Though Magellan discovered the Archipelago in 1521, no serious attempt to take possession of it was made till 1565, when an expedition of four hundred soldiers and sailors was fitted out by Philip II., and placed under the leadership of Miguel Lopez de Legaspi. As Philip was inspired by religious zeal, and his principal and perhaps only object was to spread the light of the Gospel, six Augustinian friars accompanied the expedition. We may say with truth that it was these missionaries, and the others who followed in rapid succession, who conquered the Archipelago for Spain. There was no conquest in the strict sense of the term. The Spaniards in most places simply showed themselves to the natives; and the religious, who accompanied them, persuaded the untutored savages to submit to the King of Spain, through whom they would obtain the two-fold blessing of civilization and Christianity. The retention of these rich and fertile islands, so great a source of revenue to the mother-country, was on the whole a very easy task. The religious Orders planted themselves firmly in the colony, and spread themselves everywhere, winning the natives to Christ, keeping them also in loyal obedience to that great European power by whose means the missionaries had been sent to them. They were thus the real bulwarks of Spanish power there, which was kept up rather by gentle persuasion than by force of arms. Mr. Mac Macking, a Scotch Protestant who spent some years there, says: "The warriors who gained them over to Spain were not their steel-clad chivalry, but the soldiers of the Cross,--the priests who astonished and kindled them by their enthusiasm in the cause of Christ." Up to a few years ago profound peace reigned; and a garrison of 4,200 soldiers, 3,500 gendarmerie, and 2,000 sailors and marines, was considered sufficient to overawe a population of eight millions, besides keeping in check the fanatical and bloodthirsty Moro pirates.