1582 Cagayan battles
The 1582 Cagayan battles were a series of clashes between the forces of the Spanish Philippines led by Captain Juan Pablo de Carrión and wokou (possibly led by Japanese pirates) headed by Tay Fusa. These battles, which took place in the vicinity of the Cagayan River, finally resulted in a Spanish victory. This event is a recorded battle between European soldiers and sailors against Japanese pirates, which followed similar events like the battles of Manila and Fukuda Bay. The clash pitted Spanish musketeers, pikemen, rodeleros and sailors assisted by allied native warriors against a larger group of Japanese, Chinese and likely native Filipino pirates made up of rōnin, soldiers, fishermen, and merchants (smugglers and legitimate). The pirates had a large junk, and 18 sampans which are flat bottomed, wooden fishing boats. Prelude 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, a ragtag group of pirates forced the natives of Cagayan into submission. These raiders were called wokou and had been previously fought by the Chinese Jiajing Emperor. In response, the Governor-General of the Philippines Gonzalo Ronquillo commissioned Juan Pablo de Carrión, hidalgo and a captain of the Spanish navy, to deal with the piracy. Ronquillo wrote to King Philip II on 16 June 1582: Carrión took the initiative and shelled a Wokou ship, possibly of Chinese manufacture, in the South China Sea, removing it from action. A retaliation came from Tay Fusa, who sailed toward the Philippine archipelago with a fleet. Opposing forces The Wokou fleet was composed of one junk and 18 sampans. Although their numbers comprised Japanese, Chinese, and Philippine raiders, the name of their leader suggests the Japanese led their fleet. Spanish sources record it as Tay Fusa, which does not correspond to a Japanese name but could be a transliteration of Taifu-sama, with taifu (大夫) being a word for a Japanese medieval chieftain, also pronounced as tāi-hu in Hokkien Chinese, or dàfū in Mandarin Standard Chinese. They carried not only bladed weapons but also muskets, which had been provided by the Portuguese. To counter this, Carrión gathered forty soldiers and seven boats: five small support vessels, a lightship (San Yusepe), and a galleon (La Capitana), with their respective crews. Though lesser in numbers, the Spanish were advantaged by their greater experience with firearms than the pirates, as well as the superior quality of their armor and weaponry. Battle As they passed the Cape Bojeador, the Spanish flotilla encountered a heavy Wokou sampan. It had recently arrived at the coast, and its sailors abused the native population. Carrión, although outnumbered by the wokou, engaged in a naval battle with the sampan, eventually boarding it. The Spanish rodeleros then encountered armored Japanese wokou wielding swords. Though initially successful, the Spanish soldiers were repelled back to their ship, whose deck became a battlefield. Eventually, the Spanish turned the battle again in their favor by