo
four upat opát upat
five lima limá lima
six onom onóm unum
seven pitto pitó pito
eight gualu oaló ualo
nine ciam siàm siam
ten polo napoló napolo
Some of the words present difficulties however, due probably to error
on Pigafetta’s part and the obstacles in the method of communication
between peoples the genius of whose respective languages is entirely
distinct. The general Visayan word for “man” is tao or tauo,
although Mallat gives a form dala, which may correspond to the lac of
Pigafetta (but see Vol. V, p. 123, where the origin of the words lalac,
“man,” and babaye, “woman,” are given by Loarca). Babaye
(babae) is the general word for “woman” or “married woman;”
while binibini is given by Mallat as the Tagálog equivalent of
“girl,” and by Santos in his Vocabulario de la lengua tagala
(Manila, 1835) as the equivalent of “influential woman.” Liog is
used for both “throat” and “neck.” Tian is properly
“belly,” and the mistake would arise naturally in Pigafetta
pointing to himself when desiring the word for “body,” which would
be construed by the natives to that particular part toward which he
happened to point. Boto is used for both the male and female generative
organs, especially the latter, as well as for the testicles. Britiis
corresponds to both “shin” and “calf of the leg.” Iro denotes
also the civet cat. Bulan the equivalent of Pigafetta’s bolon is the
word for “moon” instead of “star.” The occurrence of what are
today Tagálog forms in Pigafetta’s list shows how the various
dialects shade into one another and how the one has retained words that
have sunk into disuse in the other.
[377] Preceding this paragraph in the Italian MS. (folio 38b) is the
chart of the island of Panilonghon (Panisonghon; q.v., p. 202). It is
given on folio 51a of MS. 5,650, preceded by the words: “Below is
shown the islands of Panilonghon.”
[378] The “Roteiro” (Stanley, pp. 13, 14) says that the captains
elected in place of those killed at Cebú were “Joam Lopez
[Carvalho], who was the chief treasurer” to “be captain-major of
the fleet, and the chief constable of the fleet” to “be captain of
one of the ships; he was named Gonzalo Vaz Despinosa.” Pigafetta
makes no mention at all of Elcano, who brought the “Victoria” home;
both the above captains remaining with the “Trinidad.” When the
“Concepcion” was burned, only one hundred and fifteen men were left
for the working of the two ships (see Guillemard, ut supra, p. 267),
although the “Roteiro” (Stanley, p. 14) says one hundred and eight
men, and Barros, one hundred and eighty.
[379] In Eden: “Pauiloghon, where they founde blacke men lyke vnto
the Saraſins.” This is the island of Panglao and the “black men”
are the Negritos. See W. A. Reed’s Negritos of Zambales, published by
Department of the Interior “Ethnological Survey Publications” ii,
part i (Manila, 1904), which says (p. 20) that the only large islands,
besides Luzón, inhabited at present by Negritos are Panay, Negros,
Mindanao, and Paragua, although they do inhabit some of the smaller
islands. The pure type is decreasing through marriage with the Bukidnon
or mountain Visayans; and (p. 22) “so far there is no evidence that
Negritos exist on Cebu, Bohol, Samar, and Leyte. The Negrito population
of the Philippines is probably not in excess of 25,000. The U. S.
census report of 1900 gives to Panglao a population of 14,347, all
civilized. See also Census of the Philippines, i, pp. 411, 415, 436,
468, 478, 532, 533.
[380] MS. 5,650 reads: “When entering that house, we were preceded by
many reed and palmleaf torches.”
[381] These two words are omitted in MS. 5,650.
[382] See Crawfurd’s Dictionary, pp. 368, 369, on the origin and use
of rice in the eastern islands, and the etymology of the native names
for that grain; and Census of the Philippines, iv.
[383] Instead of this last clause, MS. 5,650 reads: “where he slept
with his principal wife.”
[384] MS. 5,650 reads: “in the houses of the king.”
[385] MS. 5,650 reads: “little valleys.”
[386] Cf. Vol. III, pp. 56, 57.
[387] MS. 5,650 reads: “boat.”
[388] MS. 5,650 reads: “Calanoa;” and Eden: “Calauar.”
[389] MS. 5,650 reads: “one hundred and sixty-six;” and Eden:
“170.”
[390] Albo (Navarrete, iv, p. 221) reads as follows when relating the
course of the ships on leaving Cebú: “We left Subu and sailed
southwest to a latitude of 9 and three-fourths degrees, between the end
of Subu and an island called Bohol. Toward the western end of Subu lies
another island, by name, Panilongo, which is inhabited by blacks. That
island and Subu contain gold and considerable ginger. The former lies
in 9 and one-third degrees and Subu in 10 and one-third degrees.
Accordingly we left that channel and went 10 leguas south and anchored
in the island of Bohol. There we made two ships of the three, burning
the third, because we had no men. The last-named island lies in 9 and
one-half degrees. We left Bohol and sailed southwest toward Quipit, and
anchored at that settlement on the right hand side of a river. On the
northwest and open side are two islets which lie in 8 and one-half
degrees. We could get no food there, for the people had none, but we
made peace with them. That island of Quipit contains a quantity of
gold, ginger, and cinnamon. Accordingly, we determined to go in search
of food. The distance from the headland of Quipit to the first islands
is about 112 leguas. It and the islands lie in an east by north and
south by west direction; and this island [i.e., Mindanao] extends quite
generally east and west.”
The “Roteiro” (Stanley, p. 14) calls the port of Quipit (which is
located on the northeastern coast of Mindanao) Capyam or Quype.
Carvalho gave the boat of the burned ship to the inhabitants of that
place. Brito (Navarrete, iv, p. 309) says that they learned the
location of Borneo at Mindanao. Quipit becomes Gibith in Transylvanus,
Chipico in Peter Martyr, and Quepindo in Barros (see Mosto, p. 84, note
2).
[391] The first European mention of the island of Luzón. Luzón is
derived from the Malay lâsung (Tagalog, losong), “mortar.” See
Crawfurd’s Dictionary, pp. 222, 223.
[392] Pigafetta evidently means the Chinese by the Lequians who are
known to have carried on trade for many years with the Philippines, and
who indeed, once owned them.
Following this paragraph in the Italian MS. (folio 40a) is the chart of
Caghaiam (q.v., p. 202). This chart is shown on folio 53b in MS. 5,650,
preceded by the words: “Below is shown the island of Caghaian.”
[393] MS. 5,650 does not mention the cuirasses.
[394] Eden reads: “40. leagues.”
[395] Albo (Navarrete, iv, p. 221) says: “We left that place [i.e.,
Quipit] and sailed west southwest, southwest, and west, until we came
to an island containing very few inhabitants and called Quagayan. We
anchored in the northern part of that island, where we asked for the
location of the island of Poluan, in order to get provisions of rice,
for that island contains it in abundance, and many ships are laden
there for other districts. Accordingly we sailed west northwest and
came across the headland of the island of Poluan.” The “Roteiro”
(Stanley, p. 14) calls Cagaiam, Caram. It is the island of Cagayan
Sulu, which lies northeast of Borneo.
[396] The “Roteiro” (Stanley, p. 15) says that the ships contained
only sufficient provisions for a week.
[397] Eden reads: “C.lxxix. degrees and a third parte.” MS. 5,650
reads: “one hundred and sixty-one and one-third degrees.”
[398] Occurrences at Palawan are given as follows by Albo (Navarrete,
iv, pp. 221, 222): “Then we sailed north by east along the coast [of
Palawan] until we reached a village called Saocao, where we made peace.
Its inhabitants were Moros. We went to another village of Cafres, where
we bartered for a considerable quantity of rice, and consequently laid
in a good supply of provisions. That coast extends northeast and
southwest. The headland of its northeastern part lies in 9 and
one-third degrees, and that of the southwestern part in 8 and one-third
degrees. Then on returning to the southwest quite to the headland of
this island, we found an island near which is a bay. In this course and
along Poluan many shoals are found. This headland lies east and west
with Quipit and northeast by east and southwest by west with
Quagayan.”
The “Roteiro” (Stanley, pp. 15–17) gives a fuller account of
occurrences at Palawan. At the first settlement at which they attempt
to land, the natives prove hostile, whereupon they go toward another
island, but contrary weather compelling them to anchor near Palawan,
they are invited ashore on that island by the people of another
village. There one of the soldiers, Joam de Campos, lands alone in
order to get provisions. Being received kindly at this port, named
Dyguasam (perhaps Puerto Princesa), the people set about preparing
provisions for the strangers. Then going to another nearby village,
where Carvalho makes peace with the chief, provisions of rice, goats,
and swine are bought. At the latter village, a Portuguese-speaking
negro who has been baptized at the Moluccas, is met, who promises to
guide them to Borneo, but he fails them at the last moment. Capturing a
prau and three Moros near the former village, they are guided to
Borneo. Brito (Navarrete, iv, p. 309) says that the two ships remained
a month in Palawan, “a rich country, where they got new directions
about Burneo, and captured two men to guide them there.”
At this point in the Italian MS. (folio 41a) follows the chart of
Sundan and Pulaoam (q.v., p. 210). MS. 5,650 shows it on folio 54b,
where it is preceded by the words: “Chart of the island of Pulaoan
and the port of Tegozzao.”
[399] MS. 5,650 reads: “all.”
[400] This passage is defective in MS. 5,650, where it reads as
follows: “They have bows with wooden arrows more than one palmo long,
some of which are pointed with long sharp fishbones, poisoned with
poisonous herbs, while others are tipped with poisoned bamboo.”
[401] MS. 5,650 reads: “mace.” Jannetone as pointed out by Mosto
(p. 85, note 4) was a missile weapon.
[402] Cockfighting is still the great diversion of the Malays and
Malasian peoples. See Wallace’s Malay Archipelago (New York, 1869),
p. 477; and Bowring’s Visit to Philippine Isles (London, 1859). pp.
149–153.
[403] Eden reads: “fyue leaques.”
[404] From the Spanish word almadia, (a sort of canoe used by the
inhabitants of the East Indies; also a boat used by the Portuguese and
their slaves in the East Indies: generally of one single tree, although
there are various kinds, to one of which is given the name coche,
“carriage”) which is derived from the Arabic al-madia or almadiya,
from the root adar, “to cross,” so called because those vessels are
used in crossing rivers.—Echegaray’s Dic. etimológico (Madrid,
1887).
[405] This word is omitted in MS. 5,650.
[406] Gomara says there were eight (Mosto, p. 86, note 1).
[407] MS. 5,650 reads: “a red cap.”
[408] MS. 5,650 omits the remainder of this sentence.
[409] MS. 5,650 adds “and seigniors.”
[410] Stanley makes the unhappy translation “with naked daggers in
their hands, which they held on their thighs.”
[411] Cf. the account of the reception accorded the captain of a
Portuguese vessel in Borneo in 1578, Vol. IV, pp. 222, 223, where the
king is found playing chess.
[412] This clause is omitted in MS. 5,650.
[413] The city of Brunei or Brunai. See Guillemard’s Magellan, pp.
269–373. See also descriptions of Bornean villages in Wallace’s
Malay Archipelago; and Forest’s account of Brunai quoted by Crawfurd
(Dictionary, p. 70), who mentions the boat-markets held by the women.
[414] MS. 5,650 reads: “twenty or twenty-five thousand.” Crawfurd
(Dictionary, p. 70) thinks that Pigafetta overstates the population,
and that he probably gained his information from a Malay courtier.
[415] MS. 5,650 reads: “the women and daughters.”
[416] Cherita-tulis, “writers of narratives” (Stanley, p. 114);
jurutulis, “adepts in writing” (Crawfurd’s Dictionary, p. 61).
[417] MS. 5,650 reads: “timghuly.”
[418] Ortelius (Theatrum orbis terrarum) calls this region “Lao”
(see also chart on p. 210) and Mercatore (Atlas sive cosmographicae
meditationes) “Lave.” It may possibly be the modern island of Laut
off the southeast of Borneo. (See Mosto, p. 87, note 3). Crawfurd
(Dictionary, p. 72) conjectures that it is some place in Banjarmasin.
[419] The journey to Borneo, events there, and a description of Borneo
are thus described by Albo (Navarrete, iv, p. 222): “We sailed from
Poluan to Borney. Coasting the above named island [i.e., Poluan] to its
southwest headland, we discovered an island with a shoal on its eastern
side, and which lies in 7 and one-half degrees, so that we had to
deviate to the west for about fifteen leguas. Then we sailed southwest
coasting along the island of Borney to a city of the same name. You
must needs know that the land must be approached closely, for there are
many shoals outside, and one must keep the sounding line in constant
use, for it is a harsh coast. Borney is a large city with a very large
bay. Both inside and outside of it are many shoals, so that a native
pilot of that place is necessary. We remained there for a considerable
number of days, and commenced to trade there and made firm friendship.
But later, many canoes, in number 260, were equipped to capture us and
came upon us. When we saw them, we left hurriedly, and sailed out of
the bay, whereupon we saw some junks coming. We went to them and
captured one, in which was a son of the king of Luzon. The latter is a
very large island. The captain afterward let him go [i.e., the prince
of Luzón] without asking advice of anyone. Borney it a large island
which yields cinnamon, mirabolans, and camphor, the last named of which
is much esteemed in these lands, and it is said that when people die
they are embalmed with it. Borney (that is, the port of Borney) lies in
a latitude of 5 degrees and 25 minutes, and a longitude of 201 degrees
and 5 minutes from the line of demarcation.”
The “Roteiro” (Stanley, pp. 17–20) says that while on the way to
Borneo, the ships anchor at islands which they call the islets of St.
Paul (now, the Mantanani Islands—Guillemard, Magellan, p. 269) at a
distance of two and one-half or three leagues from Borneo. Proceeding
past a lofty mountain (Kina Balu—Guillemard) in Borneo, they coast
that island to the port of Borneo. Anchoring in that port, the Moro
pilots captured at Palawan are sent ashore with one of the crew, and on
reaching the city of Borneo, they are taken before the Shahbender of
Borneo. The two ships draw in closer to the city and establish trade
with the natives. Gonzalo Gomez Espinosa is chosen ambassador to the
king to whom he takes a present. After a stay of twenty-three days in
Borneo, the men in the ships fearing treachery from the evolutions of a
number of praus and junks, attack and capture one of the latter with
twenty-seven men. Next morning the junk commanded by the son of the
king of Luzon and ninety men, are captured. Of the seven men ashore the
king sends two to the ships, but retains the others, whereupon the
ships leave, taking with them fourteen men and three women of those
captured in the junks. While sailing back over their downward course,
the “Trinidad” grounds on a point of the island of Borneo, where it
remains for four hours until swung clear by the tide.
Brito in his account (Navarrete, iv, pp. 309, 310) says that the
Borneans fear at first lest the strangers be Portuguese and that their
object is conquest, but finally being reassured by Espinosa who takes a
present to the king, pilots are promised as far as Mindanao. During
their stay of a month at Borneo, two Greeks desert the ships. Three
others, among them Carvalho’s son, are ashore when the fear of attack
instigated by the two Greeks leads the two ships to attack the
Borneans, and the five men are left behind on the island.
The island of Borneo, the largest island (properly so-called) in the
world, is mentioned first by Varthema (Travels, Hakluyt Society
edition), pp. 246–248. See also Crawfurd’s Dictionary, pp. 57–66.
See also Henry Ling Roth’s Natives of Sarawak and British North
Borneo (London, 1896) in two volumes, which is an excellent work on
modern conditions in Borneo.
[420] The word “junk” is probably derived from the Malay Jong or
Ajong “a great ship.” For a description of these ships, see
Yule’s Cathay (Hakluyt Society publications, London, 1866), ii, pp.
417, 418.
[421] MS. 5,650 reads: “If venom or poison be put in a vase of fine
porcelain, it breaks immediately.” In accordance with this reading we
have added in brackets in the Italian the word veleno, i.e.,
“poison,” which seems to have been omitted by the amanuensis. Mosto
(p. 88, note 3) quotes the following from Marcantonio Pigafetta’s
Itinerario da Vienna a Constantinopoli (p. 208), when speaking of the
present brought to Sultan Selim II by the Persian ambassador which
consisted of “eight dishes [piati firuarii] which break if any one
puts poison in them. Those piati firuarii are made of the substance
which we call porcelain, and are made in China, the province situated
in the extreme outskirts of the Orient. They are made of earth, which
is kept for more than fifty years buried in the earth, in order to
refine it, and which is buried by the father for his son. Thus it
passes from hand to hand.” See also Yule’s Cathay, ii, p. 478; and
Burnell and Tiele’s Linschoten (Hakluyt Society publications), i, pp.
129, 130.
[422] The small brass, copper, tin, and zinc coins common throughout
the eastern islands were called “pichis” or “pitis,” which was
the name of the ancient Javanese coin, now used as a frequent
appellative for money in general. Chinese coins were early in general
use throughout the southern islands of the eastern archipelagoes. See
Crawfurd’s Dictionary, pp. 285–288.
[423] The cate or catty. See Vol. XVIII, p. 141, note 32.
[424] MS. 5,650 mentions only the six porcelain dishes, the wax, and
the pitch, for the last eighty, instead of forty, cathils, of bronze
being traded. The bahar of the Italian MS. becomes “barrel” or
“cask” in the French. The anime (pitch) may have been one of the
numerous resins yielded by various trees in the Philippines (see Report
of Philippine Commission, 1900, iii, 282, 283).
[425] MS. 5,650 omits this word.
[426] Spectacles were invented in the thirteenth century; and the
credit for the invention is assigned to Alessandro dì Spina, a
Florentine monk, or to Roger Bacon.
[427] MS. 5,650 reads: “not to wash the buttocks with the left hand;
not to eat with it.”
[428] Stanley (p. 116) omits a portion of this paragraph. He says that
had Pigafetta been a Spaniard or Portuguese, he would not have written
as he did concerning the Mahometan laws, as he would have been better
informed. Notwithstanding the fact that Stanley was a convert to
Islamism and a student of that faith, some of these practices may have
been introduced into Borneo, as the rites there being far from their
center, may have become vitiated or imperfectly learned in the first
place. For instance, that the law was not strictly observed there is
seen from the fact recorded by Pigafetta that they used the intoxicant
arrack.
[429] MS. 5,650 says simply that the camphor exudes in small drops. The
Malay camphor tree (dipterocarpus or Dryabalanops camphora) is
confined, so far as known, to a few parts of the islands of Sumatra and
Borneo, where it is very abundant. The oil (both fluid and solid) is
found in the body of the tree where the sap should be, but not in all
trees. The Malay name for camphor is a slight corruption of the
Sanskrit one “karpura,” and to distinguish it from the camphor of
China and Japan, the word Barus is annexed (the name of the seaport of
the western coast of Sumatra, whence camphor was chiefly exported from
that island). The Malay variety is higher priced than the Chinese. See
Crawfurd’s Dictionary, p. 81.
[430] MS. 5,650 omits mention of the turnips and cabbages, and adds:
“hinds.”
[431] Immediately following this paragraph in the Italian MS. are three
charts: 1. On folio 45b, the chart of Burne (q.v., p. 210), at the
lower (i.e., northern) end of which is a scroll reading “Here are
found the living leaves;” found on folio 60b of MS. 5,650, preceded
by the words “Chart of the island of Burne and the place where the
living leaves are found.” 2. On folio 46b, the chart of Mindanao,
which is divided into the districts of Cippit, Butuam, Maingdanao,
Calagan, and Benaiam (q.v., p. 230); found on folio 63a of MS. 5,650,
preceded by the words “Chart of five islands—Benaian.” 3. On
folio 47a, the chart of the islands of Zzolo [i.e., Joló], Tagima, and
Chauit and Subanìn, (q.v., p. 230), accompanied by a scroll reading
“Where pearls are produced;” found on folio 63b of MS. 5,650,
preceded by the words “Chart of the islands of Zzolo, Cauit, Tagima,
and others.”
[432] Cape Sampanmangio (Guillemard, p. 274). See ante, note 418.
[433] MS. 5,650 omits this sentence.
[434] The “Roteiro” (Stanley, p. 20) also narrates the capture of
this junk.
[435] In Eden: “Cimbubon, beinge. viii. degrees aboue the
Equinoctiall lyne. Here they remayned. xl. to calke theyr ſhyppes and
furnyſſe them with freſſhe water and fuell.” Cimbonbon is
probably Banguey or one of the neighboring islets between Borneo and
Palawan. It is called in the “Roteiro” (Stanley, p. 21), port Samta
Maria de Agosto, (St. Mary of August) because it was reached on the
fifteenth of August, the day of our Lady of August. It is assigned a
latitude of fully seven degrees. Herrera says that the ships were
overhauled on Borneo itself. Guillemard (p. 274) interprets Pigafetta
wrongly by saying that he assigns the careening place as Palawan or
Paragua.
[436] MS. 5,650 reads: “two and one-half feet long.”
[437] Cf. Transylvanus, Vol. I, pp. 330, 331. The Tridacna gigas,
described by Delgado, Historia, p. 929, under the name of taclobo.
Colin asserts that he saw one of the shells which was used as a
watering-trough and another as a holy-water font. The shells sometimes
attain a length of five or six feet, and weigh hundreds of pounds. The
natives burn them for lime. See Official Handbook of Philippines
(Manila, 1903), p. 152.
[438] Mosto (p. 89, note 8) conjectures this to be a fish of the family
of the Squamipen, perhaps of the genus Heniochus.
[439] Coca: An Italian word formed from the Spanish word “chocar”
“to jostle” (Mosto, p. 89, note 9). The living leaves, were the
insects of the genus of Phyllium of the order of the Orthoptera. They
are known as walking leaves from their resemblance to a leaf.
[440] This sentence is omitted in MS. 5,650. Eden says that Pigafetta
kept the leaf “for the ſpace of viii. dayes.”
[441] The date of the departure was September 27, 1521. At this place
João Carvalho was deposed from the chief command for his high-handed
measures and non-observance of royal orders, and retook his old
position as chief pilot. Espinosa was elected in his place and Elcano
was chosen captain of the “Victoria.” See Navarrete, iv, pp. 73,
289, 292, 294.
[442] Basilan; see Vol. III, p. 168, note 44.
[443] The true pearl oysters of the Philippine Islands are found along
the coasts of Paragua, Mindanao, and in the Sulu Archipelago,
especially in the last named, where many very valuable pearls are
found. These fisheries are said to rank with the famous fisheries of
Ceylon and the Persian Gulf. The mother-of-pearl of the shells is more
valuable than the pearls. The Sultan of Joló claims the fisheries as
his own and rents them out, but always has trouble with the lessees,
and his ownership is disputed by the datos. The pearl fishery has
figured in a treaty between that sultan and the United States
government. See Affairs of Philippines, Hearing before U. S. Senate
Committee (Washington, 1902), part i, p. 18; Official Handbook of
Philippines (Manila, 1903), p. 153; and Census of Philippine Islands
(Washington, 1905), pp. 534–536. An early interesting account of
pearl-fishing is given by Eden (Arber’s edition), pp. 213, 214.
[444] MS. 5,650 reads: “fifty.”
[445] Cáuit is a point and bay on the west coast of Zamboanga,
Mindanao; Subanin refers to a portion of Zamboanga; and the island of
Monoripa is perhaps the island of Saccol, located at the southeastern
end of the Zamboanga province. “Subanim” says Dr. Barrows (Census
of the Philippines, i, p. 416) “suggests a settlement of the present
aborigines of that part of Mindanao, who are known as Subanon. Here,
too, they saw the notorious ‘sea-gypsies,’ the Bajau or Sámal
Laut, whose wandering boats, then as now, shifted their stations with
the changing of the Monsoon.”
[446] Crawfurd (Dictionary, p. 100) says that the cinnamon of Mindanao
is not very strong or valuable; but the Official Handbook of
Philippines (Manila, 1903) says (p. 114) that a cinnamon of stronger
taste and fragrance is found in Zamboanga, Caraga, and the mountain
districts of Misamis, than that of Ceylon, although containing a bitter
element that depreciates its value, but which can be eliminated by
cultivation. Many of the old writers describe the plant and its
cultivation, one of the earliest being Varthema (Hakluyt Society
edition), p. 191. Pigafetta’s etymology of the Malay word is correct.
[447] Mosto (p. 90) mistranscribes biguiday, and Stanley has (p. 121),
bignaday. Perhaps it is the biniray, a boat resembling a large banca,
or the binitan (see Pastells’s Colin, i, p. 25).
[448] MS. 5,650 reads: “seventeen men seemingly as bold and ready as
any others whom we had seen in those districts.”
[449] Stanley says (p. 122) that this was attributed by a newspaper of
1874 to the Battas of Sumatra. Semper found the custom of eating the
heart or liver of their slain enemies among the Manobos in eastern
Mindanao (Mosto, p. 91, note 2). Tribes of Malayan origin living in
northern Luzón are said to have ceremonial cannibalism (Official
Handbook of Philippines, p. 158).
[450] MS. 5,650 reads: “twenty.”
[451] At this point in the Italian MS. (folio 50a) is found the chart
of Ciboco, Biraban Batolach, Sarangani, and Candigar (q.v., p. 238).
This chart is shown on folio 65a of MS. 5,650, preceded by the words:
“Chart of the four islands of Ciboco, etc.”
[452] Albo (Navarrete, iv, p. 223) calls these two islands Sibuco and
Virano Batolaque, the first of which Mosto (p. 91, note 3) conjectures
to be Sibago, and the second (note 4), part of the southern portion of
Mindanao. The first conjecture is probably correct if we take Albo’s
word that the two ships turned to the southeast after passing the
island Sibuco; and the fact that the main west coast east of Zamboanga
is remarkably free of islands, lends color to the second.
[453] The islands of Balut and Sarangani, just south of the most
southern point of Mindanao.
[454] MS. adds: “who are St. Elmo. St. Nicholas, and St. Clara.”
[455] It is just such acts as this bit of lawlessness, together with
the unprovoked capture of inoffensive vessels, that show that the
discipline of the ships had in great measure disappeared with the loss
of Magalhães. Such acts amounted to nothing less than piracy.
[456] These islands are of the Carcaralong or Karkaralong group south
of Mindanao. Mosto conjectures Cabaluzao (Cabulazao on the chart) to be
the island of Kabalusu, and that of Lipan, to be Lipang. Valentyn’s
Oud en Nieuw Oost-Indien (Dordrecht and Amsterdam; 1724), i, between
pp. 36 and 37, shows a group of islands at about this location with the
names Lirong (Lipan ?), Karkelang, Cabroewang Noessa (Nuza ?),
Karkarotang, and Karotta.
[457] At this point in the Italian MS. occur two charts: 1. On folio
51a, the islands of Cauiao, Cabiao, Cabulazao, Lipan, Cheava, Camanuca,
Cheai, Nuza, and Sanghir (q.v., p. 242); in MS. 5,650 shown on folio
65b, preceded by the words: “Chart of the islands of Sanghir etc.”
2. On folio 51b, the islands of Cheama, Carachita, Para, Zangalura,
Ciau, Paghinzara, Talaut, Zoar, and Meau (q.v. p. 246); in MS. 5,650,
on folio 66b, preceded by the words: “Chart of the islands of Meau,
etc.”
Sanghir (now Sanguir) is called Sanguin by Albo (Navarrete, iv, p.
223), and by Castanheda (Mosto, p. 92, note 1).
[458] Of these islands (some of them in the Talantse group) Cheama is
Kima; Carachita is Karakitang; Para still retains that name, or is
called Pala; Zanghalura is Sangalong or Sangaluan; Ciau is Siao or
Sian; Paghinzara (so called by Albo, ut supra) figures on Valentyn’s
map (ut supra, note 457) as Pangasare, though the same island seems
also to be called Tagulanda, so that Guillemard is right in his
identification of this island; it is identified with the island of
Roang by the British Admiralty map of 1890, while Mosto conjectures
that it may be the island of Biaro. See Guillemard’s Magellan, map,
facing p. 226; and Mosto, p. 92, notes 2–7.
[459] MS. 5,650 gives this name as “Babintau.” That MS. adds:
“All those islands are inhabited by heathens,” and continuing,
reads: “There is an island called Talant east of Cheama.”
[460] Talaut is evidently one of the Tulur islands east of Sanguir.
Zoar (called Suar by Albo) and Meau may be the islands of Meyo and
Tifore. See Guillemard (ut supra), and Mosto, p. 92, notes 8–10. The
geography of the islands of the East India groups has not yet been set
forth in a detailed and masterly manner, or definite proportions given
to it, although it is a subject that merits enthusiastic research and
labor.
[461] Eden reads (p. 259): “the ſyxte daye of Nouember and the.
xxvii. monethe after theyr departure owt of Spayne.”
[462] MS. 5,650 adds: “by which they were deceived.”
Albo’s narrative (Navarrete, iv, pp. 222–224) of the events of the
two ships from the time they leave Borneo to the arrival at the
Moluccas is as follows: “We left Borney, and returned by the road
whence we had come, and consequently took the channel between the
headland of the island of Borney and Poluan. Turning west [sic] we went
toward the island of Quagayan, and thus we went by that same route in
search of the island of Quipit toward the south. On this course between
Quipit and Cagayan, we saw to the southward an island called Solo,
where many very large pearls are to be found. The king of that island
is said to have a pearl as large as an egg. That island lies in a
latitude of 6 degrees. While on that course, we came across three small
islets and farther on we met an island called Tagima, where many pearls
are said to be found. The latter island lies northeast by east and
southwest by west with Solo. Tagima lies in a latitude of 6 and
five-sixths degrees, and is located opposite the headland of Quipit.
Many islets lie between those two islands, and one must take to the
open as he approaches Quipit. The abovenamed headland lies in 7 and
one-fourth degrees, and extends southeast and west northwest with
Poluan.
“Thence we coasted the island of Quipit going toward the south.
Turning east by south we sailed toward certain rocky islets. Along the
coast many settlements are passed, where considerable excellent
cinnamon grows, and for which we traded. That coast also produces a
quantity of ginger. Then we sailed northeast until we saw a gulf,
whereupon we turned southeast until we saw a large island. There is a
very large settlement extending from that point to the eastern headland
of the island of Quipit, and at the headland of the said island.
Considerable gold is obtained there from a very large river. That
headland lies 91 and one-half degrees from the meridian.
“We left Quipit for Maluco and turned southeast, where we saw an
island called Sibuco. Then we turned south southeast, where we saw
another island called Viramo Batolaque, continuing along that same
course to the head of that island. Then we saw another island called
Candicar, and sailed eastward between the two islands until we reached
a point some distance ahead, and at that place we entered a channel
between Candicar and another island called Sarangani. We anchored at
the latter island and took a pilot for Maluco. Those two islands lie in
4 and two-thirds degrees, while the headland of Quipit lies in 7 and
one-fourth degrees, the headland of Sibuco in 6 degrees south latitude,
and the headland of Virano Batolaque in 5 degrees. From the headland of
Quipit and Candicar, the course is north northwest and south southeast
without meeting any headland.
“We left Sarangani and sailed south by east until we reached the
right side of an island called Sanguin. Between the two islands lie a
number of islets lying toward the west. Sanguin lies in 3 and
two-thirds degrees.
“From Sanguin we sailed south by east to an island called Sian.
Between those islands lie many rocky islets. The latter island lies in
exactly 3 degrees.
“We sailed south by west to an island called Paginsara, which lies in
10 and one-sixth degrees. The course from that island to Sarangani is
north by east and south by west and all those islands are sighted.
“From Paginsara we sailed south by east until we reached a position
midway between two islets which lie northeast and southwest from one
another. The one to the northeast is called Suar and the other Mean.
The first lies in 1 degree 45 minutes and the other in 1 and one-half
degrees.
“We sailed south southeast from Mean, until we sighted the islands of
the Malucos. Then we turned east and entered a channel between Mare and
Tidori, where we anchored. We were received there with the utmost
friendliness and established a firm peace. We built a house ashore in
order to trade with those people, and abode there many days until the
ships were laden.”
The “Roteiro” (Stanley, pp. 20–23) says that after leaving
Borneo, a small junk laden with cocoanuts was overhauled and captured,
and that shortly after the ships were careened for repairs in the port
of St. Mary of August (see ante, note 435). Steering southwest on again
setting sail, they come to the island of Fagajam (Cagayan) and that of
Seloque (Solo or Joló), where they learn that pearls are abundant.
Next they reach Quipe (Quipit), running between it and the island of
Tamgym (Tagima). “And always running along the coast of the said
island, and going thus, they fell in with a parao laden with sago in
loaves, which is bread made of a tree which is named cajare, which the
people of that country eat as bread. This parao carried twenty-one men,
and the chief of them had been in Maluco in the house of Francisco
Serram, and having gone further along this island they arrived in sight
of some islands which are named Semrryn.” A guide to Maluco is
bargained for, but after arrangements are concluded he attempts to play
false, whereupon he and some others are captured. The natives attempt
pursuit but are unable to overtake the two ships. Next day sighting an
island, and a calm coming upon them, while the currents drew the
vessels in toward shore, the old pilot escapes. Continuing they sight
“three high mountains belonging to a nation of people whom they call
the Salabos [Celebes?],” and shortly after desiring to take water at
a small island, they are deterred by one of their native pilots, who
assures them that the people are hostile. “While still in this
neighborhood, they saw the islands themselves of Maluco, and for
rejoicing they fired all the artillery, and they arrived at the island
on the 8th of November of 1521, so that they spent from Seville to
Maluco two years, two months and twenty-eight days, for they sailed on
the 10th of August of 1519.”
The anonymous Portuguese (Stanley, p. 31) places the distance from the
Ladrones to the Moluccas at 1,000 miles, the archipelago of St. Lazarus
“where there occur many islands” intervening.
At this point in the Italian MS. are found two charts, as follows: 1.
On folio 52b, a chart of the islands of Hiri, Tarenate, Mastara, and
Giailonlo (q.v., p. 250), with the inscription “All the islands shown
in this book are in the other hemisphere, at the antipodes;” probably
the same chart appears on folio 73b of MS. 5,650 preceded by the words
(in a different hand than most of that MS.): “Here follow the
cloves.” 2. On folio 53a, a chart entitled “Maluco,” showing the
islands Tadore, Mare, Pulongha, Mutir, and Machiam (q.v., Vol. XXXIV,
p. 72), with a tree bearing the inscription “Caui gomode, that is,
cloves;” shown on folio 74a of MS. 5,650, preceded by the words:
“Description of the clove trees; how they grow; season for gathering;
method of finding the best; and also of nutmegs.”
[463] Eden (p. 259) says that they entered port “before the ryſinge
of the ſoone.”
[464] MS. 5,650 adds: “by astrology.”
[465] This sentence is omitted in MS. 5,650.
[466] MS. 5,650 omits the drinking-cups.
[467] From this point this sentence reads as follows in MS. 5,650:
“To some others we gave either silk cloth or some knives, or caps.”
[468] This sentence is omitted in MS. 5,650.
[469] MS. 5,650 reads: “a royal presence and eloquence.”
[470] “Mauzor” in Eden (p. 259).
[471] MS. 5,650 does not mention the “quintalada.” The quintalada
was a per cent of the freight or of the lading space of the ship
allowed the officers and crew of sailing vessels. The amount allowed to
each of the officers and crews of Magalhães’s fleet was specified in
section 74 of the instructions given by Cárlos I to Magalhães and
Falero at Barcelona, May 8, 1519. The amounts (see Navarrete, iv, pp.
150–152) are as follows:
Following are declared the quintaladas which shall be laden in the
ships about to sail to the spice regions, and the amount which each
one shall lade, from which he will pay the twenty-fourth part to
his Highness.
Quintaladas
First, Fernando de Magallanes and Falero, 60
captains-general of the said fleet will be allowed sixty
quintals of cabin space [cámara] apiece
Item: of quintalada, and twenty quintals apiece, these 20
twenty to be stowed below decks, and the cabin space
above decks
The other three captains shall each be allowed forty 40
quintals of cabin space, ten of them quintalada
Treasurer, twenty quintals of cabin space, and one 22
quintalada below decks
Accountant, a like amount of twenty-two quintals 22
Notaries of the ships, fifteen [sic] quintals of cabin 22
space and one quintalada
Alguacil of the fleet, six quintals and one quintalada 8
The sailors of the ships, one and one-half quintalada 3
Chaplains, four quintals apiece 4
Physician and surgeon, five quintals apiece 5
Masters and pilots, twelve quintaladas of cabin space and 14
one quintalada apiece
Boatswains, eight quintals of cabin space and one 10
quintalada apiece
Sailors, one quintalada apiece 2
Common seamen, one and one-half quintals apiece 1½
Boys, three arrobas of quintalada apiece 3 arrobas
Gunners
The master gunners, three quintals of cabin space apiece 5
and one quintalada
The other gunners, one and one-half quintaladas apiece 2½
Carpenters, one and one-half quintaladas 2½
Calkers, the same 2½
Coopers, the same 2½
Crossbowmen, the same 2½
Servants of the captains, one quintalada apiece 1
Stewards, three quintals apiece 3
Stonecutters, three quintals apiece 3
In case that our service is performed by building a fortress there, the
persons abovementioned who shall remain in it, shall be allowed the
said quintaladas in the ships that shall come [to these kingdoms], and
they shall receive also a like sum annually from the quintaladas that
shall remain there.
If a fortress be made, our captain shall appoint such persons with the
duties and functions that shall be necessary in the said fortress, and
shall appoint them the competent recompense until we appoint to those
duties.
Chests
The captains-general shall take four chests, on which they will pay
only the twentieth 4
The other captains shall take three chests apiece on the same terms 3
Accountant and treasurer two chests apiece 2
The notaries of the ships one chest apiece 1
Masters and pilots, each one chest 1
Boatswains, one chest apiece 1
Alguacil of the fleet, one chest 1
Chaplains, one chest apiece 1
The merinos of the fleets, one chest apiece 1
The captains’ servants, one chest for each two 1
Physician and surgeon, one chest 1
Sailors, one chest for each two 1
Common seamen, one chest for each two 1
Boys, one chest for each three 1
Master gunners of the ships, each one chest 1
The other gunners, one chest for each two 1
Carpenters, calkers, coopers, masons, crossbowmen, and sailors, one
chest for each two 1
Stewards, one chest apiece 1
Sobresalientes, one chest apiece 1
[472] Not nephew, as translated by Stanley (p. 126), as is shown later
by the context. MS. 5,650 spells his name “Calanoghapi.”
[473] The remainder of this sentence is not in MS. 5,650.
[474] In MS. 5,650 this is changed considerably, reading: “And
because he did not have enough merchandise to furnish our ships, he
told us that he would go to an island called Bacchian,” etc.
[475] Leonardo de Argensola (Vol. XVI, p. 221) derives Maluco from the
word “Moloc” meaning “the capital.” Crawfurd says that the
derivation and meaning of the word is unknown, although said to be that
of a people and place in Gilolo. It has been applied as a collective
name to all the islands of their district, but it is correct of only
the five mentioned by Pigafetta (for whose ancient names, see Vol. XVI,
p. 221). Varthema (Travels, Hakluyt Society edition, pp. 245, 246),
gives a slight account of the district under the name of the “island
of Monoch, where the cloves grow,” which Magalhães showed to Cárlos
I (Guillemard’s Magellan, p. 102). Barbosa gives the first authentic
account of the five Moluccas (which he names) in his East African and
Malabar Coasts (Hakluyt Society edition), pp. 201, 202, 219, 220. See
also Crawfurd’s Dictionary, pp. 283–285.
[476] Francisco Serrão, brother of João Serrão, was Magalhães’s
most intimate friend, and they had been close companions in the
stirring years of early Portuguese operations in far eastern waters. In
1509, Serrão sailed on the fleet sent by Almeida to reconnoiter
Malacca. Having been sent ashore with a large force, he was attacked by
the Malays and only the prompt assistance headed by Magalhães saved
him. In January, 1510, while returning from the expedition, he suffered
shipwreck. In 1511 he was sent as captain of one of three ships under
Antonio d’ Abreu to the Moluccas for purposes of exploration and
trade, but the expedition failed to reach the islands, going only as
far as the islands of Banda. On this expedition, Serrão’s ship was
abandoned as unseaworthy, and the junk bought in its stead was wrecked
on an island. Here pirates landing, Serrão and his men took possession
of their boats and thus reached Amboina in safety. The opportunity
offering, Serrão went to Ternate, where he espoused the cause of that
king against the king of Tidore, by the latter of whom he was finally
poisoned about the time of Magalhães’s death. A number of letters
passed between Magalhães and Serrão, during the years spent by the
latter in Ternate, and Magalhães made use of them to persuade Cárlos
I to undertake the expedition. See Guillemard’s Magellan.
[477] See Navarrete, iv, and Guillemard’s Magellan for details
regarding Magalhães’s negotiations with Manoel of Portugal and his
subsequent denaturalization. The testoon (tostão, tostões) is a
Portuguese silver coin. It was first struck in the fifteenth century
(Hazlitt’s Coinage of European Continent).
[478] It is impossible to be sure of the correct form of these names.
MS. 5,650 gives them as follows: “Checchily Momoly, Tadore Vimghi,
Checchily de Roix, Cili Manzur, Cilli Paggi, Chialin, Checchilin
Catara, Vaiechuserich, and Colano Ghappi.” Amoretti (followed by
Stanley) makes these names “Chechili-Momuli, Jadore Vunghi,
Chechilideroix, Cilimanzur, Cilipagi, Chialinchechilin, Cataravajecu,
Serich, and Calanopagi.” Mosto gives the names as in the present
edition with the exception of the sixth and seventh which he gives as
“Chialin Chechilin” and “Cathara.” Checheli (Chechelin) and
possibly Cili, denotes the title Cachil (“noble”).
[479] Called by Barros “João de Lourosa, a man disloyal to his
country (Mosto, p. 94, note 5). The “Roteiro” (Stanley, pp. 23,
24), says that this man was found in the island of Targatell (Ternate)
and that letters were sent him, asking him “to come and speak with
them, to which he replied that he did not dare, because the king of the
country forbade it.” However, permission is secured from the king and
Lorosa comes to the ships. An extract from a letter from the Indies
(Vol. I, p. 299) says that Lorosa was taken prisoner. Brito (Navarrete,
iv, p. 305) merely mentions the fact that he had left with the
Spaniards. He remained with the “Trinidad,” and was promptly
executed by the Portuguese when he fell into their hands (see
Guillemard’s Magellan, p. 303).
[480] MS. 5,650 adds: “hearing that.”
[481] In Eden: “ſixe hundreth and fiftie.” The native name of
Gilolo is Bato-tsima (also called Almahera), and the island belongs to
the Netherlands, being included in the residency of Ternate. The
population, estimated at 120,000, consists of Malays and Alfuros
(pagans; a word apparently formed from the Arabic article al and fora,
“without,” and applied by the Portuguese to natives outside of
their authority) the latter probably representing the pre-Malayan
populations, and inhabiting the central portion of the island.
[482] Eden (p. 227), translating from Oviedo, mentions canes “as
bygge as a mans legge in the knee and three ſpannes in length frome
ioynt to ioynt or more.... Theyr canes are full of moſte cleare water
without any maner of taſt or ſauore eyther of the canes or of any
other thynge: And ſuche as yf it were taken owte of the freſſheſte
ſprynge in the worlde.” Pigafetta probably refers to some species of
bamboo.
[483] MS. 5,650 reads: “for ten aunes of cloth [dyed with]
munjeet.” Guzerati or Guzerat (Gujerat, Gugerat, Goojerat, Gujrat)
one of the old provinces of India, of which the Kattywar peninsula
forms the western part, was a dependency of the Affghân or Ghôri
empire of Hindostan until the end of the fourteenth century. It became
an independent kingdom in 1408. See Badger’s introduction to
Varthema’s Travels (Hakluyt Society edition), p. lviii. Foster’s
Embassy of Sir Thomas Roe (Hakluyt Society publications, London, 1899),
says of Guzerat (pp. 539, 540): “Guzratt. A goodly Kingdom enclosing
the bay of Cambaya. The Cheefe Citty is Amadavaz [Ahmadábád]. It
Conteynes the Citty and Gouerment of Cambaya, the bewty of India, the
Territorie and Citty of Surat, and Barooch [Broach]. It is watered with
many goodly Riuers, as that of Cambaya [the Máhi], falsely supposed to
be Indus, the Riuer of Narbadah, falling into the Sea at Barooch, that
of Suratt, and diuers others. It trades to the Red Sea, to Achyn, and
many places.” Its ports were important centers of trade.
[484] This item is missing in MS. 5,650, and in Eden.
[485] Cf. with the prices of various oriental products in Barbosa’s
East African and Malabar Coasts (Hakluyt Society edition), pp.
221–223.
[486] Probably it was because of this belief that the ships intended to
take in water near Celebes, “because they feared that in Maluco they
would not be allowed to take it in” (see the “Roteiro,” Stanley,
p. 22).
[487] MS. 5,650 omits the remainder of this paragraph.
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL DATA
Primo viaggio intorno al mondo (1519–1522), by Antonio Pigafetta,
knight of the Order of Jerusalem.—This document exists in manuscript
in Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milan, Italy, where it bears pressmark, “L.
103—Sup.”
FOOTNOTES
[1] Called in other lists Juan Bautista, Bautista de Poncero, Ponceron,
and by Herrera, Juan Bautista de Poncevera.—Navarrete.
[2] A marine officer above the rank of soldier, but below that of
ensign.
[3] The pilot who wrote the logbook of the ship “Victoria” from its
arrival at the cape of San Augustin in Brazil until its return to
Spain. Navarrete says that Herrera calls him Francisco Calvo.
[4] Called Bachelor Morales in another register.—Navarrete.
[5] Called Filipo de Troa in another register.—Navarrete.
[6] Called Pancado in another register.—Navarrete.
[7] Called Sanrremo Ginovés in another register.—Navarrete.
[8] Called in other registers, Barruti, Barrutia, Barote, and Domingo
Vizcaino.—Navarrete.
[9] Called Anton Gallego and Antonio Varela in other
registers.—Navarrete.
[10] Called Juan de Santander in another register.—Navarrete.
[11] Called Blas Durango in another register.—Navarrete.
[12] The slave of Gonzalo Gomez de Espinoza, called Anton Moreno in
another register.—Navarrete.
[13] Said to be a Portuguese in another register.—Navarrete.
[14] Called Juan Antonio in another register.—Navarrete.
[15] Called Andres Paye in another register.—Navarrete.
[16] Sobresaliente is thus defined by Las Partiday—the laws of
Castilla, compiled by Alfonso X.—parte I., tit. 24, ley 6:
“Sobresalientes are called otherwise men who are placed over and
above the requisite number in the ships, both as crossbowmen and other
classes of soldiers. Such men have no other duty than to defend those
who might be in their ships when fighting with enemies.” Cited by
Mosto from A. Jal in Glossaire nautique. (Paris, 1848). Mosto speaks of
them at soldiers or volunteers who were embarked to take part in
battles and in boarding. Guillemard says of them: “The young men of
good family, who took part in the expedition from love of adventure or
desire for advancement in military service, shipped as sobresalientes,
or supernumeraries” (ut supra, p. 328).
[17] Called in another register, Fernan Lopez, volunteer.—Navarrete.
[18] Called Antonio da Plegafetis [i.e., Pigafetta] in another
register.—Navarrete.
[19] Called Luis Alfonso in another register.—Navarrete.
[20] Called Francisco de la Mezquita in another register.—Navarrete.
[21] Called Albertos, a sobresaliente, in another
register.—Navarrete. Merino: A shepherd, and formerly by extension an
alguacil, which is its meaning here.
[22] Called Pedro Sanildes in another register.—Navarrete.
[23] Magalhâes’s slave, who afterward, according to Pigafetta,
plotted the death of the Europeans, by conspiring with the ruler of
Cebu.
[24] Called in other registers, Uriaga, Hurriaga, Loriaga, and
Elorraga.—Navarrete.
[25] In another register said to be the servant of Antonio de
Coca.—Navarrete.
[26] Called Juan Ortiz de Goperi in another register.—Navarrete.
[27] Called Francisco de Morales in another register.—Navarrete.
[28] Luis de Avendaño in another register.—Navarrete.
[29] Called Alonso de Palos in another register.—Navarrete.
[30] Called Garcia de Tunon in another register.—Navarrete.
[31] Called Segredo in another register.—Navarrete.
[32] In other registers called Del Cano, Delcano, and simply Juan
Sebastian.—Navarrete.
[33] Said to be a native of Alcantara in another register.—Navarrete.
[34] Called Anton de Bazaza in another register.—Navarrete.
[35] Called Domingo de Yarza in another register.—Navarrete.
[36] Said to be a native of Portugal in another register.—Navarrete.
[37] Called Mateo Griego in another register.—Navarrete.
[38] Called in another register Juan Rodriguez de Huelva, native of
Mallorca.—Navarrete.
[39] Called Sebastian de Huelva in another register.—Navarrete.
[40] Called Lorenzo Duirna in another register.—Navarrete.
[41] Called Juan Roiz in another register.—Navarrete.
[42] In other registers called Master Ance and Master
Otans.—Navarrete.
[43] Called Oliver de Valencia in another register.—Navarrete.
[44] Called Guillermo Irés in another register.—Navarrete.
[45] Called Cristobal de Jerez in another register.—Navarrete.
[46] Called Juan Novoro in another register.—Navarrete.
[47] In another register called the young son of Juan
Caraballo.—Navarrete.
[48] Called Pedro Chindurza in another register.—Navarrete.
[49] In other registers called Alonzo Genoves, Cota, and
Costa.—Navarrete.
[50] Called in other registers Garate, Yarat, and Perez.—Navarrete.
[51] Called in another register Estéban Breton, and a third register
says that he was a native of Trosig in Bretaña—Navarrete.
[52] Another register says that he was a native of Hourienes in Torayn
[i.e., Tourraine.]—Navarrete.
[53] Another register calls him Airés, and says that he was afterward
chief gunner in the “Victoria.”—Navarrete.
[54] Called in another register Machin Vizcaino [i.e., a
Viscayan].—Navarrete.
[55] In other registers called Juan de Sahelices and
Saylices.—Navarrete.
[56] Called in another register Ochot de Randio.—Navarrete.
[57] In other registers called Cristôbal Mahuri and Bernardo
Mauri.—Navarrete.
[58] Another register declares him to be a native of
Sevilla.—Navarrete.
[59] Called Pedro Herrero [i.e., the blacksmith] in another
register.—Navarrete.
[60] Called Alonso Portugués [i.e., the Portuguese] in another
register.—Navarrete.
[61] Called in other registers Malo a Frenchman, Malvo, and
Amalo.—Navarrete.
[62] Called in other registers Ricarte, Ruxar, and Rigarte; while
another says that he was a native of Ebras in France.—Navarrete.
[63] Called Socacio Alonso in another register.—Navarrete.
[64] Called Pedro Gaston in another register.—Navarrete.
[65] Called Domingo Marinero [i.e., a sailor] in another
register.—Navarrete.
[66] Called Juan de Troya in another register.—Navarrete.
[67] Called Pedro de Huelva in another register.—Navarrete.
[68] Called Alonso Hernandez in another register.—Navarrete.
[69] The slave of Juan Serrano.—Navarrete.
[70] Pedro Brito in another register.—Navarrete.
[71] Geronimo Sevillano [i.e., a native of Sevilla] in another
register.—Navarrete.
[72] Another register calls him Francisco, the son-in-law of Juan
Serrano.—Navarrete.
[73] This man was Shanghaied at the island of Teneriffe by order of
Magalhães, October 1, 1519, and embarked on the “Santiago,” but
his occupation or country is unknown. He returned in the
“Victoria,” and was one of those captured by the Portuguese in the
island of Santiago in the Cape Verde Islands, as is proved by documents
in Archivo General de Indias.—Navarrete.
[74] Named in other registers Domingo, from Tovilla, Portugal, and
Domingo, native of Cobillana, Portugal.—Navarrete.
