The Battle of Mactan: Lapu-Lapu and Magellan never actually dueled

Battle of Mactan. Painting by Manuel Pañares

When people talk about Spanish conquest of the Philippine islands, the Battle of Mactan
is the very first event that will cross to their minds. Every Filipino student knows Lapu Lapu,
who defeated the force of Europeans and killed their captain, Ferdinand Magellan. In every
students’ Philippine history book, it is written with the story of this war attached with a picture
that somehow portrays – Lapu Lapu won against Magellan in a one on one fight. This battle has
set foot in the canon of the Philippine history but is still a neglected topic that lacks basic
details. The narrative of the battle is fairly well known but then again, many queries lies within
it like, “Did Lapu Lapu really personally killed Magellan in an epic duel?”. It is time to unravel
this question and know the fact to whether the depiction of the painting above is fact-based.

DDDDDLAPU-LAPU MONUMENTDDDDDDD

Lapu Lapu is a legendary Filipino hero who lived in Mactan Island and later on became
chief of his people. He left quite a legacy and has a famous statue that has been erected for
about 500 years ago. It aims to highlight the heroic act of Lapu Lapu and the country’s
precolonial history. For a very long time, the 10-foot statue of Lapu Lapu firmly stands in the
location of the historic battle for a very long year but just about the year 2019 on September
14, news has been released;

MANILA, Philippines – The iconic statue of Mactan ruler Lapulapu will be

replaced in 2021 by a monument that will more accurately portray the Battle of
Mactan, said the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP).
 There will be a new shrine that will not portray a single hero to accurately exhibit the
actual happenings that occurred at the seaside battle. Escalante explained in the news that it
was never mentioned that it was Lapu Lapu who delivered the blow that killed Magellan.
Magellan fell down and was hacked to death. He added to his statement that it was a collective
effort.

DDD DEATH OF FERDINAND MAGELLAN DDD

Magellan did not reach his goal - he lost his life when he battled against the natives on
an island in the Philippines. A diarist of the Portuguese Ferdinand Magellan named Antonio
Pigafetta, a venetian scholar and explorer who joined the expedition to the Spice Islands led by
Magellan, remains the only reliable source of the historic battle in Mactan. In Pigafetta’s
surviving journal (The Journal of Antonio Pigafetta, 1969) which became the source for what is
much known about Magellan’s voyage, it was mentioned there;
“One of them wounded him on the left leg with a large cutlass, which resembles a
scimitar, only being larger. That caused the captain to fall face downward, when immediately
they rushed upon him with iron and bamboo spears and with their cutlasses, until they killed our
mirror, our light, our comfort, and our true guide.”

In accordance to Pigafetta’s statements in his journal, Lapu Lapu did not had a duel with
Magellan nor did he slay Magellan, but many natives did. This proves that the fact behind this
well-known battle that took place in Mactan is not the idea of Lapu Lapu, a datu in Mactan who
killed Ferdinand Magellan rather, the death of Magellan was brought by a collective action
shared by Lapu Lapu and his warriors. The painting that depicts the duel of the datu, Lapu Lapu
and the captain, Magellan does not accurately tell the true event of the Battle in Mactan.

There are many instances that we encounter fake or false news and information for the
reason that these kinds of data have been disseminated to people and these people will then
share it to other persons. Doing this, there might be alteration of information whether
intentionally or unintentionally. In this case, we have to be more careful on the information
that we share and receive. According to an article (Leor Nadison, 2020) , to avoid
misinformation and disinformation, we have to check the source or link of information if it is
reliable, follow the source by checking if there’s quotes, dates and facts, and look if the
evidences sited really happened or was it just invented or distorted. Know who wrote the
article, make sure that the author is credible about the topic that he or she is discussing and
also look for dubious quotes and photos. Identify if there are other news outlets that also
reports the same information. We also have to develop a critical attitude, don’t believe any
news just because it sounds credible. We have to ask questions and look for facts. Practicing
this will help us distinguish facts from fake ones.