Philippines First Circumnavigation Map

Ferdinand Magellan – anchorage

Juan Carvalho – passed by

Gonzalo Gomez De Espinosa – drifting

Samar

- Written by the expedition chronicler Antonio Pigafetta as

Zamal, Samar was the first significant land mass sighted by
the explorers on the dawn of 16 March 1521, since their fleet’s
departure from Guam on 9 March 1521 (Pigafetta 1525/1906, 1:
99; AGI 1519-1522, 22). Expedition pilot Francisco Albo,
although silent about this sighting, documented that on that
day, the fleet moved toward the direction of islands called
Yunagan and Suluan. Because it was the Sabbath of San
Lazaro, the expedition’s Captain-General Ferdinand Magellan
named these islands as Islas de San Lazaro.
- Albo said they avoided Yunagan on 16 March 1521 (AGI 1519-
1522, 22-23). Maximilianus Transylvanus, historian who
recorded the accounts of the survivors of the expedition,
mentioned Yunagan as an uninhabited place called Inuagana
(Transylvanus 1523/1969, 126). Filipino historian Danilo Gerona
likewise identified the place as the present-day Guiuan
Peninsula and its allied island Calicoan, both under the
municipality of Guiuan, Easter Samar (Gerona 2016, 235).
According to Gerona, the Guiuan peninsula and Calicoan fitted
logically Albo’s description about their many shoals. Another
reference to the Guiuan peninsula and Calicoan was when the
chroniclers noted that located south of the area was a “small
island” (isla puqueña, according to Albo) our ancestors called
Suluan, an island also under the jurisdiction of the
municipality of Guiuan.
Suluan

- According to Albo, the expedition transferred to the “small

island” south of Yunagan (presumably the Guiuan peninsula
and Calicoan) called Suluan as the topography of Yunagan was
quite not suitable for anchorage. Albo further recounted that
they saw and tried to approach our ancestors aboard two
canoes. These locals instead avoided the foreigners (AGI 1519-
1522, 23).

Homonhon

- Spelled by Pigafetta in his account as Humunu, Homonhon was

also called Isla de la Gada by Francisco Albo (AGI 1519-1522,
23). On the other hand, Gines de Mafra, another crew member
of the expedition, called the place Aguada, which originated
from the island’s moniker, Acquada da li buoni segnialli or “The
Watering Place of Good Signs” (Mafra 1920, 198).
- On 17 March 1521, the expedition made its first landfall in
Homonhon. Pigafetta described Homonhon as an uninhabited
island. 17th century Spanish chronicler Francisco Ignacio
Alcina, SJ noted that Samar people believed that the place
was the abode of Makapatag, the highest Diwata of god, thus,
uninhabited in the ancient times. Pigafetta called Homonhon
“the Watering Place of Good Signs” because of the two springs
in the area that possessed the “clearest water” (Pigafetta
1525/1906, 1: 103). He also mentioned that there was sign of
gold in the area. Albo noted that the crew loaded their boats
with firewood from the island (AGI 1519-1522, 23).
- Ferdinand Magellan ordered two tents to be set up and had a
sow (female pig) hunted and killed to feed his sick crew. The
following day, 18 March 1521, a group of natives aboard two
boats checked the foreigners out in Homonhon. Upon
 confirming that Magellan’s party needed help, an unnamed
ruler who came from the direction of Suluan met and granted
Magellan’s request for food and drinks for the expedition. The
magnanimity showed by our ancestors inspired Magellan to be
hopeful of the locals. In return, Magellan presented gifts to the
ruler.
- This was the first encounter between our ancestors and the
explorers. Pigafetta remarked: “Those people became very
familiar with us. They told us many things…. We took great
pleasure with them, for they were very pleasant and
conversable” (ibid, 103)
- Our ancestors visited the expedition again on 22 March 1521.
On 25 March 1521, Magellan’s party left Homonhon in search
of a passage to Maluku – also known as the Spice Islands (ibid,
105).

Gibusong

- From Homonhon, the fleet moved west-southwest in search of

clues on the whereabouts of Maluku. They left Homonhon on
25 March 1521, entered Surigao Strait and passed by the
waters of Ibusson, according to Pigafetta (1525/1906, 1: 105).
The nearest toponymic evidence to this in the present-day
map is Gibusong Island, Loreto, Dinagat Islands.

Hinunangan

- From Homonhon, the fleet moved west-southwest in search of

clues on the whereabouts of Maluku. They left Homonhon on
25 March 1521, entered Surigao Strait and passed by the
waters of Hiunangan, according to Pigafetta (1525/1906, 1:
105). The nearest toponymic evidence of this place in the
present-day map is Hinunangan, Southern Leyte.

Limasawa

- While sailing southwest of the Surigao Strait, the explorers

caught sight of a fire in an island named Mazaua (Limasawa
 Island, Southern Leyte) on the evening of 27 March 1521. The
next morning, they were met by eight men on a small boat
called baloto. Enrique, Ferdinand Magellan’s Sumatran servant
whose native tongue was undeniably Malay, was able to
converse with our ancestors. The men accepted the visitors’
presents as a sign of camaraderie and left for two hours to
report the presence of the fleet to Rajah Colambu, ruler of
Mazaua, his family’s hunting ground.
- Finally, the foreigners saw two large boats called balangays
approach their location. One of the boats carried Colambu,
who was familiar with Enrique’s language. Pigafetta noted that
“the king understood him, for in those districts the kings know
more languages that the other people”, dispelling the notion
that Enrique was a pre-Hispanic Filipino.
- Mafra recorded that Enrique went with Pigafetta ashore to
serve as interpreter because of his ability to speak Malay, “….a
language that all those parts is very common”. Also, Mafra
said the expedition landed on the western side of the island,
which is today’s Triana, Limasawa, Southern Leyte. From
thereon, they began a warm relationship with our ancestors.
- On 29 March 1521, a Holy Friday, Magellan met Siaui, the rajah
of Butuan and Caraga (Calaghan in Pigafetta’s account), who
was also in Mazaua to hunt with his brother. That day –
according to Mafra – Magellan and Rajah Colambu entered the
earliest documented blood compact. Two days after, the crew
celebrated the earliest recorded Christian celebration on
Philippine territory with the two rajahs and the local
inhabitants. A cross was also erected at the highest point of
the island (Mafra 1920, 198).
- When Magellan inquired which ports he could get the best
provisions for his ships, the two rajah-brothers directed him to
Cebu, Leyte, and Butuan. Thus, the fleet left Mazaua for Cebu
on 4 April 1521, with Rajah Colambu volunteering as their
guide.
- Rajah Colambu would later outlive Magellan and in 1543, would
meet the expedition team led by Ruy Lopez de Villalobos
(Mafra 1920, 198).
Leyte

- Albo noted that they followed the shore of Leyte until they
reach three small islands between Leyte and Cebu.

Canigao

- Pigafetta mentioned that they passed through Canighau

(Canigao, as it is spelled today), now under the jurisdiction of
Matalom, Leyte (1525/1906, 1: 129).

Baybay

- Both Pigafetta and Albo mentioned that the expedition saw

from afar Baibai (present-day name: Baybay, now under the
jurisdiction of Leyte Province). According to Albo: “we spied a
very lofty land lying to the north, which is called Baibai.” He
continued: “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” (AGI 1519-1522, 12b).

Gatighan

- In Gatighan, the explorers found endemic wildlife such as

giant bats as large as eagles (one of which they ate), doves,
turtledoves, parrots, and long-tailed black birds as large as a
domestic chicken or tabon (Pigafetta 1525/1906, 1:129).
- Today, the name Gatighan is extinct. Its nearest toponymic
successor is the Gigantigan, which is the southwestern
extremity of Leyte and the tail end of Maasin City and would
be known as Green Point during the American period. Like the
case of Batulaki in Glan (Sarangani), Punta Gigantigan would
be mistaken by Pigafetta as an island detached from the
mainland (in this case, mainland Leyte). Punta Gigantigan is
strategically protruded toward Canigao Channel and
 impossible to notice when one is heading toward Cebu from
the Surigao Strait.

Ponson

- Off the shore of Ponson (Pozzon in Pigafetta’s account, now

the Municipality of Pilar, Cebu) and its nearby islands—namely,
Ticobon (now Pacijan Island, Municipality of San Francisco,
Cebu), and Poro (Polo in Pigafetta’s account, now the
Municipality of Poro, Cebu), the expedition made a brief
stopover on its way to Cebu to wait for Rajah Colambu’s fleet.
Here, Ferdinand Magellan invited Rajah Colambu to come
aboard the Trinidad for the rest of the voyage to Cebu
(Pigafetta 1525/1906, 1: 133).

Poro

- Off the shore of Poro (Polo in Pigafetta’s account, now the

Municipality of Poro, Cebu) and its nearby islands—namely,
Ticobon (now Pacijan Island, Municipality of San Francisco,
Cebu), and Ponson (Pozzon in Pigafetta’s account, now the
Municipality of Pilar, Cebu), the expedition made a brief
stopover on their way to Cebu to wait for Rajah Colambu’s
fleet. Here, Ferdinand Magellan invited Rajah Colambu to come
aboard the Trinidad for the rest of the voyage to Cebu
(Pigafetta 1525/1906, 1: 129).

Ticobon

- Off the shore of Ticobon (now Pacijan Island, Municipality of

San Francisco, Cebu) and its nearby islands—namely, Poro
(Polo in Pigafetta’s account, now the Municipality of Poro,
Cebu) and Ponson (Pozzon in Pigafetta’s account, now
Municipality of Pilar, Cebu), the expedition made a brief
stopover on their way to Cebu to wait for Rajah Colambu’s
 fleet. Here, Ferdinand Magellan invited Rajah Colambu to come
aboard the Trinidad for the rest of the voyage to Cebu
(Pigafetta 1525/1906, 1: 129).

Cebu

- On 7 April 1521, the expedition met Rajah Humabon of Zzubu

(Cebu). The meeting was the start of both parties’ extensive
relationship through trade, exhibition of weapons, and feasts.
The first Christian baptism also took place here on 14 April
1521 (Pigafetta 1525/1906, 1: 171-176). Some rulers from
different parts of Cebu and nearby Mactan, particularly Zula,
acknowleged Humabon as the paramount ruler of the region
under the protection of Spain. That was, however, except for
the people of Buaya (now in Lapu-Lapu City) and Mactan’s
ruler Lapulapu.
- After the Battle of Mactan on 27 April 1521, the survivors from
the expedition retreated to Cebu, electing Duarte Barbosa as
the new captain-general. On 1 May 1521, Humabon in Cebu
hosted a banquet for the expedition, which ended up in a
massacre of some of the crew. Pigafetta claimed Enrique de
Malacca was partly responsible for this incident: he has
persuaded Humabon to harm the Spaniards so that he could
escape. Based on the account of an anonymous mariner who
was part of Magellan’s party documented by Portuguese
historian Fernāo de Oliveira, it was Lapulapu who persuaded
Humabon to kill the Spaniards; otherwise, Mactan would
attack Cebu
Bohol

- After the incident in Cebu, the fleet sailed “all day and night”
southward, oblivious of where to go. On 2 May 1521, as per the
reckoning of the anonymous mariner from Magellan’s crew in
Oliveira’s account, the fleet anchored off Bohol and elected
Juan Carvalho as the new captain-general of the expedition

(Oliveira c. 1550/2002, 104). Seeing the difficulty in steering

three ships with scant crew, Carvalho ordered the burning of
the ship Concepcion off the shore of the “head” of Bohol
Island.
Kipit

- When the expedition arrived at the mouth of the Kipit River

(modern day Barangay Kipit in Labason, Zamboanga del
Norte), they were welcomed by Rajah Calanao, and both
parties entered a blood compact (Pigafetta 1525/1906, 2: 13).
The expedition also discovered that the place was abundant
with gold and agricultural produce. They heard about Luzon,
where Ryukyu traders frequented.

Mapun

- The Genoese pilot, in his own account of Magellan’s voyage,

spelled the area’s name as “Caram” (1874, 14). On the other
hand, Pigafetta described the Caghaian (modern day Mapun,
Tawi-Tawi) inhabitants as Muslims, “exiles from Burne
(modern-day Brunei),” and few. They were armed with poison
blowpipes, beautifully adorned daggers, bucklers, and
cuirasses made from buffalo horns (Pigafetta 1525/1906, 2:
21). Our ancestors in this island welcomed the foreign
explorers as friends.
Balabac

- From Port Dyguaçam, the expedition proceeded for Brunei. In

the account of the Genoese pilot, the expedition passed by the
waters of Bolena (or Boleva), whose nearest toponymic
evidence in the present-day map is Balabac Island (1874, 17).
The Genoese pilot’s account mentioned that Belava was
located on the Dyguaçam extremities (where the reference is
Brooke’s Point and Bataraza, Palawan).

Sulu
 - After traversing the sea between Cagayan and Kipit from
Palawan, the expedition found Sulu. They had heard that the
place was abundant with giant pearls coveted by the king of
Brunei (Pigafetta 1525/1906, 2: 49). They themselves saw a
large oyster weighing 47 lb., the main source of giant pearls
(Transylvanus 1523/1969, 126).

Tagima (Basilan)

- From Sulu, the expedition passed by Taghima, which is the

present-day Basilan (Arenas 1830).

Cawit

- The nearest toponymic evidence today of this recorded place-

name is Kawit Island, which is under the jurisdiction of
Pagadian City proper, Zamboanga del Sur. On the shore that
Cauit shared with Subanin, the crew exchanged “two large
knives” from Palawan for “17 libras of cinnamon” (Pigafetta
1525/1906, 2: 53). They did not anchor as they had to leave
soon to take advantage of the favorable winds going
southeast.

Subanin

- The nearest historical name to this place-name recorded by

Pigafetta is Subanen or Subanun, which is the name of an
ethic group in Zamboanga pensinula (Churchill and Huston
1913, 9). Pigafetta noted that it was near the Cauit (the
present-day Kawit in Pagadian City). Next to Pagadian City is
the town of Tukuran, Zamboanga del Sur, a noted Subanen
community where the Spaniards erected a fort to defend these
people (Parrado 1893, 16, 47; Blair and Robertson 43: 283-4;
Retana 1896, 331; Aguilar 1894, 145-6). On the shore that
Subanin shared with Cauit, the crew engaged in a barter with
our ancestors (“two large knives” from Palawan in exchange
for “17 libras of cinnamon”) (Pigafetta 1525/1906, 2: 53).
Benaian (Kamanga)

- The expedition encountered the people that Pigafetta

recorded as Benaian. He described them as “shaggy men” and
“exceedingly great fighters and archers” (Pigafetta 1525/1906,
2: 57). The Genoese pilot noted that the remaining Moorish
pilot had warned them about these four hundred warlike men
(1874, 23). The location Pigafetta identified lies in a cape of
Mindanao around the area of Sarangani and nearby islands.
This cape is approximately Maasin, Sarangani—particularly
the area of Kamanga, which Pigafetta had described. Up to
this day, these areas remain the ancestral home of the Blaan
people (probably misheard by Pigafetta as Benaian) (Rhea
1995, 369-70).

Batulaki

- On 26 October 1521, the expedition encountered “a most

furious storm”, according to Pigafetta, while “coasting” along
Biraham Batolach Island. The crew lowered their sails while
praying for their survival Pigafetta claimed to have witness the
apparitions of St. Elmo, St. Claire, and St. Nicholas. The
nearest toponymic evidence to Biraham Batolach is the
present-day Batulaki in Glan, Sarangani, which leads us to
think that due to the harsh weather condition, Pigafetta could
have mistaken the Sarangani peninsula as an island detached
from mainland Mindanao.

Candighar (Balut)
 - The expedition saw Candighar from Biraham Batolach and
turned this into a landmark. They took the eastward side of the
island on their way to Sarangani.

Sarangani

- The expedition made its last landing on Philippine soil in

Saranghani (modern day Sarangani) on 27 October 1521
(approximate). The date is an approximation, as Pigafetta and
other chroniclers failed to record the actual date. Nonetheless,
Pigafetta left a clue: they were at Biraham Batolach on the
evening of 26 October 1521. Pigafetta wrote about continuing
their voyage, and this would logically be on the next day, 27
October 1521. On their way to Maluku, they anchored off the
harbor of Saranghani, and Pigafetta recounted that they stayed
in the harbor for one more day. Before they left Saranghani,
they forced two natives to serve as pilots toward Maluku, and
thus sailed to the Celebes Sea on 28 October 1521
(approximate).