The Philippine Islands: A Political, Geographical, Ethnographical, Social and Commercial History of the Philippine Archipelago, Embracing the Whole Period of Spanish RuleForeman, John, F.R.G.S.
History
The Philippine Islands: A Political, Geographical, Ethnographical, Social and Commercial History of the Philippine Archipelago, Embracing the Whole Period of Spanish Rule
Foreman, John, F.R.G.S.
Philippines
On March 16, 1521, the Ladrone Islands were reached. There the ships
were so crowded with natives that they were obliged to be expelled by
force. They stole one of the ship's boats, and ninety men were sent on
shore to recover it. After a bloody combat the boat was regained, and
the fleet continued its course westward until it hove to off an islet,
then called Jomonjol, now known as Malhou, situated in the channel
between Samar and Dinagat Islands (_vide_ map). Then coasting along
the north of the Island of Mindanao, they arrived at the mouth of the
Butuan River, where they were supplied with provisions by the chief. It
was Easter week, and on this shore the first Mass was celebrated in
the Philippines. The natives showed great friendliness, in return
for which Maghallanes took formal possession of their territory in
the name of Charles I. The chieftain himself volunteered to pilot
the ships to a fertile island, the kingdom of a relation of his, and,
passing between the Islands of Bojol and Leyte, the expedition arrived
on April 7 at Cebu, where, on receiving the news, over two thousand
men appeared on the beach in battle array with lances and shields.
The Butuan chief went on shore and explained that the expedition
brought people of peace who sought provisions. The King agreed to
a treaty, and proposed that it should be ratified according to the
native formula--drawing blood from the breast of each party, the
one drinking that of the other. This form of bond was called by the
Spaniards the _Pacto de sangre_, or the Blood compact (q.v.).
Maghallanes accepted the conditions, and a hut was built on shore in
which to say Mass. Then he disembarked with his followers, and the
King, Queen, and Prince came to satisfy their natural curiosity. They
appeared to take great interest in the Christian religious rites and
received baptism, although it would be venturesome to suppose they
understood their meaning, as subsequent events proved. The princes
and headmen of the district followed their example, and swore fealty
and obedience to the King of Spain.
Maghallanes espoused the cause of his new allies, who were at war with
the tribes on the opposite coast, and on April 25, 1521, he passed
over to Magtan Island. In the affray he was mortally wounded by an
arrow, and thus ended his brief but lustrous career, which fills one
of the most brilliant pages in Spanish annals.
Maghallanes called the group of islands, so far discovered, the Saint
Lazarus Archipelago. In Spain they were usually referred to as the
Islas del Poniente, and in Portugal as the Islas del Oriente.
On the left bank of the Pasig River, facing the City of Manila, stands
a monument to Maghallanes' memory. Another has been erected on the
spot in Magtan Island, where he is supposed to have been slain on
April 27, 1521. Also in the city of Cebu, near the beach, there is
an obelisk to commemorate these heroic events.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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