When Ferdinand Magellan and his Spanish troops arrived in the Philippines in 1521, other chieftains submitted to him — but Lapulapu fought back.
National Historical Commission of the PhilippinesA depiction of Lapulapu, the Filipino hero.
Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan is best known for leading the expedition that became the first to circumnavigate the globe. But Magellan didn’t survive the journey himself. In the spring of 1521, he was killed in a battle in the Philippines against the Filipino chief Lapulapu.
Unlike other chiefs who Magellan and his crew had encountered, Lapulapu refused to submit to Magellan and his Spanish troops. Instead, he and his men fought back. Magellan was killed in the Battle of Mactan; the Spanish left the Philippines and would not return until the 1560s.
So who was Lapulapu, the chieftain celebrated as the “first Filipino hero”?
The Murky Early Life Of Lapulapu
Filipinayzd/Wikimedia CommonsA depiction of Lapulapu.
Not much is known about Lapulapu’s early life. Oral tradition states that he originally came from Borneo and, according to La Brujula Verde, eventually made his way to Sugbo (present-day Cebu) in the Philippines.
Once he arrived, Lapulapu asked Sugbo’s ruler, Humabon, to grant territory for himself and his people. Humabon allowed Lapulapu to settle in Mandawili (present-day Mandaue), where Lapulapu and his people cultivated the land, but also turned to piracy. The island where they lived became known as Mangatang (“those who lurk”), and later was called Mactan.
According to the Culture Trip, Lapulapu’s piracy caused his relationship with Humabon to sour. And it was under these inauspicious circumstances that the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan arrived in the Philippines in the spring of 1521, his ships packed with Spanish troops.
Ferdinand Magellan Arrives In The Philippines
Ferdinand Magellan had not set out to conquer the world. When he set sail with his fleet of five ships and 270 men in the summer of August 1519, his primarily goal was to find a sea route to the lucrative Spice Islands.
Naval Museum of Madrid Ferdinand Magellan hoped to find a route to the Spice Islands. Instead, he died in the Philippines in 1521.
When he arrived in the Philippines, however, Magellan saw a chance to convert the indigenous people to Christianity. But though Humabon greeted him warmly and agreed to convert to Christianity, Lapulapu refused.
“Chief Cilapulapu [Lapulapu]… refused to obey the king of Spain,” Antonio Pigafetta, the chronicler of Magellan’s voyage, later recorded. “The captain did not wish to fight then, but sent a message to the natives… 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.”
But Lapulpau declared that he would rather fight than bend the knee. As Pigafetta wrote: “They replied that if we had lances they had lances of bamboo and stakes hardened with fire.”
The Battle of Mactan And The Death Of Ferdinand Magellan
On April 27, 1521, Ferdinand Magellan lead his Spanish troops to Mactan to fight Lapulapu and his warriors. The Portuguese explorer expected it would be an easy battle. Indeed, though Humabon had sent his warriors to help Magellan, Magellan told them to stay on the ship. He wanted to show the power of his European armor, and set forth with about 50 Spanish troops.
As the Spaniards approached, they burned homes along the coast, enraging Lapulapu and his 1,500 warriors, who furiously fought back.
And though the Europeans possessed superior weapons — muskets and crossbows, whereas Lapulpau and his men had bamboo spears and poison arrows — the tide of the battle quickly turned in Lapulapu’s favor.
Wikimedia CommonsFerdinand Magellan believed that his force of 50 men could easily defeat 1,500 Mactan warriors.
“They shot so many arrows at us and hurled so many bamboo spears (some of them tipped with iron) at the captain-general, besides pointed stakes hardened with fire, stones, and mud, that we could scarcely defend ourselves,” wrote Pigafetta of the ensuing battle. “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.”
He continued: “We continued to retire from the shore always fighting up to our knees in the water. The natives continued to pursue us, and picking up the same spear four or six times, hurled it at us again and again.”
During the battle, a poisoned arrow struck Magellan in the leg. The explorer, who had already been hit in the arm with a bamboo spear, was too badly injured to even draw his sword. And as Magellan stumbled, Lapulapu’s warriors surged forward. Some say that Lapulapu even killed Magellan himself, though this has never been verified.
Biblioteca Rector Machado y NuñezFerdinand Magellan was killed during the Battle of Mactan.
“On this, all at once rushed upon him with lances of iron and of bamboo and with these javelins, so that they slew our mirror, our light, our comfort, and our true guide,” Pigafetta lamented.
With Ferdinand Magellan dead, the Spanish troops fled to their ships — and left the Philippines.
The Legacy of Lapulapu
Following the Battle of Mactan, Lapulapu made peace with Humabon. However, he ultimately took his children, wives, and loyal followers back to Borneo. It’s unknown how he spent the rest of his life, but his actions during the Battle of Mactan swiftly solidified Lapulapu into a legendary hero.
Ralff Nestor Nacor/Wikimedia CommonsA statue of Lapulapu in the Philippines known as the “Sentinel of Freedom.”
Indeed, the Spanish did not return to the Philippines for thirty years.
Today, Lapulapu is warmly remembered in the Philippines. Some believe that he became a stone who watches over the waters near Mactan, beloved by fishermen. He’s also been honored with statues, historical plaques, and, in 2017, with “Lapu-Lapu Day,” April 27, the day of the Battle of Mactan.
“Being among the first of our forefathers to have fought against foreign domination, Lapu-Lapu’s heroism has been recognized as a representation of the Filipino people’s love of freedom and capability to rise above adversity,” the Filipino government declared. “Lapu-Lapu left us a legacy of freedom through his leadership, extraordinary bravery, courage and love for his own land…it is but fitting and proper that Lapu-Lapu be given the highest honor and that his legacy be remembered by all Filipinos.”
After reading about Lapulapu, the first hero of the Philippines who defeated Ferdinand Magellan during the Battle of Mactan, discover the chilling story of the Aswang, the bloodsucking, shapeshifting monster from Filipino folklore. Or, read about the golden-crowned flying fox, the biggest bat in the world that’s endemic to the Philippines.
