The purpose of the voyage, we know today, was not the one that made it famous, that is, the circumnavigation of the globe. Such was a notorious consequence of a voyage meant to reach a less notorious goal: to open for Spain a maritime route into the distant, desired, and lucrative spices of the Moluccas.
Growing up, I heard stories about my great-grandfathers on my father’s side who were convicts and political exiles from Macau and were exiled to Timor-Leste during the time of the Portuguese Colony. On the other hand, I discovered that my maternal grandfather’s ancestors were from Goa, India. Both sides of my family speak various languages, including Portuguese, Tetum, Indonesian, Hakka, and other Timorese dialects, which sparked my curiosity about my ancestral heritage.
Indigenous communities are the foundation of any scientific research investigating the cultural and biological history of human populations. Interactions with indigenous communities, with their agreement, enable researchers to collect data and indispensable knowledge to guarantee the long-term success of a project.
It is extremely rare that a call for research projects allows us to apply our expertise in addressing a global symbolic historical moment: the circumnavigation by Fernão Magalhães’s crew. For human population geneticists, that 500-year-old expedition was amazing in enabling the first contact between so many diverse human populations. And that was the mote we followed to launch our project.
