FACTS AND TRIVIA ABOUT FIRST IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY

1. First Landing

On March 16, 1521, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan in service of Spain landed at Samar.

2. First Mass

On March 31, 1521 (Easter Sunday) Spanish friar Pedro Valderama conducted the first Catholic mass in
Limasawa, Leyte. Rajah Kolambu, who forged a blood compact of friendship with Magellan two days
earlier, attended along with Rajah Siagu.

3. First Filipino Christians

On April 14, 1521, Rajah Humabon, Rajah Kolambu, and 400 other Filipino natives were baptized into
Christianity during a ceremony administered by friar Pedro Valderamma.

4. First Filipino Priest

In 1590, Martin Lakandula was ordained as an Augustinian priest, becoming the first native Filipino to
serve as a friar. In 1906, Jorge Barlin became the first Filipino bishop under the Roman Catholic Church.
The first Filipino archbishop was Viviano Gorordo while the first Filipino cardinal was Rufino Cardinal
Santos.

5. First Chair

It was said that Filipinos first used a chair in April 1521 when Ferdinand Magellan gave Rajah Humabon
of Cebu a red velvet Spanish chair. According to Halupi, a book of essays on Philippine history, early
Filipinos used to sit on the floor.

6. First Spanish Monument

On April 14, 1521, Ferdinand Magellan planted a huge cross in Cebu. It was here where friar Valderama
baptized Rajah Humabon, Rajah Kolambu and 400 other Filipinos into Christianity.

7. First Battle

On April 14, 1521, the first battle between Filipinos and the European conquerors took place in Mactan,
Cebu. Filipino chieftain Lapu-lapu defeated Magellan and his men. After Magellan was killed, Sebastian
del Cano led his men back to Spain, completing their voyage around the planet.

8. First Religious Order

The Franciscans were the first Catholic religious order to establish their presence in the Philippines. The
Franciscans came here in 1577; Jesuits, 1581; Dominicans, 1587; Recollects, 1606; Paulists, 1862; Sisters
of Charity, 1862; Capuchins, 1886; and Benedictines, 1895.
9. First Spanish-Filipino Marriage

In 1585, Spanish soldier Pablo Alvarez married Nicolasa de Alvarez, a native of Lubao, Pampanga.

10. First Muslims

Makdum, Rajah Baguinda and Abu Bakar propagated Islam in the Philippines in the 13th Century.

11. First Spanish Governor General

Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, who founded the first European settlement in Cebu City in 1565, is considered
the first Spanish governor general in the Philippines. He founded the city of Manila and declared it the
capital of the archipelago on June 3, 1571. The last Spanish governor general in the Philippines was
Riego delos Rios in 1898.

12. First Archbishop

Domingo Salazar was the first archbishop of the Philippines, which was regarded as a single diocese in
the 1580s.

13. First Cannon Maker

Even before the Spaniards came to the Philippines, Filipino natives had already learned the trick of
making cannons, perhaps from Chinese traders. Historians claimed that Panday Pira who lived between
1483 and 1576 had devised the cannons which Muslim leader Rajah Sulayman used to protect Manila
against the invading Spanish troops. Panday Pira was from Tarlac.

14. First Republic

Early Philippine republics were Kakarong de Sili republic in Pandi, Bulacan; Tejeros Convention in
Malabon; and Biak na Bato republic in San Miguel, Bulacan. Historians, however, wrote that the first real
Philippine republic was established in Malolos, Bulacan on January 21, 1899. Two days later, the First
Philippine Republic was inaugurated while General Emilio Aguinaldo was declared its first president.

15. First President of Katipunan

It was Deodado Arellano who became the first president of the Katipunan, a revolutionary movement
against Spanish rule in the Philippines.

16. First Chinese Kingdom

After attacking Manila, Chinese conqueror Limahong established a kingdom near the mouth of Agno
River in Pangasinan province on December 3, 1574. Agno was the seat of the old civilization. Historians
have mentioned one Princess Urduja who ruled Pangasinan before the Spaniards came. In 1660, Filipino
leader Malong attempted to establish another kingdom in Pangasinan.

17. First Revolt

The first attempt to rise against Spanish colonial rule was carried out by chieftains of Bulacan led by
Esteban Taes in 1587. On October 26, 1588, Spanish authorities discovered a plot by Magat Salamat of
Hagonoy who tried to enlist the support of his relatives in Borneo.

18. First Filipino in Exile

Felipe Salonga of Polo, Bulacan (now Valenzuela City) became the first Filipino who was put in exile by
Spanish authorities for starting a revolt in Bulacan in 1587. He was exiled to Mexico.

19. First Chinese Revolt

On October 3, 1603, the Chinese rose in revolt in Manila and was driven away to San Pablo, Laguna
where they made their last stand.

20. First Filipino

The first man who used Filipino as a title of citizenship was Luis Rodriguez Varela, a Spaniard who was
born in Manila. He preferred to be called El Conde Pilipino in 1795.

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