PinoyPundit

Current affairs in the Philippines and overseas.

Pigafetta was an ‘embedded’ journalist

Posted on April 4, 2008 - Filed Under History | Leave a Comment

Enumerable articles and quite a few books have been written about Ferdinand Magellan’s circumnavigation of the globe, including his supposed ‘discovery’ of an archipelago that subsequently became known as the Philippines. Most of the eyewitness accounts are attributed to Antonio Pigafetta.
But would you believe that Pigafetta was practically a glorified tourist? At best, the adventurous […]

Read More..>>

Let them eat cassava cake?

Posted on March 21, 2008 - Filed Under History, Governance | Leave a Comment

In the days leading up to the French Revolution, Marie Antoinette, the Queen Consort of Louis XVI, was supposed to have said, “Qu’ils mangent de la brioche!” (Let them eat cake!) after she was informed that the French masa (pan intended) had no more bread to eat.
Some historians are unsure if Marie Antoinette actually uttered […]

Read More..>>

If only Magellan had GPS

Posted on June 29, 2007 - Filed Under History | 2 Comments

With today’s Global Positioning System (GPS) devices, anyone can easily travel from point A to point B almost anywhere in the world . . . on land and at sea . . . without the men among us asking for directions. And keep a record of precise coordinates of key locations along the route that […]

Read More..>>