King Tupas battle against General Legaspi
Rajah Humabon, the chief of Mainland Cebu, had a son by the name of Garra later called as Hari Garra. The latter who married Humamai (known by his Christian name as Juana) had three children: Tupas, Magguio (also called as Cimaguio, Simaguio) and Batungay.
King Tupas, of the Kingdom of Banawa, the earlier name of the San Nicolas District, the center of government and trade of Cebu was the ruler of Cebu when Miguel Lopez de Legaspi anchored Cebu on April 27, 1565.
King Tupas at first agreed that Legaspi land Cebu and be exempted from paying tribute. The Spaniards however abused the hospitality of Tupas and the Bisayans. The offense of Legaspi piled up, first with the capture and hostage of his niece, Birorang (Princess) Kinis who however was released when Tupas demanded for her release.
Birorang (Princess) Batungay, the sister of King Tupas, was hanged by the Spaniards after it was found out that she was the one who poisoned the wines drank by the Spaniards who were becoming ruder in their stay in Cebu. The Spaniards, to hide their shame of being outsmarted by a princess, reported to Spain that Batungay was a brother of King Tupas.
It was on September 1, 1569 that the men of King Tupas attacked the Spanish settlement (Fort San Pedro) and their residences in San Miguel. The attack was multi-front. The fight lasted for months, with Legaspi realizing that he could not win against the fierce warriors of King Tupas, the Masters of Eskrima.
The book of Lina Quimat, “Glimpses in History of Early Cebu,” had a vivid description of the battle: “In the dark evenings most of the Spaniards would stay in their boats and pataches for safety while a few of the men would be left to guard their fort. This was discovered by the natives and coincidentally Gonzalo Pereira of the Portuguese Army (the Spaniards and Portuguese were at odds) patrolled the seas of Zebu now and then and saw the Spanish ships there and during the those patrols they fought side by side with the natives against the Spaniards.”
On March 23, 1570, King Tupas drove Legaspi and his men out of Cebu. They moved to Panay but the former pursued them. On May 1, 1571, Legaspi and his men came to Manila and transferred his seat of government there. The natives of Luzon did not resist the Spaniards and were subjugated and Legaspi appointed officials to run the Spanish government in Luzon.
Legaspi on August 20, 1572 died and was succeeded by his nephew, Juan de Salcedo. Cebu indeed is the birthplace of Defenders of the Bisayan Island with Lapu-Lapu slaying Magellan and Tupas driving Legaspi out of Cebu.
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