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This post is written by Vicente Calibo de Jesus, Renaissance navigation historian, particularly on Mazaua historiography.

Conventional wisdom tells us the first Europeans to reach our archipelago were those in the Armada de Molucca under Fernao de Magalhaes (Ferdinand Magellan) in March 1521.

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But this is now open to question as old materials are viewed in a new light. There is evidence the Portuguese, about eleven of them, came to our shores nine years before Magellan and his international crew of about 150 who were Genoese, Sevillian, Castilian, Flemish, British, Portuguese, Spanish, French, Sicilian, Greek, Aragonese, German, Irish, Azorean, Brazilian, Aragonese. Two non-Europeans were also part of the fleet. Jorge “Morisco,” a page to the Captain-General, was thought to be Indian; another, Henrich or Enrique, was either Sumatran or Malaccan.

“One document explicitly states the Portuguese reached Mindanao, while the other recounts an episode where Suluans told Magellan they had already seen men like them prior to the arrival of the Spanish armada.”

There are two documents attesting to the little known incident of 1512 when a boatload of Portuguese sailors and soldiers of fortune came to Mindanao, most probably in Sulu. These documents are written in the Portuguese language although one was written in Italian by a Genoese but what survives is the Portuguese translation. One document explicitly states the Portuguese reached Mindanao, while the other recounts an episode where Suluans told Magellan they had already seen men like them prior to the arrival of the Spanish armada.

The definitive document was written by Antonio Galvao, Portuguese governor of the Moluccas, 1536-1540, who is known to history as “the founder of historical geography.” He is as well famously called “apostle of the Moluccas” for his energetic missionary work including putting up a seminary school at Ternate to instruct would-be priests. The title of his work is as formidable as it is kilometric, Tratado dos descobrimentos, antigos, e modernos, feitos ate a era de 1555. Com os nomes particulars das pessos as que os fiserao: e em que tempos, e as suas alturas, e dos desvairado caminhos por onde a pimento, e especiaria veyo da India as nossas, partes, obra certo muy notavel, e copiosa. Lisbon, 1555. (The English translation usually abbreviates this to The Discoveries of the World, From Their First Original Unto the Year of Our Lord 1555) Richard Hakluyt’s English translation came out in 1601 and is published on the World Wide Web at this site.

The other account that has not been used even now to corroborate Galvao’s assertion is credited to “The Genoese Pilot” and is entitled “Navegacam e vyagem que fez Fernando de Magalhaes de Seuilha pera Maluco no anno de 1519 annos.” It was published in a book, Colleccao de noticias para a historia e geografia das nacoes ultramarinas, que vivem nos dominios Portuguezes, ou lhes sao visinhas. Lisboa, 1826. Pp. 151-176. Lord Stanley of Alderley came out with the English translation in his book The First Voyage Round the World by Magellan. London, 1874. Pp. 1-29. An internet version is found here.

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Yet Another Historical Marker…

(I am lucky to have these au naturelle clouds worked to this photographic advantage. NOTE: All these photos were taken tripod-less on the same day and same hour — last March 2, 2008 — shooting with manual exposure, using different aperture settings.)

The Heritage of Cebu is an original idea of the artist Eduardo Castrillo and Honorable Mayor Alvin B. Garcia. Concept - Design - Plan and Organization (1996); Construction - Fabrication of Artworks until Completion (July 1997 to December 2000.)

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The inscription reads:

The pride, unity and cultural wealth of a race emanate from a people’s sense of self and history; from the early Filipinos to the dawn of European colonization, the revolution of 1896, the birth of the Philippine Republic. The heroic contribution of the Cebuano people and the saga of events, which transpired on the islands of Cebu, are vital elements in the formulation of the nation we know today.

Their contribution should rightfully be emulated, immortalized and honored in a lasting monumental, aesthetic experience.

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The sidewalk is always a learning experience for any curiouser. Take for instance, if you are a photographer or a traveler drifting into a locale’s now of the past.

Perhaps, I am one of over 2,000,000 citizens in Cebu City who has noticed the subtle bygones of this city’s rich cultural heritage.

Somebody’s apt quotation comes to mind. It goes like this: “You won’t realize the distance you’ve walked until you take a look around and realize how far you’ve been.”

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The mid-day of the second day of March (this Sunday of course), there was the usual bustle of traffic, across the streets in Colon (the oldest street in the Philippines, named after Cristobal Colon, a.k.a. Christopher Columbus, the Italian explorer, and thank God to him for his hindsight — that the world IS round!): men, women and children have passed by it. Few may have actually noticed it. Probably why people were just too tired of the routine there, or even during the yesterdays that beckon them, as if they have looked upon this special inscription with a blind eye, whoever has seen it should go look again.

When I read it, there was no remedy for a loss of words…

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