“The world makes a way for

the man who knows where he

is going.” －Emerson
The spaniards came to the Philippines because
of the following reasons: Trade expansion, The
research for new trade routes to Asia; and the
European ’ s geographical discoveries and
explorations in the 15th and 16th centuries.
ü The Venetian Travelers named Marco Polo who
went to China during the reign of the Emperor
Kublai Khan , authored an inspiring book about
Asia’s splendor.
ü Trading between Europe and Asia became very
succesful. European banks were established to
finance the business ventures of kings and other
businessmen.
ü The city of venice was among the very first to do trade with Asia,
followed by Portugal, Spain, England and France.

ü The three Trade Routes between the East and the West that were
used were the:
1. Southern in the Mediterranean;
2. Central Route, begins from Malacca going to Westward Indian
Ocean onwards to ports of India, then to the Persian Gulf, to Baghdad,
to Constantinople (Istanbul) and culminating to Cairo;
3. Northern Route, going overland by way of Central Asia, then
through Samarkand and Bokhara, on to the Caspian Sea and Black Sea
and finally to Costantinople in the Mediterranean Sea.
In 1453, the European trade with Asia ended when
the Christian City of the Costantinople was
captured by the Muslim Turks.
ü In 1421, Prince Henry, of the most famous
Portuguese navigators and also reputed as “The
Navigator“ , sent an expedition to the African
Coast.
ü This expedition resulted to the discovery of
Madeira and Azores Islands just off Northwest
Africa.
ü Compass, Astrolabe, Caravel were developed
and used by Prince Henry during the expedition.
ü In 1441, Cape Blanco in Africa was rounded by
Antonio Gonzales and Nuno Tristan.
ü In 1445, Cape Verde was discovered by Dennis
Fernandez.
ü In 1487, Bartolomeu Dias discovered the Cape of
Good Hope located at the southern tip of African
continent.
ü October 12, 1492, Christopher Colombus
discovered America for Spain. Between 1497
and 1503, Amerigo Vespucci was sent by Spain
to explore the Americas.
ü In 1500, Brazil was discovered by Vicente
Pinzon while Nuñez de Balboa found the Pacific
Ocean on September 25, 1513.
ü May 3, 1493, Pope Alexander VI, issued two papal bulls or
decrees dividing the world between Portugal and Spain.

Bull 1: All territories west and south of the Azores and Cape
Verde islands belong to Spain while the entire African continent
is for Portugal.
Bull 2: The lands located in the west side of the line belong to
Spain while the territories on the eastern part of the line is for
Portugal.
However, on September of the same year, Pope made
invalid the second bull by allowing Spain to acquire
territories in Asia. The King of Portugal, Joao II ( Zhoo
Oun ) protested. To settle the conflict, Spain and
Portugal concluded the Treaty of Tordesillas on June 7,
1498.
ü Some of the most important provisions stipulated in
the treaty were:

1. A new damarcation line was to be drawn starting from

North Pole to the South Pole at a distance of 370 leagues
west of the Cape Verde Islands. All territories located on
the west of the line belong to Spain, and all the
territories on the eastern side of the line were to belong
to Portugal.
2. No ships owned by Spain were to be sent to the
territories belonging to Portugal to trade.
Name: Ferdinand Magellan
Profession: Mariner－Soldier
Birthplace: Ponte de Barca, Minho, Portugal in 1480
Parents: Ruy Magellan and Alda de Mesquita
Educated at－King’s Court, Lisbon

ü Joined Portuguese expedition at the age of 23 in 1505,

led by Francisco Almeida－ the first Portuguese viceroy
of India.
ü In 1513, He returned to Lisbon with Enrique, a Malay
slave from Malacca. He got involved in the Portuguese
war against Moors of Africa. Pierced by an enemy lance
in the left knee and became limp for the rest of his life.
ü He proposed to King Manuel of Portugal his plan of
discovering a westward route going to Spice Island
known as Moluccas (Indonesia). King Manuel opposed.
ü Magellan renounced his Portuguese citizenship and
went to Spain. In Seville, he met his wife Beatriz, a
daughter of an old friend, Diego Barbosa.
ü Magellan presented his plan to King Charles I of
Spain. The King approved the plan of Magellan and
agreed to send an expedition to the Spice Islands.
ü Included in the preparation for the expedition were
the five ships: Trinidad, Flagship of Magellan, The
San Antonio, The Concepcion, The Victoria, and the
Santiago, and the 265 men.
ü Magellan was accompanied by a Venetian knight Antonio
Pegafetta; Duarte Barbosa; Juan Serrano; Alvaro de
Mesquita; and Enrique.
ü Magellan and his men sailed from Seville, drifting down the
Guadalquivir River to the Port of Sanlúcar de Barrameda.
The expedition left port and sailed southwestward into the
Atlantic Ocean on September 2, 1519.
ü On November 29, 1519, The group reached the Canary
Islands and finally landed at Pernambuco, Brazil. On
December 13, 1519, they reached Rio de Janiero. Magellan
named it Santa Lucia. They sailed again on Dec. 27, 1519.
ü They reached Rio de Plata in February 1520. They resumed
their voyage and reached Port San Julian, South America on
March 31, 1520.
ü On a Palm Sunday night of April, a mutiny broke out. It was
led by Gaspar Quesada, the captain of Concepcion. He was
accompanied by Luis de Mendoza and Juan de Cartagena.
Juan Sebastian del Cano also joined the mutiny.
ü On October 21, 1520, Magellan discovered the strait at the
southern tip of South America. He called it “The Strait of
All Saints”. On the night of November 20, the San Antonio,
piloted by Esteban Gomez deserted while sailing the strait
and went back to Spain.
ü On November 28, 1520, Magellan began their voyage across
the vast of Pacific Ocean with only three ships remaining. It
took them three months and twenty days to cross the Pacific.
ü On March 7, 1521, Magellan reached Guam. At first, Guam
and its nearby islands was named Islas de Velas (Islands of
Sails) by Magellan. In one of the islands, Magellan rested his
men. The natives of the place called Chamorres gave them
fresh water and other provisions.
ü March 17, 1521, Magellan saw the mountains of Samar.
ü Magellan landed on a small, uninhabited islet of Homonhon
the following day. The place was at the mouth of Leyte Gulf.
ü On March 18, there were some friendly Filipinos, who were
natives of Saluan, a neighboring island, arrived at Homonhon
and gave their cargo of bananas, coconuts, palm wine, and
fish to Magellan.
ü Magellan and his men left Homonhon in the afternoon of
Monday, March 26, 1521, and reached Limasawa on March
29.
ü On March 30, Good Friday, they made a blood compact to
seal their friendship and brotherhood.
ü On March 31, 1521, Easter Sunday, a mass was held at the
beach, officiated by Father Pedro de Valderama. The mass
was attended by Magellan, Rajah Kulambu, Rajah Siagu,
Spanish voyagers and Filipinos.
ü On the same day at sundown, Magellan planted a large
wooden cross on top of a hill overlooking the sea. Magellan
took posession of the land for Spain. He named the country
“Archipelago of St. Lazarus” because they reached the
country on St. Lazarus Feast Day.
ü Pegafetta, the expedition’s chronicler, wrote about it: “after
the cross was erected in position, each of us repeated a Pater
Noster and Ave Maria, and adored the cross and the kings
did the same”.
ü Magellan stayed in Limasawa for only a week because there
was not enough food on the island. They proceeded to Cebu,
a flourishing kingdom on April 8, 2021.
ü On April 15, 1521, Sunday, a mass was held on Cebu’s shore.
A cross was planted where the Cebuanos could see it clearly.
This mass paved the way for some 800 natives to be
converted to Christianity.
ü Among these were Rajah Humabon who was given the
Cristian name Carlos in honor of the king of Spain and
Humabon’s wife was baptized Juana in honor of King
Carlos’s mother.
ü At the time that Magellan was converting the natives of Cebu to
Christianity, disagreement and misunderstanding occured
between the two chiefs of Mactan, neighboring island of Cebu.
These were Rajah Sulah and Rajah Lapu-lapu.
ü Rajah Sula sought Magellan’s assistance against his opponent,
Rajah Lapu-lapu, who Sula said, was defying to recognize the
king of Spain as his king. Learning this, Magellan and his troops
sailed for Mactan to castigate Lapu-lapu.
ü Upon reaching the place, Magellan demanded that he be paid a
tribute by Lapu-lapu and his men as a sign of recognition of the
sovereighnty of the Spanish king over them. When Lapu-lapu
refused, Magellan and his men waded ashore and attacked the
defenders of Mactan.
ü With inferior armament such as bolos, arrows and spears,
Lapu-lapu and his men fought a furious battle. When
Magellan was wounded by a poisoned arrow, his troops
retreated. Seeing this, Lapu-lapu and his men pounced and
kill him.
ü The death of Magellan gave birth to
the first hero of the Philippines－
Lapu-lapu. With his unparalleled
victory, Lapu-lapu was reputed as
the fi rst c hampi on of Fi li pi n o
freedom. He was regarded as the
first Asian to repulse western
aggression.
ü The spaniards chosen Duarte Barbosa and Juan Serrano as their
new commanders as replacement for Magellan.
ü On May 2, 1521, a feast was held in Cebu. During the feast,
Duarte Barbosa and Juan Serrano along with twenty seven
Spaniards were massacred by the natives.
ü Juan Carballo became the commander of the remaining
Spaniards who headed for Bohol after leaving Cebu.
ü With two remaining ships the Victoria and the Trinidad, the
Spaniards continued their voyage.
ü On November 9, 1521, the troop reached Tidore, an island in
Moluccas (Indonesia today). At this time, the commanders of the
the two ships decided to go on separate ways.
ü The Trinidad, sailing eastward the Pacific, was driven back to
Moluccas by unfavorable winds while the Victoria crossed the
Indian Ocean, rounded the Cape of Good Hope, passsed the
Cape Verde Islands, and finally reached Sanlúcar de Barrameda,
Spain on September 7, 1522, with only 18 survivors.
ü Magellan’s voyage is now considered as the greatest maritime exploit
of mankind. The course of history was greatly affected because of his
voyage.

1. It was the first time that man was able to circumnavigate the world,
thereby proving the world was round;
2. It broke the Venetian monopoly of the trade route to the east;
3. It paved the way for Europe to know that the greatest of all oceans lies
between Asia and the New World;
4. It intensifies man’s knowledge on Geography;
5. Spain emerged as the supreme power in the building of colonial
empire;
6. It became instrumental to Spanish colonization and Christianity of the
Philippines.
ü Spain’s expansion to the Orient became all important due to the
success of Magellan’s voyage. Five other expeditions were sent to the
East to explore, conquer and colonize the Philippines and the
Moluccas after Magellan expedition.
Expedition Year Captain Contigent Results
1. Loaisa 1 1525 Fray Juan Garcia 7 ships and 450 men Failed to reache the Philippines
Jofre de Loaisa

2. Cabot 1526 Sebastian Cabot 4 ships and 250 men Failed to find the strait of Magellan

3. Saavedra 1527 Alvaro de Saavedra 3 ships and 110 men Reached Mindanao but failed to
colonize

Reached Mindanao but failed to

4. Villalobos 1542 Ruy Lopez de Villalobos 6 ships and 200 men colonize; Mindanao was called
Cesarea Caroli; Philippines was
named Islas Filipinas

5. Legazpi 1564 Miguel Lopez de Legazpi 4 ships and 380 men Successful in colonizing the
Philippines
ü King Philip II decided to send an expedition to Asia. The command of
this expedition was given to Miguel Lopez de Legazpi , a Spanish-
born soldier, lawyer and former secretary of the government of
Mexico City.
ü The expedition consisted of 380 men. The San Pedro was the flagship
of the expedition. The three other ships were San Pablo , the San
Lucas and the San Juan de Letran.
ü Legazpi was accompanied by Father Urdaneta ; Captain Juan de
Salcedo; Guido de Lavezaris; Melchor de Legazpi; and five
Augustinian missionaries.
ü He landed in Cibabao (Leyte), and took possession of the island in the
name of the king of Spain. The fleet continued to sail southward and
reached Tandaya ( Samar), on February 20, 1565. There, Legazpi was
given warm welcome by its chief named Urrao, whom he made a
blood compact on February 22.
ü On March 9, he landed at Limasawa. He was hospitably received on
the island by Bankaw, the island king. From Limasawa, the fleet
sailed on to Camiguin, to Butuan, and then to Bohol. At Bohol,
Legazpi befriend the two native kings Sikatuna and Sigala.
ü Legazpi and Sikatuna made a blood compact on March 16, 1565 to
seal their friendhip.
ü On April 27, 1565, Legazpi and his men reached Cebu. They
were met with hostility by the Cebuanos under the
leadership of King Tupas. Under cover of artillery fire,
Legazpi was able to position his soldiers. An intense battle
was fought on the shore.
ü The first settlement was established in Cebu. It was
triangular in shape with two sides facing the sea and the
last side fronting the land. Around it was a strong fence.
A fort was also constructed in the area. They called it
Fort San Pedro. Wells were dug to provide steady supply
of water for the settlement. A church was constructed for
the Augustinian fathers. Moreover, buildings were built
for the soldiers.
ü Legazpi named the settlement the City of the Most
Holy Name of Jesus. It was for this reason that Cebu
City which Legazpi founded in 1565 is considered
today as the oldest city in the Philippines.
ü Legazpi won the friendship of the natives of Cebu. He
offered peace and friendship to King Tupas and invited the
Cebuanos to go back and rebuild their houses.
ü He also promised pardon and forgiveness to the natives who
fought him. With the help of Cid Hamal , a Muslim Malay
who was in Cebu during that time, Legazpi won the
friendship of Rajah Tupas and the Natives.
ü On June 4, 1565, Legazpi and Tupas signed a peace treaty
with the condition that the Filipino’s would recognize
Spanish sovereignty and friendship.
ü Father Diego de Herrera baptised the first Cebuano convert,
Jandulaman, and was given the christian name Isabel, in
honor of Isabel Garces, the deceased wife of Legazpi.
ü In the same year, Jandulaman (Isabel) was married to Master
Andres, a Greek member of Legazpi’s expedition.
ü Ki n g Tu pas tu rn to b e b a p t i s e d a s a C h r i s t i a n w a s
solemnized on March 21, 1568. He was named Felipe in
honor of King Philip II. Likewise, his son Pinsuncan was
baptised and was named Carlos.
ü Legazpi’s Cebu settlement was pounded with several
problems. Thus, Legazpi moved to Panay in 1569.
ü Datu Macabaog and Datu Madidong, both chiefs of Panay,
were converted to Christianity by the Augustinian
missionaries and eventually became good friends of Legazpi.
ü In 1569, Masbate, Ticao, and Burias were explored and
pacified by Captain Luis Enriquez de Guzman with the help
of Fr. Alonzo Jimenez.
ü In January 1570, another expedition farther to the north and
headed by Legazpi’s grandson, Juan de Salcedo, was sent.
ü Legazpi learned about the rich kingdom in Manila. Thus, he
send an expedition under the command of Marshal Martin
de Goiti.
ü The expedition consisted of 120 Spaniards, 600 Visayans,
and about fifteen native boats. They left Panay on May 8,
1570 and reached Mindoro on May 12.
ü After staying in Mindoro for five days, they headed for Luzon.
The fleet was regrouped into two. The first group proceeded
to Balayan in Batangs, and the second group went to Taal.
ü Manila that time, was a Muslim kingdom under Rajah
Sulayman. It was civilized outpost of Islam, near mouth of
Pasig River where Fort Santiago is now located.
ü Refusing to submit to Spanish vassalage, Sulayman fought
and defeated his kingdom from foreign invasion. However,
Martin de Goiti and his men captured Manila after a bloody
encouter with the natives.
ü Happy and satisfied with de Goiti’s news about Manila,
Legazpi decided to colonize the kingdom.
ü On April 20, 1571, A stronger expedition consisting of 27
vessels, 180 Spaniards, and 600 Visayans allies left Panay.
They reached Manila on May 16, 1571.
ü After a survey of the ruins of the Muslim kingdom of Manila,
Legazpi began laying the foundations of the new city of
Manila. Houses, a church, a soldiers barracks, and a convent
for missionaries were built.
ü Manila was made the capital of the Philippines on June 24,
1571. On the same day, Legazpi organized a city government
called ayuntamiento . He then appointed two alcaldes , an
alguacil mayor, twelve regidores and one escribano to run
the city.
ü In june 1, 1574, By the Royal decree of King Philip II, Manila
was named Isigne Y Siempre Leal Ciudad ( Distinguished
and Ever Loyal City).
ü Filipino resistance against Spanish domination was reduced
with the death of Sulayman. This paved the way for Luzon’s
easy conquest.
ü Legazpi ordered expeditions to other areas of Luzon.
ü Juan Salcedo was oreded to conquer the Southern
Philippines.
ü Legazpi, the first Spanish governor of the Philippines and
reputed as the Philippines adelantado, died of heart attack in
Manila on August 20, 1572.
ü Legazpi’s seven years soujourn in the Philippines made him
one of the greatest colonial pioneers of all time.
ü Captain Juan de Salcedo was considered the greatest
military hero of the Spanish conquest. He discovered the
gold mines of Paracale. Also, he captured Vigan and
renamed it Villa Fernandina in honor of Prince Fernando,
the first-born son of King Philip II.
ü Salcedo was promoted to the rank of field marshal.
ü Salcedo died of high fever on March 11, 1576 in Vigan, Ilocos
Sur. He died at the age of twenty seven.
ü The easy conquest of the Philippines by the Spaniards can
be attributed to the following:

1. There was disunity among the Filipinos. The natives lived

different groups under various leaders. The Spaniards took
advantage of the situation by manipulating the groups against
one another.
2. Legzapi was an effective leader. He was able to win the
people’s friendship and trust by his generosity and wisdom.
3. The military discipline and weapons of the Spaniards were
more superior than that of Filipinos.
4. Finally, the Filipinos thirst for a new religion was quenched
by the Spanish missionaries. They became loyal subjects of
Spain when they did accept Christianity. In reality, the cross
have been a more effective instrument than the sword in
conquering the Philippines.