Magellan Expedition is considered the greatest sea voyage ever undertaken and the most significant for it has resulted to the first recorded circumnavigation of the globe.[1]
The said expedition was sponsored by the Spanish Monarchy, under the then 18-year old Emperor Charles V in 1518, aiming to find a maritime route sailing westward from Europe to the East Indies across the Pacific Ocean. Establishing a western spice trade route alternative was a necessity for Spain since pursuant to the Treaty of Tordesillas the eastern route around Africa was under Portuguese control.
Fernao de Magalhaes (Fernand Magellan), a Portuguese captain of royal lineage, was appointed Admiral of the Spanish Fleet called “Armada de Molucca” composed of five ships – namely: Trinidad (the flagship), San Antonio, Concepcion, Victoria and Santiago – to lead in reaching the Moluccas or the Spice Islands (now Maluku Islands in Indonesia).
In the narrative of Antonius Pigafetta, the official chronicler of the expedition, in his chronicle “The First Voyage Round the World”, the following was the route of the Magellan Expedition:
*August 10, 1519 – Seville, Spain
✓Guadalcavir (Guadalquivir) River (also known as Betis)
✓Gioan de Farax – where there was a large population of Moors and a ruined bridge with its two columns at the bottom of the water which were hazards to sailing ships
✓Coria
✓the castle of the Duke of Medina Sidonia named St. Lucar
✓the port of Cape of St. Vincent, from here for few days Magellan and his crew would go to the church named Our Lady of Barrameda to hear mass within the few days stop – Magellan commanded that all the men (no women were allowed in the fleet) of the fleet should have a confession before going further
*September 20, 1519 – island of great Canaria (named Teneriphe)
*October 3, 1519 – Ocean Sea (Atlantic Ocean)
✓Cape Verde and the neighboring islands
✓the coast of Guinea or Ethiopia where there was a mountain called Sierra Leona -- they encountered in this part of the ocean bad weather with heavy rains and squalls; the area was infested with sharks which they called “tiburoni”; they were visited by St. Elmo’s fire for several days; and later after the storm subsided they saw birds they named “cagaselo” and a great quantity of flying fishes
*December 13, 1519 – the port of Verzin from the cape of St. Augustine (formerly called the Cape of St. Mary) – the people in this place were naked and dwelt in a long house called “boy” and slept in their cotton nets called “amache” and they had boats called “canoo”; and they were cannibals as attested by the Portuguese pilot Joao Caravaggio (Juan Caraballo in Spanish, who had lived in this island for four years) who said that Captain John de Sola (Solis) and his 60 men were eaten by the cannibals
✓Antartic Pole
✓Port of St. Julian in the” land of the giants (Setebos and the Cheleule)” called Pattagonia – here the masters of the other four ships – namely: Juan de Cartagena, vahadore (overseer or purveyor) of the fleet; Loys de Mendoza, the treasurer; Anthony Gocha, “contador” (conductor); and Gaspar de Casada (Quesada) – plotted treason against Magellan; the treason was discovered – hence, Loys de Mendoza was killed with stabs of dagger and then quartered; Gaspar de Casada had his head cut off and then quartered; Juan de Cartagena and Anthony Gocha were spared from death by Magellan since one of them was installed by Emperor Charles V as captain of one of the ships and the other was a priest but they were abandoned in the island, however, Estevan Gomez, the pilot of San Antonio, returned and picked up the two mutineers
*October 21, 1520
✓Cape of the Eleven Thousand Virgins
✓Cape de la Baya – here Estevan Gomez hostaged Alvar de Meschite (cousin of Magellan), the captain of San Antonio, and returned to Spain with his men
✓River of Sardines
✓Cape of Desire
✓Strait Pathagonico – the ship Santiago was lost only its pilot, John Serrano, was left who later became the captain of Concepcion
*November 28, 1520 – Pacific Ocean
✓an island mistaken for Cipangu (Japan)
✓two islands mistaken for Sumbdit Pradit (Java and Borneo)
∆ However on cross-reference with the narrative descriptions of Cipangu (Japan) and other two islands based on Portuguese reports in 1483 (Don Joao II, King of Portugal) and in 1521 (Antonius Pigaffeta), it is really probable that Magellan had seen Cipangu (Japan) on crossing the Pacific Ocean. But it appears that the two islands he named as Sumbdit Pradit are not Java and Borneo (informations concerning these islands were curtailed due to Portuguese secrecy policy during those times) but actually referring to Antilha or the Antilles archipelago -- the Greater Antilles and the Lesser Antilles -- which was reported as a great source of gold and slaves.[2]
✓Cape Gaticara (Cattigara. Cape Comirin, in 8 deg. 27 min. N. latitude)
*March 6, 1521 – the three isles of “Islas de Ladrones” (Isles of Thieves)
The said islands are identified as Pukapuka in Tuamotu and Flint or Vostok Island in the Line Group and Guam in the Marianas Islands by some writers[3] or Rota and Guam in the Marianas. However, in the “Lettres Edisiantes & Curieuses”, Tom. Xv, pp. 196-215 & pp. 282-320, “Islas de Ladrones” as named as follows[4][5]:
✓Amorsot
✓Farroilep
✓Guam or Guahan
∆Southern Philippines
*March 16, 1521, Isle of Zamal, 300 leagues distant from the Thieves’ island
It has been reported that two canoes from Amorsot were driven by contrary winds and tempestuous weather 300 degrees westward to Samal island in the Philippines in 1696 and another two canoes from Farroilep (northward to the isle of Guam or Guahan) met the same fate and driven to Samal island in the Philippines in 1721.[4][5]
From this information it is obvious without a doubt that the isle of Zamal mentioned by Pigafetta is Samal island in Mindanao, Philippines and not Samar in the Visayan Islands.
*March 17, 1521, at Humunu another uninhabited isle near the island of Zamal (Samal)
Here, Magellan landed at daybreak and found a source of water – from a natural source and from coconuts. From this information, “Humunu” (pronounced with silent “h” in both Italian and Spanish) could not really be a name of the island but a mishearing of Tausug or Visayan word “imnonon” which means “drinking water”. Magellan had set up two tents on shore for the sick crew and had a pig killed for them and rested there.
Talikud Island is an island near Samal Island and could be a candidate. However, Francisco Albo, a pilot of the Trinidad, pointed out in his logbook that the "Humunu" was renamed by Magellan as "Acquada la di buni segialli". Thus Albo referred the island as Aguada or Gada and Pigafetta as Acquada.
In the American military map of Mindanao created during the Philippine-American War (1899-1902), the place Aguada was drawn near the southern tip of the peninsula of Davao Oriental.[6] The same place Aguada is now named in the current Philippine political map as Cape San Agustin in Lavigan (probably from the Cebuano "labigan" which is a local name for a plant Acorus calamus), Governor Generoso. From this, it is obvious that Pigafetta and the rest mistook Davao Oriental as a separate island from the mainland Mindanao. Hence the island they were referring to as "Humunu" was actually Davao Oriental particularly the Cape San Agustin.
*March 18, 1521, a boat arrived with Amir ul-Umara (Amir ul-Ombra or Amir ul-Omabar in Brunei records, Humabon or Hamabar in Pigafetta's record), the nephew of Sultan Alauddin, and the Seven Arab Scholars from Seluang (mentioned as Zuluam or Zuluan by Pigafetta) in Sulu and met Magellan.
*March 22, 1521, Sultan Alauddin with his ruma bichara came back. [7] Sultan Alauddin, the brother of the deceased Sultan Kamaluddin of Sulu, was described as “old, and had his face painted, and had gold rings suspended to his ears, which they named ‘schione’” and his companions as “and the others had many bracelets and rings of gold on their arms, with a wrapper of linen round their head”.[a] The gold earrings mentioned as “schione” by Pigafetta must be either a mishearing of the word "kinhason", Cebuano for mollusk or seashell, or “Shakuni” which was a title given to a king who was of North Indian descent and not pertaining to the earring.
Humunu was described by Pigafetta to be inhabited by Gentiles whom Magellan described as “they go naked, except that round their middles they wear cloth made of the bark trees. But there are some of the more remarkable of them who wear cotton stuff, and at the end of it there is some work of silk done with a needle. These people are tawny, fat, and painted, and they anoint themselves with the oil of coconuts and sesame, to preserve them from the sun and the wind. Their hair is very black and long, reaching to the waist, and they carry small daggers and knives, ornamented with gold, and many other things, such as darts, harpoons, nets to fish, like our rizali, and their boats are like ours.”[b]
Pigafetta further mentioned that near the isle of Humunu (Davao Oriental) was another isle, most probably referring to the San Agustin Reef. Near the San Agustin Reef in the west and southwest direction were the three Sarangani Islands -- Olanivan Island , Sarangani Island (which must be the same island mentioned by Pigafetta as Seilani, Cenalo, and Abarien with the point of reference at Ibran), and Balut Island which was also called as Marorong (also Malulong or Malurung) Island (which must be the same island mentioned as Huinanghar with the point of reference at Katingan).
It was in Marorong Island that Ruy López de Villalobos landed in 1543, tracking the Magellan route. Marorong Island is inhabited by the Sangil from Sangir Island (in North Sulawesi) since the mid-14th century AD according to local tradition. [12]
Sangihe folklore (Cerita Rakyat Sangihe) recounts that the first rulers of Tabokan, the Kingdom of Tampang Lawo (Sanger Besar or Sangir Island) were Pangeran Gumansalagi (Medelu), a prince from Cotabato in Mindanao, and a celestial princess named Putri Konda (Mekila) who riding on a dragon Pangeran Bawangun Lare flew back to Cotabato then to Balut and Marorong (Malurung) Islands, to Tagulandang, and then finally settled to Tampang Lawo in the 14th or 15th century AD. But in his old age, Pangeran Gumansalangi returned to Cotabato and died there. His eldest son, Melintang Nusa, followed him in Mindanao and married Putri Hiabe, daughter of Rajah Tugise, while his youngest son, Meliku Nusa, went south to Mongondow and married with Menong Sangiang. Melintang Nusa continued the rulership of Tabokan but in his old age, he returned to Mindanao. Thus his son Bulegalangi continued the rulership while his other children were scattered throughout Sangir Island. [13]
*March 27, 1521, at night, Magellan and his men saw a fire on an island called Mazzava, Mazzaua, or Mazzabua. The island referred to must actually be Sambuwangan (Zamboanga) with the point of reference at Masaba, an ancient port facing Tictabon Island (Ticobon in Pigafetta's record).
The original name of Zamboanga was Sambuwangan which meant a place abundant of sambuwang or the stick that Sama (Samal tribe) boats would use for mooring into the ocean floor.
*March 28, 1521, in the morning, they sailed and landed at the port of Masaba, the present-day Zamboanga City. They were accompanied by its ruler, Sharif Alawi (Siaui by Pigafetta) of the Sultanate of Sulu centered at Seluang (Zuluan or Zuluam by Pigafetta and not Butuan) which comprised Sabah, the Sulu Archipelago, Basilan, and the southwestern Mindanao (from Sarangani, Cotabato, Lanao, and Zamboanga) and his brother Sharif Kabungsuwan.
Sharif Alawi was Ahmad, the second son of Muhammad Shah I of Pahang and Mengindra Putri. His elder brother was Abdul Jamil and his younger brother was Mahmud (also Muhammad) known in Mindanao as Sharif Kabungsuwan.
Abdul Jamil died in Pahang after their escape from Malacca which was sieged by the Portuguese in 1511.
The brothers Sharif Alawi and Sharif Kabungsuwan must be part of the family of Sultan Mahmud Shah I of Malacca who from Pahang went to the island of Bintan near the old Singapore. The old Singapore was then known as Singapura or Temasek and the kingdom referred to in Brunei and Sulu as Johor during the 14th century until the establishment of the Johor Sultanate) [c]
Magellan and his men stayed on the island for seven days and held the First Catholic Mass on the seventh day and planted the Cross at Columbato, also Mount Pulong Bato, the highest mountain of Masaba. [g] Columbato or more correctly Kulumbato was derived on two Malay words -- kulum, which means "to keep or hold something from one's mouth without swallowing", and bato which means "stone". Most probably, the natives, during the time of Magellan, was referring the holy eucharist as "kulumbato" and the mountain now known as Columbato was actually the site of the Holy Mass conducted in 1521 and the original location where the Magellan Cross was actually planted.
*March 29, 1521, during the night, Sharif Kabungsuwan, the ruler of the Sultanate of Maguindanao. He was misnamed by Pigafetta as "Raia Colambu" either after the mosquito net, known locally as "kulambu", he was using in his balanghai; after his local title "Kolano Tabu", being the husband of Angintabu; or from Columbato, the highest mountain in Masaba (Zamboanga City). He was Raja Mahmud of Pahang (Sultan Mahmud Shah I of Pahang) who was born in 1475 but commonly known in Mindanao as Sayyid Sharif Muhammad Kabungsuwan. His first wife was his first cousin Raja Putri Olah and with her he had two sons namely Raja Muzaffar and Raja Jenal (Zainal abd-Din). His second wife was Raja Khadija, daughter of Sultan Mahmud Shah of Malacca, whom he married in 1519.
He was described by Pigafetta as the handsomest man that they saw among the islands who had very black hair coming down to his shoulders, with a silk cloth on his head, and two large gold rings hanging from his ears; had a cloth of cotton worked with silk, which covered him from the waist to the knees, at his side he wore a dagger, with a long handle which was all of gold, its sheath was of carved wood; carried upon him scents of storax and benzoin; and he was tawny and painted all over.
The Sultanate of Maguindanao during that time comprised northeastern Mindanao including Samal Island, Talikud Island, and the rest of the islands east of Mindanao and was centered at Slangan (Calaghan by Pigafetta).
After eating supper with Sharif Alawi, Sharif Kabungsuwan departed as the rest of the visitors were drunk and asleep. Candles and torches were lighted. Pigafetta observed that "they use for candles or torches the gum of the tree which is named as Animé, wrapped up in leaves of palms or fig trees". [14] Obviously, Pigafetta misheard "amamanit" (also called kamarere and bagras) which is the Mindanao gum or rainbow eucalyptus (Eucalyptus deglupta). The said tree is endemic to Mindanao particularly in the two provinces of Surigao, Misamis Oriental, Bukidnon, and Davao Oriental which were collectively known during the Spanish period as Kalagan (named after a subgroup of the Mansaka tribe). [f]
*April 14, 1521, Magellan left Masaba (the present Zamboanga City) and sailed to Malabang. At that time, Malabang was known as S'bu or T'bok (Zebu in Pigafetta's account), the oldest settlement and the center of all tribes in mainland Mindanao. Malabang (T'bok) was the biggest port of the ancient kingdom known as S'bu or the whole island of Mindanao with the point of reference at Malabang.
S'bu or T'bok as an island-kingdom (Mindanao) was also known to the Arabs as Zabag (Zabaj) and to the Hebrews as Sheba and Ophir in ancient times. The so-called Queen of Sheba in the Bible was actually the Damhara S'bu, the Queen of the South (Kanjeng Ratu Kidul in Javanese mythology). The "South" was referring to the South China Sea which was known as the "South Sea" in the ancient times and believed by some historians and geographers to be the real site of the sunken or vanished fabled city of Atlantis.
Maharajah Umbaor (mentioned as Umabon or Amabar by Pigafetta), the founder of Lanao Sultanate, and the father of Angintabu, one of the wives of Sharif Kabungsuwan, and Layla Manjanay, one of the wives of Sultan Bolkiah of Brunei, was its ruling chieftain. Umbaor was also known for his royal title as Makaapen Radia Simbaan (Makaapon Rajah Sambahan) which meant literally in Maranao as "The Master His Majesty" which was equivalent to the Tausug title Paduka Mahasari (Maharajah di-Rajah). Umbaor must be one and the same with the Amir al-Umara of Sulu, who also appeared as Amir ul-Ombra in Brunei records. Likewise he must be one and the same with Sultan Mahmud Shah of Malacca and with Pati Unus or Yunus (also known as Yat Sun and Pangeran Sabrang Lor) of Demak whose real name presumably was Raden Abdul Qadir, the son-in-law and crown prince of Raden Patah.
The island of Matan mentioned by Pigafetta was Kalimantan (Borneo) but the battle happened particularly in Matan which was also known as Lawai or Lawi.
The interpreter named Enrique de Malacca by Magellan was Raden Samudra, the crown prince of the old Tanjungpura (Dongzhonggula in a 14th century Chinese record and was misinterpreted by Pigafetta as the name of its ruler which he mentioned as Zula), an ancient kingdom located near the Matan (now Simpang) River in southern Borneo. Raden Samudra was said to be the grandson of the Mangkubumi and a nephew of the Tumenggung (Temenggong) of Negara Daha. Raden Samudra must be the son of Sultan Abdul Jamil Shah I of Pahang (also known as Jamal or Kamal) and Raja Fatimah, the elder full sister of Sultan Mahmud Shah of Malacca and daughter of Tun Senaja and Sultan Alauddin Riayat Shah of Malacca. It could be understood that Raja Fatimah died of childbirth on July 5, 1496, the original feast day of Saint Henry the Exuberant for which reason he was called by Magellan as Henrique. At the age of 4 in 1500 during the invasion of warriors from Nakhon Si Thammarat Kingdom (Ligor), he must have been brought to southern Borneo in Matan whose secret code was "Johor". He was supposed to be the crown prince but when the Mangkubumi died, the Tumenggung took the maharajah crown for himself by force. Raden Samudra fled to Banjarmasin then sought help from Raden Patah, the Sultan of Demak, [h] but was intercepted by the Portuguese fleet and was captured. [i]
Other versions are named Raden Samudra as a son or full younger brother of Raden Patah and got an adulterous affair with either his stepmother or sister-in-law Nyai Ontrowulan. In this version he was the son of Brawijaya V of Madjapahit with a Champa (Cambodia-Vietnam) or Jeumpa (Samudra-Pasai) or a Ryukyu princess.
In the Wali Songo tales, he was also called as Sunan Giri. In the list of rulers of Tanjungpura/Sukadana/Matan, there appeared a name Giri Kesuma (also Gusti Aliuddin) who was the crown prince of Panembahan Bandala or Gusti Abdul Rahab (Gusti Patih or Raden Patah?). This Giri Kesuma was very young when Panembahan Bandala died so it was his uncle Panembahan Pangeran Anom or Panembahan Baroh (also Panembahan Dibarokh alias Sibiring Mambal), who might be the same person with Pati Unus who was also known as Pangeran Anom or Pangeran Sabrang Lor, who stood as regent.
The other interpreter with him who was mentioned as Genal in Portuguese records must be his cousin Raja Jenal (Zainal abd-Din) named as Jorge by Magellan.
If we cross examine it by cross references, the Pangeran Temenggong in Borneo at that time was also called in Brunei as Awang Simawn, [j] similar sounding to Sang Hyang (Samian in Portuguese records), the crown prince Surawisesa of the Sunda Kingdom who was sent by Sri Baduga Maharajah to Malacca in 1512 and 1521 to request the Portuguese to sign an alliance treaty. [k] Awang Simawn was said to be a brother of Demang Lebar Dawn, the chief minister of the Sultan of Malacca, the supposed father of the Nakhoda Ragam of Brunei. [j] The Temenggong of Malacca at the time of Sultan Mahmud Shah of Malacca was Tuan Mutahir, the brother of Tuan Tahir, the Chief Minister (the SriNaraDiraja, [l] who might be the same person with Sultan Muhammad Shah I of Pahang). Tuan Mutahir was executed in 1510 upon the order of Sultan Mahmud Shah and was succeeded by his son Tuan Hassan as Temenggong who was then known as Paduka Tuan Bendahara Tepok or Datok Lubok Batu (or Lubok Tepok). [m] He was the one mentioned by Pigafetta as Raia Cilapulapu, which was similar-sounding to Malay pronunciation of Lubok Tepok which could sound as "Læbo Tæpo' or "Læpo Tæpo" as "k" was almost silent.
Kalimantan was the Indonesian name for the island of Borneo which was also known in the ancient times as Taprobana. The battle between Magellan and the Temenggong as mentioned by Pigafetta took place at Sungai Matan (now Kecamatan Simpang Hilir), [n] which was part of the kingdom ruled by Temenggong in Borneo.
The island mentioned as Bohol was the Malay Peninsula with the point of reference at Kampong Bohol in Selangor at the western side.
Ferdinand Magellan was presented in the S'yair Awang Simawn as a mythological figure, a jinn named Bilantapura while the Sulu sultan was described as a Muslim Chinese by the name of Wang Wangkang.
Footnotes:
1. Laurence Bergreen, Over the Edge of the World: Magellan’s Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe, 2004, Perennial/Harper Collins.
2. O.H.K. Spate, The Spanish Lake, p. 27.
3. Yves Gambier & Ubaldo Stecconi, A World Atlas of Translation, p. 17.
4. James Cook, A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean, Undertaken, by the Command of His Majesty, For Making Discoveries in the Northern Hemisphere, p. 202.
5. President de Brosse, Voyages aux Terres Australes, Tom. ii, pp. 443-490.
6.https://historicalmaps.yale-nus.edu.sg/catalog/beinecke-15251555?fbclid=IwAR1kNQMEtrc3hPPxLOcIbOWRansN2YMLJ1tcLDa3mB7IOMa99ZEsuN4ndA8
7. Ibrahim, Ahmad; Siddique, Sharon; Hussain, Yasmin (1985), Readings on Islam in Southeast Asia, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, ISBN 978-9971-988-08-1, p. 51.
8. Kolig, Erich, Angeles, Vivienne S. M.; Wong, Sam (2009). Identity in Crossroad Civilisations: Ethnicity, Nationalism and Globalish in Asia. Amsterdam University Press. ISBN 978-90-8964-127-4.
9.http://srjskam.blogspot.com/2017/06/taprobana-is-borneo.html?m=1
10.https://archipelagofastfact.wordpress.com/category/borneokalimantan/
11. Irwanto, Dhani. Taprobana: A Classical Knowledge of an Island in the Opposite Earth.
12.https://jessemaronline.blogspot.com/2012/01/history-of-balut-island.html
13.https://kebudayaan.kemdikbud.go.id/gumansalangi-cerita-rakyat-sangihe-2/
14. Lord Stanley of Alderley, First Voyage Round The World, By Magellan (Translated from the Accounts of Pigafetta, and Other Contemporary Writers), p. 79.