Cebu, Queen City of the South by Lawyer Gervasio Lira Lavilles, the brains of the Cebu City Charter - Part 1

In the book, “CEBU: History of its Four Cities & Forty Nine Municipalities” written by Lawyer Lavilles (brains of the Cebu City Charter, councilor of the then Municipality of Cebu, a street in Tinago named Bagumbayan has been renamed after him) published in 1965. Lavilles wrote this an opening article reprinted here:

“Like a ravishing, beautiful young maiden, with sparkling jewels on her hair, ears, and neck, the City of Cebu, sits smilingly on a picturesque northeastern figure continuously caressed by the ripples of the blue Visayan Sea. It is a glittering metropolis rich in historical and legendary background, a rendezvous of the East and West one of the bulwarks in the Far East.

“Here, on April 7, 1521, came the intrepid Magellan, discoverer of the Philippines, in the course of his memorable and historic circumnavigation of the world, He came to Cebu from Limasawa after hearing of the existence of a more flourishing settlement on this island.

“When the Philippines was discovered by Magellan, Cebu was ruled by Rajah Humabon, often called Mahabar. The Spaniard found its people to possess a comparatively high degree of civilization. The settlement enjoyed high degree of civilization. The settlement enjoyed a prosperous trade not only with neighboring islands but also with nearby countries of Siam, Burma, Borneo, and others in East Asia. It was defended by a palisade and a fort of about 2,000 fighting men.

“How Humabon’s settlement was called Cebu is told by a legend. It is said that one day a group of Spaniards came upon a group of natives who were busy melting an animal fat to be used as grease for their boats to make them sail faster. The Spaniards stopped and asked: “What place is this? One of the natives answered “Sebu,” thinking that the white men were asking for the name of what they were melting.

“After a formal exchange of courtesies between Magellan and Humabon, the latter expressed his willingness to be a friend of the Spaniards. However, since it was customary for the government of the place to make foreign traders to pay dues, Magellan was asked to follow this long-established custom. He refused. He told Humabon that his king, the king of Spain, was the most powerful on earth and was not accustomed to pay any tribute. He made him choose one of the two alternatives. Either he accept the Spaniards without requiring them to pay any dues or be assaulted and destroyed by Spanish forces.” (To be continued)