Duarte Barbosa

• 1. Introduction

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  Duarte Barbosa sat at a banquet table on the shore near Cebu in the Philippines on the 1st of May 1521, waiting to receive a gift for the king of Spain. He had survived the death of his brother-in-law Ferdinand Magellan just days earlier at the Battle of Mactan. He had helped put down a mutiny in Argentina, commanded one of the expedition's ships, and spent nearly two decades learning the languages and customs of foreign shores. None of it would save him. What drives a man from a scribe's desk in the port of Kochi to one of history's most ambitious sea voyages? Who was Duarte Barbosa before he became a footnote in the story of the first circumnavigation of the world? And what did he leave behind that outlasted him by centuries?

• 2. A Life in Kochi

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  Barbosa's father, Diogo, sailed to India in 1501 as part of the 3rd Portuguese India Armada, captained by João da Nova, in a joint venture with Álvaro of Braganza and the merchant Bartholomeu Marchionni. While Diogo was away, the young Barbosa stayed in Kochi under the care of his uncle, Gonçalo Gil Barbosa, who held the position of factor there. Gonçalo himself had traveled with the 1500 fleet of Pedro Álvares Cabral, so Barbosa grew up surrounded by men whose lives were defined by the sea routes east.

  In 1502, Gonçalo was transferred north to Cannanore, and Barbosa went with him. It was there, in Cannanore, that Barbosa learned Malayalam, the local language of the Malabar Coast. That skill proved immediately valuable. The year after his arrival, in 1503, he served as the interpreter when the Portuguese commander Alfonso de Albuquerque made contact with the Rajah of Cannanore.

  By 1513, Barbosa signed a letter to King Manuel I of Portugal as Clerk of Cannanore, asserting his claim to the rank of master-clerk. The following year, Albuquerque leaned on Barbosa's linguistic abilities again, this time to attempt to convert the King of Kochi to Christianity.

• 3. The Book He Left Behind

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  In 1515, Albuquerque sent Barbosa to Kozhikode to oversee the construction of two ships intended for an expedition to the Red Sea. That posting turned out to be among his last assignments in India. Barbosa returned to Portugal and finished the manuscript that bears his name: the Book of Duarte Barbosa, or Livro de Duarte Barbosa.

  According to the preface written by Italian author Giovanni Battista Ramusio, Barbosa completed his manuscript in 1516. The book contains detailed accounts of foreign cultures, drawn from his years of direct experience on the Malabar Coast. It stands as one of the earliest examples of Portuguese travel literature.

  For a long time, what scholars knew of the book came only through Ramusio's testimony. The original manuscript had disappeared. Then, in the early 19th century, it was found and published in Lisbon, Portugal, giving historians their first direct look at what Barbosa had actually written.

• 4. Seville and the Magellan Connection

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  Displeased with his position after returning to Portugal, Barbosa made his way to Seville in southern Spain, where a community of Portuguese had gathered. His father Diogo had followed Álvaro of Braganza into exile there. Álvaro had become mayor of Seville, and Diogo had risen to become governor of the castle.

  In 1516, Ferdinand Magellan arrived in Seville. Magellan and Diogo Barbosa struck up a friendship, the two men sharing the bond of having both traveled to India. That friendship quickly deepened into family. Magellan married Beatriz, Duarte Barbosa's sister, making Magellan his brother-in-law and binding the two families together.

  When Magellan began organizing his expedition to circumnavigate the globe, Duarte Barbosa's path was set. He would sail alongside his brother-in-law, along with his friend João Serrão.

• 5. Mutiny, Command, and Death

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  On the 10th of August 1519, Barbosa departed Seville with Magellan's fleet. His habit of leaving the expedition to spend time among local populations irritated Magellan repeatedly during the voyage. Magellan went so far as to order his arrest at one point.

  On the 2nd of April 1520, however, Barbosa proved indispensable. A riot broke out at Puerto San Julian in Argentina, and Barbosa played a crucial role in suppressing it. Afterward, he was given command of the Victoria, one of the expedition's ships.

  When Magellan died at the Battle of Mactan in the Philippines on the 27th of April 1521, Barbosa was among the survivors. He was named co-commander of the expedition alongside João Serrão. He attempted to recover Magellan's body but could not. He tried to bring Enrique of Malacca ashore but abandoned the effort. Then, despite the fact that Magellan's will had granted Enrique his freedom, Barbosa or Serrão threatened to re-enslave him to Magellan's widow. Enrique's response to that threat has been debated ever since. His disappearance after the banquet, and the fear attributed to him in the sources, have led some to consider him a possible conspirator with Rajah Humabon.

  On the 1st of May 1521, Barbosa and many others accepted the rajah's invitation to a banquet ashore near Cebu, where they expected to receive a gift for the king of Spain. Barbosa was killed there. João Serrão was captured and brought back by natives seeking to trade him for weapons; he was ultimately left behind and saved by the pilot João Carvalho.