Battle of Mactan

Battle of Mactan
Monuments to Magellan and Lapu-Lapu on the island of Mactan.
Date April 27, 1521 Location Mactan Island (present-day province of Cebu, Philippines) 10.310600°N 124.015100°E / 10.310600; 124.015100 Result Victory of the natives. Ferdinand Magellan dies.
Belligerents
Warriors of Mactan	European explorers
Commanders and leaders
Lapu-Lapu	Ferdinand Magellan †
Strength
~ 1,500 Muslim warriors	49 Christian soldiers
Casualties and losses
15 dead	At least 13 dead

The Battle of Mactan took place on April 27, 1521, on the island of Mactan, Philippines. Some 1,500 warriors of the island under the command of Lapu-Lapu, the Muslim chieftain of Mactan, defeated a group of 49 members of the Spanish expedition under the command of Ferdinand Magellan, who died in combat covering the retreat of his men.

Background

The Portuguese explorers of the 16th century had found a way to reach Southeast Asia while avoiding the overland routes that the Islamic kingdoms controlled at the time: sailing south of the Cape of Good Hope in Africa, so as to come out into the Indian Ocean and continue on to the "spice islands."

Magellan was assigned to Goa, in Portuguese India, to begin his military training, and he soon foresaw that geography would be the key to the riches of Southeast Asia. After a voyage to the region, he acquired a Malay servant, Enrique, whom he would use as an interpreter during his voyages around the world.

On his expedition, begun in 1519 under the sponsorship of the Spanish Crown in search of a route through America to reach Asia, after crossing the Pacific Ocean and passing for the first time through the Strait of Magellan, they landed on the island of Homonhon on March 17, 1521. There Magellan spoke with Rajah Calambu (or Kolambu) of Limasawa, who guided him to Cebu on April 7. Communicating through Enrique, Rajah Humabon of Cebu allied himself with Magellan, and both he and his wife were baptized. Impressed by the Europeans' weaponry (pistols, swords, armor, 12 cannons and 50 crossbows), Rajah Humabon and the datu Zula suggested to Magellan that he go to the nearby island of Mactan to punish Datu Lapu-Lapu, who opposed the Rajah's authority, which Magellan accepted.

The Battle

Monument to Lapu-Lapu, regarded as a national hero of the Philippines

According to the chronicles of Antonio Pigafetta, Magellan deployed 48 men in breastplates (less than half of his crew) armed with swords, axes, crossbows and pistols.

Magellan made a terrible miscalculation: because of the island's rocky coast and the presence of coral near the beach, they had to anchor the ships far from shore, so they could not use the ships' cannons.

The small group of soldiers approached the beach first in boats and then with the water up to their thighs. When they were only a few meters from the shore, the entrenched warriors charged against them. Magellan tried to frighten them by ordering some of the houses to be set on fire. This action only enraged the natives even more, and Magellan ordered the retreat, but some soldiers who had been cut off kept fighting, prolonging the struggle for several hours, until a group of warriors, recognizing the Commander giving orders, attacked Magellan, who was wounded in the leg by a poisoned arrow and later in the arm by a bamboo spear.

Magellan covered the retreat of his men until they were able to regroup and flee in the boats. He was finally surrounded and stabbed with spears and swords until he died. His action, however, allowed a large number of his men to escape alive, among them Pigafetta, who recounted:

"an islander managed to wound the captain in the face with a bamboo spear. In desperation, he plunged his lance into the Indian's chest and left it embedded there. He tried to use his sword, but could only draw it halfway, because of a wound he had received in his right arm... Then the Indians rushed upon him with swords and scimitars and every weapon they had and finished him off, our mirror, our light, our comfort, our true guide. When they wounded him, he turned back many times to make sure that we were all safe in the ships."

Magellan's allies, Rajah Humabon and the datu Zula, were not present at the battle by his direct orders, and watched the events from a distance.

In Filipino culture

Obelisk in Mactan erected by the Spanish authorities in memory of Magellan

Lapu-Lapu was elevated to the rank of Filipino national "first hero" for resisting foreign rule, even though the Philippines did not even exist as a nation at that time, and he was in fact an enemy of the power established by Rajah Humabon.

The interpretation that Lapu-Lapu killed Magellan in single combat, or hand-to-hand, as it is portrayed during its anniversary, is contradicted by the account of Antonio Pigafetta and other sailors present at the battle, who at no point reported that any such hand-to-hand fight had taken place between Magellan and Lapu-Lapu (who is not even identified as one of the natives who fought in the battle). They do, however, narrate in full detail how the defeat was due mainly to the overwhelming numerical advantage (1,500 natives against 49 members of the expedition).

Lapu-Lapu is commemorated with a monument in Mactan next to the obelisk that was erected by the Spanish authorities in memory of Magellan, as well as by a city on the island that bears his name and a variety of local fish.

Magellan is also honored for having brought Catholicism to the Philippines in general and the Santo Niño de Cebú in particular. Magellan's Cross and the aforementioned Magellan shrine were erected in Cebu City. Many monuments and infrastructure throughout the Philippines bear Magellan's name, mostly using its Spanish spelling (Magallanes), although most of the population is unaware of its true meaning, since they have only studied the English form of pronunciation (Magellan).

See also

• Magellan-Elcano expedition