🪶 THE SMOKING QUILL | May 11, 2025

Pinto, the Typhoon, and the Blogger Who Can’t Read Current Events [Literally... Pun intended]

The latest blogger critique is a prime example of selective outrage masquerading as scholarship. Faced with an overwhelming body of evidence from Fernão Mendes Pinto that clearly identifies the Philippines—not Ryukyu—as the Lequios Isles, this blogger has now narrowed the battlefield to one desperate hill:

The Typhoon Drift. [Except He Forgot the Typhoon Part!]

Let’s break it down.

🌊 Pinto’s 23-Day Drift: What He Actually Says

Pinto states that after a battle near China, his ship was caught in a massive typhoon and drifted for 23 days through an archipelago before arriving at the land he calls Lequios Grande.

“...for twenty-three days until finally, at the end of that time, our Lord brought us within sight of land...” – Pinto (Catz translation)

The blogger wants to dismiss this as proof that Pinto landed in Ryukyu, citing a translation that refers to Lequios as such. But there's a major problem:

📉 The Coordinates, Dates & Distances Are Not Reliable

Even Pinto’s translator, Rebecca Catz, openly warned that:

• Pinto’s coordinates are often wrong.

• His distances and dates were edited before publication.

• His narrative was altered in its first printing.

Yet the blogger clings to these questionable elements while ignoring everything else Pinto describes. Remember, the blogger actually attempt to pawn off the manipulated text as the original Portuguese when it was not. 

🧭 The Typhoon Argument Fails Geographically

We modeled Pinto’s 23-day drift during a typhoon season, using:

• Historical typhoon tracks 

• Prevailing currents (Kuroshio, Luzon Strait flow) [And we did not forget there was a Typhoon, as the blogger did.]

• Residual drift patterns after Typhoons observed in satellite-era case studies

Let's also not overlook the witchcraft being employed by an agitator who claims Pinto's account should be thrown out, yet, then, still attempts to use it to support his argument that already failed. That is a losing strategy and indefensible. We have never said so, and in fact, have reasserted the account as valid in need of testing and reconciliation citing the very details Catz demonstrating are problematic in Pinto's account. We have also pointed out many times this is not the only detail of the account and all others support the Philippine position, none support Ryukyu. The blogger forgot there was a Typhoon and asserts normal currents at that time of year which would be changed for as much as 3 weeks following a major typhoon. Oops! Again, that is witchcraft, not academic reason. This methodology will be provided to academics who meet with us, not to a fake blogger who admits his end attempt is to commit criminal defamation of our leader and our group.

Result?

A disabled ship near the China coast would be naturally pushed southwest—toward Batanes and Northern Luzon, not Ryukyu.

In fact, the drift duration matches real typhoon-driven cases, including Typhoon Wayne (1986) and historic 1927 events where vessels were displaced for 15–21 days across this same region. {ADD: In that direction?????]

📉 The One-Criterion Trap

This critic has reduced Pinto's richly detailed account to a single metric—his mistaken belief that Japan was "ahead" of him. Even that is questionable, as translation ambiguity remains.

Meanwhile, he completely ignores the other 14+ criteria Pinto offers that match only one place: the Philippines.

From Pinto:

• Gold-laden ports

• Militarized trader ships

• Towns like Gundexilau and Pungor matching Filippine etymologies of places exactly. No such exists in Ryukyu.

• Horsemen and courts

• Massive merchant vessels

• And a legal system nothing like Ryukyu

• [larger list and test below]

None of this fits Okinawa. All of it fits Luzon and the Ivatan-Batanes corridor.

"No Basements in Ryukyu. But Pinto Slept with Leeches Underground. Try Again."
🪶 The architecture speaks louder than the apologist.

• Prison dungeons [architecture with a lower level (basement of sort) for shelter from storms]:

• ADDITION TEST: Pinto described being thrown into an underground dungeon full of leeches and water, a feature incompatible with Ryukyuan environmental and architectural norms but entirely consistent with Ivatan/Batanes construction.

• Ryukyu (Okinawa): ❌ Not typical due to earthquakes & high water table; basements are rare in traditional architecture.  Architectural Style:Wood and limestone structures, mostly above ground.                                                                                                    

• Batanes (Philippines): ✅ Yes, particularly in Ivatan stone houses; used for storage, livestock, and protection during typhoons—perfect for detaining prisoners underground.  Architectural Style: Stone houses, thick-walled, storm-resilient with subterranean elements.

• The Ivatan Sinadumparan house could be even larger with higher ceiling to accommodate jars, boats, and other household belongings." [Ignacio, UP] 
  

🧠 The Real Problem

This is not about evidence. It’s about maintaining the illusion of debate.

If the Philippines matches 14 of 15 criteria, and Ryukyu fails all but one—and even that one is shaky—you don’t have a scholarly disagreement.You have denial.

🔥 Bottom Line:

The blogger’s desperate defense of a single flawed reading—while discarding Pinto’s full context and the warnings of his own translator—is not academic integrity. It’s narrative control.

We’ll continue publishing the full evidence trail. And unlike the blogger, we won’t hide behind anonymous defamation, censorship, or character attacks.

The Smoking Quill writes again: The wind blew west. And the truth landed in the Philippines. Repeat of Pinto's Major Criteria Test follows.

🔥 Crushing the Ryukyu Misidentification

Pinto’s observations consistently defy the geography and culture of Ryukyu:

• Horses:
  Ryukyu had no significant horseman culture in the 16th century. Luzon, however, had a known tradition of horsemanship, bolstered through Chinese and Japanese trade influence. (Mackie, Philippine Horses, Bureau of Agriculture, Manila)

• Island Size:
  The Ryukyu islands collectively measure far too small (~100 leagues in total) to match Pinto’s description. In contrast, Luzon’s coastal circumference approaches 200 leagues, aligning perfectly.

• Trade Riches:
  Luzon was a major silver-for-gold hub with thriving regional trade networks. Ryukyu was a relatively minor tributary polity with limited wealth and minimal impact.  🔥"No mines. No gold rush. No Ophir.") 🔥

• Volcanoes:
  The Babuyan Islands — historically known as the "Burning Isles" — north of Luzon offer a far better match for the "Island of Fire" than Tokara’s Suwanosejima.

Imagine attempting to pass off an island covering just 27.66 km² (with a modern population of only 48 people) as the grand 200-league island bustling with horsemen and treasures Pinto described. Such a claim strains not only geography but credulity itself. Notably, the Tokara Islands show no historical record of significant gold mining, suggesting that any deposits — if present at all — were either economically insignificant or remained undiscovered.

✅ Conclusion:
The Ryukyu identification collapses completely under geographic, archaeological, and cultural scrutiny. The only location matching Pinto’s description — in size, wealth, population, resources, and trade — is the Philippine archipelago, centered on Luzon and its northern regions.

🧾 Pinto’s Resource Checklist vs the Real Map

Resource

Silver Mines

Philippines (West of Batanes):  ✅ Yes – Cordillera range, Benguet Province, San Marcelino, Zambales, and Batangas Province, Luzon; Cebu and Marinduque Island, Visayas; Zamboanga del Sur, Mindanao.

Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa):  ❌ None

Pearls

Philippines (West of Batanes): ✅ Yes – Sulu, Mindoro Strait, Palawan. [LARGEST ON EARTH!!! Mapped as Thilis, the Ancient Isle of Pearl.]

Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa): ⚠️ Minor; not a known pearl-producing hub

Amber / Resins

Philippines (West of Batanes): ✅ Yes – Copal, Almaciga NATIVE to Zambales, Mindoro, Palawan, Zamboanga and Davao.

Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa): ❌ No known trade resins or amber

Incense woods

Philippines (West of Batanes): ✅ Yes – "Poor Man's Frankincense", Manila Elemi from Pili Tree in Cordillera Region, Batangas, Masbate, Visayas and a booming industry in Bicol boasts the world's largest elemi industry reported by some.

Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa): ❌ No eaglewood or aromatic wood production

Silk / Fiber

Philippines (West of Batanes): ✅ Yes – Piña in Aklan, Visayas; abaca in Mindoro, Luzon; Negros Oriental, Iloilo and Aklan, Visayas; all the provinces of Mindanao; and Akleng Parang (silk tree) all over Mindanao, Laguna, and Mindoro all endemic since ancient times.

Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa): ❌ No native silk production

Rosewood

Philippines (West of Batanes): ✅ Yes – Narra [National Tree], Kamagong in Mindoro, Luzon; Palawan, Visayas; and multiple places on Mindanao.

Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa): ❌ None

Brazilwood (Dye trees)

Philippines (West of Batanes): ✅ Yes – Sibucao and other dye woods especially in Negros, Visayas.

Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa): ❌ None

Eaglewood

Philippines (West of Batanes): ✅ Yes – Eaglewood [agarwood] in Palawan, Zamboanga and other parts of Mindanao.

Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa): ❌ Not native

Pitch / Asphalt

Philippines (West of Batanes): ✅ Yes – Leyte Rock Asphalt native and ancient, pitch sources in Samar & Palawan (all West of Batanes).

Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa): ❌ None

🔍 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.

Addressing lazy ridicule of the willing ignorant

🪶 Smoking Quill Historical Correction: “Tanegashima Attacked Ryukyu?”

False. No such attack ever happened in the 1500s.
The blogger’s claim that the prince of Tanegashima requested Portuguese help to conquer Ryukyu is not only based on a mistranslation (via Catz), but also contradicts actual Japanese history.

There is no record of a 16th-century Japanese invasion of Ryukyu.
The only documented invasion occurred in 1609, when forces from Satsuma han (in southern Kyushu, not Tanegashima) invaded and reduced the Ryukyu Kingdom to a vassal state. That is not Pinto's era.

🔗 Source: Samurai Archives – “Invasion of Ryukyu”
https://samurai-archives.com/wiki/Invasion_of_Ryukyu

So no—Tanegashima never attacked Ryukyu.
👉 Therefore, whatever region Pinto described was not Ryukyu. The blogger’s entire counter-argument collapses under basic fact-checking he is incapable of conducting in negligence, again.

Note: Luzon is a region not just 1 island and when we refer to Luzon, we have well specified we are speaking of the Northern region of Luzon Island including the Northern Islands. [Read our Blog Post on This Since the Blogger is Incapable of reading: The Bifurcated Island of Luzon: Lequios and Lucoes Rediscovered]. This blogger realized that in a previous blog and just attacked in this one. He can't even be consistent on anything except defamation, his only purpose. That will be dealt with soon. 

Have we cited Pinto directly? No one has as we do not have the original. However, we have cited 2 different Portuguese versions of Pinto's account as well Henry Cogan's translation, and Rebecca Catz' translation multiple times. That's 4 different translations as well as other sources just on Pinto, whom we didn't cover? The blogger is not upset that our research has gone even deeper even attempting to characterize deeper research as dishonest which is baseless, stupid and a lousy use of language. Again, his only purpose is to defame as he has no coherent position yet continues to ramble in long blogs saying noting. What is the definition of insanity again? You know.