Historian Andres Reséndez shares the overlooked story of a formerly enslaved ship pilot, along with powerful advances in navigation technology and a journey across the Earth's largest body of water.
Between the 15th and 17th centuries, colonial powers desperately sought a route connecting the global East and West. The era was referred to as the. It was fueled by extensive and costly overseas imperialism and a competitive drive to conquer land among European powers including Spain, France, England and Portugal. Famous and arduous expeditions propelled the era into motion, such as Christopher Columbus’s journey to the Americas or Ferdinand Magellan’s discovery of the Strait of Magellan.
Among this crew of 380 people were the Augustine friar mariner Andrés de Urdaneta, who served as pilot of the flagship, and Afro-Portuguese pilot Lope Martín. Reséndez narrates Martín and Urdaneta’s subsequent journeys, which include a near shipwreck and bewildering interactions with Pacific Islanders. He also examines the prejudices faced by Martín, who is suspected of treason after becoming the first man to complete the round trip across the Pacific.
So, clearly contemporaries were interested in the voyage that Martín had completed, his route, and his accomplishments. I was interested in the subsequent story. Because he was accused of abandoning the fleet in the middle of the ocean in good weather, he was ultimately sentenced to be hanged. So, I was trying to undo the historical unfairness done against this extraordinary Afro-Portuguese pilot.
A: It is not easy to convey the experience. It took on average three to four months to go from the Americas to the Philippines. Coming back took even longer and these voyages were repeatedly done after 1565 yearly or nearly so, so it could take up to six, seven or even eight months. You have to imagine a voyage lasting that long in which you basically are in very cramped quarters. somewhat like a good-sized urban apartment with about 100 people living in it with just boxes.
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