In the month of September, 1522, a few weeks over three years after Magellan’s proud fleet sailed from San Lucar de Barrameda, in Spain, a single ship put into that port. She was seaworn and battered, with torn sails, and timbers warped and scarred by many a storm. The people hailed her with joy, and everywhere in Spain men were glad when they heard of her safe home-coming. This ship was the Victoria, commanded by Captain Juan Sebastian del Cano (sā bäs´tē än del kä´nō), a statue of whom now stands in the main hall of the Palacio in Manila. She was the only one left of the five ships that had gone out with Magellan three years before.

But battered and scarred as she was, the Victoria was a ship to be proud of. She had sailed clear around the world, and at that time no other ship had ever done such a thing. No wonder, then, that everybody was glad to see her, and was proud of her. The people were sorry when they learned of the sad fate of Magellan, but there were still brave captains and clever seamen in Spain, and these at once began making plans to go to the new-found San Lazarus Isles.

One of the expeditions that were fitted out was lost; but in 1542 a second company left the city of Navidad (nä vē däth´) in Mexico, or New Spain, as that country was often called. This one was commanded by a Spanish nobleman named Ruy Lopez de Villalobos (rē lō peth´dā vēl yä lō’bos). After a long, hard journey the expedition reached the island now called Samar. The Spanish did not try to settle there, but Ruy Lopez named this island Isla Filipina, in honor of Prince Philip of Spain.

That one little fact is of interest to us, because about a year later a certain Spanish gentleman who was writing a letter home from Mexico spoke of the whole group of islands as Las Islas Filipinas. This name was at once taken up in Spain. No one remembered that Magellan had named the islands San Lazarus, but every one called them Islas Filipinas; and so these Philippine Islands received a name which they have ever since kept.

The Spanish gentleman who wrote that letter was Don Miguel Lopez de Legaspi. He was a nobleman of Spain, but for many years he lived in Mexico. He was one of the many great men who, in early times, made Spain’s name a proud one. He was a young man when he went to New Spain and began to practice law. He was an honest gentleman and an able statesman, and before many years he was made mayor of the City of Mexico. He seems to have been a truly religious man, wise and just; a man to trust, and one well able to lead other men. For such men there are always high places in the world. Legaspi was, moreover, a brave soldier and a skillful sailor.

It is not strange, therefore, that the king of Spain should have known about him. The king at this time was Philip II., for whom, when he was prince, these islands were named. He came to the throne in 1555, and soon after was minded to send out an expedition to settle in the country named for him. He looked about for a man to command this expedition, and his choice fell upon Legaspi. So he made him general of the whole force.

There were four ships and a frigate in the new fleet, and all were strongly armed and well stocked for the journey. The force of men numbered 400 soldiers and sailors, carefully chosen, and fit for the brave adventure before them.

With the fleet there were also six friars of the Order of St. Augustine, and the leader of these was a man after Legaspi’s own heart. His name was Andres de Urdaneta (än´drās dā ur´dä nā´tä). He had been at one time a captain in King Charles’s navy, and had long wanted King Charles I. to send him on an expedition to the Pacific. But the king was weary of wars and longed for rest. Of his own accord he left the throne, to retire into private life; and Urdaneta took holy orders.

When Philip II. was making ready his great expedition, he remembered his father’s friend Urdaneta, and chose him to go with Legaspi as captain of the spiritual forces of the fleet. These two men, Legaspi and Urdaneta, were warm friends. It is very fitting that in the monument on the Luneta in Manila, their figures should to-day stand side by side. When we see this monument, we should remember the brave journey these two men made together years ago, and the bright future which they hoped to secure for these islands.

This new fleet sailed from Navidad, on the coast of Mexico, on the 21st day of November, 1564. The expedition was unlike the ones that had gone before it. It had for its aim the setting up of Spain’s rule in the islands, whereas the others had gone out to seek new lands and to conquer them. The men with Legaspi meant to stay in the islands and to make their homes there.

Legaspi had been warned not to go first to Cebu. His advisers thought it would be better to settle on one of the other islands and slowly to make friends with the Cebuans before going to live among them. This, however, was not Legaspi’s plan. He knew that the Cebuans were the very people whom he must win over at first, if he hoped to have peace in his new home. You see, the Spaniards as yet knew nothing about the great island of Luzon. They had no knowledge of the size and nature of this new country, but thought the best part of it lay to the south.

Legaspi sailed for Cebu, but when he began to draw near to the archipelago he sent one of his ships ahead to learn what sort of welcome the expedition might look for from the Cebuans. The commander of this ship brought back a gloomy report. The Cebuans had not been at all friendly. Instead, they had caught and killed one of the men of the landing crew from the ship, and would have killed the others had not the Spanish pulled off from shore and gone back to their ship.

When this report was brought to Legaspi he was very sorry. He at once, however, made up his mind to go to Cebu and subdue the people. This he thought was his duty toward his king; so the fleet sailed to Cebu. It came safe into harbor, and the soldiers landed in front of the town of Cebu on the 27th day of April, 1565. The Spanish were amazed and delighted with the beauty and fruitfulness of the island. Weary with their long voyage, they would gladly have made friends with the people and been at peace in that lovely spot.

The people, however, would not be friends. They had driven the Spanish from their shore once, and did not mean that the strangers should come back to live there. The chief, King Tupas (tö´päs), was a brave and warlike man, and with a large army he came down to the shore to beat off the newcomers. A fierce battle was fought there by the sea, but it did not last long. The spears and arrows of the Cebuans were of little use against Spanish armor, while the Spanish firearms did deadly work among the lightly-clad Cebuan warriors. After a few hours the Cebuans were forced back from the shore, and the Spanish held the town.

Legaspi now set to work to win the liking of the Cebuans. He believed firmly that the king of Spain was by divine right the lawful ruler of these islands; but for himself, he meant to govern kindly and wisely in the name of the king. He could not do this until he had shown the people that he and his soldiers were their friends. To this task, therefore, he bent all his wisdom.

So earnestly did the Spanish commander work to win over the people, that in a very few months the whole island was in a state of peace. A little later, Padre Urdaneta went back to Spain to report all that had been done. King Philip II. was much pleased with the friar’s report, and made Legaspi “governor-general of all the territory in the archipelago that he might conquer for Spain.”

Matters now went very quietly with the natives for several years; but trouble came to the Spaniards from the outside. At this time there was great rivalry between Spain and Portugal in the discovery and settlement of new lands. In each of these countries there were many daring sailors and brave soldiers who liked nothing better than to go on wild adventures for their kings, to find and to claim new lands.

So great was the rivalry between these two countries that Pope Alexander VI., soon after the discovery of America, made a decree dividing between them all the lands that might be discovered. The dividing line was the meridian of Cape Verde Island. By his decree the Pope gave all heathen lands discovered west of that line to Spain. All the lands that should be discovered east of the meridian he gave to Portugal. Under this ruling, as we may see by looking at a map, the Philippine Islands would have fallen to Portugal.

Spain, however, claimed these islands by right of discovery, and was ready to uphold her claim by force of arms. This Legaspi had to do before he had been long in Cebu. An expedition of Portuguese came out against the Spanish, and, but for Legaspi’s brave defense of the island, would have taken it from them. The Portuguese were forced to retire, however, and though for years there was much trouble over the matter, Portugal never made good her claim to the Philippines.

By 1570 Legaspi had made the town of Cebu a city and the seat of government. In the spring of this year a grandson of his, a young Spanish captain named Juan Salcedo (säl sā´dō), came from Mexico to help him in the islands. He was a very young man, but a good soldier, and wise beyond his years. His grandfather was glad, indeed, to have such a helper, and sent him out at the head of a strong force to visit all the islands.

The Spanish had learned by this time about the island of Luzon that lay to the north, so Salcedo was ordered to go up there and see what it was like. He sailed from Cebu early in the summer, and made his way northward to the great bay of Manila. Here he found a town called Maynila by the people who lived there, and here he landed with his company of soldiers, all in full armor.

The people of Luzon had never before seen European soldiers. They thought that these were gods, and not men, and made haste to be friends with them. They could not understand the firearms which the soldiers carried, and were much afraid of them. They gave up their city at once, and brought food and fruits as offerings to the strange visitors. Salcedo spoke kindly to them, and when he had made them understand what he wanted, they all swore loyalty to Spain.

But Soliman (sō lē´män), chief of Maynila, soon saw that these huge strangers were only men, after all. Then he was filled with sorrow to think that he had given up his city to them, and made up his mind to win it back. He gathered all his warriors and led them against the Spanish, but it was of no use. Salcedo’s forces were too strong for his army, and Soliman was defeated. He was driven out from his city again; but this time, rather than let the Spanish have it, he set fire to it and burned it down.

Juan Salcedo now showed himself to be kind as well as brave. When he had taken Soliman prisoner, he did not punish him for breaking his oath of fealty to Spain. He forgave him freely, and let him take the oath again. Then he let him go on ruling his people in the name of the king of Spain.

After this Salcedo passed on through Luzon, claiming the country for Philip II. He visited those parts now known as Laguna (lä gö´nä), Pangasinan (pän gäsē nän´), and the Camarines (cäm ä rē´nēs). He took the city of Cainta (kä ēn´tä), where a Moro chief ruled, and then went to what is now Ilocos Sur (ēl ō´cos sör). One of his captains, named Martin de Goiti (mär´tin dā go ē´tē), he left at Maynila with a small force to guard the camp. Goiti also conquered the people of Pampanga (päm pän´gä). Later Salcedo sent a messenger to his grandfather, Governor-General Legaspi, asking him to come at once to Maynila.

During all the time that Salcedo was taking Maynila and bringing the country under the rule of Spain, Legaspi was busy in the Visayas (vis ä´yäs). He had been in the country five years or more, and had done much to make peace with the people. The chief of Cebu had accepted baptism, with many of the Cebuans, and one of his daughters was married to a Spaniard. There was great good feeling between the two races, and the Cebuans looked upon the Spanish as friends. Well pleased, therefore, with the way things were going in Cebu, Legaspi went on a tour through all the Visayan group.

Legaspi was at Iloilo on the island of Panay (pän ī´) when this messenger found him and told him all that Salcedo had done in Luzon. Legaspi was much pleased at the news. He saw at once that Maynila was the place of all others on the islands in which to set up the government, and he made ready to go to Luzon. He could do this all the more easily because of the way he had managed things in the Visayas. All the native chiefs were still in power, and Legaspi left them to rule as they had always done, save that they now ruled in the name of the king of Spain. The governor-general was able, therefore, to leave behind him a quiet, orderly government, and to give his mind freely to the new work before him.

The journey northward was made in safety, and early in March of the year 1571, Legaspi and his party reached Cavite (kä vē´tā). Here they were met by the Tagal (tā´gäl) chief, Lacondola (lä con dō´lä), rajah or king of Tondo (ton´dō), who is sometimes also spoken of as Rajah Matanda (mä tän´dä) or the “old Rajah.”

Lacondola welcomed Legaspi as the lawful ruler, and told him that he and his people were loyal to the king of Spain. The party then went on to Maynila, and here also Legaspi was greeted as the king’s representative. Soliman, the former king of Maynila, was never a really willing subject of Spain. But he was a nephew of Lacondola, and the old Rajah’s counsel had great weight with him; so he never rebelled against the new ruler.

Legaspi now declared King Philip the overlord of that whole country, and made Maynila the capital. He changed the spelling of the name to Manila. This word is made up of two Tagal words—may, which means “to have,” and nila, a kind of tree that once grew thickly around the city—and Maynila means that there were many nila trees there.

Lacondola and Soliman joined forces with Martin de Goiti, to help strengthen the new rule in the islands. The country now known as Batangas (bä tän´gäs) Province was then ruled by several chiefs who were usually at war with the Tagals and other tribes. They and their people had come from Borneo and had intermarried with the Negritos (nā grē´tōs). They were great hunters and good fighters, but would not yield to the Spaniards; so, with the aid of other tribes, the Spaniards drove them from the country. There were other chiefs ruling in the districts about Manila Bay; but these showed themselves friendly to Spain, and were left in office, to govern in the name of the king.

The work of putting the country in order now went on rapidly. In June, 1571, Legaspi formed the City Council of Manila, and began to lay the foundation for a wise and just rule in these islands. He made a plan for Manila, and had the city laid out in squares and streets just as we see it to-day inside the walls. He also set the people to work building these walls for a defense against the wild tribes. The walls were nineteen years in building, and to-day, after more than three hundred years, they are still strong and beautiful, to show how well the Tagal people builded. The fort at the mouth of the Pasig River was also begun at this time.

Governor-General Legaspi was a strong, wise ruler for this country. He was a man far ahead of his times and of his people, “a good man among men, and a great man among statesmen.” If his plans for the Philippines had been carried out, the history of the islands would be very different from what it is to-day. If those who came after him had been as wise and as kind as he, the Filipinos would have been a happy, contented people.

But dark days came all too soon to the colony. On the 20th day of August, 1572, Legaspi died, worn out by the hard labors of his active, useful life. He was buried in the Augustine Chapel of San Fausto, in Manila, and another sort of rule soon began in the islands.

Summary.—The Victoria, commanded by Juan Sebastian del Cano, reached Spain in September, 1522. She was the first ship to sail around the world. Twenty years later Ruy Lopez de Villalobos commanded an expedition which went to Samar. He named this island “Isla Filipina,” and later Legaspi gave the name “Islas Filipinas” to the entire archipelago. Miguel de Legaspi commanded an expedition sent out by King Philip II. to settle in the islands. With him came the Augustine friar P. Urdaneta. This fleet left Navidad, Mexico, November 21, 1564. The Spanish went to Cebu, conquered the people, and then began to make friends with them and to build up the government. Later the Spanish had trouble with the Portuguese, who came to claim the country, but were driven away. In 1570, Juan Salcedo came out. He went to Luzon, took Maynila, and then sent a messenger to Legaspi to tell him to come there. Legaspi was in the Visayas, pacifying the country, but he at once went to Maynila. He was well received by Lacondola and Soliman, and set up his capital in Maynila. He formed the City Council, made a plan for the city, and had work begun on the walls. He began a wise and humane rule in the islands, but died, in August, 1572, before he was able to carry out many of his plans.

Questions.—When did the Victoria return to Spain? What had she done? How did the Islas Filipinas get their name? Who was Miguel de Legaspi? Who was Urdaneta? When did Legaspi’s expedition start? Where did it sail from? How was he received in Cebu? Who was Juan Salcedo? Tell of his work in Luzon. When did Legaspi come to Manila? Who received him? When was the City Council founded? What sort of man was Legaspi? When did he die?