Martín de Rada languages spoken, written or signed Cebuano
Voyage to the Philippines
When in 1564 Augustinians were being chosen to accompany Andrés de Urdaneta, OSA, on the royal expedition to the Philippines that was to sail from Mexico under the command of Don Miguel López de Legazpi, his Father Provincial (or regional religious superior) in Spain asked that de Rada should stay in Mexico "until it is known about the success of the armada" (that is, the success  of Legazpi's armed fleet in its attempt to reach and colonize the Philippines).
As it happened, de Rada had already sailed in the Legazpi expedition before the Provincial's letter reached Mexico. The Legazpi expedition reached Cebu in the Philippines on April 27, 1565.
When on June 1, 1565, Urdaneta, accompanied by Andrés de Aguirre, OSA, began his historic return voyage of exploration to Mexico, de Rada remained in the Philippines with Diego de Herrera, OSA, and Pedro de Gamboa, OSA. The trio quickly learned the local Cebuano language.
De Rada remained at Cebu from 1565 to 1572, earning him a place in history as "the apostle of the Christian Faith in Cebu."
In 1566-67, he also made voyages to adjacent islands, mainly Panay, and preached there as well. In 1572 he became the Augustinian regional superior in the Philippines.
While in Cebu, de Rada had begun to study Chinese.  In 1574, he acted as an interpreter to a group of Chinese merchants who visited Manila. He later proposed a plan to conquer China that was never realized.
linguistic abilities language proficiency language command