The Spanish Occupation March 6, 1521-June 20, 1898

The matriarchy society of ancient chamorros was dominated by women or maga'hagas. Kepuha was depicted as having stood tall and robust. He had gained prominence in 17th Century Hagatna because of his post as maga'lahi, or high-ranking male. He had the authority to hand down important decisions made with the advise and consent of the highest ranking woman in his clan, the maga'haga.

In 1668, the 'San Diego' landed off the shores of Hagatna {Agana}. On board was the Jesuit missionary, Padre Diego Luis de San Vitores, who with other priests and soldiers established a Catholic mission in the Marianas. Kepuha welcomed the missionaries and later allowed himself to be baptized by San Vitores as Juan Kepuha. He remained faithful to his new-found religion and provided a large plot of land for the mission. The first Catholic church in Guam was built on that plot. In those days, land was owned by clans, and only women could 'inherit' land. The maga'haga of his clan must have had some decision on the granting of land. Chief Kepuha died in 1669 but his legacy had a tremendous impact on all Chamorros by allowing the Spanish to successfully establish a strong foothold and refuge in the Marianas for the Manila Galleon Trade. Ironically, the burial of Kepuha under the Hagatna Church as insisted by San Vitores rather than under the traditional family home created resentment of the Jesuits. Dissatisfaction would increase with the abandonment of other Chamorro cultural practices imposed by the Spanish.

The Chamorro Spanish War 1671 - 1698

In the morning of Sept 11 1671, Magalahi Hurao and his 2000 men regrouped and went to battle again. The assaults were interrupted by a Typhoon on Sept 18 1671. In one of the Spanish sallies, Hurao was recaptured. After a post-typhoon assault which was repulsed, a temporary peace was reached with the release of Hurao again upon insistance of Sanvitores.

Upon his release, Hurao resumed the battle which so far lasted 35 days which ended after a Spanish raid on their trenches. Magalahi Quipuha the Second extended an offer of peace accepting Spanish conditions of attending mass, baptising their babies, repairing the church and sending their children to catechism classes. Peace was temporary as Quiphua the Second and Hurao later engaged the Spanish in battle.

In April 2, 1672, Padre San Vitores and his Filipino assistant, Pedro Calansor were killed by a bone-tip lance and cutlass by Chief Mata'pang ("to be made pure by cleansing") of Tomhom {Tumon} and Chief Hurao. Click here for Hurao's Speech. The name Hurao or Hirao means "emotion, caring, attention, heed". Padre San Vitores had baptized the Chief Mata'pang's baby girl without the Chief's consent. Some accounts stated that San Vitores received permission of Mata'pang's wife. Some say that Mata'pang acted on the belief that the deaths of many babies in Hagatna or Agana (due to European diseases) were caused by the holy water. Being villified for centuries, the name Mata'pang evolved to mean "silly". On Guam, this event is of great significance since it sparked the decimation of the pure Chamoru Race. According to the book, "Hale'-ta" , early Chamorus valued life and do not generally engage in violence and bloodshed to resolve conflicts. If the mother had given San Vitores permission for baptism, then Mata'pang would not have interfered. No Chamorro man, whether chief or commoner, could usurp a woman's authority over her own children. In early Chamorro society, the Spanish historians described the Chamoru society as being ranked into classes. Padre San Vitores and his companions were bringing about many changes in Chamorro society. Central to Spanish Crown interests was Guam's strategic location in the Galleon Trade Route. The frustration of being made obedient to a remote foreign Spanish King had forced societal changes which threatened the nobility. A bid to demoralize the Spanish occupation might be Mata'pang's impetus to kill San Vitores.

One Hundred years earlier, in 1565 a Basque sailor, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi led by his flagship San Pedro, claimed the islands of the Chamorus as the property of the Kingdom of Spain. This occurred 44 years after Ferdinand Magellan's {Fernao de Magalhaes} scurvy stricken crew landed on Guam on March 6, 1521. The inhabitants of the islands did not consent to this declaration of taking. Mata'pang, who himself was baptised by San Vitores turned against the Christian mission and Spanish authority. Mata'pang engaged his final battle on the Northern Island of Rota in 1680 with the Spanish military governor Jose de Quiroga. Magalahi (Chief) Mata'pang died from lance wounds incurred during the battle while being transported from Rota to Guam.

The death of the Spanish mission leader Padre San Vitores in 1672 escalated the war. The battles gave the Marianas mission the reputation of being among the most dangerous in the Spanish dominion. While Padre San Vitores tried to carry out his mission in a peaceful manner, the Spanish military attended to theirs ruthessly to protect their Galleon Route. The last galleon voyage was recorded in 1815. Between 1670 and 1695, many battles took place and thousands of people were killed. During the course of the Spanish occupation of Guam sources have estimated the Chamoru casualties to number around 150,000 or 200,000. Chamorus after 1695 were forced to settle in five villages: Agana, Agat, Umatac, Pago, and Fena. Monitored by the priests and military garrison, they were forced to attend Church daily and to learn the Spanish language and customs.

By 1740 the Chamorus of northern Mariana Islands, except Rota, were removed from their home islands and exiled to Guam. The cultural skill of ocean navigation was extinguished. The Spanish war of extermination plunged the total population of local inhabitants. Historian Benigno Palomo noted that the First official Spanish census of Guam and Rota was taken in 1710, which indicated that there were 3,143 natives in these islands and 471 Spanish/Mestizo people. There were no other nationalities recorded in that census. Padre San Vitores' mission in Agana survived and serves as the center for all other Catholic churches in Guam and the rest of the Marianas.

Some info above was taken from Hale'ta / Produced and Published by Political Status Education Coordinating Commission Vol 1 Agana, Guam 1995 ISBN 1-8834-88-04-4