The God Culture: Lapu-Lapu Did Not Reject Colonialism

Here we go again. Timothy Jay Schwab of The God Culture is spouting off more false history about the Philippines. One need not even watch his videos to know he is lying as falsehood comes naturally to him. This time he makes the claim that Lapu-Lapu killed Magellan in a defiant act against colonialism. Is this true? Of course not!

https://youtu.be/130c3XUuPEs

Today is a very special day for the world. It marks the five hundredth anniversary of one of the greatest stories in the fight to stop foreign invaders from coming in and taking over our lands. Yes, the story of a man and his followers who indeed stopped the invasion, killing their leader Magellan. Then in a separate encounter killing his replacement and brother-in-law and other leaders and then they chased them out of the country with a fleet of ships. That’s what Pigafetta’s journal says, and we cover. This is an inspiration to the whole world who was being conquered by colonialism yet this man and his people put up a standard and stopped them the story of Lapu-Lapu five hundred years ago today. Wow.

The introduction of this 8 minute video is only a minute long. Nothing after the word "wow" is of any significance here because the rest is merely a commercial for Timothy Jay Schwab's books. So is any of that true? It's rather disgusting that Tim takes a perverse joy in the death of Magellan. What exactly does Pigafetta say? Well, you see that is the problem. Timothy relies ONLY on the account of Pigafetta. There are other eyewitness accounts to this battle and why it happened and they do not agree wth Pigafetta. In fact you could say they are the Jubilees to Pigafetta's Genesis except whereas Jubilees is all lies their sworn testimony is true.

The basic story everyone is told is that Lapu-Lapu refused to recognize the authority of the Spanish crown and pay any tribute. Magellan then immediately took three boats of men and went to wage war. He was killed in the process. The lesson to be learned is that foreign interlopers are not welcome in the Philippines. That is certainly the story Pigafetta relates. But three other eyewitness, the ship's barber-surgeon Fernando de Bustamante, the pilot of the ship Maestre Bautista, and Captain Juan Sebastian Elcano, all relate something quite different.

The following comes from Dr. Danilo Gerona who wrote a book titled, "Ferdinand Magellan, The Armada de Maluco and the European Discovery of the Philippines." This history is based on years of research and reading primary source documents tucked away in Spain. Here is what he writes concerning this alternate testimony.

Some sources however offered a different version regarding Lapulapu’s response claiming he readily accepted Magellan’s offer of Spanish sovereignty, even expressing willingness to comply with the demands for the payment of tribute. According to a manuscript by one who simply signed himself the Genoese pilot, but probably Maestre Bautista, Magellan demanded from Lapulapu, among them, “three goats, three pigs, three loads of rice, and three loads of millet and other provisions for the ships.” The source noted that the chieftain was prompt and straightforward with his reply. As to the “threes” being asked, he had no opposition in complying with “twos” and if Magellan was satisfied with these, they would be complied with at once. If not, he would send whatever pleased him. 

Another version concurred with the narrative of Lapulapu’s outright submission to Magellan’s demands, including the payment of tribute. It was the demand of Magellan for him to accept the leadership of a fellow native chief, Humabon, which provoked the Mactan chieftain to anger. Primary sources claimed that the reason which prompted Magellan to explode in anger was Lapu-lapu’s alleged refusal to kiss the hand of Humabon as an acknowledgement of his subordination. Another member of the expedition who made his testimony upon their return in Spain, Fernando de Bustamante, barber-surgeon of the Victoria, in agreement with the other testimonies, also recalled that the natives of Mactan were actually willing to accept Spanish sovereignty but were not disposed to accept Humabon as their overlord: “...those of Mactan wished to obey the king of Castile but the said Ferdinand Magellan told them to kiss the hand of the king of Zebu and those do not wish to kiss the hand of the king of Zebu.” It appears that Lapulapu was not the only chief who regarded the order of Magellan to accept Humabon as a supreme ruler of the islands for others shared such animosity as evident in the testimony made by Juan Sebastian Elcano on October 18, 1522, few weeks after their arrival, in Valladolid. 

His testimony reads: 

Magellan went from the island of Zubu to the island of Bohol, or to the island of Matan, sending bateles to wage war with the mend so that those from other islands may obey the King of Zubu; and those they say that they would obey the King Our Lord, and would give him parias, (a tribute paid by one prince to another); but that they would not obey the King of Zubu since they are also of the same status; and that they would give the King Our Lord jewels of gold.  

While Magellan seemed to have used Humabon as a political ally to establish his base in Cebu as a springboard for establishing Spanish hegemony, Humabon, on the other hand had also used Magellan to coerce others to submission to his authority. As Pigafetta recalled Humabon was said to have asked Magellan: “but that if the captain would send him the following night one boat full of men to give him assistance, he would fight and subdue his rival. On the receipt of this message, the captain decided to go himself with three boats.” 

https://sulugardenfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Gerona-Battle-of-Mactan-for-Miagao-with-foreword-from-JRM-and-for-Web-FINAL.pdf

Do you see how this story is not so cut and dry? Not so black and white? According to these three men the rest of the story is that Humabon, the King of Cebu or Zubu, was using Magellan to manipulate others to be placed under his authority. He was playing political chess like those in power still do today. The old man Lapu-Lapu, eyewitness accounts describe him as an old man about 70 years old, refused to kiss Humabon's hand though he did not refuse to recognize the sovereignty of Spain. Why did Pigafetta omit these details? More of this alternate testimony, given while under oath, can be found on pages 285-295 of volume 4 of Martín Fernández de Navarrese's collected documents concerning Spanish voyages to the east. Those ten pages are in need of translation so all can read that eyewitness testimony which fills in the gaps in Pigafetta's account.

It does not matter much anyway that Magellan was killed because the Spanish would return in force in 1565 and eventually the natives would submit to the Spanish suzerainty. But they would do so willingly. When Legazpi arrived he made alliances with local chieftains and in 1599 the inhabitants of these islands voted in a referendum, at the behest of King Philip II, to accept Spanish rule. The complete story is much more expansive and more colorful and nuanced than Tim knows or is telling. It makes one question his claim of leading an international team of researchers. Do none of the members of this alleged team have access to a library? Do none of them have any real and verifiable expertise in the history of the Philippines? 

But there is more. 

Contrary to what Tim writes in his book the natives did not reject the Santo Niño or Catholicism. Here is what I wrote elsewhere concerning this fact.

On page 257 of "The Search for King Solomon's Treasure" Tim says the Spanish found the Sto. Niño which Magellan gifted to Rajah Humabon, whom he does not even name, in Mactan which is proof that the natives rejected the statue and did not worship it because Magellan gave it to him in Cebu and not Mactan.  His source for this is "History of the Philippine Island Vol 2." However this very same source contradicts him! Estevan Rodriguez, chief pilot of Legazpi's fleet, records the following.

The fleet set sail for Cebú, where after landing they found the village deserted. Legazpi ordered that each mess of four soldiers should take one house and the rest of the houses be destroyed. Everything was removed from the houses before any were destroyed.

"In this town when we entered we found therein a child Jesus. A sailor named Mermeo found it. It was in a wretched little house, and was covered with a white cloth in its cradle, and its little bonnet quite in order. The tip of its nose was rubbed off somewhat, and the skin was coming off the face. The friars took it and carried it in procession on a feast day, from the house where it was found to the church that they had built."

http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/13280/pg13280.html

The Sto. Niño was found in Cebu not Mactan. The natives also did not reject it. They worshipped it and it "wrought miracles for them." So says Antonio de Morga who also attests it was found in Cebu, not Mactan.

He continued his voyage until reaching the island of Sebu, where he anchored, induced by the convenience of a good port and by the nature of the land. At first he was received peacefully by the natives and by their chief Tupas; but later they tried to kill him and his companions, for the Spaniards having seized their provisions, the natives took up arms against the latter; but the opposite to their expectations occurred, for the Spaniards conquered and subdued them. Seeing what had happened in Sebu, the natives of other neighboring islands came peacefully before the adelantado, rendered him homage, and supplied his camp with a few provisions. The first of the Spanish settlements was made in that port, and was called the city of Sanctisimo Nombre de Jesus [Most holy name of Jesus], because a carved image of Jesus had been found in one of the houses of the natives when the Spaniards conquered the latter, which was believed to have been left there by the fleet of Magallanes. The natives held the image in great reverence, and it wrought miracles for them in times of need. The Spaniards placed it in the monastery of St. Augustine, in that city.

History of the Philippines, Antonio Morga

The natives kept that statue in a box for safe keeping and they worshipped it because it "wrought miracles for them." When the Spanish returned they unsurprisingly accepted Catholicism whole-heartedly. 

The history here is so much richer than Tim knows. He does not know this because he is a poor researcher with a one-track mind who is only seeking to confirm his thesis that Filipinos are saintly Israelites while colonizers are evil nephilim. I was able to find the article about the 1599 referendum which he lists in his book as one of his sources but does not quote from because he did not actually read it.

In a future article I want to go through it and discuss the little-known history it relates. In another article I want to take a look at the colonization of these islands and what happened and contrast that with Tim's fake history of how the nephilim conquered the Philippines in order "to rape and pillage the wealth of Adam." That fanciful story is to be found in the last chapter of his book. In essence I want to compare the story in the book, "My Country's Godly Heritage" with that of "The Search for King Solomon's Treasure." They are very different.

I don't know if I will ever get to any of that. But I hope to do so. One thing I know for sure: Timothy Jay Schwab of The God Culture is an inept researcher who knows very little about the history of the Philippines.