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Batulaki Historical Marker: Sarangani Province has been part of the Magellan-Elcano Expedition

Aside from the white sand beaches of Gumasa and the old houses in Poblacion, the municipalit of Glan in Sarangani Province is also part of a 500-year-old history!  Five hundred years ago, the surviving crew of the expedition led by Ferdinand Magellan docked on the shores of Sarangani, one of which is in Barangay Batulaki,







Batulaki is the last barangay of the Municipality of Glan, Sarangani Province, bordering Davao Occidental in the South. It is located at the tip of the peninsula in the Southernmost part of mainland Mindanao. 






In commemoration of the 500th year of the circumnavigation of the world led by Ferdinand Magellan in 1521, a marker has been unveiled in Batulaki. It is the 32nd of the 34 markers installed in different parts of the country, specifically in Visayas and Mindanao. The markers indicate the places where the crew of the Magellan-Elcano expedition dropped anchor. 

After the battle of Mactan, where Magellan was killed, the surviving crew led by Juan Sebastián Elcano continued the expedition to find the island of Molucca, landing on various shores of the archipelago, before eventually, returning to Spain. 

In the province of Sarangani, the National Historical Commission and the National Quincentennial Commmission have ascertained two areas where the surviving crew of the expedition docked. 

Based on the records of the chronicler Antonio Pigafetta, the crew landed in "Benaian," which is believed to be what is now Barangay Kamanga, in the Municipality of Maasim. From there, in October 26, 1521, the crew was forced to seek refuge at "Biraham Batolach," or the present-day Batulaki, due a furious storm. 

The marker in Batulaki was unveiled on October 26, 2021, exactly 500 years after the recorded landing of Magellan's surviving crew. The following day, the crew continued on their journey to find Molucca or the spice island, dropping by Balut and Sarangani islands on their way there. 

While the Magellan-Elcano circumnavigation expedition of proved that the Earth is a sphere, the records of Pigafetta also show that the Philippine islands were not "discovered" by Magellan, instead our ancestors have already been thriving and have always been here even before they came.


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Location: Batulaki, Glan, Sarangani, Philippines

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