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Secondary sourceBook

Viagem de Fernão de Magalhães

Fernão de Oliveira

A Portuguese manuscript account of Magellan's voyage, written by Fernão de Oliveira based on a survivor's narrative.

A Portuguese narrative of Magellan's voyage, written from the perspective of his homeland after his defection to Spain.

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Photograph of the closed cover of a bound manuscript volume, bound in pale yellowish vellum or leather with three white thongs or ties along the left edge and two long white ties on the right edge. The page block is visible at the top, with yellowed, worn page edges. The dark background surrounds the book.
Fernão de Oliveira, Viagem de Fernão de Magalhães (manuscript), VLF 41. Leiden University Library.

About this source

What it is

This manuscript, part of a volume by the Portuguese writer Fernão de Oliveira, contains a narrative of Fernão de Magalhães's (Ferdinand Magellan's) voyage, based on the account of one of the expedition's companions along with other sources. It is held today in a library collection with the shelfmark VLF 41.

Why it matters

Oliveira wrote from a Portuguese perspective, at a time when Magellan was remembered in Portugal as a navigator who had defected to serve Spain. The manuscript shows how the same voyage could be told differently depending on which country's writer was telling it.

Look closer

  • Why might a Portuguese writer describe Magellan's decision to sail for Spain differently than a Spanish source would?
  • What does it mean that this account is based on a companion's story rather than Magellan's own words?
  • How might using multiple sources change the reliability of a historical account?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Ferdinand Magellan on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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De Moluccis Insulis

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