8 Pages 247 to 337 are entitled “Life and Voyage of Ferdinand Magellan.” However, this is misleading. The aforementioned Blair and Robertson also have made a contribution containing a collection of documents in the first volume of their monumental work on the Philippines. with indication of those already published (incomplete), and presentation of some of those never before published.” 7 6 As Blair and Robertson have written: “The most important part of the book is the citation of documents in the Archivo. The author has compiled a list of those pertaining to the voyage which he found in the Archivo General de Indias and has reproduced about ninety pages of these documents. Llorens Asensio’s La primera vuelta al mundo is another source for documents. Surprising as it may seem, many biographers have written in complete ignorance of the existence of this treasure trove. Much of the information on the background of the voyage was derived from evidence presented in a 1539 lawsuit instituted by the Fuggers. 5 It includes a Spanish translation of Pigafetta’s Relation (based upon the 1801 French edition of Amoretti), as well as basic documents concerning ships, equipment, supplies, and crews. His monumental Colección, begun in 1888, contains material to 1567 from the Archivo General de Indias. The eminent Chilean scholar, bibliographer, and archivist, José Toribio Medina made many contributions as a result of his indefatigable digging. However, it should be repeated that, useful though this volume is, it must be used with discrimination because it was compiled at a time when standards of scholarship were not as rigorous as they are today.
In addition, there is a wealth of other material not easily available in English and a short “Life of Magellan” is included. 4 This volume contains six contemporary accounts of the voyage and is readily available today. The second most useful printed collection of source material, and that which will be most frequently cited in this article (but with an occasional caveat), is the Hakluyt Society publication by Lord Stanley. 3 Hundreds of documents concerning discoveries by Spaniards in both the Atlantic and Pacific make this work absolutely indispensable, the very basis of modern historical writing on the discovery period.
The Magellan historiographer must commence his research with Navarrete in whose Colección, especially the fourth volume, primary source material is contained in abundance. The writer’s intention is to review the literature on the subject, emphasizing those works which have been written in the twentieth century and those which have been reprinted in this century and are currently available.įortunately for the scholar, there are several printed collections of documents. It is hoped that this article may begin to remedy the lack of Magellan bibliographies. The comparative dearth of writings on Magellan is attributable to many factors, not the least of which is embodied in the lines of Os Lusíadas, the immortal Portuguese epic poem by Camões: “O Magalhães, no feito com verdade Portuguez, porém não na lealdade.” 2 Portuguese historians viewed him as a traitor, and Spanish historiadores were not inclined to glorify one who was not of their own. 1 He ended by lamenting the fact that bibliographies of Magellan are few. “F or every volume on Magellan published since the World War, five have appeared on Columbus,” a reviewer wrote a few years ago.
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