Suluan is an island
barangay
A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolitan ...
in the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
, in the municipality of
Guiuan
Guiuan ( ˆgiËŒwan; war, Bungto han Guiuan, fil, Bayan ng Guiuan), officially the Municipality of Guiuan, is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Eastern Samar, Philippines. It constitutes the southeastern extremity of Samar Island and ...
,
Eastern Samar. It lies east of
Leyte Gulf
Leyte Gulf is a gulf in the Eastern Visayan region in the Philippines. The bay is part of the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, and is bounded by two islands; Samar in the north and Leyte in the west. On the south of the bay is Mindanao ...
and west of
Emden Deep
The Emden Deep, also known as the Galathea Deep or Galathea Depth, is the portion of the Philippine Trench exceeding depths in the south-western Pacific Ocean.
Originally discovered by the German ship ''Emden'' in 1927, it was first explored ...
. The inhabitants of the island were the first
Filipinos
Filipinos ( tl, Mga Pilipino) are the people who are citizens of or native to the Philippines. The majority of Filipinos today come from various Austronesian ethnolinguistic groups, all typically speaking either Filipino, English and/or othe ...
to trade and interact with
Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan ( or ; pt, Fernão de Magalhães, ; es, link=no, Fernando de Magallanes, ; 4 February 1480 – 27 April 1521) was a Portuguese explorer. He is best known for having planned and led the 1519 Spanish expedition to the East ...
's expedition which anchored on the nearby (then uninhabited) island of
Homonhon
Homonhon Island is an island in the province of Eastern Samar, Philippines, on the east side of Leyte Gulf. The long island is part of the municipality of Guiuan, encompassing eight barangays: Bitaugan, Cagusu-an, Canawayon, Casuguran, Culasi, ...
on March 16, 1521.
History
![Suluan quincentennial monument and historical marker](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Suluan_quincentennial_monument_and_historical_marker.jpg)
On March 16, 1521, after 98 days of crossing the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
, Magellan's voyage dropped anchor on the island of
Homonhon
Homonhon Island is an island in the province of Eastern Samar, Philippines, on the east side of Leyte Gulf. The long island is part of the municipality of Guiuan, encompassing eight barangays: Bitaugan, Cagusu-an, Canawayon, Casuguran, Culasi, ...
("Humunu" in
Pigafetta's account). Although
Samar
Samar ( ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided in ...
("Zamal") was their first land sighting from afar, Magellan's choice of anchoring on a much smaller island was meant as a security precaution as the island was then uninhabited. On March 18, they were spotted by fishermen from the nearby island of Suluan ("Zuluan").
The islanders called their other leaders together and met with Magellan's crew. Magellan gave them gifts of small trade items. In return, the people of Suluan gave fish,
palm wine
Palm wine, known by several #Names, local names, is an alcoholic beverage created from the sap of various species of palm tree such as the Borassus, palmyra, date palms, and coconut palms. It is known by various names in different regions and i ...
, bananas and even
corn
Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maÃz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...
their native food. They promised to return with more supplies later, as they did not bring much since they were just fishing. They returned on March 22 with rice and other supplies to trade. Magellan and his crew spent a week interacting with the tattooed locals of Suluan, whom they described "pleasant and conversable," before they left for
Limasawa
Limasawa, officially the Municipality of Limasawa ( Cebuano: ''Lungsod sa Limasawa''; Filipino: ''Bayan ng Limasawa''), is an island municipality in the province of Southern Leyte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a popula ...
.
The name of the island is derived from the word ''sulu'', the
Waray-waray word for a coconut-oil "torch" which the locals would have used during fishing at night. Suluan, therefore, means torch-bearing people in reference to the local fishermen.
During World War II, Suluan was among the first Philippine islands liberated from the Japanese. On October 17, 1944, the
6th Ranger Battalion landed on
Dinagat, Homonhon and Suluan, securing the entrance to
Leyte Gulf
Leyte Gulf is a gulf in the Eastern Visayan region in the Philippines. The bay is part of the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, and is bounded by two islands; Samar in the north and Leyte in the west. On the south of the bay is Mindanao ...
for General
Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...
's forces. The
main landings on
Leyte
Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census.
Since the accessibility of land has be ...
followed three days later.
Super Typhoon
Eastern Samar tends to be battered by tropical storms during Pacific typhoon season. Most times, 90% of a storm landfall is likely to be Suluan Island. On November 8, 2013, Suluan Island was the first victim of the
Typhoon Haiyan
Typhoon Haiyan, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Yolanda, was one of the most powerful tropical cyclones ever recorded. On making landfall, Haiyan devastated portions of Southeast Asia, particularly the Philippines. It is one of the ...
(Super Typhoon Yolanda) before navigating to Guiuan which had a tremendous impact not only on the island's economy but also to the people's lives. International organizations created an overwhelming drive to help rehabilitate the people and their livelihood.
References
Islands of Eastern Samar
Guiuan
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