Lapulapu or Lapu-Lapu(fl. 1521), whose name was first recorded as Çilapulapu or Cilapulapu, was a datu of Mactan in the Visayas. Modern Philippine society regards him as the first Filipino hero because he was the first native to resist imperial Spanish colonization. He is best known for the Battle of Mactan that happened at dawn on April 27, 1521, where he and his warriors defeated Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, who was killed in battle.Magellan's death ended his voyage of circumnavigation and delayed the Spanish occupation of the islands by over forty years until the expedition of Miguel López de Legazpi in 1564. Monuments of Lapulapu have been built in Cebu and Manila, while the Philippine National Police and the Bureau of Fire Protection use his image as part of their official seals.
Besides being a rival of Rajah Humabon of neighbouring Indianized Cebu, very little is reliably known about the life of Lapulapu. The only existing primary source mentioning him by name is the account of Antonio Pigafetta, and according to historian Resil B. Mojares, no European who left a primary record of Magellan's voyage "knew what he looked like, heard him speak (his recorded words of defiance and pride are all indirect, reported speech), or mentioned that he was present in the battle that made him famous."His name, origins, religion, and fate are still a matter of controversy.
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