| CHINESE PIRATE LIMAHONG In 1574, Chinese pirate Limahong (Lin Kaw Tien) tried to invade Manila but it was abruptly prevented by the Spaniards. Limahong and his men fled Pangasinan. The Spaniards, however, went after them. Juan de Salcedo and Rajah Lakandula and 1500 of his men attacked the fortress that the Chinese had built in Pangasinan. Limahong and a few of his men were able to escape. |
| OTHER INVASIONS |
| THE PORTUGUESE The Portuguese were the first Europeans to settle in the east. They firmly believed that the Philippines was within their territory. They tried to occupy the islands in 1570 and 1578 but they were stopped by the Spaniards headed by Miguel Lopez de Legaspi with the help of the Filipinos led by their Rajahs. |
| DUTCH INVASION The Dutch established an imperial colony in another group of islands south of the Philippines (now Indonesia), including Moluccas. The dispute between Portugal and Spain was later resolved when King Philip of Spain also became king of Portugal in 1580. In 1582, he sent 3 expeditions to try and sieze Moluccas but the attemps failed. In 1605, another expedition of 5000 Spanish and Filipino soldiers again sailed led by Gov. Gen. Bravo de Acuna. However, they had to return to Manila when de Acuna died in the journey. That was the last attempt of Spain to take over Moluccas. Because of these attempts, the Dutch attacked Iloilo in 1606 but they were easily defeated. In Cavite, Gov. Gen. Juan de Silva had prepared his warships and attacked the Dutch forces in Mariveles, Bataan in April 4, 1610. Again, in 1616, the Dutch tried to take Bataan but they were once again defeated. There were still numerous attempts by the Dutch forces ( March 15,1646 near Pangasinan, July 29 near Marinduque, September 24 near Mariveles and October 12 near Corregidor) but still they lost. Nevertheless, their continuous defeat did not hinder their purpose. On July 10,1647 a fleet of 12 Dutch warships led by Admiral Marin Gertzen attacked Cavite. But Gertzen was killed and his ship sank. The remaining ships sailed to and attacked Bataan. They assaulted and killed many people in the town of Abucay. Once again the Filipinos fought back and the Dutch, for the last time, were defeated. Many of their men were killed and those who survived escaped. |
| THE ENGLISH OCCUPATION The English occupied the Philippines not because they wanted to colonize it. They did this because they wanted to stop the Spanish colonies from sending forces in defense of their motherland ( this was during the time of the Seven Years' War). In September 22,1762 an English fleet of 13 warships led by Gen. William Draper and Admiral Samuel Cornish reached Manila Bay and easily brought down Manila's defense. In October 6, Gov. Gen. Antonio Rojo surrendered. After the fall of Manila the English soldiers ransacked homes and churches. To put an end to this, Rojo agreed to give them the sum of 4,000 pesos. The English were able to take possession of some parts of Luzon and Visayas. They befriended the Muslims in Mindanao and Sulu. They even persuaded the people to rebel against Spain. When the Seven Years' War finally ended, the English returned the Philippines to Spain. |
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