account; this has been translated from the Latin by Mr. James Baynes,
of the Printed Book Department of the British Museum. After that comes
the log-book of Francisco Albo or Alvaro, translated from a MS. in
the British Museum, which is a copy from a document in Simancas. This
log-book has been printed, in Navarrete’s collection, apparently from
the British Museum MS., and it appears to have escaped the notice of
Captain Burney. It is especially valuable because it helps to fix the
position of the “Unfortunate Islands”, and because it establishes that
the Island of Amsterdam in the Southern Indian Ocean to the North of
St. Paul’s Island, the discovery of which is usually attributed to the
Dutch navigator Vlaming, in 1696, was discovered March 18th, 1522, by
the _Victoria_, the first ship which went round the world.
There is a confusion as to the names of these two islands, which are
rightly named in the Admiralty and other sea charts, but which are
wrongly named in common English maps, which place St. Paul to the north
of Amsterdam. The southern island is bare and arid, and the northern
island has bushes and a high peak visible eighteen or twenty leagues
off. Francisco Albo says this Island had no trees; but the _Victoria_
may not have approached near enough to see the bushes, which, from the
views of the island, appear to be near its base; it is clear that the
_Victoria_ approached the northern island, or Amsterdam, because not
only does the latitude given by F. Albo differ from that of modern
observation by only eight miles, but also because from the course
steered by the _Victoria_ on leaving this island, she must have sighted
the northern island had the one discovered by her been the southern
one. Plates are given of these two islands, taken from Valentyn’s Dutch
work on the East Indies. A French Geographical Dictionary sets up a
claim to these islands as belonging to the government of the Isle of
France or Mauritius; it does not say on what grounds; but if ever they
were dependencies of Mauritius, they will have passed with that island
into the possession of Great Britain.
Correa’s narrative contains two details not given in any of the other
accounts, viz., the warning given to Magellan at Tenerife by Diogo
Barbosa of the intended mutiny; and the incident of the Portuguese ship
speaking the _Victoria_ off the Cape of Good Hope. Correa’s having been
in India at the time, and relating what he heard from the Portuguese,
would account for his misplacing the death of Magellan as having
happened at the same time as that of Duarte Barbosa. His narrative also
contains additional evidence of the violent animosity of the Portuguese
against Magellan, though he himself is more favourable than other
Portuguese historians to him who is one of the most renowned of their
countrymen, as he undoubtedly is the greatest of ancient and modern
navigators.
_September 1874._
CHRONOLOGY
OF THE
FIRST VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD.
Magellan arrives at Seville October 20, 1518
Magellan’s fleet sails from Seville Monday,[25] August 10, 1519
Magellan sails from San Lucar de Barrameda,
Tuesday, September 20, „
„ arrives at Tenerife September 26, „
„ sails from Tenerife Monday, October 3, „
„ arrives at Rio de Janeiro December 13, „
„ sails from Rio December 26, „
„ sails from Rio de la Plata February 2, 1520
„ arrives at Port St. Julian March 31, „
Eclipse of Sun April 17, „
Loss of _Santiago_
Magellan sails from Port St. Julian August 24, „
„ sails from river of Santa Cruz October 18, „
„ makes Cape of the Virgins, entrance
of Straits October 21, „
Desertion of _San Antonio_ November „
Magellan issues from Straits into the Pacific,
Wednesday, November 28, „
Magellan fetches San Pablo Island January 24, 1521
„ fetches Tiburones Island February 4, „
„ reaches the Ladrone Islands, Wednesday, March 6, „
„ reaches Samar Island of the Philippines
Saturday, March 16, „
„ reaches Mazzava Island, Thursday, March 28, „
„ arrives at Sebu Island April 7, „
Death of Magellan at Matan Saturday, April 27, „
Burning of _Conception_ May, „
Arrival of _San Antonio_ at Seville May 6, „
Arrival of _Victoria_ and _Trinity_ at Tidore,
Friday, November 8, „
_Victoria_ sails from Tidore December 21, „
„ discovers Amsterdam Island, Tuesday, March 18, 1522
„ doubles the Cape of Good Hope May 18,[26] „
„ arrives at Cape Verde Islands,
Wednesday,[27] July 9, „
„ arrives at San Lucar Saturday,[27] September 6, „
„ casts anchor at Seville Monday,[27] September 8, „
Thanksgiving at Church of Our Lady of Victory
Tuesday,[27] September 9, „
[Illustration: CHEFE Magelliāes]
[Illustration: _Facsimile of the signature of Fernam de Magalhães,
son of Pero de Magalhães, to a receipt in the Book of Moradias
signed apparently in 1525, and by some erroneously supposed to be
that of the navigator._]
[Illustration: _Facsimile of the signature of Duarte Barbosa,
taken from his letter to D. Manuel, dated Cananor, January
12<sup>th</sup> 1513, printed in the Appendix to “Vasco da Gama”,
Hakluyt Society._]
[Illustration: _Facsimile of the signature of the navigator Fernam
de Magalhães, at a Council of War at Cochim, 1510._]
[Illustration: _Magellan’s signature to a letter to the Emperor
Charles V. dated, Seville, October 24ᵗʰ 1518._]
NAVIGATION AND VOYAGE WHICH FERNANDO
DE MAGALHĀES MADE FROM SEVILLE TO
MALUCO IN THE YEAR 1519.
(BY A GENOESE PILOT.)
He sailed from Seville on the 10th day of August of the said year,
and remained at the bar until the 21st day of September, and as soon
as he got outside, he steered to the south-west to make the island of
Tenerife, and they reached the said island on the day of St. Michael,
which was the 29th of September.[28] Thence he made his course to fetch
the Cape Verde islands, and they passed between the islands and the
Cape without sighting either the one or the other. Having got as far
as this neighbourhood, he shaped his course so as to make for Brazil,
and as soon as they sighted the other coast of Brazil, he steered to
the south-east[29] 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 Rio
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.
They sailed from this Rio de Janeiro on the 26th December, and
navigated along the coast to make the Cape of St. Mary, which is in
thirty-four degrees and two-thirds; as soon as they sighted it, they
made their course west-north-west, thinking they would find a passage
for their voyage, and they found that they had got into a great
river of fresh water, to which they gave the name of river of St.
Christopher, and it is in thirty-four degrees, and they remained in it
till the 2nd of February, 1520.[30]
He sailed from this river of St. Christopher on the 2nd of the said
month of February; they navigated along the said coast, and further on
to the south they discovered a point which is in the same river more
to the south, to which they gave the name of Point St. Antony; it is
in thirty-six degrees, hence they ran to the south-west, a matter of
twenty-five leagues, and made another cape which they named Cape St.
Apelonia, which is in thirty-six degrees; thence they navigated to the
west-south-west to some shoals,[31] which they named Shoals of the
Currents, which are in thirty-nine degrees; and thence they navigated
out to sea, and lost sight of land for a matter of two or three days,
when they again made for the land, and they came to a bay, which they
entered, and ran within it the whole day, thinking that there was an
outlet for Maluco, and when night came they found that it was quite
closed up, and in the same night they again stood out by the way which
they had come in. This bay is in thirty-four degrees;[32] they name
it the island[33] of St. Matthew. They navigated from this island of
St. Matthew along the coast until they reached another bay, where they
caught many sea-wolves and birds; to this they gave the name of “Bay of
Labours;”[34] it is in thirty-seven degrees; here they were near losing
the flag-ship in a storm. Thence they navigated along the said coast,
and arrived on the last day of March of the year 1520 at the Port of
St. Julian, which is in forty-nine and one-third degrees,[35] and here
they wintered, and found the day a little more or less than seven
hours.[36]
In this port three of the ships rose up against the Captain-major,
their captains saying that they intended to take him to Castile in
arrest, as he was taking them all to destruction. Here, through the
exertions of the said Captain-major, and the assistance and favour of
the foreigners whom he carried with him, the Captain-major went to the
said three ships which were already mentioned, and there the captain
of one of them was killed, who was treasurer of the whole fleet, and
named Luis de Mendoça; he was killed in his own ship[37] by stabs with
a dagger by the chief constable of the fleet, who was sent to do this
by Fernando de Magalhāes in a boat with certain men. The said three
ships having thus been recovered, five days later Fernando de Magalhāes
ordered Gaspar de Queixada to be decapitated and quartered; he was
captain of one of the ships,[38] and was one of those who had mutinied.
In this port they refitted the ship. Here the captain-major made
Alvaro de Mesquita, a Portuguese,[39] captain of one of the ships
the captain of which had been killed. There sailed from this port
on the 24th of August four ships, for the smallest of the ships had
been already lost;[40] he had sent it to reconnoitre, and the weather
had been heavy, and had cast it ashore, where all the crew had been
recovered along with the merchandise, artillery and fittings of the
ship. They remained in this port, in which they wintered, five months
and twenty-four days,[41] and they were seventy degrees less ten
minutes to the southward.[42]
They sailed on the 24th day of the month of August of the said year
from this port of St. Julian and navigated a matter of twenty leagues
along the coast, and so they entered a river which was called Santa
Cruz, which is in fifty degrees,[43] where they took in goods and as
much as they could obtain: the crew of the lost ship were already
distributed among the other ships, for they had returned by land
to where Fernando de Magalhāes was, and they continued collecting
the goods which had remained there during August and up to the 18th
September, and there they took in water and much fish which they caught
in this river; and in the other, where they wintered, there were people
like savages, and the men are from nine to ten spans in height, very
well made; they have not got houses, they only go about from one place
to another with their flocks, and eat meat nearly raw: they are all
of them archers and kill many animals with arrows, and with the skins
they make clothes, that is to say, they make the skins very supple, and
fashion them after the shape of the body, as well as they can, then
they cover themselves with them, and fasten them by a belt round the
waist. When they do not wish to be clothed from the waist upwards, they
let that half fall which is above the waist, and the garment remains
hanging down from the belt which they have girt round them.[44] They
wear shoes which cover them four inches above the ankle, full of straw
inside to keep their feet warm. They do not possess any iron, nor any
other ingenuity of weapons, only they make the points of their arrows
with flints, and so also the knives with which they cut, and the adze
and awls with which they cut and stitch their shoes and clothes. They
are very agile people, and do no harm, and thus they follow their
flocks: wherever night finds them there they sleep; they carry their
wives along with them with all the chattels which they possess. The
women are very small and carry heavy burdens on their backs; they wear
shoes and clothes just like the men. Of these men they obtained three
or four and brought them in the ships, and they all died except one,
who went to Castile in a ship which went thither.[45]
They sailed from this river of Santa Cruz on the 18th of
October:[46] they continued navigating along the coast until the 21st
day of the same month, October, when they discovered a cape, to which
they gave the name of Cape of the Virgins, because they sighted it on
the day of the eleven thousand virgins; it is in fifty-two degrees,
a little more or less, and from this cape a matter of two or three
leagues distance, we found ourselves at the mouth of a strait.[47] We
sailed along the said coast within that strait which they had reached
the mouth of: they entered in it a little and anchored. Fernando de
Magalhāes sent to discover what there was further in, and they found
three channels, that is to say, two more in a southerly direction, and
one traversing the country in the direction of Maluco, but at that time
this was not yet known, only the three mouths were seen. The boats
went thither, and brought back word, and they set sail and anchored at
these mouths of the channels, and Fernando de Magalhāes sent two ships
to learn what there was within, and these ships went: one returned
to the Captain-major, and the other, of which Alvaro de Mesquita was
captain, entered into one of the bays which was to the south, and did
not return any more. Fernan de Magalhāes seeing that it did not come
back, set sail,[48] and the next day he did not choose to make for the
bays, and went to the south, and took another which runs north-west and
south-east, and a quarter west and east. He left letters in the place
from which he sailed, so that if the other ship returned, it might
make the course which he left prescribed. After this they entered into
the channel, which at some places has a width of three leagues, and
two, and one, and in some places half a league, and he went through
it as long as it was daylight, and anchored when it was night: and he
sent the boats, and the ships went after the boats, and they brought
news that there was an outlet, for they already saw the great sea on
the other side; on which account Fernando de Magalhāes ordered much
artillery to be fired for rejoicing;[49] and before they went forth
from this strait they found two islands, the first one larger, and the
other nearer towards the outlet is the smaller one: and they went out
between these islands and the coast on the southern side, as it was
deeper than on the other side. This strait is a hundred leagues in
length to the outlet; that outlet and the entrance are in fifty-two
degrees latitude.[50] They made a stay in this strait from the 21st
October to the 26th of November,[51] which makes thirty-six days of
the said year of 1520, and as soon as they went out from the strait to
sea, they made their course, for the most part, to west-north-west,
when they found that their needles varied to the north-west almost
two-fourths, and after they had navigated thus for many days, they
found an island in a little more or less than eighteen degrees, or
nineteen degrees, and also another, which was in from thirteen to
fourteen degrees, and this in south latitude;[52] they are uninhabited.
They ran on until they reached the line, when Fernan de Magalhāes
said that now they were in the neighbourhood of Maluco, as he had
information that there were no provisions at Maluco, he said that he
would go in a northerly direction as far as ten or twelve degrees, and
they reached to as far as thirteen degrees north, and in this latitude
they navigated to the west, and a quarter south-west, a matter of a
hundred leagues, where on the 6th of March, 1521, they fetched two
islands inhabited by many people, and they anchored at one of them,
which is in twelve degrees north; and the inhabitants are people of
little truth, and they did not take precautions against them until they
saw that they were taking away the skiff of the flagship, and they cut
the rope with which it was made fast, and took it ashore without their
being able to prevent it. They gave this island the name of Thieves’
Island (_dos ladrōes_).[53]
Fernando de Magalhāes seeing that the skiff was lost, set sail, as
it was already night, tacking about until the next day; as soon as it
was morning they anchored at the place where they had seen the skiff
carried off to, and he ordered two boats to be got ready with a matter
of fifty or sixty men, and he went ashore in person, and burned the
whole village, and they killed seven or eight persons, between men and
women, and recovered the skiff, and returned to the ships; and while
they were there they saw forty or fifty paros[54] come, which came from
the same land, and brought much refreshments.[55]
Fernan de Magalhāes would not make any further stay, and at once
set sail, and ordered the course to be steered west, and a quarter
south-west; and so they made land, which is in barely eleven degrees.
This land is an island, but he would not touch at this one, and they
went to touch at another further on which appeared first.[56] Fernando
de Magalhāes sent a boat ashore to observe the nature of the island;
when the boat reached land, they saw from the ships two _paráos_ come
out from behind the point; then they called back their boat. The people
of the paraos seeing that the boat was returning to the ships, turned
back the paraos, and the boat reached the ships, which at once set sail
for another island very near to this island, which is in ten degrees,
and they gave it the name of the island of Good Signs, because they
found some gold in it.[57] Whilst they were thus anchored at this
island, there came to them two paráos, and brought them fowls and
cocoa nuts, and told them that they had already seen there other men
like them, from which they presumed that these might be _Lequios_ or
_Mogores_;[58] a nation of people who have this name, or _Chiis_;[59]
and thence they set sail, and navigated further on amongst many
islands, to which they gave the name of the _Valley Without Peril_, and
also St. Lazarus,[60] and they ran on to another island twenty leagues
from that[61] from which they sailed, which is in ten degrees,[62] and
came to anchor at another island, which is named Macangor,[63] which
is in nine degrees; and in this island they were very well received,
and they placed a cross in it.[64] This king conducted them thence a
matter of thirty leagues to another island named Cabo,[65] which is
in ten degrees, and in this island Fernando de Magalhāes did what he
pleased with the consent of the country, and in one day eight hundred
people became Christian, on which account Fernan de Magalhāes 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 Magalhāes seeing that, got ready one night with
his boats, and burned the villages of those who would not yield the
said obedience;[66] 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 of 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 Magalhāes ordered three boats to be equipped with a matter
of fifty or sixty men,[67] and went against the said place, which was
on the 28th day of April, in the morning;[68] 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 Magalhāes
was killed there, with six of his men,[69] in the year 1521.
When Fernan de Magalhāes was dead the Christians got back to the
ships, where they thought fit to make two captains and governors whom
they should obey;[70] and having done this, they took counsel [and
decided] that the two captains should go ashore where the people had
turned Christians to ask for pilots to take them to Borneo, and this
was on the first day of May of the said year; when the two captains
went, being agreed upon what had been said, the same people of the
country who had become Christians, armed themselves against them, and
whilst they reached the shore let them land in security as they had
done before. Then they attacked them, and killed the two captains and
twenty-six gentlemen,[71] and the other people who remained got back
to the boats, and returned to the ships, and finding themselves again
without captains they agreed, inasmuch as the principal persons were
killed, that one Joam Lopez,[72] who was the chief treasurer, should be
captain-major of the fleet, and the chief constable of the fleet should
be captain of one of the ships; he was named Gonzalo Vaz Despinosa.[73]
Having done this they set sail, and ran about twenty-five leagues with
three ships, which they still possessed; they then mustered, and found
that they were altogether one hundred and eight men[74] in all these
three ships, and many of them were wounded and sick, on which account
they did not venture to navigate the three ships, and thought it would
be well to burn one of them—the one that should be most suitable for
that purpose[75]—and to take into the two ships those that remained:
this they did out at sea, out of sight of any land. While they did
this many paraos came to speak to them; and navigating amongst the
islands, for in that neighbourhood there are a great many, they did not
understand one another, for they had no interpreter, for he had been
killed with Fernan de Magalhāes. Sailing further on amongst islets they
came to anchor at an island which is named Carpyam,[4] where there is
gold enough, and this island is in fully eight degrees.
Whilst at anchor in this port of Capyam,[76] they had speech with the
inhabitants of the island, and made peace with them, and Carvalho,
who was captain-major, gave them the boat of the ship which had been
burnt: this island has three[77] islets in the offing; here they took
in some refreshments, and sailed further on to west south-west, and
fell in with another island, which is named Caram, and is in eleven
degrees; from this they went on further to west south-west,[78] and
fell in with a large island, and ran along the coast of this island to
the north-east,[79] and reached as far as nine degrees and a half,[80]
where they went ashore one day, with the boats equipped to seek for
provisions, for in the ships there was now not more than for eight
days. On reaching shore the inhabitants would not suffer them to land,
and shot at them with arrows of cane hardened in the fire, so that they
returned to the ships.
Seeing this, they agreed to go to another island, where they had had
some dealings, to see if they could get some provisions. Then they met
with a contrary wind, and going about a league in the direction in
which they wished to go, they anchored, and whilst at anchor they saw
that people on shore were hailing them to go thither; they went there
with the boats, and as they were speaking to those people by signs,
for they did not understand each other otherwise, a man at arms, named
Joam de Campos, told them to let him go on shore, since there were
no provisions in the ships, and it might be that they would obtain
some means of getting provisions; and that if the people killed him,
they would not lose much with him, for God would take thought of his
soul; and also if he found provisions, and if they did not kill him,
he would find means for bringing them to the ships: and they thought
well of this. So he went on shore, and as soon as he reached it, the
inhabitants received him, and took him into the interior the distance
of a league, and when he was in the village all the people came to
see him, and they gave him food, and entertained him well, especially
when they saw that he ate pig’s flesh; because in this island they had
dealings with the Moors of Borneo, and because the country and people
were greedy, they made them neither eat pigs nor bring them up in the
country. This country is called Dyguasam,[81] and is in nine degrees.