Antonio Pigafetta

Although Amerigo Vespucci's discoveries had suggested otherwise, explorers such as Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Magellan still believed that the landmass of South America was actually just an extension of the Asian continent. In 1519, Magellan, a Portuguese navigator, organized an expedition sponsored by Spain that included five ships and more than two hundred men. The stated destination was the Molucca (Spice) Islands (in present-day Indonesia), and Magellan expected that once he found a way to cut through the Americas, the Moluccas would not be far to the west. He found his passage much farther south than expected, and only after many difficult months of cruising the South American coast and exploring numerous inlets and bays.

The following passages are written by Antonio Pigafetta, an Italian nobleman who accompanied Magellan and was one of approximately thirty...