On March 16, 1521, Magellan set foot on Samar, one of the 700 islands of the Philippines. Another talent Magellan possessed was diplomacy. He was able to form such a good relationship with the ruler, or Rajah, of the natives that a great number of them converted to Christianity. Unfortunately, Magellan took this so far as to meddle with local politics. The Rajah convinced Magellan to teach the neighboring chief Lapu Lapu a lesson for not wanting to embrace Christianity. Bringing back to mind how popular Magellan was with his Spanish captains, he was deserted by his men and left to die at the hands of Lapu Lapu.
That Magellan was a great explorer and navigator was lost in the politics of his day. He was shunned in Portugal for bringing glory to Spain, and he was overlooked by the Spaniards for being a Portuguese. Magellan was to the Philippines what Columbus was to the United States. He paved the way for the shaping of the history of another nation to be born, 400 years later.
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