2025 September Articles

Articles - September 2025 - Weekly Features

2025 September 24 - The King, The Healer, and the Crucible of 1924: Unraveling the Legend of Lantayug
In 1924, Bucas Grande Island witnessed the Colorum Uprising, sparked by the destruction of a sacred bathing tank built by faith healer Felix “Lantayug” Bernales. Though absent from the revolt, he was condemned as its leader, tried for murder, and sentenced to life, leaving behind a legacy as both rogue and symbol of suppressed peasant resistance in Surigao’s history.

2025 September 17 – Magellan’s Fraudulent Claim: How Spain Stole the Philippines Using Fake Coordinates
Ferdinand Magellan's 1521 claim of the Philippine islands for Spain was deemed fraudulent because, based on the 15th-century Papal division of the world between Spain and Portugal (Treaty of Tordesillas), the archipelago fell within the Portuguese domain. Magellan proceeded regardless, planting the Spanish cross, an act supported by chronicler Antonio Pigafetta, who recorded a longitudinal location for Homonhon that artificially placed the islands in the Spanish sphere, a deception labeled "chicanery" and a "fraudulent attempt to support the Spanish contention" by historians.

2025 September 10 – Surigao Before Spain: The Maritime Crossroads of the Ancient Pacific
Uncover the hidden maritime legacy of Surigao in Surigao Before Spain: The Maritime Crossroads of the Ancient Pacific—a new web story that explores Surigao’s pivotal role in precolonial trade with Asia, the Middle East, and possibly even the Mediterranean. Drawing from Surigao Across the Years, this feature traces ancient sea routes, gold and porcelain exchanges, and the remarkable Balangay era, revealing a Surigao that once sailed boldly at the heart of early global commerce.

2025 September 3 – Surigao’s Forgotten Kingdom: The Rajahship Before Magellan
Before Spanish colonization, Surigao—then known as Calagan—was already a thriving center of maritime trade, political organization, and cultural exchange, as documented in Surigao Across the Years. Rich in gold, pearls, and native textiles like sinamay, the region actively participated in Asian trade routes that reached as far as Mecca and the Mediterranean. With seafaring technology akin to the Balanghai boats of nearby Butuan and evidence of early political structures resembling a rajahship, Surigao challenges colonial narratives that portray it as a passive backwater. Instead, it emerges as a strategic and autonomous polity whose legacy invites us to reimagine our understanding of Philippine history.

Interact with the book through Artificial Intelligence (AI): Visit the customized GPT by Open AI HERE and the Book Section of the Surigao Historical Society HERE

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