Battle of Mactan

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Battle of Mactan

A mural painting depicting the Battle of Mactan.
Date April 27, 1521
Location Mactan Island, Cebu, Philippines
Result Visayan victory, and death of Ferdinand Magellan.
Belligerents
Explorers in the service of Spain under Charles V. Visayan natives of Mactan Island.
Commanders
Ferdinand Magellan Lapu-Lapu
Strength
49 men including Magellan on shore, at least 11 others in boats. approx. 1,500
Casualties and losses
Official casualties are unknown. Official casualties are unknown.
Location of Mactan Island in Cebu.
Magellan shrine

The Battle of Mactan was fought in the Philippines on April 27, 1521. The warriors of Lapu-Lapu, a native chieftain of Mactan Island, defeated Spanish soldiers under the command of Portuguese-born Spanish explorer Ferdinand Magellan.

Contents

[edit] Background

Main article: Ferdinand Magellan

On March 17, 1521, Magellan sighted the mountains of what is now Samar while on a mission to find a westward route to the Moluccas Islands for Spain. This event marked the arrival of the first Spaniards in the Philippines. The following day, Magellan ordered his men to anchor their ships on the shores of Homonhon Island. [1] There, he befriended Rajah Calambu the chieftain of Limasawa, who guided him to Cebu.[2] Communicating through his interpreter, Enrique, Magellan befriended Rajah Humabon, the tribal chief of Cebu. He, and his queen were baptized into the Catholic faith, taking the Christian names Carlos, in honor of King Charles of Spain, and Juana, in honor of King Charles' mother. To commemorate this event, Magellan gave Juana the Santo Niño, an image of the infant Jesus, as a symbol of their new alliance.[3] As a result of Magellan’s influence with Rajah Humabon, an order had been issued to the nearby chiefs that each of them were to provide food supplies for the ships, and was to pay forms of tribute to the king of Spain. Had the order been disobeyed, Magellan himself would see that those who failed were put to death, and that their property would be appropriated for the king’s use. Various chiefs opposed the order, but obeyed it nonetheless. However, Datu Lapu-Lapu, one of the two chiefs within the island of Mactan, was the only chieftain to show his opposition. He refused to accept the authority of Rajah Humabon in these matters. This opposition proved to be influential when Antonia Pigafetta,[4] Magellan’s voyage chronicler,[5] writes,

"On Friday, April twenty-six, Zula, the second chief of the island of Mactan, sent one of his sons to present two goats to the captain-general, and to say that he would send him all that he had promised, but that he had not been able to send it to him because of the other chief Lapu-Lapu, who refused to obey the king of Spain. ”[6]

Rajah Humabon, and Datu Zula [7] suggested Magellan to go to the island of Mactan, and kill rival chieftain Datu Lapu-Lapu. Magellan agreed, and prepared for battle. Pigafetta writes,

"At midnight, sixty of us set out armed with corselets and helmets, together with the Christian king, the prince, some of the chief men, and twenty or thirty balanguais. We reached Mactan three hours before dawn. The captain did not wish to fight then, but sent a message to the natives by the Moro to the effect that if they would obey the king of Spain, recognize the Christian king as their sovereign, and pay us our tribute, he would be their friend; but that if they wished otherwise, they should wait to see how our lances wounded. They replied that if we had lances they had lances of bamboo and stakes hardened with fire. [they asked us] not to proceed to attack them at once, but to wait until morning, so that they might have more men. They said that in order to induce us to go in search of them; for they had dug certain pit holes between the houses in order that we might fall into them.” [8]

[edit] The battle

According to the documents of Italian historian Antonio Pigafetta, Magellan deployed forty-nine armored men with swords, axes, shields, crossbows and guns, and sailed for Mactan in the morning of April 28. [9] Filipino historians note that because of the rocky outcroppings, and corals near the beach, the Spaniards could not land on Mactan. Forced to anchor their ships far from shore, Magellan could not bring his ships' firepower to bear on Datu Lapu-Lapu's warriors, who numbered more than 1,500.

"When morning came, forty-nine of us leaped into the water up to our thighs, and walked through water for more than two cross-bow flights before we could reach the shore. The boats could not approach nearer because of certain rocks in the water. The other eleven men remained behind to guard the boats. When we reached land, [the natives] had formed in three divisions to the number of more than one thousand five hundred persons. When they saw us, they charged down upon us with exceeding loud cries... The musketeers and crossbow-men shot from a distance for about a half-hour, but uselessly...[10]

Magellan then tried to scare them off by burning some houses in what is now the Barangay of Buaya, known then as Bulaia.

"Seeing that, the captain-general sent some men to burn their houses in order to terrify them. When they saw their houses burning, they were roused to greater fury. Two of our men were killed near the houses, while we burned twenty or thirty houses. So many of them charged down upon us that they shot the captain through the right leg with a poisoned arrow. On that account, he ordered us to retire slowly, but the men took to flight, except six or eight of us who remained with the captain. The natives shot only at our legs, for the latter were bare; and so many were the spears and stones that they hurled at us, that we could offer no resistance. The mortars in the boats could not aid us as they were too far away.[10]

Many of the warriors attacked Magellan; he was wounded in the arm with a spear and in the leg by a kampilan. With this advantage, the people of Mactan finally overpowered, and killed him. He was stabbed, and hacked by spears and swords. Pigafetta and the others managed to escape,

Recognizing the captain, so many turned upon him that they knocked his helmet off his head twice... An Indian hurled a bamboo spear into the captain's face, but the latter immediately killed him with his lance, which he left in the Indian's body. Then, trying to lay hand on sword, he could draw it out but halfway, because he had been wounded in the arm with a bamboo spear. When the natives saw that, they all hurled themselves upon him. One of them wounded him on the left leg with a large cutlass, which resembles a scimitar, only being larger. That caused the captain to fall face downward, when immediately they rushed upon him with iron and bamboo spears and with their cutlasses, until they killed our mirror, our light, our comfort, and our true guide. When they wounded him, he turned back many times to see whether we were all in the boats. Thereupon, beholding him dead, we, wounded, retreated, as best we could, to the boats, which were already pulling off... "[10]

According to Pigafetta, several of Magellan’s men were killed in battle, and a number of converted Christian Indians who had come to their aid, were killed by warriors, and soldiers. There are no official records of the number of casualties in the battle.[11]

Magellan's allie, Rajah Humabon, and Datu Zula were said not to have taken part in the battle due to Magellan's bidding, and watched from a distance. Some of the Spaniards who survived the battle returned to Cebu, and while attending a feast given by Rajah Humabon, were poisoned. The natives acted this way due to the actions of some indigenous women being raped by the Spaniards.[12] Magellan’s body, however, was never recovered from the natives. Pigafetta reports that the Christian king sent a message saying that if they return the bodies of Magellan and his crew, they would give as much merchandise as they wished. However, they refused saying that they would not return the body in exchange for all the riches in the world for they intended to keep him as a memorial.[13]

Magellan was succeeded by Juan Sebastián Elcano as commander of the expedition. Elcano and his fleet sailed west and returned to Spain in 1522, completing the first circumnavigation of the world.

[edit] In Philippine culture

Today, Datu Lapu-Lapu is retroactively honored as the first "Philippine national hero" to resist foreign rule, though formally the territory of the "Philippine Islands" had yet to be established or even named at the time. He is remembered by a number of commemorations: a monument on the island of Mactan, a city bearing his name, and a statue at the Cebu Provincial Capitol. The battle is re-enacted during its anniversary. There is a spot in Lapu-Lapu city in Mactan Island that is revered by the islanders. A marker says it was on that site that a man who had sought dominion over the island in the name of the Spanish king had died in the hands of the brave warrior chieftain, Lapu-Lapu, four hundred eighty five years ago. [14]

Magellan is also honored for bringing Christianity to the Philippines, a large monument known as the Magellan's Cross, and the Magellan's shrine has been erected in his legacy in Cebu City, and Mactan Island.

A local variety of red grouper is called Lapu-Lapu, named after the chieftain. Actor-turned-politician Lito Lapid starred in a film called "Lapu-Lapu", and novelty singer Yoyoy Villame wrote a folk song entitled "Magellan" that tells the story of the Battle of Mactan.[15]

[edit] Legends

According to Visayan folklore, Datu Lapu-Lapu’s acts of bravery have generated legends about how he defeated the Spanish forces with their powerful artillery.

Natives believe that the chieftain did not die, and has been turned into a stone, and is forever guarding the seas of Mactan. Fishermen in the island city throw coins at a stone shaped like a man as a way of asking for permission to fish in the chieftain’s territory.

Another story passed on by the natives of the land says Datu Lapu-Lapu became the statue placed on a pedestal at the center of the plaza. The statue faces the old city hall building where the mayors used to hold office and once held a crossbow in the immortal stance of someone about to shoot an arrow at an enemy. The people of the city decided to change this crossbow with a bolo after a succession of three mayors died due to a heart attack. [14]

[edit] Gallery

Mactan Shrine Entrance.

Mactan Shrine Entrance.

Lapu-Lapu.

Ferdinand Magellan's Death.

GLORIAS ESPAÑOLAS.

A HERNANDO DE MAGALLANES.

SIENDO GOBERNADOR DON MIGUEL CREUS.

REINANDO YSABEL II.

Side 1.

Side 2.

Wide View.

Lapu-Lapu, and Ferdinand Magellan in the Battle of Mactan.

Lapu-Lapu.

Lapu-Lapu.

Lapu-Lapu.

Other views.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Agoncillo, Teodoro (2006). Introduction to Filipino History. Garotech Publishing. 
  2. ^ Agoncillo, Teodoro (2006). Introduction to Filipino History. Garotech Publishing. 
  3. ^ Agoncillo, Teodoro (2006). Introduction to Filipino History. Garotech Publishing. 
  4. ^ David, Hawthorne (1964). Ferdinand Magellan. Doubleday & Company, Inc.. 
  5. ^ "Battle of Mactan Marks Start of Organized Filipino Resistance Vs. Foreign Aggression". http://kumustanews.tripod.com/index_files/page0006.htm. Retrieved on 2009-04-09. 
  6. ^ Nowell, Charles E. (1962). Magellan’s Voyage Around the World: Three Contemporary Accounts. Northwestern University Press. 
  7. ^ Agoncillo, Teodoro (2006). Introduction to Filipino History. Garotech Publishing. 
  8. ^ Nowell, Charles E. (1962). Magellan’s Voyage Around the World: Three Contemporary Accounts. Northwestern University Press. 
  9. ^ Agoncillo, Teodoro (2006). Introduction to Filipino History. Garotech Publishing. 
  10. ^ a b c "The Death of Magellan, 1521". http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/magellan.htm. Retrieved on 2008-06-09. 
  11. ^ Nowell, Charles E. (1962). Magellan’s Voyage Around the World: Three Contemporary Accounts. Northwestern University Press. 
  12. ^ Agoncillo, Teodoro (2006). Introduction to Filipino History. Garotech Publishing. 
  13. ^ Nowell, Charles E. (1962). Magellan’s Voyage Around the World: Three Contemporary Accounts. Northwestern University Press. 
  14. ^ a b "Battle of Mactan: history and myth". http://living.cebunetwork.com/battle-of-mactan-shrine/2009/05/16/. 
  15. ^ "MAGELLAN Lyrics by Yoyoy Villame". http://www.opmpinoy.com/opm-magellan-lyrics-11063.html. Retrieved on 2008-02-04. 

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 10°18′38″N 124°00′54″E / 10.3106°N 124.0151°E / 10.3106; 124.0151

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mactan"
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