Miguel López de Legazpi
Miguel López de Legazpi (* 1502 in Zumarraga , Guipúzcoa , † August 20, 1572 in Manila , Philippines ) also known as El Adelantado (The Governor) and El Viejo (The Old One) was a Spanish conquistador who left the Philippine Islands in 1565 explored.
Life
Born in 1502, Miguel López de Legazpi was the youngest son of Don Juan Martínez and Elvira Gurruchategui. He was born into a wealthy family and grew up in the small town of Zumárraga in the Basque province of Guipúzcoa in Spain .
Between 1526 and 1527 Legazpi served as a councilor for the municipal government of his hometown. In 1528, when Hernán Cortés established the first settlements in Mexico , Legazpi emigrated to New Spain to start a new life. This was due to the death of his parents and his dissatisfaction with the older siblings, who inherited all of their parents' fortune. In Tlaxcala (Mexico) he worked with Juan Garcés and his sister Isabel Garcés. Legazpi later married Isabel and had nine children with her. Isabel died in the mid-fifties of the sixteenth century.
From 1528 to 1559 Legazpi worked in the Finance Department and Registry Office of Mexico City . In 1564 he was commissioned by Viceroy Luis de Velasco to lead an expedition in the Pacific Ocean. He was supposed to find the Spice Islands that had previously been discovered by Ferdinand Magellan and Ruy López de Villalobos in 1521 and 1543.
The expedition was carried out on behalf of Philip II , and the islands were named after him. The Viceroy died in July of the same year, but the Real Audiencia and Legazpi continued to prepare for the expedition.
In the early morning of November 21, 1564 Legazpi left the port of Barra de Navidad in Jalisco with five armed ships accompanied by 500 soldiers .
Arrival in the Philippines
Legazpi and his men sailed the Pacific for 93 days and finally landed in the Mariana Islands in the spring of 1565 , where they replenished their ships with provisions. This happened in the conflict with the Chamorro .
Legazpi and his troops landed on February 13, 1565 on the shores of what is now the Philippine island of Cebu . After a brief battle with the indigenous people , they left Cebu and sailed to the neighboring islands of Leyte and Camiguin . On March 16, 1565, the Legazpis ships drifted to the coast of Bohol . There Legazpi and his crew received spices and gold after convincing the locals that they weren't Portuguese. He signed a blood contract with the chief Datu Sikatuna as a sign of friendship between the two peoples.
Legazpi and his men sailed back to Cebu on April 27, 1565 and destroyed the village of Rajah Tupas . On the ruins of this village, the Spaniards founded their first settlements called Villa del Santísimo Nombre de Jesús (Village in the Holy Name of Jesus) and Villa de San Miguel (Village of Saint Michael).
In 1567, 200 Spanish and Mexican troops arrived in Cebu on behalf of the Spanish king, founded a city and built the port of Fuerza de San Pedro . From this port they traded with Mexico, protecting themselves from local revolts.
In 1568 Legazpi sent one of his men to Spain so that he could prepare a detailed report on the progress in the Philippines.
When Manila was conquered, Legazpi himself stayed behind on Cebu for health reasons and because of his advanced age. When he finally heard of the wealth in Manila, he sent Lieutenant Martín de Goiti and Commander Juan de Salcedo north to explore the area.
The conquest of Manila
At the end of 1569, 300 Spanish soldiers, cavalrymen and some Indians left the island of Cebu under the direction of Martín de Goiti and went on an expedition to explore the northern part of the Visayas islands. They explored the islands of Panay and Mindoro . They came into conflict with Chinese traders and pirates. Goiti and Salcedo eventually defeated the Chinese and established the first Spanish settlements on these islands.
On May 8, 1570, the Spaniards reached Manila and went ashore at Manila Bay . The Spaniards were impressed by the size of the port. Goiti and his soldiers were warmly received by the Muslim residents. They finally camped there for a few weeks, feigning an alliance to the Muslim king Rajah Sulayman . They pretended to the king that they wanted to stay in Manila only temporarily, but that was not what their real intentions were. For his part, Rajah Sulayman was allied with Rajah Matanda of Sapa and the Lakandula of Tondo .
On May 24th, 1570, after numerous battles between the two groups, Spanish troops marched to the Muslim settlements in Tondo . The heavily armed Spaniards eventually defeated the Muslim locals and then conquered the area around Manila.
In the same year more and more reinforcements arrived in the Philippines and finally asked Legazpi to leave Cebu. He took 250 soldiers and 600 local warriors to explore the Leyte and Panay regions. The following year Legazpi followed Goiti and Salcedo to Manila after hearing that the city had been captured.
In Manila he concluded a peace pact with the Muslim councils of Rajah Sulayman, Matanda and Lakandula. The Muslims and the Spaniards agreed to set up a city council made up of two mayors, 12 councilors and a secretary. Legazpi finally established a permanent settlement on June 24, 1571 and founded the Intramuros fortress . He declared Manila to be the headquarters of the Spanish government in the western Pacific Ocean.
With the help of Augustinians and Franciscans , he established a government on the islands. He became the first governor of the Philippines and evangelized the locals to the Catholic faith. Those who opposed him were tortured and killed. As in Latin America, those who were on his side were granted large estates ( encomiendas ).
The last few years
Legazpi ruled the colony for a year before dying of heart failure in Manila in 1572 . He died impoverished, leaving only a handful of pesos received during the time of his discoveries. Legazpi was buried in the Church of San Agustín in Intramuros.
Until Legazpi's death, the regions of Luzon , Visayas and parts of the north of Mindanao were under Spanish hands. For the next 256 years the Philippines was a colony of New Spain (now Mexico).
Letters to the Spanish King
During his final years Legazpi wrote several letters to King Philip II of Spain about his discoveries. These letters can be seen today in the Archivo General de Indias in Seville .
See also
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | López de Legazpi, Miguel |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | El Adelanto (The Governor); El Viejo (The Elder) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Spanish conquistador |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1502 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Zumarraga , Guipuzcoa |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 20, 1572 |
| Place of death | Manila , Philippines |