Cape Verde, July 1522. Based on the first voyage around the world and the diary of Antonio Pigafetta.
The Victoria dropped anchor off the island of Santiago, in Cape Verde, leaking everywhere, her crew exhausted. Of the five ships that had sailed from Sanlúcar de Barrameda almost three years earlier, she was the only one still afloat. There was hardly any food left on board.
The islands were Portuguese, and the Portuguese must not find out where that ship had come from: her hold was full of cloves from the Moluccas, a spice worth a fortune that Portugal considered its own. So the captain, Juan Sebastián Elcano, sent a few men ashore in the ship’s boat with a made-up story: they would say they were coming from the Americas and had lost a mast crossing the equator. All they had to do was buy rice and come back.
Antonio Pigafetta, the Italian who kept the expedition’s diary, gave them one more errand: to ask what day it was. He had spent almost three years writing everything down, day after day, without skipping a single one. The pilot, Francisco Albo, also recorded every day in his logbook. The two of them agreed: on board, it was Wednesday.
The boat came back with the rice and with an answer that left everyone speechless: ashore, it was Thursday.
Pigafetta went through his diary page by page. Not a single day was missing. Albo went through his logbook. Nothing missing there either. The explanation lay in the route of the voyage itself: they had always sailed westwards, chasing the sun. And whoever chases the sun sees noon arrive a tiny bit later each day, as if their days were slightly longer than those on land. Just a few minutes each time. For almost three years. All the way round the world.
A few days later, on another trip ashore for more rice, the Portuguese uncovered the deception and arrested thirteen men from the boat. Elcano didn’t wait to see what would happen: he weighed anchor and set course for Spain with those still on board.
Activities
1 Detective Inference
Why was it Wednesday on board the Victoria and Thursday ashore? Tick the correct hypothesis.
- a) Pigafetta had skipped a day when writing his diary, and nobody on board noticed until they reached Cape Verde.
- b) The Portuguese on the island lied about the day of the week to confuse the newcomers and buy time.
- c) By sailing around the world westwards, following the sun, the days on board were slightly longer and they ended up counting one fewer.
- d) Cape Verde used a different calendar from Spain’s, which is why the days of the week didn’t match those on board.
Which clue in the text explains it? Copy or summarise the clue from the text that proves it.
2 The Loom Order of events
Put the events in the order they happened. Write the order number (1, 2, 3…) in each box.
- The Portuguese arrest thirteen men from the boat.
- The Victoria drops anchor off the island of Santiago.
- They discover it’s Thursday ashore.
- Elcano weighs anchor and heads for Spain.
- Five ships sail from Sanlúcar de Barrameda.
- The boat goes ashore to buy rice and ask the day.
3 The Missing Page Coherence
Which continuation fits everything we know? Tick only one option.
- a) The Victoria reaches Spain with fewer men than she had when she anchored in Cape Verde, and there they confirm that Pigafetta’s diary is still a day behind.
- b) Elcano waits in Cape Verde until the Portuguese free the thirteen men, and the Victoria returns to Spain with her whole crew on board.
- c) When they reach Spain, Pigafetta’s diary already matches the date on land, because the mismatch has corrected itself over the last few weeks.
- d) To get food, Elcano sells some of the Moluccan cloves to the Portuguese merchants on Santiago and fills the hold with rice.
Why do you rule out the others? Explain one of them.
4 Spot the Contradiction Literal reading
Three statements don’t fit the story. Put an X next to the 3 statements that don’t fit the text.
- a) The Victoria was the only one of the five ships still afloat.
- b) The men in the boat said ashore that they had come from the Moluccas.
- c) Pigafetta had spent almost three years writing everything down, day after day.
- d) Ashore, they were told it was Tuesday.
- e) Francisco Albo was the pilot and also recorded every day.
- f) After the arrest, Elcano waited on the island for his men to be released.
5 The Gallery Visualisation
In the game you choose the illustration that answers this question: “Which illustration shows the Victoria anchored off Santiago while the boat heads ashore?”. Here, you draw it yourself, with every detail the text gives you.