Legaspi in Cebu.—On the 27th of April, 1565, Legaspi’s fleet reached Cebu. Here, in this beautiful strait and fine anchoring-ground, Magellan’s ships had lingered until the death of their leader forty-four years before. A splendid native settlement lined the shore, so Father Chirino tells us, for a distance of more than a league. The natives of Cebu were fearful and greatly agitated, and seemed determined to resist the landing of the Spaniards. But at the first discharge of the guns of the ships, the natives abandoned the shore, and, setting fire to the town, retreated into the jungles and hills. Without loss of life the Spaniards landed, and occupied the harbor and town.
The Holy Child (Santo Niño) of Cebu.
Finding of “the Holy Child of Cebu.”—The Spanish soldiers found in one of the houses of the natives a small wooden image of the Child Jesus. A similar image, Pigafetta tells us, he had himself given to a native while in the island with Magellan. It had been preserved by the natives and was regarded by them as an object of veneration. To the pious Spaniards the discovery of this sacred object was hailed as an event of great good fortune. It was taken by the monks, and carried to a shrine especially erected for it. It still rests in the church of the Augustinians, an object of great devotion.
Settlement Made at Cebu.—In honor of this image this first settlement of the Spaniards in the Philippines received the name of “City of the Most Holy Name of Jesus.” Here Legaspi established himself, and, by great tact and skill, gradually won the confidence and friendship of the inhabitants. A formal peace was at last concluded in which the dato, Tupas, recognized the sovereignty of Spain; and the people of Cebu and the Spaniards bound themselves to assist each other against the enemies of either.
They had some difficulty in understanding one another, but the Spaniards had with them a Mohammedan Malay of Borneo, called Cid-Hamal, who had been taken from the East Indies to the Peninsula and thence to Mexico and Legaspi’s expedition. The languages of Malaysia and the Philippines are so closely related that this man was able to interpret. Almost immediately, however, the missionaries began the study of the native dialect, and Padre Chirino tells us that Friar Martin Herrada made here the first Filipino vocabulary, and was soon preaching the Gospel to the natives in their own language.
The great difficulty experienced by Legaspi was to procure sufficient food for his expedition. At different times he sent a ship to the nearest islands, and twice his ship went south to Mindanao to procure a cargo of cinnamon to be sent back to New Spain.
Thus month by month the Spaniards gained acquaintance with the beautiful island sea of the archipelago, with its green islands and brilliant sheets of water, its safe harbors and picturesque settlements.
The Bisayans.—In 1569, Legaspi discovered the great island of Panay. Here they were fortunate in securing a great abundance of supplies and the friendship of the natives, who received them well. These beautiful central islands of the Philippines are inhabited by Bisaya. The Spaniards found this tribe tattooing their bodies with ornamental designs, a practice widespread throughout Oceanica, and which still is common among the tribes of northern Luzon. This practice caused the Spaniards to give to the Bisayas the title of “Islas de los Pintados” (the Islands of the Painted).
Discovery of the Northern Return Route across the Pacific.—Before the arrival of the expedition in the Philippines, the captain of one of Legaspi’s ships, inspired by ungenerous ambition and the hopes of getting a reward, outsailed the rest of the fleet. Having arrived first in the islands, he started at once upon the return voyage. Unlike preceding captains who had tried to return to New Spain by sailing eastward from the islands against both wind and ocean current, this captain sailed northward beyond the trades into the more favorable westerly winds, and found his way back to America and New Spain.