Magellan--Over the Edge of the World by Laurence Bergreen

Author:Laurence Bergreen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press

CHAPTER TEN

THE FINAL BATTLE

As the Armada de Molucca approached the shores of Cebu, the crew watched village after village emerge from the obscurity of the jungle as if by magic. The inhabitants looked peaceful and not particularly startled by the appearance of strange ships. Their elaborate huts, rising on stilts in groups of five or six, resembled homesteads or even small estates.

The armada searched for a convenient anchorage. When they had been secured, the three black ships suddenly erupted with thunder and smoke, terrifying the local people observing from the shore.

Magellan sent his son, Cristóvão Rebêlo, as an ambassador to the king of Cebu, along with the slave Enrique to serve as an interpreter. Enrique explained that it was their custom to discharge their weapons “when entering such places, as a sign of peace and friendship.” His words had their intended effect, and soon the king, Humabon, was asking what he could do for them. Enrique said that his captain owed allegiance to the “greatest king and prince in the world, and that he was going to discover the Moluccas.” He added that his captain had decided to pass this way “because of the good report which he had of him from the king of Limasawa and to buy food.” Impressed, Humabon welcomed the visitors, but, he advised, “It was their custom for all ships that entered their ports to pay tribute.” Only four days before, a ship from Siam “laden with gold and slaves” had called on the island and paid its tribute.

Magellan—through Enrique—insisted that his king, the king of Spain, was the greatest in all the world, and the Armada de Molucca would never pay tribute to a lesser ruler. He declared, “If the king wished peace he would have peace, but if war instead, [then he would have] war.”

The king shrewdly agreed to discuss matters with his chieftains, and the next morning he offered to pay tribute to the “most powerful king in the world,” rather than demanding it for himself. The standoff had ended. Magellan announced to Humabon that he would “trade with him and no others.” Prompted by the king of Limasawa, Humabon offered to become blood brothers with Magellan; the captain general had only to send “a drop of his blood from his right arm, and he would do the same as a sign of the most sincere friendship.”

* * *

Relations between the two proceeded well. The king’s nephew came aboard Trinidad, accompanied by an entourage of eight chieftains, to swear loyalty. Holding court, Magellan played the part of a noble ruler with gusto: “The captain general was seated in a red velvet chair, the principal men of the ships on leather chairs, and the others on mats upon the floor.… The captain general said many things concerning peace, and that he prayed to God to confirm it in heaven. They said they had never heard such words, but that they took great pleasure in hearing them. The captain general, seeing that they listened and answered willingly, began to advance arguments to induce them to accept the faith.

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