Henry of Malacca

Henry of Malacca also known as Henry the Black (born ca. 1495), was an interpreter, slave of Ferdinand Magellan. He was bought in Malacca (Malaysia) in 1511.

It has been speculated that he was a Filipino, which is why some consider that when Enrique arrived in the Philippines in 1521, he became the first person to circumnavigate the world, before Juan Sebastián Elcano returned to Spain in 1522.

Biography

Origin

Magellan bought Henry in Malacca in 1511. Magellan states in his will that Henry was from Malacca and states that he was 26 years of age or younger. In his last wishes he gave him his freedom and 10,000 maravedis. Antonio Pigafetta and Francisco López de Gómara said that he was born in Sumatra (Indonesia).

Malay novelist Harun Aminurashid considers him a native of Malaysia and calls him Panglima Awang in his historical novels.

In 1995, Filipino writer Carlos Quirino speculated that Enrique was born in Cebu, Philippines, on the grounds that he knew the language of that territory. His son, Richie Quirino, added to the story in 2003 that Magellan had hidden the origin of his slave to be the first to go around the world.

Historian Antonio S. Aranaeta says that Enrique was a Filipino and first circumnavigated the world based on Tomé Pires reporting in 1513 that there was a Filipino colony in Malacca.

The Philippine Asian Institute of Maritime Studies has a museum with a statue of Enrique holding a sphere in his hand.

Duarte Barbosa mentions that a community of Filipino merchants, workers, and mercenaries existed at the time Magellan acquired Enrique. While it is unlikely that the native Muslim Malays would sell a slave of their own religion to a Christian, it is more likely that Enrique came from the Philippine colony. Historian Laurence Bergreen records Henry's baptism in 1511, the year of his capture.

Enrique accompanied Magellan on his return to Europe, in what would constitute the first part of his hypothetical trip around the world.

The Journey

When Magellan set out in 1519 with the task of the Spanish Crown to find a way to cross the New World and reach the Moluccas by the western route, he took Enrique with him. According to Pigafetta's chronicles, upon reaching the islands of Samar and Cebu, in the Philippines, Enrique was unable to communicate with the locals. When approaching another island, a small boat approached the Spanish ships. Discouraged by his previous failures, Enrique didn't think they would understand. To his surprise, his greeting in Malay dialect was answered.

The crew members of the small boat refused to board Magellan's ship, but when they landed on the second island, which received the name Mazzaua, Enrique verified that he could communicate fluently with them. The interpreter's surprise was due in part to his ignorance that, after twelve years, he had returned to his point of origin. With the exception of Magellan himself, who had previously visited the East Indies, the Spanish crew members —Elcano among them— still had thousands of kilometers to cover before completing their round-the-world tour.

Death of Magellan

On April 27, 1521, Magellan died in combat with the natives led by Lapu-Lapu in the battle of Mactan, in the Philippines. According to Pigaffetta's testimony, Magellan had ordered Enrique's manumission upon his death. However, the new commander, Duarte Barbosa, refused to grant it.

Barbosa, Enrique and about thirty Spaniards attended a banquet organized by Rajah Humabón, the chief or datu of Cebu. However, the assistants were treacherously murdered, with the sole exception of Juan Serrano, who was captured and forced to negotiate with his companions from the beach. Serrano said that all of his companions with the exception of Enrique had died, and after an attempt by the Cebuanos to exchange him for two artillery pieces, the Iberians abandoned him to his fate.

Weakened by their losses, the expedition should then abandon one of their ships. Pigafetta, who had taken notes on the language, henceforth served as his interpreter. Enrique's subsequent fate is unknown, although it is presumed that he had betrayed them by the promise of manumission broken by Barbosa and that he was the architect of the trap.