THE HISTORY OF SPAIN IN THE PHILIPPINES

No matter what generation you are born into, Filipino’s first introduction
to Philippine History was that the Philippines was discovered by a
Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan and that the first Catholic mass
was held in the tiny island south of Leyte named Limasawa. If it had not
been for Antonio Pigafetta, a young Venetian nobleman who accompanied
the Portuguese Captain, people would know very little about the world’s
first successful circumnavigation. It also enabled Filipinos to learn their
ancestor’s cultural practices, religious beliefs and their way of life before the
Spaniards formally claim the Philippine archipelago. Pigafettas’s manuscript
is the universally accepted and the single most important sources in the
study of Precolonial Philippines.

At the time when Magellan sailed around the world, it is important to

note that the Philippines did not exist on any European maps. However,
Arabia, Persia and other people from around Asia had already navigated the
Philippines in ancient times (Nadeau, 2020, p35). The discovery of
Magellan of the Philippines created an impact to Filipinos, Spaniards and to
the rest of the world. To the Philippines, the first contact meant as the arrival
of foreign subjugator, an introduction to the Western world and the
beginning of its nation building through territorial identity. To Spain, this
means a celebration of another technological development in nautical
science and it served as a motivation to reach previously unknown places
and recreate the world’s geography. March 16, 1521 marked the beginning
of one of the most influential empire recorded in history, defined by its
maritime force and Catholicism. And, to the rest of the world, this was the
key milestone in history of globalization.On the other hand, in Pigafetta’s
narration, the death of Ferdinand Magellan had the most number of retelling
and versions. The Philippines is a country of passing conquerors and its
liberation from colonizers is an ultimate evidence of the strength of
Filipinos, a timeless legacy. For the Spain, Magellan was killed by a poison
arrow of indigenous people living in a far-away land. For the Philippines, it
served as the first and rare victory of Filipinos against the proud imperial
Spain. The scars of history helped define the relationship of the Philippines
and Spain, it was long and deep for both countries but the 500-year-old ties
that bind them was how these countries wholeheartedly embraced each other
which was through Catholicism - a history of Spain in the Philippines.

REFERENCES:

Nadeau, K.(2020, April 30). The History of the Philippines. United States:
Greenwood Publishing Group Inc.