RESOURCE: FB Guide Francophone Malacca
Part I Drama in Mactan
Enrique's christening name or Penglima Awang in Malay, at least in a self-titled novel remains an enigma, his story began in the collapse of arms during the capture of Malacca in 1511 by Afonso of Albuquerque. One of his captain's boiling water is none other than Fernão de Magalhães. The conquered city is partially bagged, the Chinese, Indian and Javanese houses are spared.
Among other spoils Fernão gets a slave, a young Malay who will soon be known as Enrique (he converted to Catholicism, changes of religion are common in the history of Portuguese India). In any case Enrique, a simple slave will accompany his master to Lisbon. True friendship is formed between the two men, to the point that the master will lie down in his testament that he will set his slave free.
"I hereby render and consider as release from all captivity, subjection and servitude Enrique, my black captive slave, native of the city of Malacca, of 26 years or less, from the day of my death and forever." you never, said Enrique is free, quit and exempt, and in no way obliged to bear any charge of captivity or subjection, and to do what pleases him. And I order that he be given some of my property, says Enrique, 10,000 Maravedis in cash, so that he can live on. "
We are far from the usual Nigerian trade clichés even if they remain the norm with triangular trade. There is much more to human stories than first imagined. Another history of slavery remains in the writing, well if it hasn't already been done, but let's get back to Enrique.
Fernão has a big project, he wants to open a new route to the spice islands east of Malacca by coming west. A reckless enterprise, we know that the Brazilian coasts run far south, after that it is terra incognita.
In short, Fernão achieves the impossible, he borrows the strait that bears his name today, crosses the Pacific Ocean that has only the name Pacific and discovers an archipelago: the Philippines. By his side is Enrique promoted truchment (translator) of the expedition. So far he has hardly demonstrated his usefulness, obviously he doesn't know Amerindian languages. But all of a sudden tagalog (? ) and the Malay changes the game, it becomes the indispensable mediator between the Spanish and the "Philippines".
Contacts come under the best auspices, in Cebu King Hunabon welcomes visitors. Enrique is tasked with delivering him the Good News, but Hunabon has an enemy in the form of the King of Lapu-Lapu, on the island of Mactan. Too willing, Fernão de Magalhães will impulsively interfere in this local conflict and will foolishly find death in a skirmish. Faced with 60 men, a thousand others, we have no idea either.
So Enrique is free, except that the Spaniards refuse to acknowledge the will of their major captain. Enrique then sinks in apathy, El Cano, the pilot who took the reins of the expedition the sum of going down to get in touch with King Hunabon. A new drama is in the making and it directly involves Enrique, a traitor to the Spanish, a hero to the Philippines.
The link above "Limitless" a series dedicated to this adventure, Enrique is in it...
To be continued .
Meanwhile, Malacca private tours are here: hoelmeriadec@gmail.com
Part II, Enrique a traitor, a hero, or a man swept by events?
Fernão de Magalhães dies on April 27, 1521 during a clash between local tribes, a dark battle with no tomorrow. The shipment is off the hook. His orders were to reach the spice islands by the Southwest via an open road and leave the North-East via another unknown route (the fins of Canada and Greenland, brrr).
Well yes, the world tour was not planned at all, this for a good reason, the treaty of Tordesillas. Signed in 1494 this agreement divided the world to explore — to exploit or conquer — in half. The West is Spanish, the East is Portuguese. In fact, Madrid had no right or interest in opening a road to the spice islands if it went through the portuguese area (basically Insulin, Indian Ocean and Africa).
Juan Sebastián Elcano, the pilot who will succeed Fernão de Magalhães, will decide otherwise, the expedition is too poorly placed to venture into the North Pacific Ocean. Wise decision, their caravans would not have supported polar ice, failure and death would have been there.
Waiting for departure, on May 1st King Hunabon invites the Portuguese to a banquet, some sailors are suspicious and do not deserve to go down. Rightly it's a travesty 26 men are captured Antonio Pigafetta delivers a visual narrative. Suddenly the men staying aboard the ships hear "great screams and groans" coming from the land. Man Crows From Tree Cover, Rushes Rush To The Beach. "Joao Rodrigues Serrao, in a shirt, tied up and injured, who was screaming that we don't pull anymore, because we'd kill him: he tells us that everyone was dead, except the cheating." "
Enough said, Enrique betrayed in Spanish version. Pigafetta specifies that the Trinidad captain had refused to acknowledge the will where Fernão de Magalhães freed Enrique after his death. (See First Part )
"Our truchly named Enrique, having been a little injured, would no longer go down to do our necessary things, but always remained enveloped in a blanket of wool." Why Duarte Barbosa, Governor of the nine captain, Trinidad, tells him aloud that even if the captain his Lord was dead, he was not freed. But he wanted to arrive in Spain, he still remained a slave to Mrs Beatriz, wife of the late Captain Major. And he threatened to whip him if he didn’t go down. At these words, the slave stood up and, fearing to disregard his words, went down to the ground to tell the Christian king to let him know that we wanted to leave suddenly. But that if he did his own advice, he would win all our ships and goods. And so he ordered treason, then the slave returned to the ships and became wiser and more affectionate than ever. "
The traitor par excellence, except that unlike Serrao's screams, not all Spaniards were dead. Sebastián de Puerta one of the survivors found in 1528 tells a different narrative where eight sailors were sold as slaves to Chinese traders. No news from Enrique, he eclipsed without a trace.
Captured in Malacca in 1511, disappeared in Cebu in 1521, did he tour the world? No one knows, the missing link linking Cebu to Malacca shines in its absence. Without material evidence, the legend took over the character.
Malaysian writer Harun Aminurrashid published in 1958 Panglima Awang, "Young Captain", a novel in which Enrique is transformed into a national hero fighting the Western oppressor. The plot introduces Fernão de Magalhães as a tyrant, to survive poor Enrique folds on himself waiting in silence for his time...
It's fiction but why not, on the one hand we have the traitor in front of the eternal, on the other a forerunner hero of the anti-colonialist battles to come. The West versus the East is all, free to everyone to see it at noon at their door.
For me, he is neither a hero nor a traitor, just a person who has been hit by events that would surpass anyone. I remember that Fernão de Magalhães really wanted to set him free by making him a substantial legacy (10,000 Maradevis), which induced a strong friendship between the two men. The gesture is huge for the time, we are not in the 20th century, but in the 16th century, the birth of triangular trade, the great fires of the Holy Inquisition and soon religious wars. After his release was denied, he may have led him to treason, having himself been betrayed... On the other hand, was it necessary to incite King Hunabon to attempt to capture the Spaniards? I'm not sure, Fernão de Magalhães' death will reduce their austerity among their hosts, if a simple vassal could become the leader of the newcomers... Hunabon may have dreamed of laying hands on their riches. The sale of at least eight Spaniards as slaves shows that he was not insensitive to small profits.
As far as the nationalist hero is concerned, it is a novel, seeing the primaries of anti-colonial struggles is too hasty. Devil, let's wait for the Philippines to be conquered before the natives consider their emancipation.
Finally, Enrique's fate remains a mystery, do we welcome a man who served the enemy before betraying him with goodwill? He might cheat again Did he just betray? Nothing to literally prove it. History detail, the crews of the Portuguese and Spanish ships were not made of the cream of men, prisons were regularly emptied of their convicts. The choice was simple, the hart where India! Suddenly a sailor's vocation was discovered. In his letters, Afonso de Albuquerque evokes life on board his squads where there were more stabbings than in the Lisbon outskirts.
Imagine what happened when such men landed in a port after many months at sea. It would not be at all surprising that King Hunabon did not taste the Spanish assidencies towards women.
Enrique remains a mystery, traitor or hero, the interpretation depends more on our concepts of Western or Oriental. One day on FB, I read a comment about Panglima Awang "the commodore who led the Spaniards to the spice islands".
It's a bit too much there, like the illustration photo of the commodore that had a cabin worthy of its rank. For the short story I made this shot in Malacca fortress museum. And don't come and tell me that the Westerners mistreated their slaves! Here's the formal proof of it.
Malacca private tours here: hoelmeriadec@gmail.com
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10 January 2023 : 17 Jamadilakhir 1444H: 9.27 am
