It had been the day of San Lazarus when the Spaniards first reached
these islands, so that Magellan gave to the group the name of the
Archipelago of Saint Lazarus, the name under which the Philippines were
frequently described in the early writings, although another title,
Islas del Poniente or Islands of the West, was more common up to the
time when the title Filipinas became fixed.
Cebu.--Magellan's people were now getting desperately in need of
food, and the population on Limasaua had very inadequate supplies;
consequently the natives directed him to the island of Cebu, and
provided him with guides.
Leaving Limasaua the fleet sailed for Cebu, passing several large
islands, among them Bohol, and reaching Cebu harbor on Sunday, the
7th of April. A junk from Siam was anchored at Cebu when Magellan's
ships arrived there; and this, together with the knowledge that the
Filipinos showed of the surrounding countries, including China on
the one side and the Moluccas on the other, is additional evidence
of the extensive trade relations at the time of the discovery.
Cebu seems to have been a large town and it is reported that more
than two thousand warriors with their lances appeared to resist the
landing of the Spaniards, but assurances of friendliness finally won
the Filipinos, and Magellan formed a compact with the dato of Cebu,
whose name was Hamalbar.
The Blood Compact.--The dato invited Magellan to seal this compact in
accordance with a curious custom of the Filipinos. Each chief wounded
himself in the breast and from the wound each sucked and drank the
other's blood. It is not certain whether Magellan participated in this
"blood compact," as it has been called; but later it was observed many
times in the Spanish settlement of the islands, especially by Legaspi.
The natives were much struck by the service of the mass, which the
Spaniards celebrated on their landing, and after some encouragement
desired to be admitted to the Spaniards' religion. More than eight
hundred were baptized, including Hamalbar. The Spaniards established
a kind of "factory" or trading-post on Cebu, and for some time a
profitable trade was engaged in. The Filipinos well understood trading,
had scales, weights, and measures, and were fair dealers.
Death of Magellan.--And now follows the great tragedy of
the expedition. The dato of Cebu, or the "Christian king," as
Pigafetta called their new ally, was at war with the islanders of
Mactán. Magellan, eager to assist one who had adopted the Christian
faith, landed on Mactán with fifty men and in the battle that ensued
was killed by an arrow through the leg and spear-thrust through the
breast. So died the one who was unquestionably the greatest explorer
and most daring adventurer of all time. "Thus," says Pigafetta,
"perished our guide, our light, and our support." It was the crowning
disaster of the expedition.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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