Lapu-Lapu

Lapulapu ruled Mactan, an island in what would become the Philippines, in rivalry with another local datu named Zula and with Rajah Humabon of neighboring Cebu. In 1521 Spanish expeditionary forces under Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan arrived, and Lapulapu's forces met them in the Battle of Mactan. Magellan died in the fighting. The defeat ended the voyage of circumnavigation and delayed Spanish expansion into the archipelago until Miguel López de Legazpi's expedition forty-four years later. The only primary source that names him is Antonio Pigafetta's account, and no European who documented Magellan's voyage actually saw Lapulapu, knew what he looked like, or confirmed he was present at the battle that made him famous. He is now commemorated across the Philippines with monuments, and his image appears on the seals of the Philippine National Police and the Bureau of Fire Protection.