Spanish Expeditions to the Philippines

The Magellan Expedition

Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese in the service of the Spanish

crown, was looking for a westward route to the to the Spice
Islands of Indonesia. On March 16, 1521, Magellan's expedition
landed on Homonhon island in the Philippines. He was the first
European to reach the islands. Rajah Humabon of Cebu was
friendly with Magellan and embraced Christianity, but their
enemy, Lapu-Lapu was not. Humabon wanted Magellan to kill
Lapu-Lapu while Magellan wanted to convert Lapu-Lapu into
Christianity. On April 17, 1521, Magellan sailed to Mactan and
ensuing battle killed Magellan by the natives lead by Lapu-Lapu.
Out of the five ships and more than 300 men who left on the
Magellan expedition in 1519, only one ship (the Victoria) and 18
men returned to Seville, Spain on September 6, 1522.
Nevertheless, the said expedition was considered historic because
it marked the first circumnavigation of the globe and proved that the world was round.

Juan Sebastian de Elcano, the master of ship "Concepcion" took over the command of the
expedition after the death of Magellan and captained the ship "Victoria" back to Spain. He
and his men earned the distinction of being the first to circumnavigate the world in one full
journey. After Magellan's death in Cebu, it took 16 more months for Elcano to return to
Spain. The Magellan expedition started off through the westward route and returning to
Spain by going east; Magellan and Elcano's entire voyage took almost three years to
complete.

Spain sends other expedition

After the Spain had celebrated Elcano’s return, King Charles I decided that Spain should
conquer the Philippines. Five subsequent expeditions were then sent to the Islands. These
were led by Garcia Jofre Loaisa (1525), Sebastian Cabot (1526), Alvaro de Saavedra
(1527), Rudy Lopez de Villalobos (1542) and Miguel Lopez de Legazpi (1564). Only the last
two actually reached the Philippines; and only Legazpi succeeded in colonizing the Islands.

The Villalobos Expedition

Ruy Lopez de Villalobos set sail for the Philippines from Navidad, Mexico on November 1,
1542. He followed the route taken by Magellan and reached Mindanao on February 2, 1543.
He established a colony in Sarangani but could not stay long because of insufficient food
supply. His fleet left the island and landed on Tidore in the Moluccas, where they were
captured by the Portuguese.

Villalobos is remembered for naming our country “Islas Filipinas,” in honor of King Charles’
son, Prince Philip, who later became king of Spain.
The Legazpi Expedition

Since none of the expedition after Magellan from Loaisa to

Villalobos had succeeded in taking over the Philippines, King
Charles I stopped sending colonizers to the Islands. However,
when Philip II succeeded his father to the throne in 1556, he
instructed Luis de Velasco, the viceroy of Mexico, to prepare a new
expedition – to be headed by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, who would
be accompanied by Andres de Urdaneta, a priest who had survived
the Loaisa mission.

On February 13, 1565, Legaspi's expedition landed in Cebu island. After a short struggle
with the natives, he proceeded to Leyte, then to Camiguin and to Bohol. There Legaspi
made a blood compact with the chieftain, Datu Sikatuna as a sign of friendship. Legaspi was
able to obtain spices and gold in Bohol due to his friendship with Sikatuna. On April 27,
1565, Legaspi returned to Cebu; destroyed the town of Raja Tupas and establish a
settlement. On orders of the King Philip II, 2,100 men arrived from Mexico. They built the
the port of Fuerza de San Pedro which became the Spanish trading outpost and stronghold
for the region.

Hearing of the riches of Manila, an expedition of 300 men headed by Martin de Goiti left
Cebu for Manila. They found the islands of Panay and Mindoro. Goiti arrived in Manila on
May 8, 1570. At first they were welcomed by the natives and formed an alliance with Rajah
Suliman, their Muslim king but as the locals sensed the true objectives of the Spaniards, a
battle between the troops of Suliman and the Spaniards erupted. Because the Spaniards are
more heavily armed, the Spaniards were able to conquer Manila. Soon after Miguel Lopez de
Legazpi arrived to join Goiti in Manila. Legaspi built alliances and made peace with Rajahs
Suliman, Lakandula and Matanda. In 1571, Legaspi ordered the construction of the walled
city of Intramuros and proclaimed it as the seat of government of the colony and the capital
of the islands. In 1572, Legaspi died and was buried at the San Agustin Church in
Intramuros. In 1574, Manila was bestowed the title "Insigne y Siempre Leal Ciudad de
España" (Distinguished and ever loyal city of Spain) by King Philip II of Spain.

Why the Philippines was easily conquered

Through largely outnumbered, the Spaniards who came to colonize the Philippines easily
took control of our country. How did this happen?

The best possible explanation is that the natives lacked unity and a centralized form of
government. Although the barangays already functioned as units of governance, each one
existed independently of the other, and the powers that each Datu enjoyed were confined
only to his own barangay. No higher institution united the barangays, and the Spaniards
took advantage of this situation. They used the barangays that were friendly to them in
order to subdue the barangays that were not. Continue to Spain as Colonial Masters.