Title:
Pigafetta Postlude
Description:
Pigafetta's published eyewitness story about the first voyage around the world provides Philippine food writers with a baseline for ingredients and cooking procedures. His snippets also noted there was no great emperor lording over insular Southeast Asia; island kings fought each other even after intermarriage among their families; trade was an important factor for peace and political power; food was traded and given as gifts; feasting together could be a sign of friendship or a means to poison or hack away at guests. There was no campaign to make pagans Muslim. In Tidore, the crew killed all swine on board they had been keeping for food to please the Muslim King, their partner for securing clove and some nutmeg in the Moluccas. He gave them goats and poultry in exchange. It was known in the area and respected that Muslims did not like the looks and smells of pork. The provisions from Asia ran out. All the men on the carrack "Victoria" were starving as they reached Africa, but they refused to stop at Portuguese centres for food lest they be captured. The 18 who made it back to Sanlucar and Seville were emaciated. Their captain, Juan Sebastian Elcano (1476-1526), was rewarded by the king with gold ducats and a personal crest bearing the singular motto: Primus circumdedisti me. (You were the first to circumnavigate me.) His coat of arms is decorated with clove and cinnamon, appropriately. Ironically Elcano (and expedition leader Loaisa) died from malnutrition in the Pacific Ocean as they headed to the Moluccas in 1525. The epic story that is the human quest for food is fascinating!
Subjects:
Antonio Pigafetta Juan Sebastian Elcano Victoria Tidore Sanlucar Seville Moluccas
Exhibition:
Magellan Menu
Type:
Image;Still Image
Format:
image/png
Source
Preferred Citation:
"Pigafetta Postlude", Philippine Food History, Felice P. Sta. Maria
Reference Link:
felicepstamaria.net/items/coll037.html