Henry The Black

Enrique de Malacca (in some sources he was mentioned as “Henry the Black”) was originally from Malay Archipelago, but was enslaved by a Portuguese explorer, Ferdinand Magellan during his expedition to Melaka in 1511. Not many sources mention about him, except he was mentioned as “Panglima Awang” in Malay literature. However, there are no any specific records about him in Malay historical accounts. The most famous comprehensive record about him was found in Magellan’s voyage, written by Antonio Pigafetta, an Italian who joined Magellan’s crew.

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 According to Pigafetta, Enrique was a Malay originally from Sumatera, and lived in Melaka. During the Portuguese invasion of Melaka in 1511, Enrique was one of the defenders of the city. He was captured by the Portuguese and become a slave of the Magellan’s team. With his good knowledge of navigation and ability to communicate in Malay language, Enrique became a useful person for Magellan as he was in need of an interpreter and a navigator to continue his journey to other parts of Southeast Asia after the capture of Melaka.

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In 1512, Magellan returned back to Lisbon with his loyal servant, Enrique. Accused by corruption, Magellan later gave his service to the King Charles of Spain from 1517. Magellan offered his help to Spain to discover a new route sailing westward to Spices Island somewhere in Malay Archipelago. He succeeded to convince the King Charles by introducing Enrique who was well-versed in local language and environment. These qualities of Enrique, together with his great experience were essential to make the next voyage to the Malay world successful.

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On 7th April, the expedition had reached a place known as Cebu. Magellan meet Raja Humabon, the ruler of Cebu. Raja asked Magellan to defeat a rebellious group led by a warrior, Lapu Lapu. Magellan agreed and launched an attack on Lapu Lapu forces but was killed on 27th April.

After this war, the name of “Enrique” disappeared into the mists of history. Some historians claimed that he returned back to his homeland in Sumatera or found his way back to Melaka. Some of them said that he remained in Cebu.

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If he made his way home, indeed, he was the first man who circumnavigated around the globe rather than Ferdinand Magellan or Juan Sebastian del Cano. Although there are many controversies and arguments about him, we can conclude that he did a great achievement in history. He has sailed the seas of the East Indies with Magellan, followed him across Indian Ocean and African continent, continued until Atlantic, South Africa and Pacific. He fought bravely, explored the new world, experienced the new life and culture, and he, indeed, embarked the greatest adventure that no man has done before.