On This Day - June 3, 1571 - Datu Bambalito and his warriors fought the Spaniards in “The Battle of Bangkusay”

June 3, 1571, Datu Bambalito and his warriors encountered the Spaniards at the channel of Bankusay (Bangkusay), off the north shore of Manila Bay, that is known as the “The Battle of Bangkusay.”

 

On May 16, 1571, Miguel López de Legazpi took possession of Manila, in the name of his monarch, King Philip II of Spain (see the previous events or the prelude of this history, t.ly/xqOw). Although Sulayman and Lakan Dula gave up their respective kingdoms and became friends of Miguel López de Legazpi, the Filipinos in Central Luzon defied Spain. A valiant Pampango warlord named Datu Bambalito (not Raha Sulayman) rallied the warriors of Macabebe (his native town), Betis, Hagonoy, Navotas and other barangays to carry on resistance to the Spanish invaders.*

Bambalito established his war camp in Navotas, where he assembled his forces. One day, he went to Tondo and conferred with Lakan Dula and Raha Sulayman to support his cause. The two former native rulers did not join him because they had given their word of honor to Legazpi to maintain peace with Spain, and as men of honor, they could not break it. However, a son and two nephews of Lakan Dula and some of Sulayman’s warriors joined his forces.

On June 3, 1571, Bambalito’s flotilla of war boats sailed down the channel of Bankusay, off the north shore of Manila Bay, and engaged Marshal Martín de Goiti’s forces in a furious naval battle. At the height of the bloody sea fight, Bambalito was killed. His death demoralized his forces. For lack of a leader, his men were routed. Thus was fought the First Battle of Manila Bay, with victory to Spain.**

The might of the Spanish sword and the martial exploits of Miguel López de Legazpi, Marshal Martín de Goiti, Captain Juan de Salcedo and other conquistadores helped much in the conquest. But without the eloquent teachings and sacrificial labors of the missionaries, the Spanish colonization would not have been an enduring success, as there was but a handful of Spanish soldiers, who could easily have been wiped out by the Filipinos.

By accepting Christianity, the Filipinos became loyal subjects of Spain. Thus wrote Tomas de Comyn: “Of little avail would have been the valor and constancy with which Legazpi and his worthy companions overcame the natives of the islands, if the apostolic zeal of the missionaries had not seconded their exertions, and aided to consolidate the enterprise. The latter were the real conquerors; they, who without any other arms but their virtues, gained over the goodwill of the islanders.”***

Sources and References:
1. Gregorio F. Zaide, Sonia M. Zaide, History of the Republic of the Philippines, Metro Manila, 1983, 1987, pp. 68–70
*In previous years, historians recount that the leader of the Filipino forces in the naval battle of Bankusay against Goiti and his Spanish-Filipino forces was Sulayman. This is wrong, however, because Sulayman, keeping his pledge to Legazpi to be loyal to the Spanish monarch, did not join the anti-Spanish cause. The leader was the valiant Macabebe warlord, Bambalito, as shown by an unknown Spanish document, see Fr. Lorenzo Perez, Un Documento desconocido relativo a las Islas Filipinas, published in Madrid, 1933; footnote of Gregorio F. Zaide, Sonia M. Zaide, History of the Republic of the Philippines, 1983. pp. 424–425
**For sources on the naval Battle of Bankusay, see Relacion de la Conquista de la isla de Luzon in Retana, Archivo, Vol. IV; Fr. San Agustin, Conquistas, pp. 227–228
***Tomas de Comyn, Estado de las Islas de Filipinas en 1810 Madrid, (1820), p. 148