24 April 1994

 

                                 They Fell with Magellan

 

       Our textbooks relate that Ferdinand Magellan was killed by Lapu-Lapu in the Battle of Mactan on April 27, 1521, but they don't tell us very much more about the battle.

      From the word battle, one gets the impression that there must have been quite a number of people fighting on either side and that a lot of Spaniards must have been killed along with Magellan. It also seems reasonable to assume that if a commander is slain in hand-to-hand fighting, his enemies must have killed a lot of people before they could come within arm's length of the commander.

      In fact, however, only six Europeans fell with Magellan on Mactan. Three were supernumeraries -- Cristovao Rebelo (Cristobal Ravelo), Pedro Gomez and Juan de la Torre. The other three were able seaman Francisco de Espinosa, apprentice seaman Anton de Noya and servant Rodrigo Nieto.

      De la Torre was originally berthed in the Concepcion; Nieto in the San Antonio; the rest in the Trinidad, the flagship. Rebelo, like Magellan, was Portuguese; the rest were Castilian.

      Tim Joyner, whose book Magellan (Camden: International Marine, 1992) is probably the most recent book on Magellan, reconstructs the battle as follows: ``The landing was unopposed. On attaining the beach, Magellan and his men headed straight for the town. Finding it evacuated, they commenced to burn some of the houses, a tactic to which Magellan seems to have been addicted. While so engaged, they were attacked on each flank by two batallions of enraged natives. Magellan then divided his small force to counterattack on both flanks, but they were assaulted so furiously by such large numbers of the enemy that they recombined to defend themselves.”

      Joyner continues: ``For several hours, the harquebusiers and crossbowmen kept the enemy at a respectful distance. Eventually, the Spaniards ran out of powder, lead and crossbow bolts. Perceiving this, the natives closed in, hurling stones, fire-hardened stakes and iron-tipped bamboo lances and shooting poisned arrows. Seeing that the situation was desperate, Magellan ordered a gradual retreat. Instead, most of the Spaniards, eager to reach the safety of the boats, fled pell-mell toward the beach, leaving Magellan with no more than eight defenders to cover the retreat.”

      One of the poisoned arrows felled Cristovao Rebelo and Magellan, Joyner relates, ``he went berserk and hurled himself at the enemy, getting so far ahead of his defenders that they were unable to protect him.”

      Magellan found himself surrounded by the enemy, Joyner relates, and was pelted furiously with stones that knocked off his helmet. ``A defending warrior slashed his leg with a bolo and he fell helpless to the ground. Bamboo spears were thrust into his body wherever it was unprotected by armor. A spear through the throat was the coup de grace.”

      There is a reason for Magellan's going berserk when Rebelo was killed. Rebelo was a kinsman -- a relative so close that Magellan named him in his will.

      Rebelo's parents are listed as Duarte and Catalino Ravelo (Spanish spelling), but because Magellan had named him in his will, the Chilean historian Jose Toribio Medina and other writers believe that Rebelo was Magellan's illegitimate son.

 

 

·         BACK TO TOP OF PAGE

·         BACK TO PREVIOUS PAGE

·         BACK TO MAIN PAGE