Portuguese historians reacted with irony to the thesis defended by the Royal Academy of Spanish History that the expedition of the Portuguese Ferdinand de Magellan, who completed the first circumnavigation of the world 500 years ago, was an “exclusively Spanish” enterprise.
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The socialist governments of Portugal and Spain decided to celebrate together the 500th anniversary of the expedition. But the project did not satisfy the conservative Spanish newspaper ABC, which accuses Portuguese diplomacy of disrespecting Spain. In a column published today in the newspaper generalPortuguese historian Rui Tavares criticizes the Academy of History, which he calls the “Surrealist Academy of Spanish Right” for publishing, at the request of the ABC, a report concluding with “a complete and exclusive Spanish character of the first circumnavigation.”
Magellan, the Portuguese navigator who led this expedition on behalf of King Charles V of Spain, died in the Philippines during the voyage and it was Spaniard Juan Sebastian Elcano who ended his voyage. The report published by the Spanish Academy this weekend ignores the presence of French, Italian and Greek sailors on board and the Venetian historian Antonio Pigafetta, who told the story of this voyage, Rui Tavares, former member of the European Parliament and founder of the Livery party, launched a small formation on the left. “If it continues like this, we will soon see academic scholars (…) explaining why Real Madrid have lost more since Cristiano Ronaldo left them. Given that Real Madrid is an ‘exclusively Spanish’ company, this should not happen,” he quipped.
This controversy “is more about Spanish domestic politics than relations between Spain and Portugal”, makes the president of the Portuguese Academy of History, Manuela Mendonca, relativ, by rejecting the conclusions of her Spanish counterpart. To say that it is entirely a Spanish business is an exaggeration. “It is a project led by a Portuguese woman who learned the art of navigation in Portugal and on behalf of Portugal,” she told AFP. If the expedition was indeed sponsored by Charles V, says Portuguese historian José Manuel García, in Diario de Noticias, it became a mere circumnavigation of the world because Elcano disobeyed him.
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