182403

Hipol, Therese Marie G.

Ms. Ma. Rita Lourdes Alfaro
November 29, 2019

Magellan Reflection Paper

The talk by Dr. Pinto was extremely enlightening, mainly because it addressed a lot of
myths and misconceptions that I’ve held since I started learning about the colonization of the
Philippines in grade school. He helped us understand the reasoning behind certain events and
situations which were misconstrued by giving us extremely important historical context.

One of the myths he deconstructed in his presentation was the misconception that
medieval Europeans believed that the Earth was flat. According to him, it was actually the
opposite, and that Ferdinand Magellan’s journey aimed to prove that the Earth was in fact,
round. This is because there was an existing agreement between those who lived during that
time that the Earth was round, and such consensus was also taken into consideration by
medieval geographers when creating theories about the world.

Another myth he also deconstructed and that I found extremely important was the
extent of the rivalry between Spain and Portugal. Dr. Pinto contested the belief that the
relationship between these two kingdoms was pure animosity. According to him, these two
kingdoms actually shared a common culture and origin, having similar traditions and values.
Dr. Pinto said their so-called rivalry was actually misrepresented using old terms, and was
actually severely exaggerated.

I found the deconstruction of this myth extremely important mainly because it

affected my perception of a lot of events related to Magellan’s expedition to Asia and
subsequently, his discovery of the Philippines.

From a personal perspective, I found so much value in this talk because it enlightened
me in areas of my life I never thought I was this misinformed about. By carefully explaining
the factors that contributed to and surrounded Magellan’s expedition, I was able to gain both
more insights and understanding as to why such events happened.

This is quite important to me, especially given the political climate we live in as of
today. I found myself valuing the importance of historical accuracy and holistic research
when it comes to historical events and situations. The need for these two virtues in terms of
knowledge became especially apparent when the issue regarding the movie Elcano and
Magellan arose.

Overall, I think this talk was able to give me the context I needed to deconstruct and
discredit the myths and misconceptions I believed for quite a long time. It was an extremely
value-adding experience that opened my eyes to a different kind of truth. For that, I am
thankful.