This year marks the 500th anniversary of Magellan's introduction of Christianity to Cebu, which I wrote about the other day, but it also marks the 500th anniversary of Magellan's defeat in battle against Lapulapu, the lord of Mactan Island.
From the Philippine side, it's the 500th anniversary of the victory.った。
On April 27, a ceremony to commemorate the event was held in front of the Lapulapu statue on Mactan Island.
Lapulapu is one of the national heroes for Filipinos, but in fact, we don't know much about his background or what happened to him after he won the battle against Magellan.
The battle against Magellan might have been lost in the darkness of history without being passed on to future generations if not for Pigafetta's journal.
This is because there are no records of the Philippines.
It is not because there was no writing in the Philippines that there are no records.
Before being colonized by the Spanish, the people of the Philippines used Sanskrit script.
They also had a high literacy rate. So if records had been kept, we might have learned more about Lapulapu.
Shizuo Suzuki, author of the book "Narrative: A History of the Philippines," says that the reason why there are no records is because the recording media were palm leaves and bamboo, which could not be preserved in the tropics.
Whatever Lapulapu's life was like, he was still a brave Filipino who fought against the invaders.
During the ceremony, the Executive Director of the National Centennial Commission announced that he will take the initiative in Congress to name the Cebu Mactan Airport as the Lapulapu International Airport.
With the Corona disaster, I don't know when I will be able to go to Cebu, but the next time I go, it may be Lapulapu International Airport.
