Which explorer is credited with naming the archipelago 'Islas de San Lazaro'?

Which explorer is credited with naming the archipelago 'Islas de San Lazaro'?

• A. Miguel Lopez de Legazpi
• B. Ruy Lopez de Villalobos
• C. Antonio Pigafetta
• D. Ferdinand Magellan

Answer: (D)

Naming new lands during early exploration often reflected religious or patronage ties, using saints or rulers as the names that stuck. Ferdinand Magellan is the explorer credited with naming the archipelago Islas de San Lazaro when he first reached the Philippine islands in 1521, choosing a name after Saint Lazarus. This labeling captures the practice of affixing religious names to newly encountered lands during that era. Later, the archipelago would come to be known as Las Islas Filipinas, a renaming by Ruy López de Villalobos in honor of Philip II of Spain, which is why you see a different designation on later maps. The other figures played different roles—Pigafetta chronicled the voyage, Legazpi established Spanish presence, and Villalobos is associated with the later naming to Filipinas—not with the original San Lazaro label. So the explorer who named Islas de San Lazaro is Ferdinand Magellan.

Naming new lands during early exploration often reflected religious or patronage ties, using saints or rulers as the names that stuck. Ferdinand Magellan is the explorer credited with naming the archipelago Islas de San Lazaro when he first reached the Philippine islands in 1521, choosing a name after Saint Lazarus. This labeling captures the practice of affixing religious names to newly encountered lands during that era. Later, the archipelago would come to be known as Las Islas Filipinas, a renaming by Ruy López de Villalobos in honor of Philip II of Spain, which is why you see a different designation on later maps. The other figures played different roles—Pigafetta chronicled the voyage, Legazpi established Spanish presence, and Villalobos is associated with the later naming to Filipinas—not with the original San Lazaro label. So the explorer who named Islas de San Lazaro is Ferdinand Magellan.