Who named the Philippines 'Islas de San Lazaro'?

Who named the Philippines 'Islas de San Lazaro'?

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

Answer: (A)

Ferdinand Magellan is the one who named the islands “Islas de San Lazaro.” During his 1521 voyage, when he first reached the Philippine archipelago, he used a saints’ name for the discovery, a common practice for explorers at the time. This naming didn’t endure; later on, Ruy López de Villalobos renamed the group “Las Islas Filipinas” in honor of Prince Philip II, and that is the name that stuck for a long period. The other figures played different roles—Pigafetta recorded the voyage, Legazpi led later colonization, and Villalobos gave the archipelago its long-lasting new name—so Magellan is the one associated with the original label “Islas de San Lazaro.”

Ferdinand Magellan is the one who named the islands “Islas de San Lazaro.” During his 1521 voyage, when he first reached the Philippine archipelago, he used a saints’ name for the discovery, a common practice for explorers at the time. This naming didn’t endure; later on, Ruy López de Villalobos renamed the group “Las Islas Filipinas” in honor of Prince Philip II, and that is the name that stuck for a long period. The other figures played different roles—Pigafetta recorded the voyage, Legazpi led later colonization, and Villalobos gave the archipelago its long-lasting new name—so Magellan is the one associated with the original label “Islas de San Lazaro.”