2004, August 20. Miguel Lopez de Legazpi - 500th Birth Anniversary
Founder, City of Manila
Litho Offset. Amstar Company, Inc., Perf. 14.
Singles, Sheets of 50
6p "SANDUGO" ("Blood Compact") by Carlos V. Francisco, 1938 - Singles (100,000)
Layout Artist: Alfonso V. Divina
Design Coordinator: Augusto V. de Viana
Designs: For the stamp: Painting by Carlos V. Francisco: "SANDUGO", 1938; FDC Cachet: Painting by Napoleon Abueva: "Blood Compact", 1997
First Day Covers: Manila
Miguel Lopez de Lergazpi, Founder of City of Manila - 500th Birth Anniversary
Born in Zumarraga, Guipuzcoa, Spain around 500 years ago, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi went to Mexico in 1545 where he became clerk of the Cabildo or municipal government. He was appointed in 1561 to lead an expedition to discover the islands of the West called Islas Poniente. He formally colonized the Marianas and the Philippines in 1565 and established a settlement in Cebu, which was first named as the Villa del Santisimo Nombre de Jesus.
He founded the city of Manila in 1571. Upon arriving in the Philippines, Legazpi initiated pacts of friendship between native chiefs, the most famous of which was the blood compact with Sikatuna in March 1565. The treaties assured peaceful relationships between the Spaniards and the natives which greatly facilitated Spanish settlement in the Philippines. During the same year, Legazpi dispatched the first vessel which sailed across the Pacific back to Mexico. The vessel, the San edro, blazed the route of the Manila galleons which carried trade between Spain and Asia for the next 250 years. The first Spanish overnor General of the Philippines, Legazpi died in Manila on August 20, 1572. His mortal remains lie inside the San Agustin Church in Intramuros, Manila.
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