Miguel López de Legazpi

Miguel López de Legazpi (1505-1572), Spanish colonial administrator of the Philippines and founder of Manila. A minor aristocrat from the Basque country, Legazpi was an unusual choice to head the Spanish expedition to secure control of the Philippines, which it had first claimed in 1521. He had spent at least 20 years working in the administration in New Spain (Mexico) before being chosen to head the expedition which set sail for the Philippines in 1564. After arriving, Legazpi proved himself an able and active administrator of the new colony. He landed at Bohol in 1565 and established Spanish power first on the island of Cebu. Food shortages there led to a search for other bases and Legazpi extended Spanish control over much of the Philippines (with the exception of the Sulu archipelago and Mindanao). The divisions among the islands' peoples enabled him to overcome local leaders one by one. Roman Catholicism spread hand in hand with Spanish rule, inspired by Legazpi's chaplain, Andres de Urdaneta. In 1571 Legazpi led an expedition north to Luzon, where on June 24 he formally founded the city of Manila, from which Spain was to rule the Philippines for more than 300 years and in which the Intramuros district commemorates his rule.