Voyage to the

Philippines
Rajah Humabon and datu Zula of Mactan welcomed the Spaniards, nut
not Lapu-lapu, another chieftain of Mactan. Lapu-lapu’s real name was
Cali Pulacu as written by Carlos Calao, a Chinese-Spanish poet.
Lapu-lapu was refused the new political system and pay tribute. He
decided to break away from Rajah Humabon. To teach him a lesson,
Magellan invaded Mactan on April 27, 1521. he led an army of t0 steel-
clad Spaniards in three vessels and 1,000 Cebuano warriors in 30 boats.
He told Rajah Humabon and his men toasty in their boats, watch how
the European fight.
Magellan has misjudged the fighting skill of Lapu-lapu and his men. The
Mactan warriors repulsed the Spanish force to their spears and bamboo
stakes. They aimed their spears at the unshielded legs of the Europeans.
The Spanish were forced back to their boats.
Magellan was wounded in the battle. A poisoned arrow hit his
right leg and then bamboo spear struck his face. Lapu-lapu and
his fighters pounced and killed him. The remaining Europeans
retreated and left the body of their captain behind.

The battle of Mactan was scandalous defeat for the Spaniards for
they were not able to prove themselves better in combats. On
May 1, the natives of cebu carried out the plan to massacre
them. While Europeans were attending a banquet prepared form
them by Rajah Humabon, the warriors attacked them. Duarte
Barbosa, Juan Serrano and 27 other Spaniards were killed
The remaining members of the expedition were force to flee rhe
islands before the cebuanos could kill them all. They burned the ship
concepcion for lack of men operate the vessel. The two ship left was
Trinidad and Victoria, they continued they voyage to Moluccas.

November 8, 1521 they finally landed in Tidore, an island in Moluccas.

They were able to secure a rich cargo of spices. The survivors decided
that Trinidad led by Gomez de Espinosa would sail back to Spain
crossing the pacific to Panama, while the Victoria, under Juan
Sebastian del Cano’s command would sail via cape of good hope, but
on lower latitude to avoid the Portuguese.
The Victoria crossed the Indian ocean, rounded the cape of good hope and
finally reached San Lucar, Spain on Septmber 6, 1521, with only 18
survivors, the voyage around the world lasted 2 years, 11 months and 16
days.

Pigafetta’s story of expedition spread. Shortly thereafter, the geographers

adopted new dimensions of the earth and the wider scope of the Southern
Sea (Pacific Ocean). The voyage enhanced their knowledge about the
existence of other islands in the pacific and the Philippines. It also
confirmed that the earth is round that it is really impossible to sail around
the world since the world’s oceans are connected.

The cargo of cloves solf for such a high price that it was more than
sufficient to pay for the expenses of Magellan’s expedition. As a reward, the
Spanish crown granted Elcano a proud motto for his shield, Primus
Circumdedisti Me.
In unwritten history, it was really an Asian who first circumnavigated
the world ahead of Europeans. He is no other than Enrique of
Malacca who was with Magellan. From Malacca he was able to join
the voyage of the Portuguese after he was taken by Magellan to be
his aide.
Magellan’s expedition paved the way for Spain’s expansion to the
orient. Driven by the trill of adventure an the reward of gold and
spiritual dispensation, the conquistadores took the risk of the
journey.
The first post-Magellan expedition (1525), led by captain Garcia
Jofre de Loaysa sailed with 7 ships and 450 men. After crossing the
strait of Magellan, the vessels were dispersed by a storm.
Unfortunately, Loaysa got ill. They served broiled rat, traditional
treatment for constipation. He did not recover. Eventually he died.
His men failed to reach the Philippines.
In 1527, Alvaro Saavedra Ceron, cousin of Hernando Cortes of Mexico,
together with 110 men constituted the first expedition to the Philippines.
Three ships were set out to investigate what had happened to the earlier
expedtion and rescue any survivors. Only one ship, the Florida reached
Surigao in Northeastern Mindanao but failed to colonize.

In 1542, king Charles I sent another expedition, this was to reassert the
claims of Spain to the islands, which is part of the Eastern hemisphere was
reserved to Portuguese colonization. However, with the treaty of Zaragosa
in 1529, a new demarcation line was fixed at 297 ½ leagues east of
Moluccas. Portugal gained the right of ownership over all the lands on the
west of the line, while Spain gained the right ownership over all the lands
found on the east of the line.
Spain sold the Moluccas to Portugal for $630,000, which lay within
the Portuguese sphere of influence and claim the ownership over the
Philippines then known as Islas del poniente. He instructed Ruy
Lopez de Villalobos to command a fleet of six ships and around 400
men. He exhorted Villalobos to avoid any of spice island in their
voyage to islas del poniente.

Villalobos reached Baganga bay in Eastern Mindanao on Feb. 2, 1543

after the 3 months of sailing. He named Mindanao Caesarea Caroli,
or the imperial island of Charles. Some of his men went as far as
Leyte, which they renamed Filipina in honor of the future king Philip
II of Spain. Later the name Filipina was given to all the islands.
Villalobos also failed to colonize Mindanao. He died in the Moluccas.
During the reign of king Philip II, Spain was at the height of his
power,. He wrote to Mexican Viceroy Velasco Ordering him to
prepare an expedition for the conquest of the Philippines. The
command of expedition was given to Miguel Lopez de Legazpi (1505-
1572) a soldier, lawyer and administrator. Since the Mexican
government was then in the brink of bankruptcy, Legaspi sent his
own resources to finance expedition.

On February 13, 1565, Legazpi and his men anchored near the island
of Cebu. Due to Cebuano opposition, they sailed to the neighboring
islands and landed in Samar. Legazpi made a blood compact with
Urrao, a friendly chief, on feb. 22 they proceeded to Limasawa and
were received by a young chieftain named Bangkaw.
Later, Legazpi landed in Bohol and befriended two native kings,
Sikatuna and Sigal. On March 16, 1565, Legazpi and Sikatuna made a
blood compact. A few days later, Legazpi and Gala did a similar pact.

On April 27, 1565, Legazpi arrived in Cebu and hit the shore. Rajah
Tupas and his cebuano warriors challenged the enemy forces but were
overpowered by the Spaniards. Soon, the natives burned their houses
and retreated to the uplands
The next day, April 28, one of Legazpi’s men, a Greek sailor named
Mermeo discovered the image of Sto. Niṅo in one of the houses.
Viewing it as a sign of God’s approval. Legazpi named the first
settlement Ciudad del Santissimo Nombre de jesus.
The earliest Spanish settlement was in the form of
triangle. The 2 sides face the sea and the third fronts
the land. The settlement was surrounded by fences.
Wells were dug for stable water supply. A church for
Augustinian Fathers was erected. In this church, the
historic image of the child Jesus was kept.