17/03/2022
😇
ON THIS DAY | MARCH 17
501st Anniversary of the arrival of the Christian Faith on Homonhon Island
+ On 17 Mar 1521, the Spanish ship Victoria landed on the island of Homonhon. Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, who was then working under the employ of the Spanish crown, reached the Philippines on an epic voyage of discovery and exploration. He had been tasked to find a way west from Spain. The ship where he took a ride travelled across the Atlantic down to the southernmost tip of South America then up across the Pacific to what is now the Philippines.
+ Magellan failed to return to Spain. He was killed by natives in Mactan after baptizing the ruler of Cebu and a few of his subjects. But the rest of his crew made it back to complete the historic first circumnavigation of the world. News of these accomplishments prompted Spain to send another expedition headed by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi who reached the Philippines in 1565.
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Sources:
(1) MAGELLAN'S SECOND COMING TO THE PHILIPPINES — University of Michigan Library
(2) March 16, 1521 — PhilStar
(3) Remembering our Past by Jommel P. Tactaquin — Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO)
(4) Parokya Ni San Juan - Homonhon [caption of shared Facebook post on 20 Feb 2021, 12:49 PM]
(5) 500 Years of Christianity - Archdiocese of Manila [Facebook post on 13 Feb 2021, 8:00 AM]