Battle of Mactan The Battle of Mactan ( , ; Spanish : " Batalla de Mactán " ) , was fought in the Philippines on 27 April 1521 , prior to Spanish colonization . The warriors of Lapu - Lapu , a native chieftain of Mactan Island , defeated Spanish forces under the command of Ferdinand Magellan , who was killed in the battle . Background . On March 16 , 1521 ( Spanish calendar ) , Magellan sighted the mountains of what is now Samar while on a mission to find a westward route to the Moluccas Islands for Spain . This event marked the arrival of the first Europeans in the Archipelago . The following day , Magellan ordered his men to anchor their ships on the shores of Homonhon Island . There , he befriended Rajah Kulambu and Rajah Siagu the chieftain of Limasawa , who guided him to Cebu . He , and his queen were baptized into the Catholic faith , taking the Christian names Carlos , in honor of King Charles of Spain , and Juana , in honor of King Charles ' mother . To commemorate this event , Magellan gave Juana the Santo Niño , an image of the infant Jesus , as a symbol of their new alliance . As a result of Magellan ’ s influence with Rajah Humabon , an order had been issued to the nearby chiefs that each of them were to provide food supplies for the ships , and convert to Christianity . Most chiefs obeyed the order . However , Datu Lapu - Lapu , one of the two chiefs within the island of Mactan , was the only chieftain to show his opposition . Lapu - Lapu refused to accept the authority of Rajah Humabon in these matters . This opposition proved to be influential when Antonio Pigafetta , Magellan ’ s voyage chronicler , writes , Rajah Humabon and Datu Zula suggested that Magellan go to the island of Mactan and force his subject chieftain Datu Lapu - Lapu to comply with his orders . Magellan saw an opportunity to strengthen the existing friendship ties with the ruler of the Visaya region and agreed to help him subdue the rebellious Lapu - Lapu . The battle . According to the documents of Italian historian Antonio Pigafetta , Magellan tried to convince Lapu - Lapu to comply with Rajah Humabon ' s orders the night before the battle , Pigafetta writes how Magellan deployed forty - nine armored men with swords , axes , shields , crossbows and guns , and sailed for Mactan in the morning of April 28 . Filipino historians note that because of the rocky outcroppings , and coral near the beach , the Spanish soldiers could not land on Mactan . Forced to anchor their ships far from shore , Magellan could not bring his ships ' cannons to bear on Datu Lapu - Lapu ' s warriors , who numbered more than 1 , 500 . Magellan then tried to scare them off by burning some houses in what is now Buaya , known then as Bulaia . Many of the warriors attacked Magellan ; he was wounded in the arm with a spear and in the leg by a kampilan . With this advantage , Lapu - Lapu ' s troops finally overpowered and killed Magellan . He was stabbed and hacked by spears and swords . Pigafetta and the others managed to escape , According to Pigafetta , several of Magellan ’ s men were killed in battle , and a number of natives converted to Christianity who had come to their aid were killed by warriors . There are no official records of the number of casualties in the battle , although Pigafetta mentions at least 3 Christian soldiers killed including Magellan . Magellan ' s allies , Raja Humabon and Datu Zula , were said not to have taken part in the battle due to Magellan ' s bidding , and they watched from a distance . Pigafetta reports that the Christian king Raja Humabon sent a message saying that if they returned the bodies of Magellan and his crew , they would be given as much merchandise as they wished . Lapulapu ’ s immediate response was , “ We will not give away the captain ’ s body for all the riches in the world , because his body is the trophy of our victory against invaders of our shore ” Some of the soldiers who survived the battle and returned to Cebu were poisoned while attending a feast given by Humabon . Magellan was succeeded by Juan Sebastián del Cano as commander of the expedition , who ordered the immediate departure after Humabon ' s betrayal . Del Cano and his fleet sailed west and returned to Spain in 1522 , completing the first circumnavigation of the world . In Philippine culture . Today , Lapu - Lapu is retroactively honored as the first " Philippine national hero " to resist foreign rule , though formally the territory of the " Philippine Islands " had yet to be established or even named at the time . He is remembered by a number of commemorations : statues on the island of Mactan and the Cebu Provincial Capitol , a city bearing his name , and a local variety of red grouper fish . Kapampangan actor - turned - politician Lito Lapid starred in a film called " Lapu - Lapu " , and novelty singer Yoyoy Villame wrote a folk song entitled " Magellan " that tells a humorously distorted story of the Battle of Mactan . There is a spot in Mactan Island called the Mactan shrine where the battle is reenacted during its anniversary . In the same shrine , next to the Lapu - Lapu statue , there is a semi - destroyed obelisk erected in Magellan ' s honor by the Spanish colonial authorities and defaced shortly after the US military occupation of the Philippines . Magellan is also honored for bringing Christianity to the Philippines in general and the Santo Niño ( Child Jesus ) to Cebu in particular . The Magellan ' s Cross and the aforementioned Magellan ' s shrine were erected in Cebu City and Mactan Island . Many landmarks and infrastructures all over the Philippines bear Magellan ' s name , mostly using its Spanish spelling ( Magallanes ) , which is also a widely used Filipino surname . Legends . According to native legend , Lapu - Lapu never died but turned into stone , and has since then been guarding the seas of Mactan . Fishermen in the island city would throw coins at a stone shaped like a man as a way of asking for permission to fish in the chieftain ’ s territory . He had six children Another myth passed on by the natives concerns the statue of Lapu - Lapu erected on a pedestal at the center of the town plaza . The statue faced the old city hall building , where the mayors used to hold office ; it held a crossbow in the stance of appearing shoot an enemy . Some superstitious people of the city proposed to change this crossbow with a bolo , after a succession of three mayors died due to heart failure . Another legend suggests that after the battle , Lapu - Lapu left Mactan and lived on a mountain .