Large centers of population already thrived in Batangas before the Spaniards arrived. Native settlements lined the Pansipit River, a major waterway near Taal Lake. Batangas first came to be known as Bombon. It was named after Taal Lake, which was also originally called Bombon. Some of the earliest settlements in Batangas were established in the … More Batangas Province During The Spanish Regime
The San Diego was formerly known as San Antonio, a trading ship built in Cebu under the supervision of European boat-builders. It was docked at the port of Cavite to undergo reconditioning and repair but at the end of October 1600, Don Antonio de Morga, Vice-Governor General of the Philippines, ordered it converted into a … More The Sinking of San Diego on Dec. 14, 1600 and the Discovery of its Wreck
Sir Thomas Cavendish, also spelled Candish, was an English explorer baptized on September 19, 1560 at Trimley St. Martin, Suffolk, England and died c. May 1592 in the North Atlantic. Cavendish was a privateer known as “The Navigator”. He accompanied Sir Richard Grenville’s voyage to America (1585) and, upon returning to England, undertook an … More Thomas Cavendish – The Third Circumnavigator of the Earth
Limahong, or Lin Feng, also known as Lim Ah Hong or Limahon was a Chinese pirate and warlord who invaded the northern islands of the Philippines and also established a short-lived kingdom in Pangasinan. He built up a reputation for his constant raids to ports in Guangdong, Fujian and southern China. He is noted … More Limahong, A Chinese Pirate Invaded the Philippines, Part 1
Miguel Lopez de Legazpi founded the city of Manila in 1571, 50 years after the Spanish discovery of the Philippines. Manila, being better positioned than Cebu for trade with China, was made the original capital of the Philippines. Here the colonizers built Intramuros, an impregnable European style thick stone-walled city which was the seat … More Legaspi Built Intramuros, the Seat of Spanish Rule
After Ferdinand Magellan, other Spanish expeditions were dispatched to the Philippines over the next decades. In 1543, Ruy Lopez de Villalobos gave the name Las Islas Filipinas to the islands of Samar and Leyte. However, it was not until 1565 that the Spaniards, under Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, founded a colony on Cebu, and … More Other Spanish Expeditions to the Philippines
Magellan established friendly relations with the treacherous King of Cebu, Humabon, who professed Christianity in order to win the help of Magellan. The great navigator was induced to undertake an expedition to conquer the neighboring island of Mactan for the Catholic faith and the King of Cebu. At the muddy island called … More The Spaniards Discovered the Philippines – Part 2
The archipelago’s recorded history began half way around the world in a small, dusty town in southwestern Spain. The Treaty of Tordesillas was signed on June 7, 1494, dividing the yet-unexplored world between Spain and Portugal. To the east of meridian 370 leagues (unit of length) west of the Cape Verde islands in the Atlantic, … More The Spaniards Discovered the Philippines – Part 1
Subli 