Filipino REPEL Spanish at Battle of Mactan (1521) - Ferdinand Magellan & Lapulapu

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Ferdinand Magellan was one of the great explorers of the 16th century, but he died at the Battle of Mactan in 1521. Here we look at the combat, weapons and armour.
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[@scholagladiatoria]

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[@arnijulian6241]

Corselet existed since the ancients though they wore bronze armour or Linothorax as a corselet. Corselet means all in one torso, chest & back armour with built in spaulder's/pauldron's & tasset's/skirt. Only by the 16th century was rerebrace's, vambrace's, couter's & gauntlet's considered universal to a corselet though full arm protection existed prior to the 16th century but many went without for a multitude of reasons. Corselet was a pretty unbroken term implying no leg or arm protection till the 16th century. Add a shield, graves & leg protection with a corselet that is not built in one but seperate modular pieces you get a panoply basically.

[@arnijulian6241]

I should specify a corselet may or may not have a built in gorget or neck protection. Personally after a Helmet the maille standard or plate gorget is the most important piece of armour which it is amazing how many corselets do not have these present in museums or even period art of the 16th century unlike prior. They added all that arm protection but often forgot about neck protection which seems like lunacy to me but hay perhaps the heat in the tropic they would rather air their neck? Protecting the arms & legs is far down my priorities over the neck. Never understood the 16th century obsession with arming the arms with full pieces of plate for the arms since jack chains on all 4 limbs mitigate most blows be it hacking, slashing or bludgeoning with the exception of piecing but why keep an arm or leg in the path of a thrust as you can move.

[@beafraidofinsectattack]

Every time Matt mentions Filipinos in his videos every Filipino telepathically hears a psychic calling to view it

[@gunblade7610]

Gahhhh I was wondering why I was here

[@mybaddadventures144]

Or white American that lived in the Philippines for 4 years in Punta engano area of mactan Island

[@matthrmolins]

🇵🇭 Philippines Mentioned

[@gorbalsboy]

???

[@mattjack3983]

​@@mybaddadventures144that's oddly specific

[@Razzrazz90]

Born and raised in the Philippines. The *Legend* of this battle that we were taught when I was young basically said that Lapu-Lapu faced Magellan directly during the chaos of the battle and effectively killed him in a one-on-one duel; defeating him by cutting his head off with his Kampilan or Itak. No doubt stories exaggerate for the drama lol It is genuinely intriguing to hear the more nuanced, historically-sourced version of how it all went down!

[@mattjack3983]

I trained in a Filipino martial art (Eskrima) for about 12 years. My instructors, who were these two Filipino brothers, and their cousin..who owned and all taught at the school..would tell a very similar story. They would say that Lapu Lapu fought Magellan directly in single combat. They said he had an itak in one hand and rattan stick in the other, and he beat Magellan with a rattan stick until he was close to death, and then cut off his head with the itak. They always swore that was what they were always taught in school when they were younger.

[@mattjack3983]

I always thought that it was probably greatly exaggerated, but thinking about it now, I have no doubts that Lapu Lapu probably could have defeated Magellan fairly easily if they did actually fight each other. When I started training in HEMA fencing, I had been training in Eskrima for a dozen years, and I could easily beat all of the best fencers when I sparred against their longswords, sabers, and rapiers with my much shorter Eskrima sticks. I have really enjoyed HEMA and learning how to fence with European swords over the last 5 years or so, but the Filipinos definitely have much better, much stronger system of fighting with bladed weapons, and I use quite a few of the techniques I learned in Eskrima in my HEMA training.

[@thecount5558]

@@mattjack3983 I wouldn't go so far as to say that FMA has a better system of blade combat than HEMA. I'd chalk it up to you being very good and/or your opponents not being able to adapt quickly enough to a foreign style. From the spars I've witnessed, as long as the HEMA practitioner managed the range, he was, more often than not, the victor of the bout. If the FMA fellow managed to close in, then he usually held the advantage unless the HEMA practitioner was sparring with a secondary weapon as well, but overall, the HEMA practitioner would usually win the majority of the fights thanks to being able to utilise the the range advantage well. (I personally felt more comfortable practicing HEMA, I especially recall practicing arnis in my 1st year in university and thinking to myself just how exposed I felt sans a guard on the handle and such a short weapon relying mostly on cuts; I did appreciate the lightness of it though and just how quickly it could cut and recover) As for Lapulapu killing Magellan, it's actually highly unlikely as Lapulapu, according to research, was around 65-70 years old during the Battle of Mactan. And even if he was young enough, Magellan himself was no slouch (though I believe he had a limp from one of his old wounds which could have impaired him), being a trained nobleman, a veteran of the Portuguese campaigns in India, including Cannanore and Diu, and was no doubt dressed in an extensive suit of armour (mail and plate, most likely) as befitting his status of Captain of the expedition (and as nobleman as I stated before) which would have rendered him nigh invulnerable against most native weapons (save for his legs) as stated by Matt, himself. Overall, I'd say it depends really on the environment, skill, and experience of the practitioner (as it usually does), rather than one system being outright better than the other. (Open to correction, though)

[@ansonang7810]

We have to remember that Magellan team is not soldiers but explorers, priest and priests assistants ,diplomats , translators ,prospectors, navigators, botanists philosophers scholars scientists of the day and sailors. Probably only 10 per ship were soldiers or mercenaries. Magellan was a middle aged noble man nerd who probably wore fancy clothing not armor during those times. Probably exhausted for years exploring. Even a street gang member today can slay him with itak. Against a real warrior say an Armored Granadier 6ft 4" 200+lbs Lapulapu probably won't stand a chance like feather😅weight vs Heavyweight in UFC and a professional fighter whose practicing how to kill since a child. Spanish journal by his cousin and Antonio Pigafetta, a Venetian scholar who was born in Vincenza, Italy, around 1490 and who accompanied Magellan on the voyage. Pigafetta kept a detailed journal, the original of which is lost. The scholar not even Spanish but venetian. Magellan is not also Spanish but Portuguese. Accurate version could probably be Vatican explorers not Spanish ordered by Christindom. Qouted by Google (Victoria alone returned to Spain in September 1522, carrying twenty-six tons of cloves in its hold, worth more than twice the cost of the whole Magellan expedition. There were only 18 survivors from the original five-ship roster of 237 men. After the voyage, the battered vessel was repaired and sold to a merchant.) ships probably decayed in years exploring not in battlefield. When the European return with the real war ship and soldiers well..... Of course vengeance. The Spanish Armada was scary 150 war ships with 18,000 people mostly soldiers. They also employed slave fighters like Aztec, native Americans, mexicans around half like 50% who fought were colonized soldiers. In Philippines they used tagalog to fight other ethics, Cebuano and so on.

[@ansonang7810]

Don't believe martial arts mostly are debunked as a fraud. As they're being debunked in Russia, Japan, USA, Europe and China. Only the real deal will remain like Judo, muay Thai , Sanda , Bjj most are useless in real fight and in UFC and other MMA. As for sword play rapier was a duel sword ment to settle matters outside Judicial means it's only meant to hurt bleed enemy to submission it cannot cut your head. Although it can kill with many slashes It's not a war sword or war weapon. Real weapons were pole arm , flint lock pistols, musket, crossbow ,cannon probably grape shot shotgun for personnel. Real war sword used by Spanish is a sabre with a small metal buckler. Unless Magellan requested a duel to settle the matter. Even street gang member can beat a middle aged noble laki sa ginhawa nerd. Not pro Spain also Filipino but speaking in reality. If Arnis challenge a real swords man it wouldn't be challenge because of the reach even a kendo pro athlete can beat them reach advantage. Double swords , double swords or say itak are proven not effective but disadvantage in real war. You can search Google and watch in KZbin the real studies. Arnis is not even on same level they're not in Olympics or applied in MMA. Similar to Wing Chun as it's really not a combat sports.

[@colbunkmust]

It should be mentioned that if the Mactan natives were pursuing Magellan's crew through the shallows, the rattan spears they were throwing would float and be very easy to reacquire as they move forward.

[@tatumergo3931]

Never thought about that until you mentioned it...

[@HoJu1989]

About the sword that dealt the killing blow, the original Italian (from Wikisource) says "un gran terciado (che è como una scimitarra, ma più grosso)" which doesn't really clear things out that much. "Terciado" is a Spanish word for a shorter and broader sword than usual (the name is said to mean that it was one third shorter than the legal maximum length of a sword blade, which in 1564 was around 104 cm, so around 69 cm for the terciado). And this is "a great terciado" so maybe even broader than usual. It's not generally specified in most sources if it was straight or curved, but considering Pigafetta adds "like a scimitar but bigger" (so at least to him a scimitar is even smaller or maybe thinner than a terciado), we can fairly confidently assume it was curved and broadly equivalent to a falchion, hanger or cutlass. What native weapon he meant by that, I'll let you to guess.

[@JunelieArthur111]

Spot on! Another thing to mention is that, while we have set ideas on how a kampilan or a kris should look, it is in record that some words we have now as specific "types" of swords were in fact generic words for "sword." In a lot of indigenous languages in Mindanao (south of Cebu and Mactan), the generic word for sword is still kampilan (or a close term thereof), but the profiles and looks of what they would call a kampilan are all very different: from long straight ones which widen at the tip, to a shorter sword made for one-handed use, to a longer sword which curves but doesn't widen at the tip. Not to mention that the "kampilan" from Luzon would look very differently from the "kampilan" from Visayas and also those from Mindanao, in the same way that a spanish rapier would look different from an Italian rapier and a German rapier. Nowadays, the modern image of the large, 2-handed Kampilan is derived from the indigenous and islamized peoples from Mindano, who were never really conquered by the Spanish. That is to say, that the "kampilan" known to the internet today may not have been the same "kampilan" that was carried by Lapulapu's troops. Let's assume that we can say that Lapulapu and his troops may have been armed with kampilans and the like (which is how the warriors of Mactan are often depicted in art), but that doesn't narrow it down at all really.

[@andretorres8452]

Are you talking about a hand and a half sword?

[@HoJu1989]

@@andretorres8452 What do you mean? Neither a terciado nor a "scimitar" would be generally hand and a half. If you mean the maximum blade length of 104 cm, that's from and ordinance in 1560 where the predominant swords are sidesword or early reapiers, both one-handed. But a longsword could be of a similar length, yes.

[@paulabarquez1252]

A Pira comes to mind!

[@iggs2333]

"a scimitar but bigger" i mean a panabas seems to be the closest one. it has the similar shape of a scimitar, just a long ass handle. don't take my word for it, i'm just pulling this out of my ass and basic shape recognition lmao.

[@pipebomber04]

Filipinos in the comment section: my grandfather fought in the battle.

[@oscaranderson5719]

nah, my grandfather was in the spanish armada (he actually said this lmao)

[@bradolfpittler2875]

Juan Ponce Enrile witnessed the battle first hand. 😂

[@christianguzman4688]

Bro did he saw queen elizabeth do the griddy on the spanish armada.

[@SaberTooth1911]

😆

[@juanmiguelsebastian1477]

I'm very happy that someone big is talking about The Battle of Mactan without bias.

[@capnstewy55]

Lol Magellan TV. Perfect sponsor!

[@gadyariv2456]

for all we know they cowardly abandoned Magellan to his death, then cooked up a story how he bravely and selfishly made a last stand to allow them to escape, and now we can never know what really happened.

[@temperededge]

They even kept knocking his hat off. It was like saying, "Hey, THIS guy's Magellan!"

[@DPXerxes]

Very interesting topic! I remember learning back in the day at school that Magellan had been eaten by cannibals in the Philippines while attempting the first ever made circumnavigation. Quite a different story... So thank you for enlightening me there!

[@Jza_Dragon]

Captain Cook was eaten in Hawaii, so the two may be conflated

[@HoJu1989]

@@Jza_Dragon Apparently that's a common misconception, Cook wasn't eaten. They just cooked (heh) his flesh to get it off the bones, which were sacred to them (despite them killing him, he was highly respected).

[@crypto66]

Imperialists demonizing the people they invade to excuse their imperialism.

[@rhemartmora7740]

Philippines had no cannibal groups or tribes in its entire history. Sure there were headhunters but it was more ceremonial in nature.

[@temperededge]

We didn't eat him! We simply decorated the village with him. We're not savages.

[@RedDonut]

Thank you for bring this out

[@ericleach7048]

Matt, love the video! I learned so much. I do think you are wrong about the interpretation that Magellan had the large ships with him. The biggest reason is that it would be nearly impossible to operate large ocean going sailing ships in the waters around Mactan Island. There are coral reefs everywhere and if the wind was even slightly against him, Magellan would be risking being trapped. I have spent a decent amount of time in those water and flown over them dozens of times. I sincerely believe that the author is referring to large ships boats that would be able to navigate those waters

[@HoJu1989]

Yeah, the original text calls them "battelli" (boats), while for the main ships he uses "navi" (ships). So they were big shallops equipped with small bombards and the proper ships were further away still.

[@oxvendivil442]

Oh and Lapu-Lapu in some accounts was from Indonesia, a brigand leader who settled in Mactan and was subordinated by the Raja to keep him in check and restrained, he was given his fief, but he was still a trouble maker even at his old age, so when the Europeans appeared, the Raja felt that it was a good opportunity to rid himself of the unwarranted raiding of Lapu-Lapu.

[@emarsk77]

The "standing apart and shooting at each other" reminds me of the Iliad, where they are basically just throwing spears at each other for quite a while.

[@blastulae]

Some Spanish likely wore kettle helmets similar in style to morions, but with a lower crest.

[@blaf55]

this was amazing video , love to see more of decribed battle

[@Kit-vb5rm]

One of your best informative video's Matt . Thank you.

[@AnoNYmous-bz2ef]

What's interesting about this though, is that it mentions battling against 1.5k-ish natives. Keep in mind that barangays, the community units of that time, barely reach a hundred. And a hundred people in a barangay is already considered a huge number. So I'm not sure where the rest came from.

[@ObsoleteVodkaYT]

Probably yet another made up fact by the conquistadors to make themselves look like heroes fighting against all odds, which was pretty typical of them.

[@Reginaldesq]

I dont know anything about the history of the place so please excuse my question. How do you know the community numbers of the time? I ask because some other colonial communities had much larger numbers than supposed. This may partly be because sometimes up to 50% even 90% of people died to foreign diseases.

[@Blindy_Sama]

I didn't know a lot about Magellan and I definitely didn't know this story so thank you

[@charlottesimonin2551]

Thank you for this presentation. My north American education usually said "Magellan died in a battle with Philippian natives" No discussion of how and why was ever offered. You have provided a very interesting history lesson. One of the many reasons I follow you.

[@MtRevDr]

A lot of common education is very shallow.

[@Turigamot]

The fine details don't really matter all that much in the grand scope of history, especially for a general education. The important details really are just that: They fought. and Magellan died. If every historical subject during primary schooling was dealt with in as much detail as presented here, there would literally be no time to learn anything else.

[@MtRevDr]

@@Turigamot - There is a lot of time in the life time of common folks. When a person is ignorant of something, he can acknowledge his ignorance, or learn more. Every detail is useful. Some play rough. And some enjoy fine details in which the gods dwell.

[@Turigamot]

@@MtRevDr None of what you said changes the fact that he should not blame his "North American" education for not being aware of fine details, because not being aware of such details has nothing to do with being North American. The vast majority of Europeans, Asians, South Americans, Africans, Australians, and people from outer space are also unaware of the full narrative, because the full narrative is not important enough to spend excess amount of time teaching in the standard classroom. Such details matter for people who are particularly interested in them, or people who wish to/need to specialize in such knowledge, and nobody else.

[@charlottesimonin2551]

@@Turigamot The lack of enough detail in historical incidents helps create a sense of European inevitable superiority which supports the notion of colonial justification.

[@0megasamuraistuff]

Maybe the thing about the shots passing through the shield was because they had large light shields which concealed the person behind? So it was harder to aim.

[@-RONNIE]

Thanks for the video and information

[@zurababayev8397]

Correction Lapulapu was not against alliance with Spain per se and converting, he objected to alliance where he was under raja Humabon. Magellan insisted on lapulapu being inferior to humabon... and so conflict started...

[@scholagladiatoria]

Out of interest, how could we know that? There are no Filipino written sources from the time. We have a handful of European sources and they all vary somewhat.

[@JunelieArthur111]

@@scholagladiatoria it's in the oral history regarding the battle as well as findings by Filipino historians over the years. Basically, Lapulapu was a "pirate king" based on Mactan island who raided trade going into the Cebu mainland. "Mactan" supposedly is Pigafetta transcribing the word "Mangatang" which means "to lie in wait/ambush" which is a reflection of Lapulapu's activities, but this most probably is folk etymology. However, if you ask locals of Mactan, they would tell you that the old, indigenous name for Mactan island is Opon/Opong, which lends some credence to the "Mactan came from Mangatang" idea. His objection with being "under" Humabon's rule is because of their rivalry in trade and piracy. The source for this is the "Aginid" epic which traces the genealogies and histories of various leaders in Cebu. If the Aginid is to be believed, it is a piece of oral history that is contemporary to Pigafetta's own accounts. However, some parts of the transcribed epic are verifiable by archaeological findings, but some parts of it can't also be verified. Sadly, the account regarding the life of Lapulapu and the happenings before and after Battle of Mactan are not verifiable.

[@JunelieArthur111]

@@scholagladiatoria There is transcribed epic called "Aginid" which is supposedly a record of the life of Lapulapu. It has records of the happenings before and after the Battle of Mactan. HOWEVER, while parts of the epic have been verified by archaeology, some parts are not verifiable or are contrary to current opinion of Filipino academics. If it is true, then it may be a contemporary to Pigafetta's account.

[@MasoTrumoi]

​@@JunelieArthur111Before anyone else jumps in being an asshole about it, many indigenous history studies must rely in oral history and as time wears on we see many details of oral traditions being proven true. It's a very colonial and privileged perspective to demand written sources alone for many colonized people's histories. In part due to the knowledge that Europeans actively destroyed many artifacts that may have had more concrete information. Assuming that the indigenous oral history is inaccurate and therefore we must only rely on colonial sources. How very convenient for the continuing dominance of colonial rhetoric...

[@JunelieArthur111]

@@MasoTrumoi I agree with your point. The Catch-22 is that, at least in Filipino historiography which I am more familiar with, the production of a more "practical and tangible" history requires archaeological evidence which agrees with oral tradition. Sad thing is, as you've said, oral and material records have been destroyed in the enforcement of colonialism. An ugly after effect to this is that, in the Philippines today, we are faced with transcriptions, records, and mentions of historical documents which are fabrications. The biggest of these fabrications is the "Code of Kalantiaw" which supposedly was a record of laws from Panay island written in the 1400s. This was supposedly "discovered" in 1913, and it took 80 years of study and research to find that it was actually a fabricated artifact/document. With the lives of indigenous peoples in the Philippines being more at risk as the years go by, and urbanization destroying known pre-colonial settlements, the verification oral histories are becoming more and more difficult to do.

[@crito3534]

17:27 - It is commonly understood that Pigafetta meant the shots dind't had enough power to kill them after passing through their shields. So apparently shields were in practice effective against firearms and crossbows.

[@hrodvitnir6725]

I love History with Matt!

[@PabloM02]

Great video, Matt! Being Mexican I would vote for the Mesoamerican video idea, would be interesting to know your thoughts and comments.

[@jollyroger6723]

According to the Soviet history textbook , Magellan is a great geographer , not a colonialist .Thanks for the interesting story.

[@ulujundru4759]

Yes, this happened during the first circumnavigation of the world completed by the Spanish Juan Sebastián Elcano, and not Francis Drake 😊

[@shaider1982]

Generations of Filipino school kids know of this and have portrayed it in little skits during class reporting. He has been vilified here that it seems to be forgotten that his fight with Lapu-Lapu is as support with an ally, Raja Humabon (8:45). It's a bit jarring to go abroad and see Magellan honored in other countries. I remember eating in Tokyo Disney Sea at a retaurant named Magellan.

[@NaturalSynthetic777]

I always heard elders says that it was a bolo that killed him. I guess thats like a wide heavyer scimitar. Theres many variations and people in general always get names of different filipino blades wrong but theres something called a condor engineers bolo, a well known american army jungle knife, very curved like a cresent moon, wide and heavy. Couldve been that. Always heard the kriss was a high status weapon and usually reserved for execution by plunging between the clavicle and shoulder rather than beheading.

[@TomasFunes-rt8rd]

"Filipino REPEL Spanish at Battle of Mactan".... Oh wow, they succeeded in beating a force that they outnumbered by 25 to 1 !!!!! What's their secret !!!

[@oteliogarcia1562]

how many shots the arquebusiers fired, we'll never know. Those matchlocks sure took a lot of steps to reload, the match itself had to be taken off to prevent an accident during reload, then put on again and tested for proper contact, on a closed pan, before the actual firing. and this was in leg deep water. Some of the Spanish gunners probably reloaded, but they would have realized quickly enough that their locks could get wet. So the Spanish may have engaged the Mactan natives at range using crossbows only for most of the battle. And crossbows took a lot of time and energy to reload.

[@AnoNYmous-bz2ef]

Nice. A bit late but yesterday was Philippine Independence Day so... almost perfect timing

[@tatumergo3931]

When they mention mortars, they're probably referring to Bombards which would have been more suitable for siege warfare, and not the battlefield.

[@tarlison2k1]

Actually a lot of his crew were poisoned and killed by Humabon because when Magellan and his officers went out his crew went wild and assaulted women and more or less being abusive to the people. (Majority of the crew were not really of decent background)

[@gagarin777]

I think the tactic was to retreat orderly so the ships could provide covering fire, but the men were too panicked at this point. In the Shaka Zulu TV series episode 5 there is a scene where tribal warfare is conducted in Africa - they just stand in a line opposite each other and throw long hunting spears with very little effect as the range is extreme.

[@richmondlandersenfells2238]

Bro "Treaty of tordesillas" got me nostalgic!

[@deltabravo2678]

two crossbow shots is an interesting measure... odd he didn't use "cable", a common unit of measure (about 200m) for the nautical-types

[@deltabravo2678]

Boy! Look at the size of the thumb-ring on that there rapier!

[@scholagladiatoria]

>:-[

[@deltabravo2678]

@@scholagladiatoria sorry. couldn't resist

[@Ilprimariogaming]

They were tragically outnumbered..

[@fuferito]

The indigenous people of the future Philippines lead by Lapulapu in the battle of Mactan made sure that it was Sir Francis Drake, and _not_ Magellan, to be the first Captain ever to circumnavigate the planet while retaining leadership from beginning to completion of the expedition.

[@rene.duranona]

Aaahh cool, that Kris looks very similar to the ones that are found in Indonesia.

[@ChristianMcAngus]

The Spanish were maybe lulled into a false sense of security by their encounters with Native Americans, and assumed the Filipinos would be similarly a walkover.

[@rileyernst9086]

I am more worried about the spears tipped in 'mud'.

[@ieatmice751]

I don’t especially believe the account that the firearms didn’t do much damage. There’s no way that the arquebusiers could have been landing centre mass shots on the warriors without hitting their bodies. I think it’s probably more likely that due to the sheer number of combatants and evident darkness it would be hard to actually see them fall when hit, so he assumed that they weren’t really doing all that much. It’s also possible I suppose that the Spaniards were just missing or maybe the water was causing them to misfire. But it’s anyone’s guess to be honest

[@MrThielk]

I'm a little disappointed in the lack of acknowledgement in the innate bias of the primary source. How would the author know of the poison if the body wasn't recovered? We could assume that potentially some of the crew had poison arrow wounds that survived. The author obviously liked Magellan and expected his work to be read. Most likely the Spanish engaged a larger force of Filipino's. They skirmished for awhile where the Spanish armor protected the Spanish and some sort of mix of mobility and dummy shields or smoke screens to draw the Spanish fire on the Filipino side. The 2 sides engaged with each other in the village where the Spanish routed.

[@fundacionhumedalessostenibles]

Hernando de Magallanes nacio en Portugal pero se naturalizo español y renuncio a su nacionalidad Portuguesa y sirvio a la corte Castellana como subdito de la Corona Hispanica

[@Benito-lr8mz]

Si es verdad y también hay flipados que dicen la tontería esa de Enrique de Málaca sin pruebas

[@dougsinthailand7176]

I can’t imagine trying to operate a matchlock in the surf.

[@TheSonOfDumb]

They had shipboard mortars? How interesting!

[@thomrauscher926]

Amazing analysis as usual; thank you for being unbearably interesting!🙏🤍😎

[@Sirsethtaggart3505]

I am so investing in some chauses after that cautionary tale.

[@trancamortal]

The expedition never intended to circumnavegate the world because theTordesillas treaty banned Spaniards to enter Portuguese domains. They did it out of desperation as the way back to America wasn't found until 40 years later, incidentaly by a survivior of El Cano´'S crew that by then was a monk, named Urdaneta. The way back goes by the Aleutian islands. Incidentally, the portuguese tried to kill Magellan and sent two fleyets to try to inmpede his voyage as the didn't want competition in the species trade. However they foolishy handed it over to the Dutch later on.

[@Oswald_of_Catalina]

Pretty interesting to hear from a primary source on the battle. I hate to be that guy, but supposedly my family is one of the major families in Cebu that are descended from Lapu Lapu. The narrative everyone gives is that Lapu Lapu killed Magellan in single combat, but this account seems a lot more plausible (minus Pigafetta's attempts to make Magellan sound like Boromir) Edit: Dammit; I got baited into clicking this by my telepathic Filipino abilities to sense anything pertaining to the Philippines. I GOT CALLED OUT BEFORE I EVEN POSTED THIS. F**K

[@fernandonp2534]

Los botes eran botes que se utilizaban para ir a tierra, no barcos.

[@darkwolf4830]

300 meter that'd in a modern firearms range. DID cross bows have that range? Though a hundred and half max.

[@scholagladiatoria]

Yes crossbows can easily shoot out to 300 yards. More specialised ones can shoot twice that. A .303 Lee Enfield can shoot targets out at 1000 yards, and will travel considerably further without accuracy being a factor.

[@Reginaldesq]

@@scholagladiatoria Really? I was thinking that to be loaded in water (ie cant rest the bow on the ground) the bows would have to be low power (hand load). EDIT: I just watched Todd cutler loading a few of his crossbows. Seems to be that for bows of that period max lbs for held reload (assisted with implements) would be about 500lbs (which is lowish), above that weight apparently requires implements (such as windlass) where the bow is loaded braced against the ground.

[@JanneMarjomaa]

Im a little bit confused. 1500 vs 50? WTF were they thinking? Armor or not, thats effin suicidal.

[@BlackCat-tc2tv]

36:40

[@lysandros765]

Maybe we shouldn't take the 1500 number at face value. European sources near always tend to exaggerate enemy numbers either when loosing like here or winning to paint a braver story.

[@George_M_]

He had it coming, he had it coming, he only had himself to blame... Lets stop and incompetently play politics with the locals!

[@DPXerxes]

Didn't know Magellan had a wife from Chicago :o

[@colbunkmust]

He wasn't so incompetent, The Philippines are 79% Catholic today.

[@Jose-xh5qb]

​@@colbunkmustVillalobos and Legazpi were the ones who conquered the Philippines by allying with several kingdoms and conquering the rest. Magellan was just cringe.

[@colbunkmust]

@@Jose-xh5qb Magellan managed to convert a whole kingdom to Christianity in three weeks, his failure was in amphibious warfare, not diplomacy.

[@diegogonzalezpena8733]

So basicallu they were like space marines

[@reeyees50]

Most ironic ad ever

[@titanscerw]

Lets goo!

[@CZOV]

Plunder is the word you are looking for, rather than explore :)

[@ArthurNiculitcheff]

No vale clareia uma fogueira. Uma dança sacode a terra inteira. E sombras disformes e descompostas Em clarões negros do vale vão Subitamente pelas encostas, Indo perder-se na escuridão. De quem é a dança que a noite aterra? São os Titãs, os filhos da Terra, Que dançam da morte do marinheiro Que quis cingir o materno vulto - Cingi-lo, dos homens, o primeiro -, Na praia ao longe por fim sepulto. Dançam, nem sabem que a alma ousada Do morto ainda comanda a armada, Pulso sem corpo ao leme a guiar As naus no resto do fim do espaço: Que até ausente soube cercar A terra inteira com seu abraço. Violou a Terra. Mas eles não O sabem, e dançam na solidão; E sombras disformes e descompostas, Indo perder-se nos horizontes, Galgam do vale pelas encostas Dos mudos montes.

[@pinfu7179]

Why isn't the Philippines not called Luzon or some other name in taglog. Where does that name comes from ?

[@KeyserSoze23]

Upon the stormy seas, a hero did arise, Ferdinand Magellan, with courage in his eyes, From Portugal's proud land, he sailed the boundless skies, To chart the unknown waters, beneath the foreign skies. With caravels strong and a crew steadfast and true, He left the Tagus River, beneath the heavens blue, Venturing through tempests, horizons wide and new, To find the fabled passage, his daring quest to pursue. Through distant isles and realms, where secrets softly sing, He braved the wild oceans, where the gales fiercely sting, Guided by the stars, under the moon’s silver wing, Defying fate and fortune, like a lion, like a king. In the isles of the East, where destiny did bind, A clash with fate awaited, a moment unkind, Yet his legacy endures, in every sailor’s mind, A journey everlasting, a path no man can blind. He carved a route eternal, uniting seas and lands, From the Atlantic's vast, to the Pacific's sands, In his name, we honor, with reverent, steadfast hands, Ferdinand Magellan, your tale forever stands. Oh, brave navigator, in the eternal sky, Your spirit roams the waters, where the legends lie, In our hearts, your flame shall never die, Beacon of the oceans, forever nigh. From the dawn's first light to the twilight’s gentle fall, Your voyage remains, an echo through the hall, Ferdinand Magellan, in every mariner's call, In Portugal’s ancient ballad, your name we recall.

[@crypto66]

"Hero"

[@franciscomoutinho1]

I always find extremely weird the discrepancy on how his name is written and spoken in Portuguese and how people do it in English.

[@ansonang7810]

We have to remember Magellan and Columbus and other explorers team they are not soldiers but explorers, navigators, prospectors , diplomats , translators, botanists, scientists(philosophers) , priests, sailors accompanied by some soldiers probably 10-20 per ship. They only came to explore, map and mark lands, negotiate deals with local people, prospect for wealth , trade or look for suitable plantations. Killing an Exhausted middle aged noble nerd not difficult. Probably not even wearing armor but fancy clothing. If Lapulapu slayed armored Granadier standing 6ft 4" 200+lbs 2 x his size then his a mighty warrior. When Spanish return to Philippines they brought the real deal with vengeance.

[@MasoTrumoi]

Source says they hit the field with armour, and Magellan is a no le and you think he'd be unarmored? Also, in what universe is a noble the one less likely to have seen combat? Gtfo with this nonsense. Sounds like you're coping and just trying to dismiss the loss by Magellan. Also, Columbus most certainly did not act as an explorer or diplomat. He was a tyrant that the Spanish threw in jail later for his brutality to all he ruled over, including the colonists. Columbus was a rapist and a slaver, and his priorities went right to slavery as soon as he met the Taino as evidenced by his own writing. His legacy is not the hill you should want to die on.

[@Reginaldesq]

He was a knight and I'm pretty sure explorers were expected to kill people. Since most people dont like you bringing soldiers onto their land. From a Spanish point of view, he stuffed up. From Filipino point of view he stuffed up and was also out smarted.

[@ansonang7810]

@@MasoTrumoi if sources say then it's probably true. Magellan did see combat but he's no professional soldier. Hobbiest or casual can never beat a pro. Even in basketball the pro will floor you. He's middle aged man with a leg injury. Noble men see less combat as they're more important people. Lower class do most of the dirty and minial jobs. I agree Columbus became a religious strict ruler when he became governor and rightful owner of the land he explored right given by Spanish crown. But we're not given was taken from him. But I can say he's a genius. The problem here is the nationalistic bias where they transform truth to fantasies where lapulapu a bad ass warrior that can beat anyone, and did it heroically when in reality they outnumbered the travel exhausted Spanish 10 is to 1.

[@ansonang7810]

@@Reginaldesq Steven Hawkins who can't walk is a knight, so is Sir Isaac Newton and many other Painters and artist who can't fight are knights a. We're not talking about knight of medieval feudal era but a knight of renaissance era. Knight warrior era ended on Don Quixote era.

[@Reginaldesq]

@@ansonang7810 I think you have your time periods mixed up. Its true that knights are no longer professional soldiers but in 1521 they very much were. This is still medieval period. Knights didnt really stop being fighters until close to 1600.

[@dospulgasenunperro]

Magallanes

[@Greenmahn333]

👍

[@noah_hill]

He tastes good too sweet and sour style

[@johannes8270]

World wide protection racket. 😂

[@ChorltonBrook]

Amazing - seeing as you weren’t there - to say he wasn’t actually brave or cared about his crew’s survival. Also IMO it was more than ‘colonialism’ - there was saving souls too.

[@VenatorSag]

So basically around 1000-1500 men vs an expedition of 50 soldiers and sailors. It doesn’t say much to be honest. You could talk if not done already about Cagayán battle

[@briandoherty8337]

Have lived on Panay for decades and been to Cebu several times and reading local sources since i was a kid. I know for a fact that the spanish had as many Cebuanos fighting with the Spanish/Europeans as there were Spanish/Europeans. The Cebuano were heavily indianized and they were not the naked savages that spanish propaganda delcares my wife's ancestors of being. "Filipino's" had good sheilds, cloth, horn and bamboo armor that was every bit as good as japanese armor and a lot lighter and cooler than the spanish tin suits. That is why the spanish lost and had to hire japanese mercenaries a hundred years later.

[@michael3088]

the Japanese didn't use bamboo armour in Combat that's a very overblown myth. They used it for Gekiken(sparring) which is the precursor to modern kendo equipment

[@fredhercmaricaubang1883]

You know what, Maestro Matt? I wish you could come & introduce Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) here in the Philippines! I mean, the Philippines is practically the most Westernized South East Asian nation & wouldn't it be a dirty, rotten shame if HEMA was not taught here? In fact, you could also bring along Maestro Rafaello Urbani Also Known As (AKA) Metatron to help colonize us again using HEMA! I know it'd be expensive for Filipinos but wouldn't it be GREAT? Just saying.

[@MH-gb5ky]

I would expect a historian to pronounce the explorer's name properly, in the Portuguese way. At least if adressing an international audience... 😉

[@guyplachy9688]

I have a feeling Matt got it wrong about the boats, The boats were probably the largest of the ships' boat, each armed with a smallish mortar. The three ships would have been armed with cannons, probably bronze, & probably capable of hurling shot a thousand metres or so (not necessarily effectively against ships at that range, but more than effective against unarmoured people). Larger ship's boats of the era were often quite solidly built & would draw more than two feet of water, especially if loaded down by a heavy lump of metal, like a mortar. Plus, the source does mention Magellan taking three boat-loads of troops, which would have been about 20 per boat (+/-), rather than three ship-loads. From the wording of the text around Magellan's inability to draw his sword, & the fact that he was able to thrust a "lance" through an opponent moments earlier, there is also a fairly good chance that he was hit in his arm whilst trying to draw his sword, which would have prevented him completing the action.

[@HoJu1989]

Yes, the ships stayed at Cebu and they used boats for the short trip to Mactan.

[@beafraidofinsectattack]

Time to call the horde (watch as a bazillion filipinose swarm to view the video because it says filipino) Oh, and also a few hours right after the independence day! Great timing Mr. Easton 😏

[@yousarrname3051]

Kami ay naipatawag

[@outsideiskrrtinsideihurt699]

When was the last time?

[@temperededge]

Did someone say Filipino? I felt a tingling sensation and came right away.

[@TrueMentorGuidingMoonlight]

Very interesting history! So I presume that Filipino martial arts got partially influenced by Spanish fencing?

[@Sabreur_Maladroit]

I’ve wondered about that as well.

[@makukawakami]

The Spaniards banned Indios learning martial arts and carrying weapons. So no

[@scholagladiatoria]

Some people say so, but honestly I think FMA are pretty much native and relatively separate to the Spanish systems we know about. If there was some cross-pollination, it is difficult to see in what has survived.

[@0097205]

There was some cross pollination, if I remember correctly (don't have the source handy) the Spanish took some inspiration from the Filipino stick and dagger and incorporated it into their rapier and dagger.

[@0097205]

Most of my sources are Filipino, so if anyone has recommendations for Spanish treatises I'm interested

[@titanscerw]

I used to be an explorer, just like you, then I took an arrow to the knee ...

[@williamhervey6409]

You actually made me laugh out loud when you said who the sponsor was

[@thecount5558]

Though Magellan was no doubt an experienced leader and skilled navigator, especially with his feat of managing 5 ships (with occasionally mutinous crews) all the way to the Philippines through the then uncharted Pacific Ocean, he was also a notable soldier. As a nobleman, it's more than likely that he would have been trained to handle a sword, not to mention, he was already a veteran sailor and soldier by the time he set sail for the spice islands. He fought extensively in the Portuguese campaigns in India, being involved in several major battles such as Cannanore, where he was wounded, and Diu, where has wounded again and spent 4 months recovering. He also fought alongside Alfonso de Albuquerque, participating in the attacks on Calicut and Goa. Magellan spent some time sailing around the coast of Africa as well, building forts and fighting against African warriors. He also suffered a leg wound in a battle in Morocco in 1513 against the Wattasid dynasty, the battle of Azemmour which resulted in a Portuguese victory.

[@requiscatinpace7392]

The Japanese vs the Filipinos/Indonesians/Malaysians tactics during WW2 would be a really interesting video!!

[@HoJu1989]

The "20 or 30 balangay" doesn't refer to the moros themselves but to the boats they used, so there was a considerable number of native warriors standing by.

[@monoclesquid9667]

I propose renaming the platform LapulapuTV

[@trancamortal]

The Philippino were already familiar to firearms and armour through the Japanese and Muslims

[@KeyserSoze23]

They were primitive firearms. The Japanese themselves didn't get to the stage of matchlocks until the Portuguese arrived in the 1540s.

[@gabrielegenota1480]

@@KeyserSoze23Yep, but a vaguely gun-shaped object that goes boom isn’t going to faze someone as much as those who’ve never seen a gun

[@trancamortal]

@@KeyserSoze23 But the Philippino were already acquainted with India and the muslim world that are much closer than Europe. Plul a matchlock musquet is not a grear weapon, specially in a skirmish like that, they woul have only a handful and obviously they didn't even have a psichological effect. Forget about the firearms as a factor. And stell and armor weren't any surprise. To top the matter, the Spaniards got political control of the Philippines very quickly by peaceful menas and that lasted until the 1898 war with thwe US. Main cause of the expediction problems was the lack of command virtues by Magellan and his personality. He allways disdained more quealified advice, sotle command from the desiganted head of teh expedition and killed anybody perceived as critical with his command. Proof of that is the wonderful retur of El Cano and the feat of Urdanete findingthe way back to Amrica. Matt is wrong in descibing how they found the Magellan straits. Tehre had been previous expeditions, so they weren't blind and Magellan mistook a river for the actual passage to teh Pacific Ocean. He also disdained the best consel of his own men by choossing to foolishy attack that tribe going away from the expedition's goal and doing it in such an unfavorable way. He wasn't a good commander, nor a good sailor, and that probably explained his lack of promotion in Portugal. Again, the Spaniards accepted his services because he was familiar with Portugal's Asia domains, but was put under anoter person authority that he nanaged to get rid of.

[@jimreed6875]

Well, this presentation was certainly more interesting than the one we received back in junior high school.

[@jillscott4029]

Fascinating. Also nice to learn the additional context of Magellan basically acting as the hired mercenary for the guy who was making a bid to be the chief king of all the islands, rather than the idea that he was just opportunistically raiding and had conquered everyone else but this one guy was strong enough and brave enough to beat him. It makes much more sense that he didn't really have to fight at all to that point and was involved in a local power struggle rather than just charging against natives like an idiot, which is kinda how it's portrayed.

[@HoJu1989]

That's pretty much how most of the Spanish conquering used to go.

[@oscaranderson5719]

really puts into context how colonization worked

[@kyomademon453]

Well spanish colonization rarely had actual major battles or skirmishes, it was more of a i come here with better tech lets make a deal in which my king offers u help and tech against ur rivals and in turn u become catholic and accept him as ur king

[@DrKarmo]

​@@HoJu1989no it isn't. The primary strategy for spanish colonization was seizing the leaders and attempting to rule with them as puppets, gathering allies and then if necessary, defeat the enemy in battle. The portuguese typically brute forced their way through the east with their superior navy and rarely fought non naval battles. No conquistadors charged into the enemy because they weren't soldiers and they didn't wanna die. If they did charge they would LOSE.

[@adamtennant4936]

Seems like Magellan got cocky and chose his ground really poorly. If they'd have fought somewhere they could bring the ships' guns to bear (or waited for the tide to be high enough to get closer to shore) that would have been a different story.

[@tatumergo3931]

It's the early 16th century, their canons would have been of poor quality and more than likely they wouldn't have been fully armoured and armed like is usually portrayed in films. Like you say, the crew was probably sick and tired already of the long and perilous voyage. They just wanted to go home!

[@adamtennant4936]

@@tatumergo3931 Even in the early 16th century cannons were already pretty decent. Certainly good enough to cause a lot of consternation amongst the enemy forces if deployed.

[@tatumergo3931]

@@adamtennant4936 . Sure in the late 16th century metallurgy had improved enough to make decent canons. In the earlier 16th century not so much, they were still using 15th century technology. The problem has always been about range and muzzle velocity, these early canon types were just a little better than a catapult or and onager. Just like crossbows tended to replace longbows because of easier use, so did canons replaced catapults and ballistas/onagers. There are Spanish records that mention how in some encounters with the American natives, the bombards they were using were completely ineffective against them. The present account here confirms it, a mere 600 to 800 yards was enough of a distance for the canons aboard to be ineffective. Eight hundred yards is about four American football fields, almost a kilometre. As a former artillery man it must have been frustrating to have such a short range, considering that today's artillery howitzers can put a round 30 kilometres away. About some 18 miles from target, and if you're using RAP ammunition even a little bit further.

[@mysticonthehill]

Sorry Matt but the Philippines has incredible diversity of armour, several of which existed in Magellan's time, from the simple double shirt of rope like cordage right up to forms of Lamellar. Pigafetta writes about some of these himself. We really have no way to tell how much they may have been armoured, but the naked savage is a colonial trope. In the days before guns became prolific armour was much more common then people realize in most continents.

[@mysticonthehill]

Also I will just add that mail was still in use at least at the time of the conquest of Mexico and there are several accounts of arrows passing entirely through the wearers body. Perhaps they were unluck but I just want to provide context.

[@mysticonthehill]

In the VIsayas the most common sword at this time looked a lot like a Hellenic xiphos, though there were others too.

[@Vlad_Tepes_III]

I was thinking about this as well, perhaps the European eyewitness accounts couldn't identify that a certain article of clothing was, in fact, armour because it didn't look metallic? What were the materials used to make the rigid armours specifically?

[@juliandacosta6841]

I know in the americas an armour very similar to a gambeson was successfully used for protection against firearms. The difference being that they wouldn't put a second layer of armour on top of it.

[@bradenselkirk4930]

He did say *almost all the natives , probably meaning only the wealthy or higher status phillipino wore armour around this time

[@MrSlugny]

8:24 I thought raja from the sub continent the Datu were the title for chiefs, sovereign kings leaders etc. for the people's the Visayas and Mindanao Regions of the Philippines ...👍Bayang Magiliw👍🙏💪

[@brickstonesonn9276]

This story has a lot of myths associated with it. Like the idea that Lapulapu was a young brave warrior fighting in the front lines when he's really an old leader that was probably at the back lines. The idea that the filipino natives were *severely* less well equipped than the spanish when filipinos likely had gunpowder weapons before the spanish arrived in the country and filipinos had steel armor similar to other southeast asian cultures at the time. Filipinos likely acquired guns around the same time that the Japanese did, and they likely gunpowder weapons before that because of extensive trade with China. Though we don't know if the Cebuanos(the Filipinos that Magellan fought) specifically had them. There's a decent chance that Cebuanos would've encountered them from skirmishes against the Tagalogs, and the Tagalogs are confirmed to have had gunpowder weapons via archeological evidence & we also know from spanish records at the time that filipino groups that had cannons used cannons on their ships. However, I'm pretty sure Cebuanos didn't have gunpowder weapons at all. Many art depictions even go so far as to shown native filipinos wearing nothing but loinclothes. The only people that wore only loinclothes were slaves. Of course, most filipinos during the *colonial* era were essentially slaves of the spanish; so if the art is portraying the colonial period, everyone wearing only loinclothes would make sense. However, during *pre-colonial* times, most filipinos would have worn a lot more than just loinclothes. Only slaves were *that* naked. And Lapulapu, who is often portrayed wearing nothing but loinclothes, was certainly not a slave. There's also the idea that filipinos got killed by spanish diseases, even though unlike native americans, the Philippines is part of the old world & is right next to the biggest trade route both in history & today(south china sea), plus they were known to trade with and pillage and send mercenaries to surrounding countries, so it's very unlikely that they wouldn't be immune to old world diseases. So many myths, both coming from spanish/colonial historians wanting to portray filipinos as lowly stupid barbarians, as well as present day filipino politicians wanting to take advantage of the lack of concrete records to create fictitious filipino empires to legitimize their rule or second generation filipino immigrants in other countries letting biases & fictions from their personal identity issues seep into their research about their own culture & history. Filipino history is fascinating because of how many different cultures it was in contact with for hundreds of years, yet it's also very mysterious because pretty much all native written records were destroyed during the spanish colonial era & during bombings in WW2 (and we know there must have been written records given that the archipelago had 16 different writing scripts, and the traditional writing process for them (using banana leaves) is extremely similar to Indonesia's & Malaysia's traditional writing processes). In many ways, Filipino history is a fascinating, mysterious cautionary tale about what happens when history is literally forgotten; fictions are born. Fiction that was born less from fact & more from personal biases & agendas, confusing a culture & a people about their own identity and the identity of the world around them. There's people in the Philippines that genuinely think Filipinos didn't know how to use fire until the Spanish came. Meanwhile there are other people in the Philippines that genuinely think it was the richest empire in the world for hundreds of years. All born from half-truths (filipinos did learn lots of tech from spanish, philippines did & still has a lot of gold resources) taken to their logical extreme.

[@quintusix7315]

@scholagladiatora this might be important, so I hope you read this. We've discussed this in our Filipino Blades group [we're Filipinos in the Philippines] And everyone seems to focus on the word "Scimitar" which is not a native word in the language of those who wrote it, and not enough on the other descriptive words. Yes, a Scimitar is a curved weapon. But also the people who saw Scimitars firsthand were not the same people in that voyage. In our discussion, we also took into account some depictions of Scimitars in 1500s spain, which are a lot straighter and wider, so we think those depictions probably influenced what they imagine a "scimitar" to be, and might not have been using the term Scimitar accurately at the time. They also used the terms cutlass and terciado, which are not curved. But like I said, widening the perspective a bit, they also mention its size. They specifically mention it to be "a large terciado, which is like a scimitar, but bigger" "Big" is not something one could use to describe a lot of ancient Filipino blades. The only blade with a significant enough size to be specifically mentioned "big" would be, yes, the Moro Kampilan. And while the other specimens of blade you showed could very well be closer to what he did use, the Moro Kampilan still has a significantly larger profile and looks enough like a 1500s depiction of a Scimitar--more so than other blades--to be described as one, so a lot of us think it was the Moro Kampilan.

[@deltabravo2678]

might there not have been contact between, prior to Magellan, pirates from the entire coastline of the Indian Ocean and Filipinos that may have introduce "scimitar" to the culture?

[@quintusix7315]

​@@deltabravo2678 If we were to use the term accuartely, actual Scimitars are curved blades used in the Middle East and surrounding countries/cultures, and we dont have them in the Philippines. We do have curved blades, but not exactly like those. But more importantly, that's not really the point of the context. The context here is that Pigafetta recorded [translated to english] “When they saw this, they all came upon him: one with a large terciado (which is like a scimitar, but bigger), gave them a wound in the left leg, which which he fell with his face forward,” describing the weapon as a "large Terciado , which is LIKE a scimitar, but BIGGER." Researchers often focus on the word "scimitar" in this record because it references a specific blade, but Pigafetta doesn't even directly compare it to one. He compares it to a "terciado" (a blade that's a 1/3 shorter than the length of a longsword, IIRC), and then describes THAT as a Scimitar, but larger. The issue her is that we believe Pigafetta may have been using the term "scimitar" inaccurately or loosely. At the time (1500s), the depictions (or at least some) of Muslims and Scimitars in artwork are inaccurate and were most likely based on verbal descriptions. Some (if not most) of the scimitars are depicted with relatively straighter and thicker blades than actual Scimitars wielded by Muslims during the Crusades.

[@HoJu1989]

​@@quintusix7315The terciado was one third shorter than the legal maximum length for a (one handed) sword blade which by 1564 was around 104 cm, making the terciado 69 cm. Presumably broader too and quite possibly curved. I think you are probably right in that by scimitar Pigafetta meant a short falchion or storta as commonly depicted in Renaissance art, so the terciado would be a bigger version of that, ie similar to a cutlass or hanger. So yeah a kampilan sounds like the closest native equivalent, as the other blades Matt showed are definitely smaller than what the text seems to imply.

[@Reginaldesq]

Interesting and thanks for that post. I feel that an educated Italian would know very well what a scimitar was, as would a Portuguese Knight. However I can accept that trying to describe a weapon you have never seen before in a few words by comparing it to something slightly similar is problematic.

[@quintusix7315]

@Reginaldesq i wouldn't say "problematic", just that it wouldn't be as accurate as how it would be done now. An educated italian and a portugese knight might know about scimitars from artwork rather than from actually seeing one. This was 1521, the Crusades where they would have seen Muslin warriors were 1000s - 1290s. That's 200-something years part. At most they could have seen an artifact, but still there were lots of depictions of Mulsims ans Scimitars in artwork that don't really reflect them properly.

[@iantheduellist]

You should make a video about the sources on the house to house fighting at the battle of Monterrey. There's probably some usage of the saber against bayonet there, seeing as the Mexican officer's liked brawling alongside their troops.

[@beafraidofinsectattack]

That would be amazing, as a saber enthusiast. The most convenient ideas I have of saber on bayonet is from Quora. Seeing as how Mr. Matt also loves sabers (if I remember correctly it's his favorite?), this might be a really good video idea!

[@iantheduellist]

@@beafraidofinsectattack Then Mexico should be on his top priority of sources, Mexican Cavalry constantly bested both French and American Cavarly, and we Mexicans used sabers. You should also consider studying the famous battle of puebla, which is why we Mexicans celebrate 5 de Mayo.

[@beafraidofinsectattack]

@@iantheduellist I'm not sure, but surely he has videos on Mexican treatises idk, which ones are your favorites btw? (I might as well ask which sabers you prefer lol). I have heard and read a little about both Monterrey and Puebla, which I am planning to read more into. I think Filipinos also celebrate Cinco de Mayo, I think nearly all Latino cultures celebrate it as well.

[@iantheduellist]

@@beafraidofinsectattack I haven't found any videos on Mexican treatises. 🥲 Also, most of Mexican sabers are modeled after the french.

[@beafraidofinsectattack]

@@iantheduellist A video on interesting notes about the different styles and saber designs would be cool. Other youtubers have made some short overviews on Mexican saber at least, but I think Matt himself would have a lot of insight on it. I speculate the development of sabers copied from the French are in line with the politics of the time, as swords like the rapier and smallsword are then favoured along with French (among others) fighting styles. Cheers, mi amigo 🫡 May you become a Destreza maestro

[@fernandonp2534]

Magallanes trabajaba para la corona de Castilla, aunque era portugués de nacimiento. La expedición fue pagada por la corona y otros nobles y empresarios españoles.

[@oteliogarcia1562]

Europeans were looking for a sea route to the Spice Islands because the land route had been effectively closed to them, or demanded too steep a price to be THAT profitable. The Portuguese sailed East and reached the Moluccas. The Spanish chose the westward route. Columbus reached the Americas, thought he had reached Asia, and thus, by mistake, lent the name of India to a lot of New World things (Indians[Indios], the Indies, etc.). Balboa reached the West shore of Panama and sighted the Pacific. Finally, Magellan got past the Americas, crossed the Pacific, and, intent on reaching the Moluccas, stumbled upon [what would become] the Philippines, meddled in local politics, and died there. Ironically, much later, another great explorer, James Cook, also died on an island.

[@Kanner111]

29:00 Wow, does Matt really not have something like this weapon? 29:44 That's more like it! =) 29:58 Haha what is happening here? 30:11 EXCELLENT (Also, which the interesting details are indeed very interesting, it's stretching credibility just a little bit to claim that it took all 1500 guys to finish off the captain after he went down (thus buying time for everyone else to retreat). Even if you Pareto Principle that 1500 down to 300 or so, and assume a LOT of brave wounded after hours of fighting, you just can't fit more than a dozen or so guys around one fallen officer at a time. So either massive props to Filipino discipline for not pursuing a routed enemy past their lines, or there is some tribal cache in taking a swing at a fallen leader and they really were all lining up to do so, or Piquafetta(???) is embellishing his fallen leader's heroic demise to at least *some* extent.)

[@brickstonesonn9276]

Most of your points and interpretations of the story in this primary source, especially in regard to the natives, are wrong. (Btw, keep in mind I'm not arguing against the source itself, only the points & interpretations Matt has added onto it as you read it in this video. Also, I'm sorry if this comment sounds rude, that is not my intention. This is also not an attack on Matt personally, please don't take it that way.) - There are records from other countries like China of Filipinos producing steel products as well as buying steel armor & weapons from China long before the Spanish came. Meanwhile Filipinos further south had armor similar to other southeast Asian & south Asian countries. The Philippines is a very diverse place, and it's not as small as many people think (it's about the same land area as Norway). The Filipinos that Magellan fought are Cebuanos. We don't know if Cebuanos had those types of steel armor. There're many records that most of them didn't, and that Filipinos in the Visayan regions generally had wooden armor. But saying "most Filipinos didn't wear armor" or "most Filipinos had weapons not suited for fighting against armor" is completely wrong. Firstly, Filipinos, and generally every culture in Maritime Southeast Asia (Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc.) were known to have been traders, raiders, and mercenaries who attacked the coasts of Vietnam & China & each other many times (think Vikings, basically). There is *no way* that Filipinos weren't used to fighting opponents with steel armor. Of course they weren't used to fighting opponents with European Armor specifically, but everyone in Asia wasn't used to fighting European Armor, but to say that their weapons & tactics weren't made for fighting against armor *at all* and suggesting that Filipinos had no concept of armor, which this video seems to keep pointing out, is just plain wrong. Magellan & his men were invulnerable to the natives' spears and arrows simply because armor is generally invulnerable to spears and arrows regardless of where the battle takes place. It has little to do with the natives' weapons being "tribal" and "not used to armor". Secondly, most Filipino cultures *did* have armor. Many of them wore armor of similar style & quality to other Southeast Asian & South Asian cultures at the time, while more Filipinos further north wore armor more stylistically similar to east Asian cultures. Simple square plates hanging in front of the chest was a common type of armor in the Philippines at this time; this is likely what all the poorer warriors used. Higher classes of Cebuanos, like Lapulapu, definitely wore armor. Cebu, which is next to Mactan, was not as big of a trading hub as Manila. But it was still *the* big trade hub in the Visayas region. The richest men there would definitely have had access to quality armor. If not from trade, from their pillaging of other countries in Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, places that were less connected to the outside world or didn't have necessary materials for steel armor used wooden or padded armor. A lot of conceptions that Filipinos were this less advanced compared to other Asian cultures or European colonial forces can be disproven simply by looking at a map and employing Occam's Razor. They were definitely less advanced & I'm not denying that Europeans had a great advantage, but not to the ridiculous degree this video seems to be pointing out. Besides, armor is not *that* big brain of an idea. Even if the Philippines *was* disconnected from the rest of the world, they still would have worn armor. - The less egregious point in this video is the stuff where you applied tribal warfare theory to the native Filipinos. "Tribe" and "Kingdom" are also tricky words in relation to Filipino history. Spanish records call societies in the Philippines (and in Indonesia & Malaysia) "tribes", meanwhile records from nearby countries like China & Japan uses the word "Kingdom" for these societies. The truth is that neither "Tribe" or "Kingdom" really describe these societies properly. A large Filipino society ruled by a "Rajah" is called a "Bayan". A "Bayan" is an alliance of "Barangays" that has a similar system as the Holy Roman Empire over in Europe. Meanwhile "Barangay" can either describe a settlement that consists only of a few houses, or it could describe something as big as a European capital city of the time. This applies not only to the Philippines, but to Indonesia & Malaysia as well. But they use different words than "Bayan" or "Barangay". I think applying tribal warfare theories to Cebuanos specifically isn't necessarily bad, but it is at risk of suggesting that the entire Philippines is all small-scale tribal warfare, which is just not true. Historical accounts are also contradictory on this. European sources describe many polities in the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia as "Tribes". Meanwhile Chinese records use the word for "Kingdom" to these polities instead. Some European sources also use the word "Kingdom", but from what I've read, usually it's only when referring to places that are not under their colonial rule. From what I know, if it's under their colonial rule, European sources almost always use the word "Tribe". I think you just misunderstood pretty much everything about pre-colonial Filipino society because the word "tribal" & "chiefs" were used in a lot of English records of Filipino history, and you brought in assumptions about what "tribe" and "chief" means into interpreting this piece of history. I don't blame you for this, this is a natural mistake everyone makes. Let's just say there's a reason why historians tackling the Philippines like to use the word "polity" instead of "tribe" or "kingdom" specifically because of these kinds of misunderstandings. (As a point of comparison, this is also the reason why calling the Majapahit an "Empire" causes a lot of terrible misunderstandings about *that* piece of history. The word "empire" in the west is a completely different thing than what the Majapahit was.) There are places in the world that have societies that doesn't neatly fit into European words & definitions of society. This is one of those cases.

[@oxvendivil442]

This tribal warfare style where people get prepared first before a formal battle is similar to early Japanese warfare which is quite ceremonial as well, even if Japan had heavy Continental/Chinese influences, probably due to their archipelagic lands, tend to stick with a form of tribal mentality similar to their southern neighbours in the Philippines who were the most primitive societally/politically among the Southeast Asian polities, as a Filipino, I find this interesting, the dichotomy of how Continentals like the Europeans/Chinese conduct themselves compared to how Islanders like the Filipinos/Japanese would is eye opening.

[@vladimirandreevich]

Seems like Magellan was tricked and used by those Filippinos who opposed Lapu-Lapu

[@YGK-tu8cy]

WOOHOO PHILIPPINES MENTIONED