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| The Battle of Mactan |
The chieftain of Cebu Rajah Humabon welcomed him and converted the latter together with his wife and some 700 natives to Christianity.
After the conversion, Ferdinand Magellan ordered the local chiefs to supply them with food and convert to Christianity. One chieftain of Cebu named Rajah Cilapulapu (known today as Lapu-lapu) was the only chieftain to defy the orders from the Spanish King through Magellan.
On the fateful day of April 28, 1521, bringing with him 60 men armed with lance and heavy gears, Magellan sailed to the island of Mactan to subdue Rajah Cilapulapu together with a dozens of natives from his friend chieftains. It was low tide at that time plus with a rocky geographical location, they were forced to anchor their ships far from the shore making their cannons useless.
Because of the situation, Magellan and his troops were forced to walk with water up to their thighs. With heavy gears and bare legs, it was hard for them to battle the natives. Most of his men were wounded on the legs by huge sea urchins and poison arrows. A retreat was ordered but one native wounded him badly by a huge Kampilan ( a weapon that looks like a scimitar) knocking him down face forward, and eventually led to his death.
Ferdinand Magellan and a handful of his men together with dozens of Christian-converted natives who came to their aide lost their lives that day. The battle was the first recorded heroic act of bravery in the Philippines from foreign power.
