1510-1572

Spanish explorer who claimed Spanish control over the Philippines. Legazpi left Spain for Mexico (then called New Spain) in 1545, where he served as a clerk in its local government. In 1564, Luis de Velasco, the viceroy of New Spain, sent Legazpi to the Philippine archipelago to establish the first Spanish settlement there, which he accomplished the following year. Legazpi served as the first governor of the Philippines from 1565 until his death. In 1571, he journeyed to the northern Philippine island of Luzon, and there set up the capital of the new Spanish colony, Manila.