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The Battle

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  In the morning of April 28, Magellan departed towards Mactan with 49 armored soldiers armed with swords, axes, shields, crossbows, and guns. The Spanish soldiers were unable to land on Mactan due to the rocky outcroppings and coral along the beach. Magellan's ships were forced to anchor far from shore, and he was unable to bring his ships' cannons to bear on Datu Lapu-lapu's army of over 1,500 warriors. When Magellan's troops arrived on the island, the natives had organized themselves into three divisions, totaling around 1,500 people. When they saw Magellan and his company, they came down on them, shouting wildly. The musketeers and crossbowmen fired for approximately a half-hour from a distance, but Magellan tried to scare them away by setting fire to some houses in what is now Buaya, then known as Bulaia. Many of the warriors attacked Magellan, he was wounded in the arm with a spear and in the leg by a kampilan. With this advantage, Lapu-Lapu's troops finally o...
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Background

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  Ferdinand Magellan observed the mountains of what is now Samar on March 16, 1521 (Spanish calendar) while on an expedition to locate a westward path to the Moluccas Islands for Spain. The advent of the first Europeans in the Archipelago was commemorated by this occasion. Magellan ordered his troops to anchor their ships on the shores of Homonhon Island the next day. He made friends with Rajah Kulambu and Rajah Siagu, the Limasawa chieftains, who led him to Cebu. Magellan's influence with Rajah Humabon, an order was issued to the neighboring chiefs, requiring each of them to supply food supplies for the ships as well as convert to Christianity. The majority of the chiefs complied with the command. The only chieftain to show opposition was Datu Lapu-Lapu, one of the two chiefs on the island of Mactan. In these matters, Lapu-Lapu refused to recognise Rajah Humabon's authority.  On Friday, April 26th, Zula, the second chief of Mactan, sent one of his sons to bring two...
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What happened in the Battle of Mactan?

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     The Battle of Mactan was a bloody battle that took place in the Philippines on April 27, 1521. A Spanish force fighting for Rajah Humabon of Cebu was overpowered and beaten by the warriors of Lapu-lapu, one of the Datus of Mactan, who were led by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, who was killed in the battle. 
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