Historical Facts: Ferdinand Magellan's Expedition

     This was based on Reader's Digest: The Story of the Filipino People (Part 3) by Jose S. Arcilla. 


Magellan's Early Expeditions and the Way to Asia

    There was a man named Ferdinand Magellan. He was born in Portugal to the lower part of the nobility. In 1511, Magellan explored India, Malacca, and Indonesia. 

    Now, here's the problem. To go to Asia, he would have to go around Africa. In 1492, Christopher Columbus, an Italian explorer working for Spain, explored the Americas. To the Europeans, it was a new continent. Since most explorers knew the world is round, they knew Asia would be on the other side. 

    

From Portugal to Spain

    One time, Magellan was fighting the Moors in North Africa. He won, and asked for a raise from King Manuel of Portugal. But the king declined. 

    Now, to understand this next part, you have to know the rivalry between Spain and Portugal over colonization. Spain's first colonies were in the Americas, while Portugal wanted to get to India. However, when Portugal heard of the rich Americas, and Spain heard of the Spice Islands (in modern-day Indonesia), they became rivals. Now, look. Ferdinand Magellan was not given the raise. He was insulted, and wanted to get revenge. How did he get revenge? By joining the enemy, which was Spain!


The Expedition Begins

    Magellan used his plans for Portugal to serve Spain. He already had an outline for an expedition, and had met many men like Bishop Juan de Fonseca (the head of the Royal Council of the Indies), who helped gain him approval. In 1518, the contract for the expedition was signed. 

    On September 20, 1519, Magellan's crew departed. His father-in-law warned him that the Portuguese were going to attack, so he sailed closer to the African coast. 

    There were several mutinies (rebellions against the captain). But Magellan finally landed in Argentina after almost 30 days. He crossed a very tiny strait to get to the Pacific. They named it the All Saints' Channel (because they crossed it on All Saints' Day), but it's now called the Strait of Magellan. 


Magellan Reaches the Philippines

    After crossing, Magellan sailed up on the Pacific. In 1521, he reached the Homonhon in present-day Philippines. At this point, the Philippines was not yet one country and divided into several barangays, which are the smallest political units.

    However, later on, Magellan made a crucial mistake. In one area called Mactan, a man named Lapu-Lapu had a dispute with Zula and Rajah Tupas, who were allied, over leadership of the area. Zula and Rajah Tupas allied with the Spanish and fought against Lapu-Lapu in the Battle of Mactan. This was an infamous mistake. Lapu-Lapu's forces won, and Magellan was speared on the beach of Mactan. Lapu-Lapu is considered the first national hero of the Philippines, despite the fact that the Philippines did not exist as a political entity back then. 

    As a side note, one ship called the Victoria reached the Spice Islands and circumnavigated (meaning sailed around) the world. Maybe I should write on that soon. 


Magellan's Legacy

    Despite dying at Mactan, Magellan had a lasting legacy on colonialism. Magellan's expedition proved that the earth is round. Eventually, another explorer named Miguel Lopez de Legazpi returned to the Philippines in 1565 and made it a Spanish colony. (The Philippines remained a Spanish colony from until 1898!)


End

    So, what have we learned today? We learned that Magellan wasn't originally Spanish, that he made a crucial mistake at Mactan, and that he had a lasting legacy in colonialism. Thanks for reading! Bye!

The Library of Enotita

Historical Facts: The 1867 Compromise and the Austro-Hungarian Empire

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     Okay. I think I gave you the end before the beginning, because this is about the rise of Austria-Hungary. If you didn't read the last article , that's on the fall of Austria-Hungary. But, I didn't know I would post on this. So, let's go!     Let's look at Austria in 1867. The previous year, they lost a war to Prussia and Italy. After Prussia defeated Austria, the other German states dependent on Austria had an uncertain future. (This would be resolved after the Franco-Prussian War.) But Austria also had an uncertain future. After losing wars, you would generally have a bad economy. Austria was no exception. And Austria already had many ethnicities in their empire. As I said in the last article, Austria had many minorities. In fact, I'll list just some of the most significant minorities in the Austrian Empire: Czechs Slovaks Poles Ukrainians Romanians Hungarians Serbs Croats Slovenes Italians     If this doesn't sound too complicated to you, think ...
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The Ager Centralis Enotitae and Pecunia - Enotitan Finance Guide

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The first ever bill issued by the Ager Centralis. This bill is for one Pecunia.      Almost every country has a currency. You have the dollar, peso, euro, pound, and much more. However, we did not have a currency. This is bad, because the economy is very vital to every country. That's why we established the Ager Centralis Enotitae (Latin for Enotitan Central Bank). From now on, Enotitans can use the Pecunia, our new currency.      To start, open an account at any branch of the Ager Centralis. (Currently, there are only branches in Olsen, the main state.) Present the teller any valid Enotitan government ID. Following that, give the teller any bill from any currency. After around 10 minutes, it will be converted and transformed into a Pecunia for the initial deposit.      You can use the card in Enotitan shops. You can buy souvenirs, food, or even use it to receive salary. (Enotitan companies besides government agencies do not exist at the mome...
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Historical Facts: American and Japanese Rule in the Philippines

     This was based on Reader's Digest: The Story of the Filipino People - Parts 6 and 7 ( Under the Stars and Stripes  and The Japanese Occupation ) by Milagros C. Guerrero and Ricardo T. Jose.      Now that I think about it, I would call the Spanish occupation "the first storm," the American occupation "the second storm," and the Japanese occupation "the third storm." The "between the storm" parts would be 1898 - 1901 and 1935 - 1941.  Part 1 - The Second Storm (1901 - 1935)     After the Philippine-American War, the United States turned the Philippines into a colony. They gained it in the Treaty of Paris along with Puerto Rico, Cuba, and some other islands. The Americans needed to keep it away from Spain, France, and Germany.      Under Spanish rule, the Filipinos were taught Catholicism. But the Americans were mainly Methodist (a sect of Protestantism). American missionaries were sent to the Philippines, although most ...
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