Lapulapu

"Lapu-Lapu" redirects here. For the city named after him, see Lapu-Lapu City. For other uses, see Lapu-Lapu (disambiguation).
In this Philippine name for indigenous people, this person is addressed by the sole name, Lapulapu.

Lapulapu
Imaginary posthumous portrait of Lapulapu by Carlo Caacbay for the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, 2019
Datu of Mactan
Reignc. 1521
PredecessorRajah Mangal
SuccessorRajah Mangubat[1]

Lapulapu[2][3][4] (fl. 1521) or Lapu-Lapu, whose name was first recorded as Çilapulapu,[5] was a datu (chief) of Mactan, an island now part of the Philippines. Lapulapu is known for the 1521 Battle of Mactan, where he and his men defeated Spanish forces led by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and his native allies Rajah Humabon and Datu Zula.[6][7] Magellan's death in battle ended his voyage of circumnavigation and delayed the Spanish occupation of the islands by over forty years[8] until the expedition of Miguel López de Legazpi in 1564.

Modern Philippine society regards him as the first Filipino hero because of his resistance to Spanish colonization. Monuments of Lapulapu have been built all over the Philippines to honor Lapulapu's bravery against the Spaniards. The Philippine National Police and the Bureau of Fire Protection use his image as part of their official seals.

Besides being a rival of Rajah Humabon of neighboring Cebu, very little is reliably known about the life of Lapulapu. The only existing primary source mentioning him by name is the account of Antonio Pigafetta, and according to historian Resil B. Mojares, no European who left a primary record of Magellan's voyage/vessel "knew what he looked like, heard him speak (his recorded words of defiance and pride are all indirect), or mentioned that he was present in the battle of Mactan that made him famous."[9] His name, origins, religion, and fate are still a matter of controversy.

  1. ^ "Mangubat". Philippine Armorial. August 26, 2017. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  2. ^ ABS-CBN News (May 1, 2019). "It's Lapulapu: Gov't committee weighs in on correct spelling of Filipino hero's name". ABS-CBN News. Manila: ABS-CBN Corporation. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  3. ^ Mendoza, Norman (November 14, 2019). "NQC: Lapulapu (without the hyphen) is Mactan ruler's name". Cebu Daily News. Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  4. ^ Escalante, Rene R. (2019). National Quincentennial Committee Comprehensive Plan. Manila: National Historical Commission of the Philippines.
  5. ^ John Pinkerton (1812). "Pigafetta's Voyage Round the World [...] with notes by Charles Amoretti". A general collection of the best and most interesting voyages and travels in all parts of the world: many of which are now first translated into English; digested on a new plan. Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme. pp. 341–344.
  6. ^ Ocampo, Ambeth R. (July 3, 2019). "The Battle of Mactan, according to Pigafetta". Inquirer.net.
  7. ^ Pigafetta, Antonio (c. 1525). Journal of Magellan's Voyage (in French).
  8. ^ Pedrosa, Carmen N. "The untold stories of Lapu-Lapu and Zheng He". Philstar.com. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
  9. ^ Ocampo, Ambeth (April 25, 2018). "Lapu-Lapu, national hero". Inquirer.net. Retrieved June 27, 2019.