On the flagship, on the fifteenth day of February, 1565, the royal fleet being anchored near a large island, which the natives indicated by signs to be called Cibabao,[1] the very illustrious Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, his majesty's governor and captain-general of the people and fleet of discovery of the Western Islands, appeared before me, Fernando de Riquel, chief notary of the said fleet and government of the said islands, and declared: that whereas his lordship is sending his ensign-general, Andres de Ybarra, to make friends with an Indian, a native of this island, called Calayan, who declared himself a chief; and whereas it is fitting that possession be taken of the island in the name of his majesty; therefore he authorized fully the said Andres de Ybarra to take possession, in the name of his majesty, of the part and place where he went thus with the said Indian, and all the other districts subject and contiguous thereto.
- ↑ This island is called by the French pilot Pierres Plun, in his relation, Zibaban, Zibao, and Zibaba. La Concepción calls it (Historia, vol. i, p. 331) Ybabao. The editor of Cartas de Indias conjectures this to be the island of Libagas (near Mindoro); but that would not agree with the statements made about it in various documents. Retana (Zúñiga, vol. ii, p. 383*) says that Cibabao is Samar, which is, however, not an altogether satisfactory identification.
