Antonio Pigafetta

“ I do not know, indeed, whence so barbarous a custom has crept into the State: for, whilst the name of a traitor is not only hateful and hated, but also burns in the stain of everlasting dishonour upon a whole posterity; yet men who determine upon breaking their faith, and opposing their kings or states, may reject the favours they have received by formal letters, may abjure their fealty, and despoil themselves of the rights and duties of the State ”

“ In a great empire, the variety of professions, and inequality of fortunes, do not admit of residence and personal service being regarded as a common obligation which the law may impose upon all citizens. This rigorous obligation can only exist in the case of absolute necessity; to extend it to the habitual state of society, and even to all periods when the public safety or tranquillity may seem to be menaced, would be to disturb the order of useful labours, and to attack the sources of general prosperity. ”

“ If his Majesty wishes to get hold of China, which we know to be a land that is very large and rich and of high civilization, with cities, forts, and walls much greater than those of Europa, he must first have a settlement in these islands: first, because we cannot pass safely among the so many islands and shoals that lie along the coast of China with ships of high freeboard, but must use oared vessels; secondly, also, because in order to conquer a country so large and that has so vast a population, one must have aid and refuge near at hand, for any contingency that might arise. ”

“ 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.” ”

“ The captives are generally made slaves by unjust wars, for all these people are pirates who go annually by sea to pillage those who live in careless ease, or to any village which may not be bound to them by ties of blood or alliance. At times when they see their own people, they do not even keep peace with them. I speak of the Visayans or Pintados, who are more quarrelsome than the Lussones or Moros. However, some villages have just wars against others because the others have shown them some act of treachery under guise of friendship ”

“ The people are as tall as us, and well made: they adore nothing, and when they are born they are white, later they become brown, and have their teeth black and red. The women also go naked, except that they cover their nature with a thin bark, pliable like paper, which grows between the tree and the bark of the palm. They are beautiful and delicate, and whiter than the men, and have their hair loose and flowing, very black and long, down to the earth. They do not go to work in the fields, nor stir from their houses, making cloth and baskets of palm leaves. ”

“ Shouts were raised on all sides, and news flew to the ships that our men were murdered, and that everything on the island was hostile to us. Our men see from the ships that the beautiful cross which they had hoisted on a tree was hurled to the ground, and kicked to pieces by the savages with great fury. But the remaining Spaniards, who had stopped on board, when they knew of their comrades’ murder, feared some still greater treachery. Wherefore, when they had weighed anchor, they begin to set sail quickly. ”

“ I have confessed many, both men and women, and I have been astonished to see with what contrition they confess, and how well they know how to accuse themselves—much better than many Spaniards. There are very few in this province who are not Christians although they have not heard the preaching for more than ten years, for before that time there was enough to do in pacifying the land. They hold the holy water in great devotion and always keep it in their houses. They take it to their fields and whatever their necessity, they immediately go to the church for water. ”

“ For talking began amongst the crews about the old eternal hatred between the Portuguese and the Spaniards, and about Magellan's being a Portuguese. He, they said, could do nothing more glorious for his own country than to cast away this fleet, with so many men. Nor was it credible that he should wish to discover the Moluccas, even if he were able; but he would think it sufficient if he could lure Cæsar on for some years with a vain hope, and meanwhile something new would turn up, by which the Spaniards would for the future be diverted from the search for spices. ”

“ Julian—a mutiny which Sebastian Alvarez, the King of Portugal’s agent, would appear to have been privy to, if indeed he did not prepare it, shows great self-restraint, and the whole of his conduct in the islands of Sebu and Matan, where he fell, defending the retreat of his companions, is more like that of the knights errant of an earlier date, than that of his contemporaries. Pigafetta, who was with him at his death, was deeply affected by it, and recounts his many virtues and qualities in an appeal to the Grand Master of Rhodes not to allow Magellan’s memory to be lost. ”

“ To whom else than the sovereigns of the Spains, I ask, has it been given, along with the domain of the world, to perform an angel’s task, and to wear as king a diadem that has been adorned with the charge, ennobled with the dignity, and accompanied with the authority of an apostle? ”

“ I speak of rigorous obligations, of those which a man cannot fail to fulfil without becoming guilty of an offence: and I say that there exists a time during which a man placed between his ancient and his new country can only permit himself to express hopes as to the differences which arise between them: a time when that one of the two nations against which he might bear arms would have the right to punish him as an assassin; and when the man who might employ his riches or talents against his former countrymen, would really be a traitor. ”

“ When the year is rather hot, and there is little rain, they gather in each of these islands from three to four hundred bahars of cloves. The clove tree does not live except in the mountains, and if it is transferred to the plain it dies there.⁠ [373] The leaf, the bark, and the wood, as long as they are green, have the strength and fragrance of the fruit itself. If these are not gathered when just ripe they get so large and hard that nothing of them remains good except the rind. ”

“ Let thy Blessedness also give instructions to the end that we be not hindered in any way by the Spaniards when traveling to heathen countries, no matter where they be, but on the contrary that we be aided in every manner with due help and favor. Let thy Blessedness also impart from the treasures of holy Church a share of indulgences to this new plantation and to us, the most unworthy servants of thy Blessedness, especially that, whenever mass be said at any altar in the Philippines and at any in the kingdom of China, through the mercy of God a soul be freed from the pains of purgatory. ”