There will be an exhibition on November 2008 at the Cathedral Museum of Cebu, which will be graced by the mayor of Ordizia, Spain to commemorate the fifth centenary of Andres de Urdaneta. Moreover, a commemorative monument by Eduardo Castrillo will be unveiled. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has also issued Presidential Proclamation 1423 declaring 2008 as “Urdaneta Year.”

Sailor, Explorer, and Friar

Andres de Urdaneta was born in 1508 to a middle class family. His father was mayor of Ordizia. At the age of 17 he was already sailing on the expedition of Loaysa to the Spice Islands (The Moluccas). Though this expedition proved to be tumultuous he still arrived in Mindanao on October 6, 1526 and continued on to The Moluccas where he remained there demonstrating skills in diplomacy and the like. When Carlos V ceded The Moluccas to Portugal on April 22, 1528 Urdaneta negotiated his return home with the Portuguese. Upon his arrival in Lisbon, the Portuguese took all documents in his possession including his navigational courses of the Loaysa and Saavedra voyages. He escaped from Portugal to Valladolid in Spain and presented a report based on memory. He was contacted by Pedro de Alvarado for an expedition sailing from New Spain (Mexico) which unfortunately did not commence. On March 20, 1553 while in Mexico, Urdaneta became a member of the Order of St. Augustine.

Voyage to the Philippines

On September 24, 1559 Felipe II ordered an expedition to the Philippines with Urdaneta as nautical advisor in order to find a return route via the Pacific to New Spain. This was essential in claiming sovereignty to the islands and in establishing a trading route with China.

The expedition led by Miguel Lopez de Legaspi left the port of La Navidad in New Spain on November 21, 1564. They followed the equatorial route as proposed by Urdaneta since this was already familiar to him because of the previous expeditions of Saavedra and Villalobos. They arrived in the Philippines on February 13 and explored the islands in search of a settling point. They anchored in Bohol because of its abundance of timber which was necessary to repair the ship. From then on, Legazpi, upon hearing favourable reports, headed to Cebu and established the first Spanish settlement there. Urdaneta was first ashore taking advantage of his linguistic abilities in negotiating with the natives since he was quite familiar with a common tongue used throughout southeast Asia.

With the settlement established, the next task was to discover a stable route back to New Spain. The return trip was commanded by Juan de Salcedo, an 18 year old, under the auspices of Urdaneta who was 56 then. The return trip proved to be successful. From New Spain, Urdaneta headed to Castille to make a report to Felipe II. He wrote his findings entitled “The Opinion of P. Andres de Urdaneta,” that recorded the occupation of the Philippines with regards to the Treaty of Tordesillas. With the permission of the Council of the Indies, he returned to his monastery in Mexico where he died on June 3, 1568.