Battle of Mactan

Battle of Mactan
	Part of Magellan-Elcano expedition
Date	April 27, 1521
Location	off a beach in Mactan Island, Cebu, Philippines
Result	Mactan victory Ferdinand Magellan was killed in battle; Expedition continues with Juan Sebastian de Elcano assuming command; Spanish colonization of the Philippine archipelago delayed until 1565;
Belligerents
Kedatuan of Mactan	Spanish Empire; Rajahnate of Cebu;
Commanders and leaders
Lapulapu	Ferdinand Magellan †; Humabon; Zula;
Strength
1,500 (Pigafetta's account)–3,000	60 (Pigafetta's account) (49 engaged, 11 left in boats)
Casualties and losses
15 dead	7–8 Europeans (including Magellan), 4 natives dead, many wounded

The Battle of Mactan (Filipino: Labanan sa Mactan; Spanish: Batalla de Mactán) was fought on a beach in Mactan Island (now part of Cebu, Philippines) between Spanish forces led by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan along with local allies, and Lapulapu, the chieftain of the island, on the early morning hours of April 27, 1521. Magellan, a Portuguese-born commander serving the Spanish Empire who led an expedition that ultimately circumnavigated the world for the first time, commanded a small Spanish contingent in an effort to subdue Mactan led by Lapulapu under the Spanish crown. The sheer number of Lapulapu's forces, compounded with issues associated with the location and the armor, ultimately resulted in a disastrous defeat to the Europeans and the death of Magellan. Surviving members of Magellan's crew continued the expedition under the command of Juan Sebastian de Elcano, who completed the journey in September 1522.^[3]

The battle's exact details are lost to history, with Antonio Pigafetta's account being the only source for much of the known information today. It is remembered in the Philippines as the first battle won by a native Filipino against the Spanish forces, with Lapulapu being hailed as the country's first national hero. The Spanish Empire would continue to send expeditions to the archipelago with little to no success until Miguel Lopez de Legazpi's expedition to Cebu and Manila in 1565, starting a 333-year Spanish rule on the archipelago.

^ Angeles, Jose Amien (2007). "The Battle of Mactan and the Indigenous Discourse on War". Philippine Studies. 55 (1). Retrieved August 12, 2023.
^ ^a ^b Ocampo, Ambeth R. (July 3, 2019). "The Battle of Mactan, according to Pigafetta". Inquirer. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Pigafetta, Antonio (2010). Stanley, Henry Morton (ed.). The first voyage round the world by Magellan: transl. from the accounts of Pigafetta and other contemporary writers. Works issued by the Hakluyt Society (Digitally printed version [d. Ausg.] London, Hakluyt Soc., 1874 ed.). Cambridge New York: Cambridge Univ. Press. pp. 12, 85. ISBN 978-1-108-01143-3.

[angeles2007-1] Angeles, Jose Amien (2007). "The Battle of Mactan and the Indigenous Discourse on War". Philippine Studies. 55 (1). Retrieved August 12, 2023.

[ocampo2019-2] Ocampo, Ambeth R. (July 3, 2019). "The Battle of Mactan, according to Pigafetta". Inquirer. Retrieved August 12, 2023.

[:0-3] Pigafetta, Antonio (2010). Stanley, Henry Morton (ed.). The first voyage round the world by Magellan: transl. from the accounts of Pigafetta and other contemporary writers. Works issued by the Hakluyt Society (Digitally printed version [d. Ausg.] London, Hakluyt Soc., 1874 ed.). Cambridge New York: Cambridge Univ. Press. pp. 12, 85. ISBN 978-1-108-01143-3.

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