Juan de Salcedo (; 1549 – 11 March 1576) was a Novohispano conquistador. He was the nephew of Spanish general Miguel López de Legazpi, though some records say grandson. Salcedo was one of the soldiers who accompanied the Spanish conquest to the Philippines in 1565. Renowned by his feats and strategic skills, American historian William Scott called Salcedo, "the last of the Conquistadores." and 600 Visayan allies along with Martín de Goiti for their conquest of Manila (then under the Islamic occupation by the Sultanate of Brunei).

There they fought a number of battles against the natives and their leaders, mainly against the chieftain Rajah Tarik Sulayman (a name derived from Arabic طارق بن زياد "Tāriq"), Islamic settlements in Philippines were abundant before and during the Mexican-Spanish conquest. The Spanish soldiers coalesced in 1570 and 1571, to attack the native tribes and the Islamic settlements in the island of Luzon, in order to take control of their lands.

Expedition to Luzón

In May 1572, Salcedo led an exploration expedition of 45 Spaniards and a mass of Filipino auxiliaries. They journeyed northward and founded several Spanish settlements, including the Ilocos. They also defeated a flotilla of three Japanese pirates in the process, and occupied the village of Vigan when their chief resisted their pass, although Salcedo ordered to respect the women and children.

Leaving 30 of his men at Vigan, Salcedo proceeded to sail around the northern Luzon coast, and down the eastern shore, with 15 men in 2 open boats. Being advised the currents would compromise him, he returned and explored Cagayan. There he was challenged by an Ilabay warrior to a duel which turned out to be an ambush, but Salcedo alone faced and defeated many of the ambushers, which apparently numbered up to 300, until he could be rescued. He later made peace with their people. He returned to Manila 3 months later with 50 pounds of gold,

Later life

After the war, he returned to the Ilocos to govern the settlements. There he would spend his final years.

Salcedo died suddenly in March 1576, after a short illness, probably of dysentery or malaria, at the age of 27. who returned to Acapulco, recount that after the Spanish conquest of Luzon with Mexican and Visayan assistance, and their consequent takeover of the Pasig River delta polity of Hindu Tondo, which was the previous preeminent state in Luzon before the Brunei Sultanate established their puppet-kingdom, Islamic Manila, to supplant Tondo, Juan de Salcedo, then about 22 years old, fell in love with the 18-year-old "Dayang-dayang" (a native Filipino word for "Princess") Kandarapa, so named after the lark of the rice fields, whose song she imitated by her beautiful singing voice, Juan fell in love, upon seeing the femininity of her figure while she and her handmaidens were bathing in the Pasig River.

Salcedo had developed an admiration of Kandarapa's natural physical beauty, including her long black raven hair, exotic golden-brown skin features, and lavish royal lifestyle. He also appreciated the Princesses "Indio" (a Spanish word for indigenous Malay and Miguel López de Legazpi wanted his Mexican born grandson, Salcedo, to marry a pure Spanish woman. The Rajah of Macabebe who got word of the budding romance from Rajah Sulayman a fellow Muslim Rajah, of Manila, became enraged and he cried out:

The chieftain Rajah Tariq Sulayman then waged the Battle of Bangkusay against the Spaniards, to counter-act which, Spanish general Miguel López de Legazpi dispatched Martin de Goiti and Juan de Salcedo to the battlefield where they slayed Sulayman through a cannon shot to the chest, thereby falling overboard to be eaten by the crocodiles he swore by. The Spanish were afterward overloaded with loot and prisoners. Among the detainees were Lakandula's son and nephew, whom López de Legazpi freed while concealing his knowledge of the rajahs of Tondo's betrayal. De Goiti sailed into Bulakan through the twisting channels of the Pampanga, bringing Lakandula and Rajah Sulayman with them to urge the inhabitants to submit. López de Legazpi imprisoned Lakandula after he returned to Tondo without authorization despite his eloquence in persuading the other datus (chieftains) to join the Spaniards. When de Goiti and Salcedo returned, of course, Salcedo petitioned for Lakandula's freedom, and he was released. and associated with Zen Buddhism as well.) However, princess Kandarapa mistakenly thought that Salcedo had been unfaithful to her as a result of the disapproving López de Legazpi sending his Mexican grandson on far flung expeditions to deter his love for Kandarapa, and even lying that his grandson had married the daughter of the Rajah of Kaog, Santa Lucia.

Legacy

His remains are laid to rest on a knight's tomb in San Agustin Church in Intramuros in the Philippines.

See also

  • History of the Philippines

References

Bibliography

  • Morga, Antonio de. (2004). The Project Gutenberg Edition Book : History of the Philippine Islands – 1521 to the beginning of the XVII century. Volume 1 and 2.
  • Legazpi, Don Miguel López de. (1563–1572). Cartas al Rey Don Felipe II : sobre la expedicion, conquistas y progresos de las islas Felipinas. Sevilla, España.