Revisiting the Battle of Mactan

Because of its significance to globalisation, the battle where Lapulapu victoriously slew Magellan is rightfully the focal point of the Philippines’ quincentennial commemorations

- Gus A Vibal

April 27, 2021 marks the Philippine government’s milestone celebration of the 500th anniversary of the victory of the Mactan chieftain Lapulapu over the Spanish expedition led by the Portuguese-born Ferdinand Magellan. This battle waged by the native warrior is today signified as the first indigenous military action against a foreign usurper and is one of the highlights of the manifold Quincentennial Commemorations, which will also be observed in 34 local government units. For the Philippine Catholic Church, the year 2021 is made doubly significant because it marks the 500th anniversary of the introduction of Christianity in the archipelago.

Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Chile and Guam island are also commemorating the first circumnavigation of the world. This nautical and technological achievement not only bound several geospatially dispersed peoples through historical processes such as colonialism, imperialism and capitalism but also through their shared cultural hybridities and blood ties.

When the quincentenary was launched in 2019, both Portugal and Spain jostled for the honours, with the former claiming glory due to the fact that Magellan was its own native-born son. The truth lies, however, in more complicated historical circumstances.

From 1518 to 1519, Magellan appealed valiantly to King Manuel of Portugal to finance his ground-breaking expedition that sought to discover the western route to the Spice Islands, then the source of the most profitable trading commodity in the world—only to be repeatedly rejected.