On 16 March 1521 (Spanish calendar), Magellan sighted the mountains of

what is now Samar while on a mission to find a westward route to the

Moluccas Islands for Spain. This event marked the arrival of the first
documented Europeans in the Archipelago. The following day, Magellan
ordered his men to anchor their ships on the shores of Homonhon Island.[1]
There, Magellan befriended Rajah Kolambu and Rajah Siagu the chieftain
of Limasawa, who guided him to Cebu.[1] There he met Rajah Humabon,
the Rajah of Cebu. Then, Rajah Humabon and his queen were baptized
into the Catholic faith, taking the Christian names Carlos, in honor of King
Charles of Spain, and Juana, in honor of King Charles' mother. To
commemorate this event, Magellan gave Juana the Santo Nio, an image
of the infant Jesus, as a symbol of their new alliance and held their first
mass in the coast.[1]
As a result of Magellan's influence with Rajah Humabon, an order had
been issued to the nearby chiefs that each of them were to provide food
supplies for the ships, and convert to Christianity.
Most chiefs obeyed the order. However, Datu Lapu-Lapu, one of the two
chiefs within the island of Mactan, was the only chieftain to show his
opposition. Lapu-Lapu refused to accept the authority of Rajah Humabon in
these matters. This opposition proved to be influential when Antonio
Pigafetta,[2] Magellan's voyage chronicler,[3] writes,