First Man Round the World

Awang befriends Magellan when the latter spies in Malacca while pretending to trade in 1509. After the foreigners’ hasty departure he befriends the Portuguese prisoners and learns their language. When Albuquerque arrives, Awang interprets between the farangi and locals. He observes in detail the two battles. His father pays Magellan to train him as a navigator. He arrives in Lisbon and is culturally shocked. Awang helps Magellan gain the Spanish king’s patronage. They combine their knowledge to find a shortcut back to Southeast Asia by the western route, something Columbus claimed to do but failed. They encounter numerous challenges on the journey — storms, mutinies, shipwreck. Many times they fail to find the straits out of South America, but finally succeed. They sail 104 days across the Pacific, running out of food, until landing in today's Philippines. Magellan is killed in a battle. Can Enrique aka Awang finish his circumnavigation the world and return home?