Cebu

: Cebu is also a variant spelling of the cattle known as Zebu.

History

Before the arrival of the Spaniards, Cebu, then known as Zubu (or Sugbo in Visayan), was a thriving fishing village and a busy trading post, with trade routes to China, Siam, Arabia as well as the nearby Malay islands.

Related Topics:
Spaniards - China - Siam - Arabia - Malay

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The Magellan Expedition

On April 7, 1521, the Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan landed on Cebu island. He was on expedition under the command of the Spanish king and his goal was to search for the fabled island of Moluccas and to see about expanding the Spanish territories to the Orient.

Related Topics:
April 7 - 1521 - Ferdinand Magellan - Moluccas

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Magellan persuaded the Chief of Cebu, Rajah Humabon to swear oath and allegiance to the Spanish King Charles V . Accompanied by Spanish Dominican friars, the expedition was responsible for the first wave of Christianity in the Philippines. On April 14, Magellan erected a large wooden cross on the shores of Cebu where the first Holy Mass in the Philippines was also held. Afterwards, some 400 native Cebuanos were baptized, along with Rajah Humabon and his wife who took the Christian names Carlos and Juana, respectively to honor the Spanish King. The Santo Niño was also presented to the queen as a symbol of peace between the Spaniards and the natives.

Related Topics:
Rajah Humabon - Oath - Allegiance - King Charles V - Christianity - April 14

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Encouraged by his success in Cebu, Magellan later crossed the channel to the nearby island of Mactan which was under the rule of Muslim Datu Lapu-Lapu. On April 27, the historic Battle of Mactan occurred where Magellan was killed and his men were driven off the island by the natives. According to historian and chronicler, Antonio Pigafetta, Magellan's body was never recovered despite efforts to trade for it with spice and jewels.

Related Topics:
Lapu-Lapu - April 27 - Battle of Mactan - Antonio Pigafetta

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Magellan's second-in-command, Juan Sebastián Elcano took his place and sailed the remainder of the fleet to Spain, taking a route different from the eastern route as opposed to the western route which they took when they first arrived. In so doing, the fleet became the first to "circumnavigate the world."

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The Spanish Conquest and Colonial Period

Survivors of the Magellan Expedition brought tales of a savage island in the Orient with them when they returned to Spain. Consequently, several follow-up expeditions were sent but all ended in failure.

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Forty-four years after Magellan first set foot in Cebu, in 1565, conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi and his 500 armed soldiers together with several Augustinian and Franciscan friars arrived and declared that the Spanish crown succeeded in colonizing the islands. Legazpi and his men then marched through Zugbo and bombarded the palisades of chieftain Rajah Tupas and destroyed the village. He and his men, later rebuilt it and called it Villa del Santisimo Nombre de Jesús (Village of the Most Holy Name of Jesus). Thus, in 1569, it became the first Spanish settlement established by the Spanish Cortés in the Philippines.

Related Topics:
1565 - Conquistador - Miguel López de Legazpi - Augustinian - Franciscan - Rajah Tupas - 1569 - Spanish Cortés

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On August 141571, Cebu (Villa del Santisimo Nombre de Jesús) was detached from the Catholic diocese of Manila and became a diocese of its own. When Legazpi departed for Manila in 1571, he did not abandon Cebu. Instead, he employed garrisons and a provincial governor to look after it and left half of his soldiers in Cebu.

Related Topics:
August 14 - 1571 - Garrison

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Three centuries later, in June 12, 1898 marked the end of the Spanish era and the onset of the American regime. In 1901, Cebu became a municipality and on February 24, 1937 became a chartered city.

Related Topics:
June 12 - 1898 - 1901 - February 24 - 1937

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World War II

Cebu, being the most densely populated island in the country, served as a vital Japanese base during the Japanese occupation in World War II which began with the landing of the Japanese Imperial Army on April 1942. Three years later on March 1945, an American force landed and reoccupied the city.

Related Topics:
Japanese - World War II - Japanese Imperial Army - April - 1942 - March - 1945

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