Timothy Jay Schwab who is The God Culture has found a new horse to beat to death in his quest to prove the Philippines are the Lequios Islands. This time it is a single marginal note in "the Spanish version" of Duarte Barbosa's book. As always with Tim's research, things are not what they seem. Let's take a look.
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| https://thegodculturephilippines.com/175-leagues-to-luzon----barbosa-s-true-lequios-exposed/ |
🪶 THE SMOKING QUILL | May 22, 2025
175 Leagues to Luzon —
Barbosa’s True Lequios Exposed
🔰 INTRODUCTION: A Note That Changes Everything
In the 16th-century accounts of Duarte Barbosa, a single note in the Spanish version of his journal may contain one of the most significant suppressed geographic truths in colonial history. The marginal annotation “175 leagues to the east” has often been overlooked, yet it aligns precisely with a Luzon-region destination when measured from either China or Malacca. This is not mere coincidence—it is a cartographic key that unlocks the mystery of Lequios. And the story doesn’t end there.
🛍 SECTION 1: Lequios in the Right Place
Barbosa's narrative describes a powerful and wealthy trading people called the "Lequeos" (also noted as Lequios or Liquii in other versions). While many colonial propagandists attempted to reframe Lequios as Ryukyu, Barbosa's own geographic context speaks differently:
"Facing the great land of China" situates Lequios across the sea from China.
"Come to Malaca every year" situates it along the same east-west trade corridor.
The 175-league margin note (Spanish version) places it within sailing range of Luzon, not Okinawa.
🔎 SECTION 4: The Spanish Footnote — Correction or Cover-up?
The Spanish version includes the 175-league distance, while other editions omit it. Why?
It's possible the Spanish knew exactly where Lequios was—having sailed there.
Magellan himself is suspected of having replaced “Lequios” with “Ofir and Tarsis” in a separate version.
If so, this may be a clarification of Barbosa, not a corruption.
Either way, the Spanish annotation confirms that they knew Lequios = Luzon, and 175 leagues is the linchpin.
All evidence points to northern Luzon and Batanes. Ryukyu matches none of the criteria.
Barbosa's marginal note is a smoking quill.
It was never vague. It was never lost. It was Luzon all along.
"The truth was never buried. It was footnoted."This single line may become iconic.
Before we start, why are all of Tim's articles significantly post-dated? The article being examined is dated May 22nd which is two weeks away from the day I am writing this article, May 8th. Today he has published four articles dated May 23rd, 24th, 25th, and 26th. When he posts an update to an article there is a huge discrepancy between the published date of the article and the published date of the addition. Is this intentional?
Tim believes a marginal note in the Spanish edition of Barbosa's book saying the Lequios Islands are "175 leagues to the east" of China is a game-changing bombshell proving that leads to the Philippines. If such is the case why doesn't he include a link to the Spanish edition with the annotation? Why is this article absent of at least a screenshot of the marginal note? Does he not want people to check up on his work? The lack of any proper documentation for this extraordinary claim is quite dubious.
The mention of a "marginal annotation" in the Spanish edition regarding the Lequios Islands as being "175 leagues to the east" of China is to be found in volume 2 of the 1918 edition of The Book of Duarte Barbosa translated by Mansel Longworth Dames.
The Spanish version, “ a hundred and seventy-five leagues to the east.”
https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.189299/page/n257/mode/2up
Dames elaborates on this Spanish version in the introduction to volume 1 of The Book of Duarte Barbosa.
A Portuguese MS. was found at Lisbon in the early part of the nineteenth century, of which an account is given in the introduction of the Portuguese editors to their edition published in 1813, and manuscripts of a Spanish version exist at Barcelona and Munich, from the former of which the first English translation, that by Lord Stanley, issued by the Hakluyt Society in 1865, was made.
https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.189298/page/n35/mode/2up
Here is Lord Stanley's translation of the section on the Lequeos from the Spanish version which exists at Barcelona.
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| https://archive.org/details/descriptionofcoa00barbrich/page/206/mode/2up |
LEQUEOS.
Opposite this country of China there are many islands in the sea, and beyond them at a hundred and seventy-five leagues to the east there is one very large which they say is the mainland, from whence there come each year to Malaca three or four ships like those of the Chinese, of white people whom they describe as great and wealthy merchants. They bring much gold in bars, silver, silk and many very rich silk stuffs, much very good wheat, beautiful porcelain and other merchandise. And they ship pepper and other things which they carry away. These islands are called Lequeos, the people of Malaca say that they are better men, and greater and wealthier merchants, and better dressed and adorned, and more honourable than the Chinese. There is not much information about these people up to the present time, because they have not come to India since the King of Portugal possesses it.
Oh, look. It's not a marginal annotation. "175 leagues to the east" is embedded in the text. Tim is wrong again. What a shock.
Lord Stanley has a note on this passage regarding the identity of the Lequeos.
The Liu Kiu Islands. Lequio major and minor, Y Fermosa, and Reix magas, form a group in Ortelius : in Homannus Formosa is in its proper place, and the group is called Lequeyo or Riukiu Islands.
Not even Lord Stanley believed "175 leagues to the east" of China meant the Lequeos are the Philippines. It should not be forgotten Lord Stanley translated Pigafetta's journal and published it along with several other accounts of Magellan's voyage titled The First Voyage Around the World. He also published a translation of Antonio de Morga's book The Philippine Islands. Lord Stanley was very familiar with the issues Tim, a magazine editor and publisher, is still attempting to resolve. Tim will likely accuse Lord Stanley of colonial bias, being a propagandist for Britain, being willfully blind to erase the Philippines when it's in front of his face, and engaging in Pharisaical Jesuit thinking. Ad hominem argumentation is the scholarly rigor of Timothy Jay Schwab.
As I have pointed out in numerous articles the totality of evidence concerning the identity of the Lequios Islands (historical, geographical, political, religious, etc.) points away from the Philippines and towards the Ryukyu Islands. There is simply no sound evidence identifying the Lequios Islands with the Philippines unless it is twisted to fit as Tim does. Being able to see Japan from the Lequios Islands and placing them at 29°N as Pinto describes should be game over for Tim, but the facts be damned! Tim prefers to view each individual tree rather than see the forest as a whole. This phrase "175 leagues to the east" is one more branch for Tim to hold aloft as evidence of an imaginary triumph.
Lord Stanley says the Spanish manuscript he translated dates to "the beginning of 1500" and is difficult to read.
The Spanish manuscript from which this volume has heen translated is in the handwriting of the beginning of 1500, full of abbreviations, and without punctuation or capital letters at the beginnings of sentences or for the proper names, which adds much to the difficulty of reading it. It contains eighty-seven leaves.
This MS. is in the Barcelona Library and is there catalogued "Viage por Malabar y costas de Africa, 1512 : letra del siglo xvi."
https://archive.org/details/descriptionofcoa00barbrich/page/n11/mode/2up
The original from which Stanley translated can be viewed here.
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| https://bipadi.ub.edu/digital/collection/manuscrits/id/61841 |
It must be kept in mind this is a translation of the original Portuguese. How accurate is it when another Spanish translation of Barbosa also dating to the 1500's omits "a hundred and seventy-five leagues to the east?"
Lequeos
De frente desta sobre dha tierra a la mar y a lenco de dellas otras yslas va una tierra muy grande q dizen ser tierra firme donde a Malaca. Vienen cada año diez o quatro naos assy como las de los Chinos de ypuntas blancas y dizen q son grandes mercaderes y muy rricos. Traen mucho oro en barras y plata y seda y assy muchos y muy rricos paños de seda y munchos y buen trigo y hermosas porcelanas y otras mercaderías y llevan mucha pimenta a los dichos chíos ubiesse y mayores mercaderes y más rricos y bien vestidos y sabios todos y honrados y los sobre dichos de los reyes de las quales cuentos falta aora no tenemos muncha ynformacion por quanto no viemos a malaca después q es de otro rey.
In front of this land, toward the sea and beyond the other islands, there is a very large land which they say is the mainland where Malacca is. Every year, four ships come, just like those of the white-capped Chinese, and they say they are great merchants and very rich. They bring much gold in bars, and silver, and silk, and also many very rich silken cloths, and much good wheat, and beautiful porcelain, and other merchandise. They bring a lot of pepper to the said Chinese, who are said to be greater merchants, richer, better dressed, all wise and honorable, and subjects of the kings mentioned above. Of all these people we do not have much information now, because we have not seen Malacca since it came under another king.
A Portuguese version published in 1946 also omits this phrase.
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| https://archive.org/details/b31358500/page/218/mode/2up?utm_source=chatgpt.com |
Defronte desta grande térra da China váo muitas ilhas ao mar, além das quais vai urna térra mui grande, que dizem que é firme, donde a Malaca vinham cada ano tres, quatro naus, assim como as dos chins, de urnas gentes brancas, que dizem que sao mui grandes e ricos mercadores, seda e panos ricos, muito e bom trigo, formosas porcelanas e outras muitas mercadorias.
The 1918 version by Dames, which Tim cites for the "175 leagues to the east" annotation, is based on the 1813 Portuguese edition and also omits the phrase.
The present version is an entirely new translation from the Portuguese text of 1813.
https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.189298/page/n35/mode/2up
What can we conclude from all this?
First of all, Tim is wrong about "a hundred and seventy-five leagues to the east" being a marginal note in the Spanish edition of this text. It is part of the text itself. He not only misread Dames but he didn't even bother to seek out the Spanish version. Had he read Dames' introduction he would have been led to Stanley's translation which includes the so-called marginal note within the text. Then, had he dug even deeper, he would have found the original manuscript which Stanley translated.
Second of all, because Tim did not bother to dig deeper into a footnote but relied on it entirely he has ignored and neglected the reality that is textual variation. "A hundred and seventy-five leagues to the east" in this section is not the only variant among the translations of Barbosa's book.
The greater part of this volume was printed in Italian by Ramusio in 1554 in his collection of travels (Venetia, nella Stamperia de' Giunti), as the narration of Duarte Barbosa, and a large part of this work must have been written by Barbosa ; and a Portuguese manuscript of his was printed at Lisbon in 1812 in the " Colleccao de noticias para a historia e geografia das naçoes ultramarinas.'" This manuscript of Barbosa's, however, is much less full than this Spanish MS. of Barcelona, or than the Italian version of Ramusio, and the Lisbon editors have added from Ramusio translations of the passages which were wanting in their MS. These publications do not contain the number of leagues between one place and another which are given in the Spanish translation.That the Portuguese manuscript printed at Lisbon in 1812 belongs to Barbosa, stands only on the authority of Ramusio, who gives an introduction by Odoardo Barbosa of the city of Lisbon, which is not to be found either in the Barcelona MS. or in the Portuguese MS., and which has been translated from the Italian of Eamusio and published in the Lisbon edition. The introduction to the Lisbon edition states that the Portuguese MS. is not an autograph MS., and that the account of Barbosa is bound up along with other papers. This introduction refers to the passages in the Portuguese MS. which are not to be found in Ramusio, and says it may be doubted whether these were additions posterior to the work of Duarte Barbosa.
Lord Stanley says "a large part" of Ramusio's Italian edition "must have been written by Barbosa." Yet it lacks the "175 leagues to the east" distance to the Lequios as well as other distances given in the Spanish translation. What, then, is the origin of those distances, if they are not in an edition written by Barbosa? It would be best to take the Spanish version Stanely translates not as Gospel truth but as one version which differs considerably from the others.
Not even the titles of these books are the same. The manuscript Stanley translated is:
"Viage por Malabar y costas de Africa, 1512 : letra del siglo xvi."
While the Portuguese is titled:
Livro em que dá relação do que viu e ouviu no Oriente
These differences must be considered when assessing this addition of "175 leagues to the east" but Tim is ignorant of all the relevant information. He is in no position to make an authoritative statement on this phrase.
Despite the distance of 175 leagues being a unique variant limited to a single text it is by no means "the final blow" which confirms the Lequios Islands is the Philippines as Tim claims.
🪶 THE SMOKING QUILL | May 24, 2025
The Final Blow: Why Ryukyu Was Never
Lequios, Ophir, or Zipangu
🔰 INTRODUCTION: The Myth of Ryukyu
For decades, scholars have lazily defaulted to Ryukyu (Okinawa) as the legendary Lequios, Ophir, or even Zipangu of ancient geography. But a closer examination of the four most powerful primary accounts—Duarte Barbosa, King Solomon’s Navy (2 Chronicles 9), the Greek Homer, and Marco Polo—shows that Ryukyu fails every test. The Philippines, however, passes all with flying gold.
1️⃣ Barbosa's Test: 175 Leagues to Luzon
Key Markers from Barbosa:
Lequios faced China.
175 leagues from Malacca = Northern Philippines, not Ryukyu.
Traders arrived in ships laden with:Gold in barsSilverRich clothsPorcelainVery good wheat
Ryukyu Fails:
No gold or silver trade
Late wheat adoption, no high-quality variety
Not facing China (Ryukyu is northeast)
Geographically too far (1,500 km vs. 900 km to Luzon)
Philippines Passes:
Luzon is directly east of Malacca and south of China
Adlay wheat in Batanes and Luzon
Documented gold mining and trade (Butuan, Surigao)
Ortelius confirms region as Ophir’s incense source (Elemi)
https://thegodculturephilippines.com/why-ryukyu-was-never-lequios-ophir-or-zipangu/
Tim's mapping of this 175 leagues distance is profoundly misleading.
Why is Tim mapping the distance from the middle of China? The text only says "opposite of China" or "in front of China." He also tests a starting point from Malacca because "Barbosa was in Malacca" which, even if it were true, has nothing to with the text. Barbosa does not give a starting place for measuring the distance. Stanley's translation reads thusly:
Opposite this country of China there are many islands in the sea, and beyond them at a hundred and seventy-five leagues to the east there is one very large which they say is the mainland,
Any measurement that does not include those many islands is invalid. There are not many islands in the sea between the Philippines and China. That makes the archipelago between Taiwan and Japan the only candidate. If Tim took the top arrow, moved it down, and then turned it slightly at an angle it would fit the direction and the distance.
Tim's map intentionally obscures both the direction and the distance of the Lequios, which Barbosa places 175 leagues to the east. That distance fits perfectly if one is sailing in the correct direction toward Japan. This route includes the islands directly in front of, or opposite, the coast of China. By contrast, the route to the Philippines lies to the south, contradicting Barbosa’s statement that the Lequios Islands are to the east. This map is a straw man argument made visible.
This is the same nonsense we have seen from Tim all over again. His poor research previously led him astray into making false statements about Ginés De Mafra's testimony concerning Magellan's voyage despite never having read it. It was I who posted a link to the book. Tim treated my correction of his mistake as a triumph saying it only proved he was right when in reality it proved he is bad researcher.
This time around Tim has chosen to do zero research on a footnote which has once again left me to pick up his slack. There is no doubt he will do the same this time and cheer that Lord Stanley's translation strengthens his case and proves him correct. However, the addition of "175 leagues to the east" isn't the win Tim thinks it is. For one thing, the phrase is a textual variant in a single Spanish translation.
For another thing, the way Tim has mapped out that distance is arbitrary and bears no relation to the words of the text which mentions that the land 175 leagues to the east is beyond many islands. That can only be the Ryukyu Island chain which stretches from Taiwan to Japan and is exactly "in font of" or "opposite" of China. The Philippines is to the South which does not match Barbosa's text.
Finally, conflating the Philippines and the Lequios Islands has no historical precedent. The Suma Oriental describes the Luçoes and Lequios as different people, not as two cultures occupying the same island. Fernando Pinto also describes the Lequios and Luçoes as different people, not as two cultures occupying the same island. Maps of the era place the Lequios north in the modern day Ryukyu Islands. Lord Stanley refers to Abraham Ortelius' 1570 map which shows the Lequios far north of the Philippines. Tim brushes that map away by calling it a deceptive Jesuit map which Ortelius corrected 14 years later by placing them in the Philippines. That is not true as the Lequios Islands (grande and pequeño) and Luzon (Islas de Lucois) are clearly differentiated.
In the History of the Philippines volume 3 the Lequios and Luzon are differentiated in Relation of the Western Islands called Filipinas by Captain Diego de Artieda. The editors describe his work thusly:
A Spanish captain, Diego de Artieda, writes (1573) a "Relation of the Western Islands." He enumerates the islands thus far discovered by the Spaniards, describing their location, appearance, and natural resources. He adds much curious information about the natives--concerning their religious beliefs and rites, customs, mode of dress, weapons, food, industries, social condition, etc. Artieda notes all that he has been able to learn concerning Japan and China, with interesting details as to their civilization, and the skill of the Chinese as artisans; he mentions the antiquity of printing among them. He offers to conduct an armed expedition against the coast of China, if the king will supply him with two vessels and eighty soldiers. He advises that Spain abandon the attempt to establish a footing in the Philippines, or else that she ignore the Treaty of Zaragoza and trade with the Moluccas.
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044077731628&seq=22&q1=artieda
Captain Diego de Artieda describes the island of Luzon and mentions the Batanes, which Tim is now claiming to be the Lequios Islands, though not by that name. A few pages later he mentions the Lequios Islands and says they are in-between Japan and China. That is clearly the Ryukyu Islands.
Farther to the northeast of Masbat lies the island of Ybalon or Luzon. It is a large island, with many rivers, in which gold is found--although, as I have ascertained, in but little quantity, because its most influential inhabitants are Moros. While I was in Panae, [S:the leading man among its people] sent a Moro, his steward or treasurer to trade there; but he could hardly get for me one _marco_ of gold in exchange for four of silver, which he bought for me. Buffaloes are to be found here. We have [M: not] explored much of its coast, and I have seen no one who could inform me fully concerning its south-eastern, southern, and eastern parts, because no one has sailed around it. Between this island of Ybalon and that of Panae, lies Masbat. Farther on, and lying north and south, are some other small islands, in one of which is to be found much brazil-wood.
[62] Probably the _sibucao (Cæsalpina sapan_); its wood produces a red coloring-matter which is highly valued, especially by the Chinese. Some varieties of it are more highly esteemed than are those produced in Brazil. These "Brazil" Islands are apparently the small groups north of Luzón, now known as Batanes and Babuyanes.
Farther north than the aforesaid islands are others, the nearest to Luzon being called Xipon [S: Japan].
A little to the east between these islands and China are the islands of Lequios. They are said to be rich; but we have been unable to learn much about them, for I have not seen any one who has been there. For this reason I conclude that they must be small, and that the people are not much given to commerce.
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044077731628&seq=206&q1=lequios
No matter how much Tim misinterprets old maps it will not change the fact that the Spanish and the Portuguese both differentiated Luzon Island from the Lequios Islands. The Lequios Islands are always located in the north near Japan.
All in all it's another bombastic claim that shrivels up and dies when exposed to the light of scrutiny. In short, the “175 leagues” is not a suppressed marginal note, it appears in only one Spanish manuscript and is absent in others, including the original Portuguese text. The Lequios Islands have long been identified with the Ryukyu Islands, not the Philippines. Far from revealing a suppressed truth, Timothy Jay Schwab's interpretation once more reflects a failure to engage with the sources critically or thoroughly.
