5p
Antonio Pigafetta, Ship Victoria
5p
Ferdinand Magellan, Ship Victoria
5p
Seal of King Carlos I, Ship Victoria
5p
Sebastian Elcano, Ship Victoria
Miniature Sheets of Twenty (10,000)
Souvenir Sheets of One (12,500)
(Imperforate)
22p
World Map, Seal of King Carlos I
Design Coordinator:
Antonio D.A. Claro
Layout Artist:
Alfonso V. Divina
Graphic Artist: Edgar P. Patricio
Designs:
Magellan's ship Victoria with Antonio Pigafetta, Ferdinand
Magellan, Seal of King Carlos I, Sebastian Elcano. Souvenir
Sheet - World Map and Seal of King Carlos I.
First Day Covers: Manila
First Circumnavigation of the World
480th Anniversary
The Victoria, the only surviving ship of the Magellan expedition of
five vessels, left the port of San Lucar, Spain in September of
1519, and almost shipwrecked and limping, returned in September of
1522. The Victoria was the first vessel to circle the globe despite
enormous obstacles.
The Victoria was part of the fleet of three remaining ships of the
Magellan expedition, the others being the Trinidad and Concepcion.
It visited Homonhon on March 17, 1521,_ Mazaua on March 28, and on
March 31, the first Easter Sunday mass in the Philippines was held.
Thereafter, Magellan took possession of the islands and called them
Archipelago of St. Lazarus.
After the death of Magellan, the three ships proceeded to Panilongon,
where the Concepcion was torched because of lack of seamen. The
Trinidad and Victoria reached northern Mindanao and Palawan and
coasted to north Borneo, where the ships were overhauled after three
months of journey. Here Gomez de Espinosa was elected Captain
General and Sebastian de Elcano took command of the Victoria in
August of 1521. The ships remained in southern Mindanao and on
October 27, 1521, they left Sarangani for Sanghir.
In Tidore, the two ships were loaded with much-sought spices. On
December 18, 1521, the date of departure, Trinidad, the flagship,
was left behind for some more repairs and the Victoria set sail
taking the Indian Ocean. This was where Antonio Pigaffeta, the
escrebiente, gathered all his belongings, particularly his
observations and entries of the voyage, and transferred to the
Victoria. Had Pigaffeta remained with the flagship, it is doubted
whether the entries made by him could be saved, as the Portuguese
captured the Trinidad.
In February of 1522, the Victoria approached Mozambique loaded with
foodstuffs and spices for the European market but avoided landing on
this Portuguese-occcupied island. She lost her topmast after
baffling off howling winds on and off the Cape of Good Hope. She
managed to cruise her way near Cape Verde in early July of 1522 with
no more than twenty-four, since twenty-seven Europeans and natives
died. Sickness and specter of death hovered over the ship up to the
day they sighted the Guadalquiver.
With tattered riggings and haggard sailors, the Victoria completed
the circumnavigation of the world never yet done by any one before.
There were eighteen survivors. On the 6th of September, a Tuesday,
the remnants of the Magellan expedition went ashore barefooted,
moving proudly although slowly to the shrine of the Virgin de la
Victoria. This was the same shrine where they prayed before
embarking on that expedition.
This was the end of the greatest sea voyage in the history of
mankind, a voyage of two years, 11 months and 16 days.