CHAPTER IV: ENCOUNTER WITH THE
WEST(1400-1600)
For quite a long time, the Orient then was a
region of mystery for the Europeans, or the West.
While Europeans were experiencing some
changes in life, there was also a growing desire to
know more about the countries of the Orient. Many
Europeans admired the fabulous riches of Asia told
by crusaders and medieval travelers—Marco Polo,
Fr. John of Plano Carpini, Fr. William of
Rubruck, Fr. Odoric of Perdenoni and Fr.
Giovanni Marignolli.
Some European countries traded with Asia.
Oriental spices, silk, fruits, attar of roses, Persian
rugs, perfumes, and precious stones were easily sold
in European markets at big profits. In this trade the
Venetians (citizens of Venice) enjoyed the
monopoly. Soon after, the Portuguese, the
Spaniards, and the other peoples of Europe began to
trade with the Oriental countries. This developed a
rivalry among the European countries and led to
European expedition to Asia.
The Trade Routes
At the time Europeans were developing their
trade with the Orient, there were three (3) trade
routes which connected the Orient to Europe.
 Northern Route- passed through Central
Asia by land, then to the cities of
Samarkand and Bokhara, then around the
Caspian Sea and the Black Sea, and finally
to Constantinople in Mediterranean.
 Central Route- started from Malacca in
Malay Peninsula, then to the Indian Ocean
and Indian Ports, then to the Persian Gulf to
Baghdad and Constantinople.
 Southern Route- started from Malacca,
then to the Indian Ocean and to the ports of
India, then to the Red Sea, and finally to
Cairo in the Mediterranean.
In 1453, the Ottoman Turks captured the city of
Constantinople where two routes passed, the
Northern and Central routes.
 The fall of Constantinople closed former
trade routes to east. But Turks allowed
Venetians to use the Southern Route on
condition that they paid a certain amount of
fee.
 Venetians monopolized the Southern route
which led the Portugal and Spain to look for
another route to the Orient.
Early Voyages to the Orient
 Portugal and Spain outstripped other
European nations in geographical
discoveries.
 Of all European countries, Portugal was the
first to send expedition to the Orient.
 Under the inspired leadership of Prince
Henry “the Navigator”, Portuguese sea
captains discovered new lands.
Antonio Gonzalvez – in 1441
rounded Cape Blancco, Africa and
brought the first Negro slaves to
Europe.
Dennis Fernandez - discovered
Cape Verde Islands in 1445.
Bartolome Dias– discovered the
Cape of Good Hope in 1487.
Vasco de Gama– reached Calicut,
India after rounding Cape, opening
the Eastern route to the Orient in
1498.
 Spain not to be outdone by Portugal, won
maritime glories.
Christopher Columbus –
discovered America for Spain on
October 12, 1492.
Amerigo Vespucci – discovered
the New World for Spain between
1499 and 1503.
Nunez de Balboa – discovered the
Pacific Ocean (“South Sea”) on
September 25, 1513.
Rivalry between Portugal and Spain
The Big Powers: Spain, Portugal,
England, France, and the Netherlands, competed
with each other to be the first to discover or find
countries not yet known to others. They were
building empires in Asia, Africa, and South
America.
Portugal and Spain were the bitterest rivals
of colonies in the world. To avoid a possible war
between the two great nations, Pope Alexander VI,
who was a Spaniard, issued a bull in 1493 dividing
the world into two.
 All lands south and west of the Azores and
Cape Verde Islands were to belong to
Spain and the continent of Africa was to
take possession by Portugal.
 On the same day (May 3), the Pope issued
another bull by which an imaginary line was
drawn from North to South at 100 degrees
west of the Azores. Lands to be discovered
east of this imaginary line would belong to
Portugal, and those wests would belong to
Spain.
 Treaty of Tordesillas (June 7, 1494) –
Portugal and Spain made an agreement
shifting the demarcation line (division)
made by the Pope.
1.1 The Coming of Spaniards
In the sixteenth century, the Philippines was
invaded by Spaniards. The coming of Spaniards
made a tremendous change to the country, for
the first time in the Philippine history. Filipinos
lost their freedom to the foreigners.
Why the Spaniards Came to the Orient
The Spaniards came to the Philippines and
Asia for three reasons: God, Gold, and Glory.
 God – Spain’s initial aim was to spread
Roman Catholic Religion. At that time,
Spain was the greatest champion of
Catholicism in the world.
 Gold – Spain’s second aim is to get rich. It
wanted to control the spice trade in Asia as
spices like peppers and ginger were very
much in demand in Europe.
 Glory – Spain’s third aim was to get
political glory.
Magellan’s Voyage
 The coming of Magellan to the Philippines
was not an accident. He planned and wanted
to find the Moluccas (Spice Islands) and the
Philippines because he heard these were
rich lands. He also crystallized his belief in
Western Route to the East.
 Magellan, an explorer who studied map-
making and navigation, approached King
Manuel of Portugal to seek his support for a
Westward voyage to the Spice Islands, but
the King, who proved to be ingrate, refused
his petition repeatedly.
 Magellan renounced his Portuguese
citizenship and relocated to Spain to seek
royal support for his venture. He was able to
appear at the royal court and talked to King
Charles I into supporting his Westward sea
voyage to the Moluccas.
 King Charles I became interested when
Magellan said he could find a new route to
the east which at that time closed to Spain.
King Charles I granted his support and
ordered an expedition to accompany
Magellan on his voyage.
 Magellan’s fleet consisted of five ships: the
Trinidad, the San Antonio, the
Conception, the Victoria, and the Santiago,
and 265 men.
 On September 20, 1519, the expedition of
Magellan begun. He left Spain for the East.
 The expedition sailed southwestward across
the Atlantic and landed on the South
American coast, now Pernambuco, Brazil,
on November 29, where they obtained
provisions from friendly natives.
 Magellan resumed his voyage to Rio de
Janiero and reached the island on December
13. He named it “Santa Lucia” because he
landed their on Santa Lucia’s Day.
 From Rio de Janiero, they explored the Rio
de la Plata searching vainly for gateway to
Pacific. His men suffered terribly from
storms and cold before the fleet stopped at
Port San Julian on March 31, 1520.
 At the port San Julian, crew mutinied on the
night of Palm Sunday. The ringleaders were
Quesedan (captain of Conception),
Mendoza (captain of Victoria), Cartagena
(deposed captain of San Antonio), and Juan
Sebastian de Elcano(rebel). Magellan
 quickly suppressed the mutiny—executing
Quesedan, leaving Cartagena and Father
Sanchez de la Reyna on the coast, and
pardoning forty mutineers, including
Elcano.
Discovery of the Strait of Magellan
 Magellan had sent the Santiago to explore
the route ahead, where it was shipwrecked
during a terrible storm. With four remaining
ships, they sailed and left Port San Julian
five months later when fierce seasonal
storms abated.
 On October 21, 1520 Magellan finally
entered the straight that he had been seeking
and first called it “Strait of All Saints”
before it bears his name.
 While sailing through the straight, the San
Antonio, piloted by Esteban Gomez,
deserted and returned to Spain.
Crossing the Pacific
 With only three ships, Magellan began his
trans-pacific voyage on November 28 which
lasted three months and twenty days.
 Death, sickness, and hunger rode the masts
of his fleet. Most of the crews were stricken
with scurvy. But Magellan boldly sailed on
and in mid- ocean he found two barren and
uninhabited islets which he called
“Unfortunate Islands”
Magellan in Guam
 On March 6, 1521, Magellan reached
Guam, where the natives supplied them
with water and provisions.
 Magellan first called the island “Island of
Sails” and later changed the name to
“Ladrones Islands” (Island of Thieves)
because the natives stole a boat from his
ship.
Discovery of the Philippines
Portugal came ahead of Spain. Many
Portuguese ships have been to the Philippines before
Magellan because they often sailed in the waters of
Southern Philippines.
 In 1512, Francisco Serrano, a Portuguese
explorer, was stranded on the coast of
Mindanao. Serrano became the first
European “discoverer” of the Philippines.
Later he wrote about it to his cousin
Magellan and encouraged him to look for a
new route to the east and the Philippines.
 Duarte Barbosa wrote about Sulu in his
book of voyages.
Rediscovery of the Philippines
 At dawn of Saturday, March 16, 1521,
Magellan and His men saw the heights of
Samar.
 After seeing Samar, the Spaniards landed at
the island of Homonhon in Leyte Gulf on
March 17. Here they saw their first Filipinos
who brought them food.
 From Homonhon they were driven by a
storm to Masao, Butuan in Agusan Del
Norte Reaching it on March 28. There they
found a rich Filipino kingdom with plenty
of foods, gola, forests, rice fields, and
mountain.
 Magellan met two kings at Butuan— Raha
Kolambu and Raha Siagu. They welcomed
the visitors in the finest tradition of Filipino
hospitality. The foreign visitors were
generously fed with lots of rice, chicken,
pigs, and fruits.
 Raha Kolambu and Magellan sealed their
new friendship with the traditional blood
compact known as “Sandugo”. This was the
first blood compact by a Filipino to a white
man.
First Mass at Butuan
Another important event took place at
Butuan—the first mass in the Philippines.
 On Easter Sunday, March 31, 1521, the first
mass was held on the shore of Masao,
Butuan This was said by Father Pedro de
Valderama, the Spanish chaplain. The
Filipino Kings and their men attended the
mass along with Magellan and his men.
 After the mass, the Filipinos were
entertained to a fencing exhibition by the
Spaniards, enacted by best swordsmen of
 his expedition. The Filipinos were marveled
at the visitors’ skill with their weapons.
 At the sunset of the same day, Magellan, in
the presence of Spaniards and Filipinos
solemnly planted large wooden cross on the
top of a hill overlooking the sea.
 He took possession of the land in the name
of Spain, with Filipinos not knowing what
Magellan was doing. He named the country
“Archipelago of St. Lazarus” because he
came here on the feast day of the Saint.
The Spaniards Go to Cebu
 On Sunday, April 7, 1521. King Kolambu
guided the Spaniards and continued their
voyage by going to Cebu.
 Raha Humabon, the King of Cebu did not
let them to land first, but King Kolambu
persuaded him as the white men came as
friends.
 The Spaniards became guests of the
Cebuanos. They are well treated and was
impressed by Cebu's wealth and culture. It
is one of the trading routes for China,
Thailand, the Moluccas, and other barangay
of the Philippines at that time.
 On April 14, 1521, Humabon,his wife, and
other 800 Cebuanos agreed to be baptized.
A mass was held and they became the first
Filipino Catholics.
 Humabon and his wife Humammay was
named Carlos and Juana in respect to the
Spaniards' current king and his mother.
 As memorabilia, Juana received a Santo
Niño, Cebu's patron saint today. Carlos and
Magellan made a blood compact.
4.2 Battle of Mactan
 Magellan's greed induced him to idea of
making all Filipino Kings in nearby islands
to surrender to Spain.
 Only Datu Lapulapu, one of the kings of
Mactan, disobedyed him.
 On Friday, April 26 1521, Datu Zula, other
king of Mactan, asked Magellan for help in
destroying Lapulapu.
 On April 27, 1531, Magellan invaded
Mactan with only 60 men against 1500 men
of Lapulapu.
 The first battle of the Filipino against the
white men was resulted into a victory.
 In the memory of this epic battle, Lapulapu
city was named after the datu.
The Spaniards Go Home
 With the defeat, the Spaniards came back to
Cebu. Their dignity was severely stained
and they lost Cebuano's respect.
 On May 1, 1521, the Spaniards went to the
feast day of Raja Humabon. Actually, it is a
trap to avenge the malay slave, Enrique
from the abuse of Duarte Barbosa, one of
the new commanders of the Spaniards.
 The massacre led to force department of the
Spaniards to the South.Many were killed
including another new commander, Juan
Serrano.
 The Trinidad, one of the remaining ships
sailed for Mexico but got caught by the
Portuguese in the Moluccas.
 The Victoria, the only ship remaining now
sailed for Spain.
 On September 6,1522, the Spaniards
reached Spain with only 18 survivors.
Results of Magellan's Voyage
1. It proved that earth is not flat.
2. It added to the knowledge of geography.
3. Colonization opportunity for the Philippine
Other Spanish Expeditions
1. The Loaisa expedition (1525)
2. The Cabot expedition (1526)
3. The Saavedra expedition (1527)
4.The Villalobos expedition (1542)
5. The Legazpi expedition (1564)
The Villalobos expedition
 On 1541, López de Villalobos was sent to
have an expedition to Islas del Poniente
(Island of the West / Philippines). The
expedition said to have Gines de Mafra, also
belonged to the voyage of Magellan and
going back to the Philippines for the 2nd
time.
 On February 29, 1543, they entered
Baganga Bay, which they named Malaga on
the eastern coast of Mindanao and named
Mindanao "Caesarea Karoli" in respect to
Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V of Spain.
 On April of 1544, they reached the islands
of Samar and Leyte Philip II and named the
Philippines "Las Islas Filipinas" (The
Philippine Islands) in honor of Prince of
Spain, Philip II.
 They sought refugees in Moluccas and
caught by Portuguese.
The Legazpi edition (1564)
 Philip II is now the current king of the
Spain. He wants to make Philippine as a
colony of Spain.
 On November 21,1564, Miguel Lopez de
Legazpi departs an expedition from
Navidad, Mexico with four ships and 380
men. A Spanish-Mexican expedition.
 On February 3, 1565, they reached
Philippines and were well-received at
Limawasa, Leyte and Bohol. Legazpi made
a blood compact with King Katuna
(Sikatuna) and King Gala (Sigala). This
event became the painting subject of Juan
Luna.
Cebu Becomes the First Spanish City.
 On April 27 1565, Legazpi sailed from
Bohol to Cebu. Raha Tupas, Son of
Humabon fought with the Spanish invaders
but got defeated because of superior
weapons of Spaniards and their ship
bombarded the Cebuano Kingdom.
 Legazpi befriended King Tupas and once
again, many Cebuanos got baptized.
 In 1565, Legazpi made Cebu the first
settlement in the Philippines.
 He built fort and church, that made the first
Spanish outpost in Asia. They found the
Santo Niño in the native house that was
given by Magellan to Queen Juana and
named the town " City of the Most Holy
Name of Jesus".
4.4 The Settlement in Panay
While at cebu , Legazpi faced several problems…
1. Shortage of food and the growing of
restleness of his men.
2. Continuous harassment of his settlement by
the Portuguese captain.
Gonzalo de Pereira - Portuguese Captain who
blockaded Cebu in order to cut off the supply of
food.
Due to the Portuguese threat and food shortage in
Cebu , Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, decided move over
to Panay in 1569. At first, the Filipinos in Panay
were very hostile with the Spaniards . but Legazpi
won over the people of Panay by convincing him on
his peaceful intensions and by the means of wisdom
and friendship. On the banks of Panay River,
Legazpi founded the second Spanish settlement in
the Philippines.
 Also in 1569, Legazpi sent small expedition
to the island of Visayas : Masbate , Ticao
and Burias were captured by the Spaniards.
Same Expedition headed by;
 Captain Enrique de Guzman – He was
sent by Legazpi to Southern Luzon and
there they reach and penetrated
Albay in Bicol Region
 Juan de Salcedo - Legazpi’s younger
grandson. He was the one who led the small
 expedition to the north.With a few Spanish
soldiers and about 500 visayans, He sailed
to Talim island and claimed it for Spain. He
continue his voyage and reached Lubang
Island, near Mindoro and fought the
Filipinos who refuse to recognized him,
 In 1570 , the Filipino Muslims (Moro)
villages and forts at Mindoro nearby islets
of Illim and Lubang were destroyed. The
fall of Mindoro brought the invaders closer
to Manila.
4.5 Founding of Manila
The Battle for Manila. It takes two attempts for the
Spaniards to won over manila - In 1570 and 1571 to
capture Manila.
 Raja Sulayman – Filipino Moro king of
Manila , resisted the Spanish invaders.
 Marshal Martin de Goiti – the one who
led the first Spanish expedition to invade
Manila in May 1570 together with 120
Spaniards and 600 visayan warrior, won
against Sulayman. There he was also able to
capture Filipino cannons made by;
Bay . It was historic battle because it
opened the way for the Spanish conquest of
Manila and the whole Luzon.
 The Battle in Manila Bay won by the
Spaniards under the leadership of Marshal
Goiti.
The Filipino lost because of the three reasons:
 Lakan Dula and Sulayman did not help the
other Filipinos;
 The Spaniards had superior weapons and
discipline; and
 About 600 Cebuanos archers helped the
Spaniards in battle.About 500 Filipinos
were taken prsonersthat day. After the
battle,Spaniards took over the Manila.
Manila Becomes the Capital
 On June 24, 1571 Legazpi proclaimed
Manila as the new capital of the colony.
 King Phillip ll gave it a new coat-of-arms
and name “Distinguished and Ever Loyal
City” (Insigne y Siempre Leal Ciudad)

 Panday Pira – “The First Filipino Cannon

– maker” a Pampangueno blacksmith.

 In 1571, Legazpi personally led the invasion

himself. Sulayman wanted to fight the
invaders again but;

 Lakan Dula – uncle of Raha Sulayman,

persuaded him to befriend him instead.
Because they don’t want to sacrifice any
more filipino lives because they knew they
could not win against the superior weapons
and Power of Spain.

Filipino Rulers of Hagonoy, Macabebe and nearby

barangays did not want to give up easily. Theay met
at Navotas and decided to attack the foreigners.
They were led by

 Bambalito – a Macabebe warrior

 On June 3, 1571 at Bangkusay Channel,

near the Tondo shore (Manila Bay)
happened the really first battle of Manila