Panday Pira, Rajah Sulayman's cannon maker
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Before the coming of the Spaniards, the Filipinos had already artillery with which they defended themselves against their enemies. It is not known when they began manufacturing cannons and who introduced the art of cannon-making.
According to Taosug tarsilas, the first firearms were brought to Sulu in 1390 by Raja Baginda, Muslim Prince from Sumatra. That was 141 years before the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan.
Adelantado Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, in his report to King Philip II in 1570, related that the people of Luzon "have artillery which they themselves cast and finish, likewise powder and ammunitions." One of his officers, Captain Juan de la Isla, affirmed that the native artillery pieces "are more effective and better cast than any I have seen in other parts."
These pieces of artillery which the Spaniards mentioned were made by Panday Pira.
Panday is a Tagalog word which means ironsmith. Panday Pira was born in 1488, in one of the southern islands of the Philippines.
In 1508 at the age of 20, he and his relatives came to Maynilad where he established a cannon forging shop on the north bank of Pasig River now known as the District of San Nicolas. Upon the order of Rajah Sulayman he forged several pieces of cannons which were mounted on the palisades surrounding the Rajah's kingdom and on the seaside portion of the wooden Kuta (fort) which guarded the mouth of Pasig River. These cannons served as the defense of Maynilad. These pieces were as large as the largest Malaga cannons that the Spaniards used.
When the Spanish forces anchored at the mouth of Pasig River under Marshal Martin de Goiti and Don Juan de Salcedo, they were met by salvos from the cannons made by Panday Pira. These native artillery pieces were hidden behind a network of wooden rattan and bamboo mattings supported by logs and timber of the Kuta. The artillery guns of the Spanish flotilla bombarded the Kuta and the palisades. Sulayman's defeat was due to the inferior kind of gunpowder they used, which they learned to make from the Chinese.
With the aid of superior artillery and disciplined men. Goiti won the first Battle of Manila on May 24, 1570. Sulayman and his surviving warriors retreated across the river, leaving Maynilad in flames. After the battle, Goiti victoriously marched into the devastated kingdom. He inspected the palisade, kuta, and found the homes of the residents in shambles. He found a burnt warehouse near Sulayman's house. Speaking of this warehouse, an unknown member of his expedition said:
Goiti did not stay long in Maynilad because he feared that his depleted troops would not be able to fight back in case Sulayman should launch a counter attack. Before the rains came, he returned to his Spanish base at Panay, loaded with the trophies of ward presented the cannons to Adelantado Legaspi.
Legaspi's men subjected these captured cannons to rigorous test for examination, comparison and eventual adoption. The artillery pieces did not crack or burst after continuous firing and in spite of a much greater quantity of powder used. Pira's cannons were found superior to the Spanish cannons mounted on Legaspi's ships.
With an army of 27 vessels, 280 Spaniards and 600 Bisayan allies, Don Miguel de Legaspi soon left Panay on April 20, 1571, after formally taking possession of Maynilad on May 19, 1571. Legaspi continued to rebuild Maynilad which in the course of time, came to be known as Manila. Next, he established the Spanish permanent settlement. Due to lack of artillery pieces, which were needed not only for the defense of the new city but also for conquering the independent barangays of the island, he sought Panday Pira for his valuable technical knowledge of casting good cannons.
But Panday Pira was nowhere to be found, for he had fled to Bulacan in the middle of 1570 after the battle of Manila and then to Apalit, Pampanga where he finally settled. There he lived with his family and relatives and established a foundry shop where he produced the first native plowshare and mould board.
In manufacturing native farm implements, he used for mould the Apalit clay then abundant in the barrio now called Kapalagan. He trained other natives in that province to make not only plowshare and mould board but also bolos, knives, and other farm and household implements. One invaluable legacy he left was his method of casting and tempering iron to make it harder, more durable and flexible.
News of this excellent smith soon reached Manila. Legaspi sent emmisaries to Apalit to contact and get the famous cannon maker and his family. When the octogenarian cannon maker was presented to him, he extended to Panday Pira certain privileges which no other native enjoyed in those days. It included freedom from any form of obligations to the government, (exemptions from tribute and the annual forced labor), to the church, and the liberty of living and mingling with the Spaniards.
He accepted the offer of Legaspi and became Spain's cannon manufacturer in the Philippines. In July 1572, he established his foundry with help from his sturdy sons in Lamayan, now Santa Ana.
Don Miguel Lopez de Legaspi died of heart attack on August 20, 1572. His death was mourned by the Spaniards and Filipinos, including Panday Pira and his sons, for he was a man of kindness, valor and wisdom. Later, in his foundry Panday Pira made numerous pieces of artillery which Governor Santiago de Vera used in his military expeditions to Borneo and to the Moluccas and in mounting the fortifications of Manila.
He continued making cannons for Spain, until death claimed him in 1576, at age 88. His death was a great loss to the Spaniards, for nobody, not even his sons, could make similar magnificent cannons. The Spanish authorities appealed to the King in Spain to send a cannon maker. They wrote:
"Panday Pira our cannon maker is dead. We can not find a single man among us to take his place."
According to Jaime de Veyra, a Filipino historian, "Panday Pira's cannons are as good as those produced in Spain and became the official cannon maker for the Spanish army in the Philippines. His efforts contributed much to the defense of the islands against sea pirates."
Even the anti-Filipino-friar-chronicler Fray Gaspar de San Agustin admitted that these cannons were "as good as those made in Malaga." His foundry expanded in 1584, when a Spanish smith from Mexico came. It was transferred within the city in 1590 and finally abolished in 1805.
Source:
- Filipinos in History, Volume II, National Historical Institute, 1990
"It contained much iron and copper, as well as culverina and cannons which had melted. Some small and large cannons had just begun to be forged. There were the clay and wax moulds, the largest of which was for a cannon seventeen feet long, resembling a culverin."