The Battle of Manila (1574) ( es, Batalla de Manila en el 1574;
Filipino
Filipino may refer to:
* Something from or related to the Philippines
** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines.
** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...
: ''Labanan sa Maynila ng 1574'') was a battle in the
Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
area mainly in the location of what is now
Parañaque
Parañaque, officially the City of Parañaque ( fil, Lungsod ng Parañaque, ), is a first class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to t ...
between Chinese and Japanese pirates, led by
Limahong
Limahong, Lim Hong, or Lin Feng (; March 7, 1499 – ?), well known as Ah Hong () or Lim-A-Hong or Limahon (), was a Chinese pirate and warlord who invaded the northern Philippine Islands in 1574. He built up a reputation for his constant raid ...
, and the Spanish colonial forces and their native allies. The battle occurred on November 29, 1574 when Limahong's fleet landed in the town of
Parañaque
Parañaque, officially the City of Parañaque ( fil, Lungsod ng Parañaque, ), is a first class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to t ...
and from there, began to assault the fortifications of
Intramuros
Intramuros (Latin for "inside the walls") is the historic walled area within the city of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. It is administered by the Intramuros Administration with the help of the city government of Manila.
Present-day I ...
. Initially, the inhabitants where disorganized and Limahong's forces routed them. Furthermore, the Chinese killed the Master-of-Camp of the Spanish,
Martin de Goiti Martin may refer to:
Places
* Martin City (disambiguation)
* Martin County (disambiguation)
* Martin Township (disambiguation)
Antarctica
* Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land
* Port Martin, Adelie Land
* Point Martin, South Orkney Islands
Aust ...
. This caused them to delay their assault on Manila as Martin de Goiti's house was an obstacle in their march.
Limahong's forces laid siege to Manila until a force, led by
Juan de Salcedo
Juan de Salcedo (; 1549 – March 11, 1576) was a Spanish-Novohispanic conquistador. He was born in Mexico in 1549 and he was the grandson of Miguel López de Legazpi and brother of Felipe de Salcedo. Salcedo was one of the soldiers who accompan ...
, of fifty Spanish musketeers broke the siege.
Having been defeated at Manila, Limahong retreated and abandoned his plans to invade
Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
and instead settled in
Pangasinan
Pangasinan, officially the Province of Pangasinan ( pag, Luyag/Probinsia na Pangasinan, ; ilo, Probinsia ti Pangasinan; tl, Lalawigan ng Pangasinan), is a coastal province in the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region of Luzon. Its capit ...
. A year later, forces again led by Salcedo defeated Limahong, leading to the
Viceroy of Fukien to travel to the Philippines for the initial purpose of securing the release of Limahong, but ultimately establishing diplomatic relations between China and the Spanish Philippines.
Background
The first Spanish expedition arrived in the region in 1565, but the city would not be founded until 1571. Once established, Manila became a central center of commerce with multiple nations from
south Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...
, as well as
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, which traded with porcelain, silk and wood. Manila's fame as a rich city spread quickly around southern Asia, attracting the interest of pirates and marauders.
[Dennis O. Flynn, Arturo Giráldez, ''European Entry into the Pacific: Spain and the Acapulco-Manila Galleons'', 2017, Routledge, 9781351938624]
In 1574, Chinese warlord
Limahong
Limahong, Lim Hong, or Lin Feng (; March 7, 1499 – ?), well known as Ah Hong () or Lim-A-Hong or Limahon (), was a Chinese pirate and warlord who invaded the northern Philippine Islands in 1574. He built up a reputation for his constant raid ...
set out for Manila. He had been just expelled from China by the imperial fleet in a battle in
Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
, and was looking for moving his headquarters to the Filipinas islands, where he could obtain greater gains with less difficulty.
[Graham Gerard Ong-Webb, ''Piracy, Maritime Terrorism and Securing the Malacca Straits'', 2006, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 9789812304179] After capturing a Chinese trader ship that carried Spanish sailors, he found out Manila only had a garrison of around 200 Spanish soldiers available, so he judged it would be easy to capture the city in a surprise attack.
[''Fei Hua Li Shih Hsüeh Pao, Volúmenes 8-12'', 1978, Philippine Chinese Historical Association]
In November, guided by the Spanish prisoners, Limahong arrived in Luzón with a fleet formed by around 60 junks, gathered to expel the Spaniards and take the city. His contingent was composed by 2000 soldiers, 2000 sailors and 1500 colonists,
[ including entire families, ransom women captured in China and Japan, farmers, carpenters, artisans, doctors and all goods necessary to establish a settlement.][César V. Callanta, ''The Limahong Invasion'', 1979, Pangasinan Review Press] He only left a small part in the island of Batán, where he had taken refuge from the Chinese imperial fleet.[
Limahong was helped by a Japanese lieutenant, Sioco (likely a Spanish language corruption of "Shoko"), and according to Japanese sources, he acted in alliance with factions of ]wokou
''Wokou'' (; Japanese: ''Wakō''; Korean: 왜구 ''Waegu''), which literally translates to "Japanese pirates" or "dwarf pirates", were pirates who raided the coastlines of China and Korea from the 13th century to the 16th century.[katana
A is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Developed later than the ''tachi'', it was used by samurai in feudal Japan and worn with the edge fa ...]
'', along with more traditional Chinese weapons.[ It is also apparent he had a Portuguese translator in his fleet.][Juan Caro y Mora]
Ataque de Li-ma-hong á Manila en 1574; reseña histórica de aquella memorable jornada
/ref>
Opposing forces
According to all sources, both sides were matched in weapons and equipment. The main difference in the battle was seemingly the superior experience and training of the Spanish soldiers, as well as their defensive positions, the opportune arrivals of reinforcements and other tactical considerations.[ Both armies employed arquebuses and small artillery pieces, as well as swords and daggers, and the Asians carried long-tipped pikes (described as being "enough by themselves to undo the thickest hauberks") and several kinds of sabers, catanes and scimitars. Among protective equipment there were steel armors, mails and cloth ]gambeson
A gambeson (also aketon, padded jack, pourpoint, or arming doublet) is a padded defensive jacket, worn as armour separately, or combined with mail or plate armour. Gambesons were produced with a sewing technique called quilting. They were usual ...
s, those especially worn by the Asians. The pirates also used a great quantity of gunpowder hand grenade
A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade genera ...
s and incendiary artifacts.[“La relación del suceso de la venida del tirano chino del gobernador Guido de Lavezares: Épica española en Asia en el siglo XVI:”]
/ref>
Battle
Limahong's fleet was spotted by Spanish posts in the northern part of Luzón, commanded by Juan de Salcedo
Juan de Salcedo (; 1549 – March 11, 1576) was a Spanish-Novohispanic conquistador. He was born in Mexico in 1549 and he was the grandson of Miguel López de Legazpi and brother of Felipe de Salcedo. Salcedo was one of the soldiers who accompan ...
and Francisco de Saavedra. Three messengers were sent by sea, but lack of wind caused the pirate fleet to catch up with them, forcing the Spaniards to abandon the boats and continue on foot by land. As a consequence, it was not possible to send the message in time.
First attack
On 30 November, Limahong deployed Sioco to perform a night raid with 400-600 pirates and capture the unaware city by surprise. However, the plan failed, as Limahong had ordered to execute the Spanish prisoners upon arriving to the beach; as the pirates did not have the prisoners' knowledge of the whereabouts anymore, Sioco's expedition fell in dangerous currents, losing three boats and being drifted by mistake towards Parañaque
Parañaque, officially the City of Parañaque ( fil, Lungsod ng Parañaque, ), is a first class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to t ...
. Sioco decided to continue on foot to Manila while towing the launches with ropes.[
]
The pirates were spotted after a handful of attacks on Manila locals, who believed mistakenly that Sioco and his group were Muslims bandits from Borneo
Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...
. Governor Martín de Goiti
Martín de Goiti (c. 1534 – 1575) was one of the soldiers who accompanied the Spanish colonization of the East Indies and the Pacific in 1565. From his base in Mexico City, he led the expedition to Manila ordered by Miguel López de Legazpi in 15 ...
was informed in his house near the old San Agustin Church, but he dismissed it and only sent ten guards to find out what was happening, without sounding alarms or informing the garrison.[ The pirates quickly killed the guards and besieged the house, where Goiti's wife Lucía del Corral taunted them from the window. Infuriated by the insults and checking out the house was still well fortified, Sioco ordered it to be set in fire. Finally understanding the dire situation, Goiti and the few men inside sallied out against the pirates in a suicide attack.][ The governor was elderly and sick at the time, but tradition has that he jumped from a low window in his rush to engage his enemies.][ It is also believed that the Chinese pirates cut his nose and ears as human war trophies.][ The house was destroyed, the only survivors being Del Corral and soldier Francisco de Astigarribia.][Gaspar de Agustín, ''Conquistas de las islas Filipinas (1565-1615)'', 1698]
With Goiti dead, Sioco resumed his march towards Manila, but the locals had heard the battle and warned the garrison in time for the defense to be prepared. The next in command was Lavezaris, whose house was located in the opposite point to the city.[ Sioco's force was met outside the walls by a nearby team of 20 ''arcabuceros'' commanded by Lorenzo Chachón, who harassed them into stopping. However, their numerical advantage allowed the pirates to encircle Chacón and press on them, killing eight before the rest could cut their way towards the city. The Chinese pirates gave them pursuit, but another company of 80 Spanish soldiers under Alonso Velázquez attacked them from the ]flank
Flank may refer to:
* Flank (anatomy), part of the abdomen
** Flank steak, a cut of beef
** Part of the external anatomy of a horse
* Flank speed, a nautical term
* Flank opening, a chess opening
* A term in Australian rules football
* The si ...
. Sioco, realizing tactical advantage was lost and likely fearing the intervention of more Spanish reinforcements, called for a retreat to Cavite
Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite ( tl, Lalawigan ng Kabite; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Located on the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest ...
, where they had accorded to reunite with Limahong.[
Sioco and his forces embarked in Limahong's fleet and planned a second attack after resting for two days. For his part, Lavezaris summoned to Manila all the nearby soldiers and built fortifications, rightly predicting a new assault. The situation in Manila was conflicted, as many still believed the pirates worked for the ]raja
''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia.
The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...
of Borneo, so Lavezaris arrested two local Muslim chieftains, Numanatay and Rajabago, suspecting they might be enemy insiders. The truth is unknown, although the two later were revealed to have been strangled in their cells. Shortly after, Salcedo reached Manila with his own reinforcements, so Lavezaris promoted him to the ''Maestre de Campo
''Maestre de campo'' was a rank created in 1534 by the Emperor Carlos V, inferior in rank only to the ''capitán general'' and acted as a chief of staff. He was chosen by the monarch in the Council of State, and commanded a '' tercio''. Their po ...
'' title vacated by Goiti, leaving Salcedo's own command to Gaspar Ramírez, Velázquez's ensign. Spanish forces by this point were 150-200 Iberian soldiers and 200 Ilocano warriors from Bauang, along with some militiamen
A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...
.[Marciano R. De Borja, ''Basques in the Philippines'', University of Nevada Press, 2012, ]
Second attack
On the night of December 2, Limahong's fleet was spotted arriving in Manila. The first artillery exchanges happened at daybreak, when the fleet anchored down and deployed 1,500 pirates commanded again by Sioco. Their launches were sent back to the ships so they would be properly motivated to fight without possible retreat.[ After setting fire many coastal houses with incendiary grenades, including the San Agustín Church, Sioco ordered his troops to divide in three contingents, hoping to attract the Spaniards outside where they could envelope them from three sides. However, Lavezaris deduced his strategy and forbad his soldiers to leave the walls, not even when the Chinese fleet moved to find better shooting positions, as the Spanish defensive positions allowed them greater safety to return fire and inflict damage. Finally, Sioco's hand was forced under fire, and he gave the order to assault the walls in a two-pronged attack, leaving his third company in rearguard.][
]
The citizens initially repulsed all attacks, but one of the Spanish commanders of ''alabarderos'', Ensign Sancho Ortiz, was overwhelmed and shot down, with the result that his bulwark became open to the Chinese pirates. The pirates entered the city and engaged the forces of Salcedo and Francisco de León, Manila's mayor, at the same time as Spanish artillery overpowered the Chinese fleet and pushed it out of the harbor. The main battle happened them in the streets, where León was killed by pirates, but shortly after it was Sioco himself who was taken down by a Spanish marksman
A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision shooting using projectile weapons (in modern days most commonly an accurized scoped long gun such as designated marksman rifle or a sniper rifle) to shoot at high-value targets at longer-than-u ...
. Unsupported and with their main captains dead, the Chinese pirates were finally expelled from the walls.
While the battle raged, turbulence took place behind the Spanish lines. Assuming the Spaniards would be defeated, groups of natives capitalized on the battle to sack empty houses, and a mass of slaves
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
broke out with the intention to escape. They stole launches and tried to flee through the Pasig River
The Pasig River ( fil, Ilog Pasig) is a water body in the Philippines that connects Laguna de Bay to Manila Bay. Stretching for , it bisects the Philippine capital of Manila and Metro Manila, its surrounding urban area into northern and souther ...
, but they did so with such haste that several boats were overturned and many slaves drowned; they were also attacked by other natives, who saw the chance to take revenge for previous servitudes and enmities. There were also riots in Tondo and Mindoro
Mindoro is the seventh largest and eighth-most populous island in the Philippines. With a total land area of 10,571 km2 ( 4,082 sq.mi ) and has a population of 1,408,454 as of 2020 census. It is located off the southwestern coast of Luz ...
, where the locals sacked Christian churches and took hostages among the clergymen to offer to Limahong as tributes in case of his victory.[''Memorial del Cabildo de Manila'', 1576]
Salcedo drove the pirates to the beach and inflicted many casualties, but they were forced to return to the walls when Limahong returned with several ships to deploy reinforcements of 400 soldiers. Limahong also called one of the three companies left by Sioco, gathering around 1000 men in total, but he judged useless to try any more assaults and called out the attack. His men were sent to sack the nearby places while Limahong set two stranded ships in fire, hoping to deviate Salcedo's attention, but the Spanish captain saw through the ruse and fell over the sackers. Ultimately, Limahong summoned all his soldiers to his ships and abandoned the shore altogether under fire from Manila.[
]
Last movements
Limahong headed to Parañaque, which he pillaged, while Salcedo rebuilt Manila and prepared for a possible third attack. A confusion took place when many torches were spotted at the beach by night, but they turned out to be just locals of Luzón looting the Chinese pirates corpses, and afterwards the city was informed that Limahong's fleet had definitely retreated northwardly. After the battle, one of the local militiamen, Galo, was rewarded with the Spanish title of ''don
Don, don or DON and variants may refer to:
Places
*County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON
*Don (river), a river in European Russia
*Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name
*Don, Benin, a town in Benin
*Don, Dang, a vill ...
'' due to his bravery and leadership.
While Lavezaris called in forces from Panay
Panay is the sixth-largest and fourth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of and has a total population of 4,542,926 as of 2020 census. Panay comprises 4.4 percent of the entire population of the country. The City o ...
, Camarines
Ambos Camarines ( es, ambos, meaning "both"; commonly known as Camarines), officially the Province of Ambos Camarines, was a historical province in the Philippines found on the northern end of the Bicol Peninsula. It now exists as two separate ...
and Cebu
Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 ...
in order to gather a chase fleet, Salcedo was sent to solve the riots in Tondo and Mindoro. He personally convinced chieftain Lakandula
Lakandula (Baybayin: , Spanish orthography: ''Lacandola'') was the title of the last ''lakan'' or paramount ruler of pre-colonial Tondo when the Spaniards first conquered the lands of the Pasig River delta in the Philippines in the 1570s.
The f ...
to surrender and free the religious hostages, who had been tortured with fire.[
]
Chase to Pangasinan
The remnants of Limahong's fleet were later discovered in an island of the Agno river
The Agno River, or Pangasinan River, is a river in the island of Luzon, in the Philippines. Traversing the provinces of Baguio and Pangasinan, it is one of the largest river systems in the country, with a drainage area of .
The river originate ...
in Pangasinan
Pangasinan, officially the Province of Pangasinan ( pag, Luyag/Probinsia na Pangasinan, ; ilo, Probinsia ti Pangasinan; tl, Lalawigan ng Pangasinan), is a coastal province in the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region of Luzon. Its capit ...
, where Francisco de Saavedra had traveled to warn the Ilocans from the pirate. Limahong had installed his settlement there, spreading propaganda about a supposed victory over the Spaniards and promising falsely a government rich and without tributes, apparently hoping to cause a revolt against the Spanish. Saavedra was betrayed by the natives, who sold him to Limahong, but he deduced it in time and managed to return to Manila with the news. Three months after, in March 1575, Lavezaris launched the anticipated expedition to punish Limahong, reuniting 60 ships manned by 250 soldiers, 400 sailors and 1,700 indigenous warriors, including some Ilocanos unhappy with the warlord.
Having found out that Limahong had 2000 fighters, Salcedo blocked the river with chained ships and fortified the shores. After the first contacts, he sent his captains Lorenzo Chacón, Pedro de Chaves and Gabriel de Rivera, along with many warriors to disable the Chinese ships, capturing some and burning the rest to leave the Chinese pirates without a way to escape. Their group found a way into the settlement and battled Limahong's forces in its outer wall, being impeded from advancing further only because they became distracted sacking the riches and women they found. Nonetheless, they closed the battle mounting a tight siege on the compound.
The siege went on for four months, hoping to surrender Limahong by hunger. Chinese commander Pesung Aumon arrived unexpectedly to help negotiations, offering Limahong either becoming a privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...
for emperor Wanli
The Wanli Emperor (; 4 September 1563 – 18 August 1620), personal name Zhu Yijun (), was the 14th Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1572 to 1620. "Wanli", the era name of his reign, literally means "ten thousand calendars". He was th ...
or being annihilated by the Chinese fleet, but Limahong refused, as he had a plan to escape. After sacrificing his wounded men, warlord managed to break out artfully from the siege, moving improvised boats through a channel he excavated secretly, and disappeared into the sea. A last contact happened in cape Bojeador in Luzon, where Limahong was surprised by a storm before safely escaping.[
]
Aftermath
The termination of the conflict brought the first political relationships between Spain and China. Aumon asked Lavezaris to be able to pay for the Chinese captives, as among them there were kidnapped noblewomen, but the Spanish governor gifted them to him for free, accepting only to send a Spanish embassy to the emperor.[ The expedition was directed by churchmen Martín de Rada and Jerónimo Martín and assisted by Chinese merchant Sinsay, a long time friend of the Spaniards, and carried orders to get commercial relationships. However, although several others embassies were sent, diplomacy became cold due to the mismanagement of new governor Francisco de Sande.][ For his part, Limahong would be defeated in ]Palau
Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the Caro ...
by the Chinese navy, commanded by viceroy Wang Wanggao of Fujian
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...
, and escaped in a single ship, offering his services in Siam
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 mi ...
and India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
before disappearing from the historical record.
In popular culture
The battle is mentioned in Walter Robb's essay ''Walls Of Manila''.
References
* Stearn, Duncan, ''Chronology of South-East Asian History 1400-1996'' (Dee Why, NSW: The Mitraphab Centre Pty Ltd., 1997).
* "La Relación del suceso de la venida del tirano chino del gobernador Guido de Lavezares (1575): Épica española en Asia en el siglo XVI:" Edición, transcripción y notas (incluye facsimil del manuscrito original), Juan Francisco Maura. Lemir (Departamento de Filología Hispánica de la Universidad de Valencia)
2004.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manila 1574, Battle of
Battles involving the Philippines
Battles involving Spain
History of Manila
1574 in military history