Have a quick visit to the Tagbo: Philippine Quincentennial Museum through 360º images of the galleries. For an interactive tour, click on hotspot buttons to transfer to the next galleries.

The Expedition

The Magellan-Elcano expedition departed from Seville, Spain on 10 August 1519 to seek an alternate trading route to the Maluku or Spice Islands. Following the division of the world through the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas, Portugal gained a monopoly on the Southeast Asia spice trade, based on their ownership of the Indian Ocean eastern route. The expedition, preceded by negotiations and cunning, was a key event to ensure the continuation of the prosperity of Spain, then reigned over by King Carlos I.

The Archipelago

The archipelagic character of the Philippines and the consequential peopling of our islands defined what the Spanish explorers experienced upon their arrival and heavily influenced the contemporary sociopolitical life of the Philippines. The boat balanghay, from which the term barangay came, was the same vessel of migration that led to the establishment of island polities—kingdoms or small states during the 1500s—like Cebu, Mactan, Limasawa, and the other port villages. Today, after modern developments and a multiplied population, the barangay remains an essential sociopolitical unit in the whole nation.