The dude did not even make it back to Spain! What a loser! Sure, his expedition circumnavigated the globe, but he died on the shores of Mactan to a local chieftain in 1521. Magellan, meanwhile, was a failed invader, the enemy - the end. That’s what our history books have always said. The ideal native tribesman who fought against a technologically-superior warmonger. The latter was a celebrated as the nation’s first “bayani” - a hero. He brought the conquistadores to our shores and kickstarted 300 years of brutal occupation. The former was long-maligned as the man who begat the woes of the Philippines as a Spanish colony. Ferdinand Magellan, the Portuguese explorer who sailed for Spain and Lapu-Lapu, the brave chieftain who defeated an invader. I want to focus on “1+1” and “2+2,” however, as those two personalities have been intertwined in Philippine history for as long as we can remember. It was followed by “three plus three, Christmas Tree four plus four, bagong bapor” - a new ship. “One plus one, Magellan two plus two, Lapu-Lapu.” That was a common rhyme we had as kids. Image courtesy of Philippine History: Magellan’s Circumnavigation of the Globe
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