Island of Cebu. San Lázaro Archipelago. April 26, 1521.
Why do I feel as though death is stalking us? It is as though a shadow is just waiting to consume us. We have not found what we seek, but also have succeeded beyond what we could have hoped... and yet I cannot shake this feeling of dread.
With Colambu's canoe leading the way, we set out for the island of Cebu. Reaching the open sea, we set the sails and a fresh breeze propelled us far ahead of our escort. We hove-to off a group of islands to allow them to catch up and they were amazed at the speed at which we sailed.
Soon after we saw the mountains of Cebu rising in the distance and entered a narrow channel between the island that was our destination and a neighboring one called Mactan by our guides. As we continued through the waterway, we began to see many houses, most of them built on stilts, near the shore. This island was obviously densely populated.
With banners and pennants flying high, the fleet dropped anchor in the busy port of Cebu on April 7, 1521. The port was impressive. Ships from distant lands filled the harbor and brought trade goods from the Orient.
The Admiral decided to make an impression on the natives and ordered the gunners to fire a salute using all of our cannons. It certainly did! Most of the villagers fled into the hills. Magellan then ordered Enrique and Cristovão to go ashore and reassure the locals of our friendly intentions. They told us later that they had found the island's ruler, Rajah Humabon, and his retainers crowded together in fear of the thunder of our artillery.
Enrique quickly reassured them that the cannons had only been fired as a salute. "It is these Spaniards custom to honor the rulers and people they visit thus. It is a sign of peace."
Humabon was greatly relieved to hear that his island was not under attack and asked, "What brings your chief to Cebu?"
"My master," Enrique answered, "a captain of the greatest king in the world, heard good things of Your Majesty and decided to visit. He brings greetings and an offer of friendship from his royal master. He wishes to purchase fresh supplies for his ships and to trade goods the like of which you have never seen in your part of the world before."
"It is our custom," the Rajah replied boldly, "that all visiting ships must pay a tariff when they enter our harbor. Only four days ago a Siamese junk came to trade and they willingly paid the tribute."
Enrique translated the Rajah's words for Cristovão. "To pay this tariff would mean that Magellan acknowledges this man as his superior," he finished.
The Captain General's son replied haughtily, "Tell him our Captain serves such a powerful king that he will not pay any tribute. Tell the Rajah we have come with a message of peace, but if war is what he wishes, war is what he will have!"
Humabon was about to insist that the tariff must be paid when a Muslim merchant, who had arrived aboard the Siamese junk, leaned toward the rajah and said softly, "It might be wise to take care, Your Majesty. Forget the tariff! These men are Franks (by this he meant Portuguese) who conquered Calicutt and Malacca. The chaos created by their coming has disrupted the ancient trade routes from India to the sea of Cathay."
Enrique interrupted the Moor before he continue any further, "Your Majesty, my master serves the Spanish king, Emperor of all Christians, who is even more powerful then even the Portuguese monarch."
"What he says is true, Rajah Humabon," the Muslim trader confirmed.
The native king regarded his guests carefully before speaking again. "I will give you my answer tomorrow. For now please be my guests for a banquet."
The two diplomats were then treated to a five-course meal served on porcelain from Cathay before finally returning to the ships. They told us of all that occurred and Colambu decided to go ashore to speak to his ally, Rajah Humabon.
The following day, Enrique again went ashore, this time with the fleet's notary, Léon de Ezpeleta. The Rajah greeted them in the town square and announced that he not only waved the tariff, but also offered to pay tribute to our King.
"That will not be necessary, Your Majesty," Enrique replied soothingly. "My master only wishes to trade among these islands and hopes to make Cebu the center of our activities."
The Rajah was greatly eased in his mind and suggested, "If your master wishes to insure our continued friendship, perhaps he and I should become blood brothers."
On the 9th of April, Colambu returned to the Trinidad and brought with him the Moor from Siam with a message from Rajah Humabon. "While his people gather the supplies you have requested, the Rajah's son-in-law, heir to the throne of Cebu, and his ministers want to come to your ship to arrange a peace treaty."
Magellan received these emissaries with ceremony. The Admiral, the young prince, and Colambu were seated in chair covered with red velvet while the prince's ministers were seated on leather chairs. The rest of the delegation sat around them on reed mats. I was holding the niño as I watched the proceedings from main deck with the rest of the Trinidad's crew.
Magellan asked the prince through Enrique, "Do you conduct treaty negotiations in public and, if so, are you authorized to negotiate in Rajah Humabon's name?" When the prince replied that he was, the Admiral dropped to his knees and prayed the alliance would be pleasing to God in Heaven.
The prince seemed touched by the words Magellan spoke and told Enrique they were pleasing to him. "Would you leave some men among us when you depart to teach us of your Faith?" he requested.
Magellan replied, "I regret that I cannot spare even one man from my fleet, but those among you who truly wish to become Christians may be baptized by our chaplain. But do not be baptized because of fear, the desire to please us, or personal gain."
The princes responded, "My companions and I wish to be baptized. And I am sure his Majesty, Rajah Humabon, will certainly sign our peace treaty."
Magellan was overcome by their willingness and wept openly, embracing each of them. He then took the hands of the prince and said solemnly, "By my faith in God, my loyalty to my sovereign, and by the crusader's habit I wear, I swear that there will be peace between the Kings of Spain and Cebu."
Before they left, the delegation presented the Captain General with several large baskets of rice and several pigs, goats, and chickens. They said that such poor gifts were unworthy of such a great person as the captain. In return, the Admiral presented the prince with a bolt of fine cloth and a cup made of glass. He then called for Antonio. "I want you to go ashore and present Humabon with these gifts," he waved his hand at a bundle of nearby goods.
Antonio was ecstatic and convinced me to join his expedition. Leaving the niño with Enrique, we went in search of the Rajah. We found him in his palace, seated on a mat and we couldn't help but be surprised by his appearance. He was short, fat, tattooed, and naked except for a cotton loincloth. He rested on a mat eating turtle eggs and sipping palm wine threw a slender reed. After our presentation, we were invited to the home of the prince where we enjoyed music, refreshments, and the dancing of pretty native girls.
When we finally returned to the Trinidad, Antonio summed up our activities for the Admiral saying, "We were well received."
The next morning, Magellan sent another delegation ashore to ask permission to bury two seamen who, weakened by the mysterious illness, had died. Rajah Humabon consented and provided a place at the center of town.
The following morning, the solemn service was conducted. The town's people gathered around to watch the funeral and it left a deep impression on them. It wasn't but a few days later that Rajah Humabon declared his wish to be baptized.
The same day as the funeral, we set up a factoría1 in a building provided by the Rajah, who promised protection for our enterprise and the four men who ran it.
The store officially opened on April 12, 1521. Of the trade goods we offered, items made of iron or bronze were extremely popular and the town's people gladly traded gold to obtain them. Even I was able to trade an old belt buckle and a few other trifles for a nugget of gold worth at least half a ducat.2 After a day, the Admiral was forced to forbid the crews to trade for gold as they would have ruined any hopes of future trading with their greed. Most would gladly have bartered away everything they owned for the precious metal.
Two days later the Rajah was baptized.
A large platform was erected in the town square and decorated with tapestries and palms. Antonio, the niño and I came ashore early to find a good place to watch the proceedings from. As we settled in, forty armed men, two of them in full, polished armor, brought the royal standard ashore. As their boat touched the beach, the ships gunmen fired a deafening salute, startling the huge crowd that had gathered.
The Rajah greeted Magellan at the waterfront and warmly embraced him. When they reached the square, the Admiral announced, "All of you who wish to become Christians must burn the idols in your houses and replace them with crosses. You must also come to this plaza everyday with your hands clasped in prayer." He then showed them how to kneel reverently, making the sign of the cross.
By the time the sun set on that Sunday, some 800 men, women and children, including the Rajah, his Queen and daughter, had been baptized. This fervor has continued, spurred on by the Rajah's conversion and another remarkable event.
The young prince's older brother was afflicted with an illness and was near death. His illness had left him too weak to present himself for baptism. The Admiral learned that the women who had been attending him had been making offering to their idols, desperately asking for a cure.
"I promise you, if you will burn your idols and will be baptized," Magellan told the patient, "the power of Jesus Christ will heal you."
Later, the Admiral learned that the invalid had agreed to be baptized. The man, his wife and his ten daughters were all sprinkled with the water of baptism. Within days of the conversion, the prince's brother was well again and walking.
Within the week, almost all the chiefs of the neighboring islands had swore allegiance with Spain and been baptized.
But while the Captain General was preoccupied with these religious matters, most of the crew and some of the officers were at their usual tricks with the local women. Cebu was proving to be an even more liberal port than Guanabara Bay.
Duarte Barbosa, the captain of the Victoria, once again deserted his ship in favor of the pleasures ashore. Though the Admiral and the chaplain were busy with the baptisms, the truth of the crews' actions could not be kept a secret for long. Magellan was furious when he was informed of Barbosa's antics and immediately removed him from command and named Cristovão the new Captain of the Victoria.
My time ashore has not been without surprises either. The day of the Rajah's baptism, Antonio and I walked back to the boats, talking over the strange events of the day. To my amazement, people kept giving me gifts of fruits and small trinkets, gesturing that they were for the niño. I asked Antonio, who has been taking language lessons from Enrique, what they were doing.
Antonio asked as best he could and listened carefully to their reply. "I can't be sure, but I think it has something to do with the niño's medallion and a legend these people have. Something about a place called "Mu" or like that."
"Perhaps the boy's father came from this Mu," I said with interest. "Can you learn any more about this place?"
Antonio shook his head. "Sorry, that is all I can understand. I'm still not very good with their language. You will have to ask Enrique."
I would have done as my friend suggested, but events have taken a turn that has prevented it. It looks like we may have to fight among these islands after all.
The Admiral is determined to make his ally, the Rajah, the ruler of all of these islands. That same day, the one when Humabon was baptized, Magellan asked if any of the other chiefs were giving him difficulties. Though he was reluctant to speak of it, Humabon told him of an old adversary, Rajah Silapulapu of the tiny island of Mactan, had been causing trouble since our arrival. He refused to help gather the supplies we needed to continue our voyage and sought to convince the other chieftains to follow his example.
This defiance prompted the Admiral to call a meeting to discuss what we should do in response. The usual group was assembled in the Captain's cabin where we listened to his plans. "These chieftains need to learn that it is better to support us than to oppose us. I sent Enrique and that Siamese trader to this Silapulapu, but their words have done nothing. So we must use more convincing tactics," the Captain concluded looking around the table where we all sat, silently considering his words. "What say you?"
Cristovão finally spoke. "Rajah Humabon does not support this plan, does he Admiral?"
"No," Magellan admitted reluctantly. "Likely he fears that they will only rise against him again once we sail on."
Serrano spoke next, carefully choosing his words. "Admiral, it may not be in our best interests to pursue a needless military action."
"I am not seeking to destroy these people, Captain Serrano," Magellan replied coolly. "And this will not be a serious campaign. But I believe it is imperative to our future interests among these islands to ensure our ally's, Rajah Humabon, authority over the other rajahs and chieftains." The Admiral paused for a moment before continuing more gently, "I do not desire bloodshed, but we must maintain our position by this act of war. Sixty of our men should be enough to accomplish this mission and I will lead them."
We gaped in astonishment at these words. Serrano spoke up quickly, trying to dissuade Magellan. "Admiral, please reconsider this course of action! The ships are in poor condition and too lightly manned to spare even sixty." Magellan turned away. "At least, Captain," Serrano continued desperately, "let me lead the attack. You must not expose yourself to this danger!"
But the Admiral refused to listen.
The others finally filed out of the Captain's cabin, but I paused at the door and turned back to Magellan. "Captain, a word?"
"What is it Mendoza?" he asked tiredly.
"Sir," I said bluntly, "we have both been soldiers in our time and you know this plan is not wise. We do not know the terrain and from what Humabon and Enrique have told us, Silapulapu's village is well defended by trenches and wooden stakes." I paused as I looked at the Admiral's impassive face. "At least, Captain, allow Humabon's warrior to join us in this battle. With their aid we will certainly..."
"No," Magellan interrupted quietly. "You are wrong, Mendoza. To take so many men would cause a slaughter and would tell the peoples of these islands that we could not put down Silapulapu without help. No we must prove the superiority of our arms and armor to maintain peace in the future." Magellan looked at me kindly. "You need not take part in the battle, Mendoza. You have other duties," he said looking at the niño playing on the floor.
"Do not send me from your side, Captain," I said quietly. "Others can take care of the boy! I will stay by your side no matter what our fate!"
As I finish writing this, I am aboard the Trinidad. The niño is sleeping peacefully in my bunk, but I cannot rest. Tomorrow we attack Mactan. Already some are afraid, especially those who believe in omens and signs. As we left Cebu, all the dogs in town began to howl mournfully and someone pointed out a strange black bird, like a raven which was unknown to the natives, was perched in a tree and staring at our procession. The natives murmured anxiously and the Europeans quickly crossed themselves.
These were portents of doom but Magellan does not believe in such things. He won't be dissuaded from this venture, no matter the cost. Tomorrow will decide our fate among these islands. And I have a very bad feeling about this.
1 A trading post
2 1 ducat was worth about $400 US dollars. The people of Cebu were so fond of iron that they would trade 10 gold pieces, each worth about a ducat and a half or $600, for 14 pounds of iron. Quite the exchange rate!