1582 Cagayan battles

The 1582 Cagayan battles were a series of clashes between the Spanish colonizers of the Philippines led by Captain Juan Pablo de Carrión, and Japanese pirates (wokou) headed by Tay Fusa. These battles, which took place in the vicinity of the Cagayan River, resulted in a Spanish victory.

This unique event pitted musketeers, pikemen and rodeleros, -Spanish Tercios- against Japanese Rōnin (masterless samurai), and to a lesser extent, ashigaru (foot soldiers).

History

Around 1573, the Japanese began to exchange gold for silver on the Philippine island of Luzon, especially in the provinces of Cagayan, Metro Manila and Pangasinan, specifically the Lingayen area. In 1580, however, Japanese pirates forced the natives of Cagayan to tender loyalty and submission. These raiders were called Wokou, although in the 16th century the term also referred to Chinese pirates.

The general governor of the Philippines wrote to king Philip II of Spain on 16th of June 1582.

Los japoneses son la gente más belicosa que hay por acá. Traen artillería y mucha arcabucería y piquería. Usan armas defensivas para el cuerpo. Lo cual todo lo tienen por industria de portugeses, que se lo han mostrado para daño de sus ánimas.

The Japanese are the most belligerent people around these parts. They bring artillery, many arquebusiers and pikemen. They use defensive weapons for the body (Body armor). All provided due to the action ("by the industry of", in old spanish) of the portuguese, who showed these to them, bringing harm of their souls.

Governor-General Gonzalo Ronquillo commissioned Captain Juan Pablo de Carrión of the Spanish navy to amend the situation. Carrión took the initiative and, thanks to the technical superiority of the Western ships, shelled a Japanese ship in the South China Sea forcing it to retire. In answer to this, the pirate admiral Tay Fusa (also referred to as Tayfusu or Tayfuzu), sailed toward the Philippine archipelago with 10 ships. To counter Tay Fusa's ships, Captain Carrión gathered 40 soldiers and 7 boats, comprising five small support vessels, a light ship (San Yusepe) and a galley (La Capitana).

As they passed the Bogueador cape the fleet discovered a Japanese sampan that had just arrived at the coast and was harshly treating the native population. Captain Carrión began a naval battle against the sampan and boarded the Japanese ship while still outnumbered by the Japanese. The Spanish rodeleros faced the Japanese samurai who were wearing armour and carying katanas. As the Japanese also had muskets, which had been provided by the Portuguese, the deck of the sampan became a battlefield, with the Spanish pikemen at the front and arquebusiers and musketeers behind. The Spanish troops won this battle thanks to the improvised parapet and the better quality of the Spanish armor and weaponry.

The Spanish flotilla continued down the Tagus River, finding a fleet of 18 sampans. They fought through these ships using their artillery and disembarked to dig in and place the artillery unloaded from the galley into the trenches, while continually firing at the enemy. The Wokou decided to negotiate a surrender and Carrión ordered them to leave Luzon. The pirates asked for gold in compensation for the losses they would suffer if they left, a request which Captain Carrión refused outright.

The Japanese decided to attack by land with 600 soldiers. The Spanish trench endured that first assault, followed by another. As some pikes were seized by the Japanese, the Spanish pikemen put sebum, an oily wax, on the wooden pike shafts to make them more slippery and more difficult to grasp. After a third attack, which almost broke into the trenches and with little gunpowder remaining, the 30 Spanish soldiers were able to resist and defeat the enemy, who they then attacked, causing them to flee. The Spanish then took the Japanese weapons that were left on the battlefield as trophies, which included beautiful katana and armor.

Having pacified the region, and with reinforcements, Captain Carrión founded the city of Nueva Segovia (now Lal-lo). Residual pirate activity was manageable and commercial activity was centred in Pangasinan province, in the port of Agoo in Lingayen Bay, where deerskin was the primary trade commodity.

References

• Del Rey Vicente, Miguel; Canales Torres, Carlos (2012). En tierra extraña: Expediciones militares españolas. Editorial Edaf. ISBN 84-414-3206-6.
• Sola, Emilio (1999). Historia de un desencuentro: España y Japón, 1580-1614. Fugaz Ediciones. p. 24. ISBN 84-884-9409-2.
• http://www.canela.org.es/cuadernoscanela/canelapdf/cc17borao.pdf