The God Culture Philippines Biblical History Library

“Survey says… Ryukyu ain’t it.”

🪶 THE SMOKING QUILL | May 10, 2025

Lequios Was Never Ryukyu: 15 Tests. 15 Failures.

“When every historical test says Philippines… and Ryukyu fails them all… it’s not a debate—it’s a cover-up unraveling.” 

For centuries, the mysterious "Lequios" people described in dozens of 16th–19th century sources have puzzled historians. While some assigned them to the Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa), a deeper dive into the full record reveals an overwhelming and indisputable truth:

Lequios = Precolonial Luzon (Philippines).

We put this claim through a 15-point historical stress test using primary sources from 1514 to 1883, and the results are definitive.

🔍 The Major Criteria Test

Each of the 15 criteria was drawn from direct references by explorers, missionaries, geographers, and chroniclers who used terms like Lequios, Lucoes, Luçones, Lucois, and Lequii. These were not ambiguous references—they were descriptive, often firsthand, and extremely detailed.

Here is the result:

Criteria for Identifying the Lequios Isles

Philippines:

Ryukyu:

1 Trade Terminus / Route Endpoint

Philippines: ✅

Ryukyu: ❌

2 Equated with Ophir / Tarshish in Historical Documents

Philippines: ✅

Ryukyu: ❌

3 Located in Front of China

Philippines: ✅

Ryukyu: ❌

4 Sovereign Maritime Culture

Philippines: ✅

Ryukyu: ❌

5 Gold-Rich, Resource-Laden Isles

Philippines: ✅

Ryukyu: ❌

6 Used Large Ships (Karakoa, Junk, etc.)

Philippines: ✅

Ryukyu: ❌

7 Warrior-Merchant Culture

Philippines: ✅

Ryukyu: ❌

8 Presence in Malacca / SE Asia

Philippines: ✅

Ryukyu: ❌

9 Independent of Chinese Tribute

Philippines: ✅

Ryukyu: ❌

10 Ethnically Distinct from Chinese/Japanese

Philippines: ✅

Ryukyu: ❌

11 Shipbuilding & Navigation Excellence

Philippines: ✅

Ryukyu: ❌

12 Local Sovereignty: Datus & Rajahs

Philippines: ✅

Ryukyu: ❌

13 Manila as Trade Hub

Philippines: ✅

Ryukyu: ❌

14 Cultural & Linguistic Sophistication

Philippines: ✅

Ryukyu: ❌

15 European Mapping Usage (Lucoes, etc.)

Philippines: ✅

Ryukyu: ❌

Result:

Philippines 15/15 ✅ — Ryukyu 0/15 ❌

Full testing methodology is available to qualified academics who engage with us directly—not to bloggers who fail to read the criteria, ridicule the Philippines (which matches all 15), and defend Ryukyu (which matches none).

📜 Sources That Confirmed the Criteria

The writers and cartographers who confirmed the match to the Philippines include:

• Tomé Pires (1515)

• Antonio Pigafetta (1521)

• Duarte Barbosa (1516)

• Fernão Mendes Pinto (1558)

• Francisco Rodriguez (1514)

• João de Barros (1550s)

• Pedro Chirino (1604)

• Antonio de Morga (1609)

• Gaspar da Cruz (1569)

• Juan González de Mendoza (1585)

• Giovanni Battista Ramusio (1570s)

• Diego Ribero, Ortelius, Mercator, and Castanheda (Maps 1529–1883)

None of these equated the Lequios with Ryukyu. Not one.

🧠 Why It Matters

This isn’t just about names. It’s about reclaiming truth:

• Lequios were seafarers, traders, gold-rich and sovereign.

• Luzon matches every known major descriptor—in geography, language, warfare, and economic identity.

• Ryukyu matches none—and was never described in these terms by these men.

The assignment of Lequios to Ryukyu is not an argument. It is a colonial-era misreading that failed every historical test we applied.

🔥 Bottom Line

“The Smoking Quill writes again.”

Fifteen independent tests. Fifteen historical failures for Ryukyu. Total convergence on the Philippines. The Lequios were never Okinawan.

They were Filipino. Luzon. Luçones. Ophir. The Isles of Gold.