Magellan Historiography Ferdinand Magellan and Circumnavigation: Historical and Meta- Analysis of Magellan Historiography by Martin Torodas

The Age of Discovery that emerged in the 15th-16th centuries in Europe, led by Spain and Portugal, was marked and characterized by the prevalence of sea navigations to discover new lands or 'primitive' societies. These lands and societies were also potential colonies, wherein their territories could be expanded and resources exploited for the economic benefit of European countries. Ferdinand Magellan, Portuguese-born Spanish explorer and navigator, played a significant role during this age, mainly because of contributions in establishing Spanish colonies in the islands of the Pacific. However, historiography on Magellan remains scarce despite his contributions and numerous journeys around the world. Torodas confronts this issue by discussing and analyzing related works of literature pertaining to not only the accomplishments and activities of Magellan as navigator and explorer, but also as the first individual to prove (empirically) that the earth is round, giving prestige to European navigation missions.

The author's analysis mainly utilizes the methods of historical, textual and meta-analysis in order to assess conflicts and parallelisms regarding the circumnavigation activities and life of Magellan. Torodas resorts to these methods as his way of confronting the primary issue in his article, which tries to determine Magellan historiography despite...

The problem arises because of two dilemmas historians and researchers encounter when conducting studies on Magellan: first, "Portuguese viewed him as a traitor," and second, "Spanish historiadores were not inclined to glorify one who was not of their own" (313). Thus, Torodas sets out to determine the problems he encountered in analyzing the strengths and weakness of Magellan bibliographies available, as well as suggests new methods in approaching the problem that has just been discussed.
Historical analysis is the "umbrella method" in which Torodas based his study's analysis and interpretation of Magellan historiography. Use of textual analysis determined the prevalent themes and meanings embedded in the documents and texts studied about Magellan and circumnavigation. Meta-analysis, on the other hand, studies parallelisms and conflicts in themes and discussions in historical artifacts (documents and texts), analyzing whether these documents are reliable enough to establish a truthful and significant account of the life of Ferdinand Magellan and the essential role circumnavigation plays in studying the historical event of the Age of Exploration (Lindlof, 2002:34-41).

Discussion on the life of Magellan in the context of historical studies on circumnavigation is the common theme illustrated in Torodas' article. The author cites, as an example, the written works of Antonio de Pigafetta, Relation, European chronicler in Magellan's voyage who, through his written narratives…