By Emilio Valerio
EBC New York Bureau

NEW YORK (Eagle News) — Five hundred years ago on April 27, 1521, the historic Battle of Mactan occurred in the Philippines when Mactan natives under their chieftain Lapulapu killed Portuguese explorer Ferdinand  Magellan and many of his men on the island. Magellan had set sail from Spain to the Spice Islands (now Indonesia). His expedition ended in the Philippines after circumnavigating three quarters of the globe.

Accounts of the battle are preserved through the writings of Magellan’s chronicler Antonio Pigafetta. Magellan befriended the Rajah Humabon and queen of Cebu and converted them to his religion.

Magellan and his men went on to the island of Mactan with the purpose of having them accept the authority of Cebu chieftain Humabon and of converting the natives, even by force if necessary. Lapulapu refused, successfully stopping the advancement, and is credited as being “the first filipino to have repelled European aggression.”

(Eagle News Service)