Limahong in Pangasinan
Foiled at Manila to establish a kingdom of his own, Limahong set sail for the Lingayen Gulf, to settle in Pangasinan province. As a rich place and far enough from the reach of the Spaniards and the Chinese emperor, Limahong resolved to stay here and to make himself master of the region.
Near the mouth of the Agno River about four miles from the sea he built a fort consisting of an outer palisade of palm logs, and an inner enclosure of palm planks which sheltered his palace. He also built pagodas and dwelling places preparatory for permanent settlement.
Limahong announced to the people that he had conquered the Spaniards and that he had come to rule over them as their king. They were commanded to pay tributes to him. Thereupon, great terror and fright filled all the neighboring villages, and all of them, with no exception, received Limahong as king, and they obeyed him and paid him tributes. To make matters worse for the natives, he seized their principal chiefs and held them as hostages.
The Spaniards could not tolerate the presence of this Chinese corsair in their neighborhood. A scout ship had been sent by Governor Lavezares to follow the pirate fleet and it soon returned and reported where it had gone. An expedition of 256 Spaniards and about 2,500 Filipino troops, including the Lakandula of Tondo and his sons, set sail in 59 vessels for Lingayen on the 23rd of March, 1575.
In Pangasinan, the motley army was swelled by the addition of some companies of Pangasinan soldiers. They crossed the bar of the Agno River on the 30th of March, 1574, their presence unsuspected by the Chinese.
Juan de Salcedo had been appointed Field Marshal in place of Martin de Goiti. He was assisted by Captain Lorenzo Chacon, Pedro de Chavez, and Gabriel de Rivera (sic). Salcedo noted on entering the river, a narrow place where the channel could easily be blocked. He stayed there in order to prevent the escape of the pirates. He ordered Captain Gabriel de Rivera and his company of 28 men to march immediately by land, and Captains Pedro de Chavez and Lorenzo Chacon to sail with 9 small boats and 80 men to ascend the river and to capture Chinese vessels with the Spanish fleet. The time was to be appointed so that both the land and the sea forces would arrive at the fort at the same instant, and make assault at the same time, so that they might be better successful in their purpose. Salcedo was to remain behind with all the rest of the forces to await the opportunity of furnishing aid in any emergency.
The river detachment met 35 vessels of the Chinese fleet sailing out to collect provisions. They were entirely unaware of the presence of the enemy in the vicinity, and when the Spaniards opened fire with their arquebuses, the pirates turned and fled grounding the ships at the river bank near the fort and then jumping overboard to escape the Spaniards, whom they outnumbered ten to one.
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