Isabela History Part I: First European Visit

Although Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and his Spanish armada became the first Europeans to discover the archipelago in March 17, 1521; historical facts will not deny that civil governance was already existing in the islands to include trade relations with its Asian neighbors. Autonomous units called Barangays* were already functioning during the pre-conquest era.

"The people were divided or grouped into families, known as barangays (the name of a small ship or vessel), thus preserving the remembrance of the conveyance by which their forefathers reached the islands. As the the families settled in the land, their head known as cabeza partitioned the land to each families. The Head was later known as Datu or Maguinoo.

Furthermore, the Europeans were awed to learn the existence of enacted civil codes and the system of commerce and literacy from among the natives. Proving this is the 900 A.D Laguna Copperplate Inscription, the oldest recorded Philippine document, issued to Namrawan by a Tondo trader clearing him of his debts.
Magellan's stint in the archipelago was no more than two months. He figured himself to an assault to the island of Mactan to demonstrate the Spanish armed forces superiority that he hoped winning to his side more local chieftains at odds with his nemesis, Lapu-lapu- who refused to bow to Spanish authority.
Magellan was killed in the assault and his fleet sailed back to Europe.
It was until 44 years later that the actual conquest of the islands took place when the Spaniards under Miguel Lopez de Legazpi established their first settlements in Cebu in 1562.
From his outpost in Cebu; the ailing and aging Legazpi dispatched Martin de Goiti and Grandson Juan de Salcedo on a conquest mission north.
Under Legazpi's command, the Spanish expedition has successfully occupied Manila. On June 24, 1571, Legazpi ordered the construction of the walled city of Intramuros and became the island's capital and seat of the Spanish civil government in the Pacific. Legazpi became the first Governor of the island and ushered the conversion of the natives to the Catholic faith.
Meanwhile Juan de Salcedo moved further north for the prospect of looking for gold from the Cordilleras to Ilocos. From thereon he moved east and has undertaken the expedition of Cagayan Valley in 1572.
In the succeeding years, De Lagazpi's conquest saw the subjugation of several kingdoms and dynasties in the archipelago. The Spanish government consolidated these territories under the control and administration of the Vice Royalty of Spain based in Mexico.