Panday Pira

Panday Pira (Kapampángan: Pandeng Pira;

1488–1576) was a Kapampángan Muslim
blacksmith[1] who is acknowledged as
"The First Filipino Cannon-maker".[2] His
name literally translates as "Blacksmith
Pira", panday being the Tagalog word for
"blacksmith".

Panday Pira was a native of the southern

islands of the Philippines. He migrated to
Manila in 1508 and established a foundry
on the northern bank of the Pasig River.
Rajah Sulayman commissioned Panday
Pira to cast the cannon that were mounted
on the palisades surrounding his kingdom.
In 1570, Castilian forces under the
command of Martin de Goiti captured
Manila and took these artillery pieces as
war booty, presenting them to Miguel
López de Legazpi, the first Spanish
Governor-General of the Philippines.

Legazpi eventually established a

permanent Castilian settlement in Manila
on May 19, 1571 and on June 3 of the
same year, Tarik Sulayman waged the
Battle of Bangkusay Channel to recapture
his kingdom from the Spaniards. Sulayman
failed in this and perished in the battle.
Panday Pira then fled to Pampanga where
he attempted to begin a new life in sitio
Capalangan in the town of Apalit, working
as a blacksmith forging farm implements.
He was, however, summoned by Legazpi
back to Manila and put to work forging
cannons for the Spaniards. He established
his foundry in what is now Santa Ana.
Santiago de Vera, the sixth Governor-
General, commissioned him to cast
cannon for the defenses of a fortress he
built, the fortress of Nuestra Señora de
Guía (Spanish, "Our Lady of Guidance"),
now called Intramuros.[3] To the Spaniards,
Panday Pira was known as Pandapira,[1]
and they exempted him from paying tribute
and forced labor.

In 1576, Panday Pira died at the age of 88.

His death was a great loss to the
Spaniards who had to petition the King of
Spain for a blacksmith to take his place. It
was not until 1584, that a Spanish
blacksmith from Mexico arrived.

See also
History of the Philippines

References
 1. Jagor, Fedor. The Former Philippines
thru Foreign Eyes . Retrieved
September 8, 2009.
2. "Panday Pira" (PDF). Retrieved
September 7, 2009.
3. de Morga, Antonio. "History of the
Philippine Islands" . Retrieved
September 13, 2009.

Retrieved from
"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Panday_Pira&oldid=911032037"

Last edited 5 days ago by Donner60

Content is available under CC BY-SA 3.0 unless
otherwise noted.