Lapu-Lapu (fl. 1521) was a ruler of Mactan in Visayas.

Modern Philippine society regards him

as the first Filipino hero because he was the first native to resist Spanish colonization. He is best
known for the Battle of Mactan that happened at dawn on April 27, 1521, where he and his
soldiers defeated Ferdinand Magellan. The battle ended Magellan's expedition and delayed the
Spanish occupation of the islands by over forty years until the expedition of Miguel Lpez de
Legazpi in 1564. Monuments to Lapu-Lapu have been built in Manila and Cebu while the
Philippine National Police and the Bureau of Fire Protection use his image.

Besides being a rival of Rajah Humabon of Cebu, little is known about the life of Lapu-Lapu.
The only existing documents about his life are those written by Antonio Pigafetta. His name,
origins, religion, and fate are still a matter of controversy.

Lapu-Lapu is also known under the names ilapulapu,[1] Si Lapulapu,[2] Salip Pulaka,[3] Cali
Pulaco,[4] and Lapulapu

The historical name of Lapu-Lapu is debated. The earliest record of his name comes from Italian
diarist Antonio Pigafetta who accompanied Magellan's expedition. Pigafetta notes the names of
two chiefs of the island of "Matan", the chiefs "Zula" and "ilapulapu" (note ).[1] The honorific
i or Si is a corruption of the Sanskrit title Sri.[6] In an annotation of the 1890 edition of Antonio
de Morga's Sucesos de las islas Filipinas, Jos Rizal spells this name as "Si Lapulapu".[2] The
Aginid chronicle calls him "Lapulapu Dimantag".[5]

The title Salip (and its variants Sarripada, Sipad, Paduka, Seri Paduka, and Salipada, etc.) is
also frequently used as an honorific for Lapu-lapu and other Visayan datus. Despite common
misconception, it is not derived from the Islamic title Khalfah (Caliph). Like the cognate Si, it
was derived from the Sanskrit title Sri Paduka, denoting "His Highness". The title is still used
today in Malaysia as Seri Paduka.[3]

The 17th century mestizo de sangley poet Carlos Calao mentions Lapu-Lapu under the name of
"Cali Pulaco" (perhaps a misreading of the used in Pigafetta's spelling) in his poem Que Dios
Le Perdone (That God May Forgive Him).[7] The name, spelled "Kalipulako", was later adopted
as one of the pseudonyms of the Philippine hero, Mariano Ponce, during the Philippine
Revolution.[8] The 1898 Philippine Declaration of Independence of Cavite II el Viejo, also
mentions Lapu-Lapu under the name "Rey Kalipulako de Manktan [sic]" (King Kalipulako of
Mactan).[9]

There had been many folk accounts surrounding Lapu-lapus origin. One oral tradition is that the
Sugbuanons of Opong was once ruled by datu named Mangal and later succeeded by his son
named Lapu-lapu.[10] Another is from oral chronicles from the reign of the last king of Cebu,
Rajah Tupas (d. 1565). This was compiled and written in Baybayin in the book Aginid, Bayok sa
Atong Tawarik ("Glide on, Odes to Our History") in 1952 by Jovito Abellana. The chronicle
records the founding of the Rajahnate of Cebu by a certain Sri Lumay (also known as Rajamuda
Lumaya), who was a prince from the Hindu Chola dynasty of Sumatra. His sons, Sri Alho and
Sri Ukob, ruled the neighboring communities of Sialo and Nahalin, respectively. The islands they
were in were collectively known as Pulua Kang Dayang or Kangdaya (literally "[the islands] of
the lady"). Sri Lumay was noted for his strict policies in defending against Moro raiders and
slavers from Mindanao. His use of scorched earth tactics to repel invaders gave rise to the name
Kang Sri Lumayng Sugbo (literally "that of Sri Lumay's great fire") to the town, which was later
shortened to Sugbo ("conflagration").[5]

Upon his death in a battle against the raiders, Sri Lumay was succeeded by his youngest son, Sri
Bantug, who ruled from the region of Singhapala (literally "lion city"), now Mabolo in modern
Cebu City. Sri Bantug died of an epidemic and was succeeded by his son Rajah Humabon (also
known as Sri Humabon or Rajah Humabara).[5]

During Humabon's reign, the region had become an important trading center. The harbors of
Sugbo became known colloquially as sinibuayng hingpit ("the place for trading"), shortened to
sibu or sibo ("to trade"), from which the modern name "Cebu" originates.[5]

According to the epic Aginid, this was the period in which Lapu-Lapu (as Lapulapu Dimantag)
was first recorded as arriving from Borneo. He asked Humabon for a place to settle, and the king
offered him the region of Mandawili (now Mandaue), including the island known as Opong (or
Opon), hoping that Lapu-Lapu's people would cultivate the land. They were successful in this,
and the influx of farm produce from Mandawili enriched the trade port of Sugbo further.[5]

The relationship between Lapu-Lapu and Humabon later deteriorated when Lapu-Lapu turned to
piracy. He began raiding merchant ships passing the island of Opong, affecting trade in Sugbo.
The island thus earned the name Mangatang ("those who lie in wait"), later evolving to
"Mactan".[5]

Lapu-lapu was one of the two datus of Mactan before the Spanish arrived in the
archipelago, the other being a certain Zula, both of whom belong to the Maginoo
class. When Portuguese conquistador Ferdinand Magellan arrived in the Philippines
in the service of Spain, Zula was one of those who gave tribute to the Spanish king
while Lapu-Lapu refused.[11]

n the midnight of April 27, 1521, Magellan led a force of around sixty Spaniards and twenty to
thirty balangay (war boats) of Humabon's warriors from Cebu. They arrived in Mactan three
hours before dawn. However, because of the presence of rock outcroppings and coral reefs,
Magellan's ships could not land on the shores of Mactan. Their ships were forced to anchor "two
crossbow flights" away from the beach. According to Antonio Pigafetta, they faced around 1,500
warriors of Lapu-Lapu armed with iron swords,[note 1] bows, and "bamboo" spears.[note 2]

Magellan repeated his offer not to attack them if Lapu-Lapu swore fealty to Rajah Humabon,
obeyed the Spanish king, and paid tribute, which Lapu-Lapu again rejected. At the taunting
request of Lapu-Lapu, the battle did not begin until morning. Magellan, perhaps hoping to
impress Humabon's warriors with the superiority of European armor and weapons, told
Humabon's warriors to remain in their balangay. Magellan and forty-nine of the heavily armored
Spaniards (armed with lances, swords, crossbows, and muskets) waded ashore to meet Lapu-
Lapu's forces. They set fire to a few houses on the shore in an attempt to scare them. Instead,
Lapu-Lapu's warriors became infuriated and charged. Two Spaniards were killed immediately in
the fighting, and Magellan was wounded in the leg with a poisoned arrow. He ordered a retreat,
which most of his men followed except for a few who remained to protect him. However, he was
recognized as the captain by the natives, whereupon he became the focus of the attack.
Outnumbered and encumbered by their armor, Magellan's forces were quickly overwhelmed.
Magellan and several of his men were killed, and the rest escaped to the waiting ships.[11][12]

The historian William Henry Scott believes that Lapu-Lapu's hostility may have been the result
of a mistaken assumption by Magellan. Magellan assumed that ancient Filipino society was
structured in the same way as European society (i.e. with royalty ruling over a region). While this
may have been true in the Islamic sultanates in Mindanao, the Visayan societies were structured
along a loose federation of city-states (more accurately, a chiefdom). The most powerful datu in
such a federation has limited power over other member datu, but no direct control over the
subjects or lands of the other datu.[3]

Thus Magellan believed that since Rajah Humabon was the "king" of Cebu, he was the king of
Mactan as well. But the island of Mactan, the dominion of Lapu-Lapu and Zula, was in a
location that enabled them to intercept trade ships entering the harbor of Cebu, Humabon's
domain. Thus it was more likely that Lapu-Lapu was actually more powerful than Humabon, or
at least was the undisputed ruler of Mactan. Humabon was married to Lapu-Lapu's niece. When
Magellan demanded that Lapu-Lapu submit as his "king" Humabon had done, Lapu-Lapu
purportedly replied that: "he was unwilling to come and do reverence to one whom he had been
commanding for so long a time".[3]

The Aginid chronicle also records that Humabon had actually purposefully goaded the Spaniards
into fighting Lapu-Lapu, who was his enemy at that time. However, the men of Humabon who
accompanied Magellan did not engage in battle with Lapu-Lapu, though they helped with
recovering the wounded Spaniards. Humabon later poisoned and killed twenty-seven Spanish
sailors during a feast. According to the Aginid, this was because they had started raping the local
women. It was also possibly to aid Magellan's Malay slave interpreter, Enrique of Malacca, in
gaining his freedom. The Spanish were refusing to release him, even though Magellan explicitly
willed that he be set free upon his death.[5][11] A discourse by Giovanni Battista Ramusio also
claims that Enrique warned the Chief of "Subuth" that the Spaniards were plotting to capture the
king and that this led to the murder of the Spaniards at the banquet.[13] Enrique stayed in Cebu
with Humabon while the Spanish escaped to Bohol.[5][11]

The battle left the expedition with too few men to crew three ships, so they abandoned the
"Concepcin". The remaining ships - "Trinidad" and "Victoria" - sailed to the Spice Islands in
present-day Indonesia. From there, the expedition split into two groups. The Trinidad,
commanded by Gonzalo Gmez de Espinoza tried to sail eastward across the Pacific Ocean to
the Isthmus of Panama. Disease and shipwreck disrupted Espinoza's voyage and most of the
crew died. Survivors of the Trinidad returned to the Spice Islands, where the Portuguese
imprisoned them. The Victoria continued sailing westward, commanded by Juan Sebastin
Elcano, and managed to return to Sanlcar de Barrameda, Spain in 1522. In 1529, Charles I of
Spain relinquished all claim over the Spice Islands to Portugal in the treaty of Zaragoza.
However, the treaty did not stop the colonization of the Philippine archipelago from New Spain.
[14]

According to Aginid, Lapu-Lapu and Humabon restored friendly relations after the Battle of
Mactan. Lapu-Lapu later decided to return to Borneo with eleven of his children, three of his
wives, and seventeen of his men. Nothing more is known of him after this.[5]

After Magellan's voyage, subsequent expeditions were dispatched to the islands. Five
expeditions were sent: Loaisa (1525), Cabot (1526), Saavedra (1527), Villalobos (1542), and
Legazpi (1564).[15] The Legazpi expedition was the most successful, resulting in the colonization
of the islands.[16][17][18]