The God Culture Philippines Biblical History Library

Archaeological Evidence of Ophir’s Gold

In 1946, archaeologists discovered inscribed pottery shards referencing Ophir's gold...

Read More →

Want Exclusive Research Updates?

Ancient Eyes on the East...

Though we should not need to say this, the above image is art of a map, not an actual map. 


🪶 THE SMOKING QUILL | June 12, 2025

The First Echoes of Lequios – A Forgotten Gateway to Ophir?

🔥 The Earliest Known Reference to “Lequios”

In a little-known but highly influential work, Historia de las cosas de Ethiopia by Francisco Álvares (translated by Miguel de Selves), we find what may be the earliest mention of the “Lequios” in Iberian literature. Published shortly after Álvares’ diplomatic journey (c. 1520s), the text describes the awe inspired by Vasco da Gama’s eastern exploits (1497-1499)—not only across India and Arabia, but echoing as far as:

“...los Arabes, Persas, Carmanos, y Gedrosios... Guzarates, Indios, Chinenſes, Tartaros, Lequios...”
(Historia de las cosas de Ethiopia, p. 15)

In this list, Lequios stands among the great eastern nations—an early recognition of its significance before colonial maps revised and relocated it further north to the Ryukyus, a position with no merit.

"Who can describe the terror that spread through all the nations and towns of the sea of ​​Quiloa, Mes Linde, and Adel, kingdoms in the farthest reaches of Africa? The admiration that shone in the spirits of the Arabs, Persians, Carmans, and Gedrophyans, who today are called Guzarates, Indians, Chinese, Tartars, Lequios, and others..."

The tucked away and hidden Ryukyu Islands do not belong on this list. This Lequios is the original – the Philippines. The position on the way to China and the Tartars, not Ryukyu which is out of the way and out of place. 
Read the Page
Historia de las cosas de Ethiopia : en la qual se cuenta muy copiosamente, el estado y potencia del emperador della, (que es el que muchos han pensado ser el preste Iuan) con otras infinitas particularidades assi de la religion de aquella ge[n]te, como de sus cerimonias / segun que de todo ello fue testigo de vista Francisco Aluarez ... ; traduzida por Miguel de Selues

🗺️ Mapping the Trail: The Cantino Planisphere (1502)

To bolster the timeline and geographic consistency of this early reference, we turn to the Cantino Planisphere, completed in 1502. This early Portuguese map displays the eastern islands, including portions of the Philippines, before Japan (Cipangu) was fully defined in Western cartography.

🖋️ Updated Interpretive Notes:

While the Planisphere doesn’t label “Lequios” directly, the placement of richly detailed islands south of China and east of Malacca corresponds to what would later be identified as the Lequios Isles—often used as a term for northern Luzon and adjacent archipelagos like Babuyan and Batanes.

We propose including a cleaned version of the Planisphere with highlighted trade labels, especially if the Portuguese inscriptions (e.g., “Ilhas Ricas de Ouro e Cera”) align with the economic profile attributed to Lequios (wax, ebony, gold, etc.).

Read The Lequios of Sambalas — Exposing the 1502 Cantino Map’s Forgotten Truth
Read the Blog
The Lequios of Sambalas — Exposing the 1502 Cantino Map’s Forgotten Truth

📚 The Case for Luzon as Lequios

From Álvares’ mention to dozens of Jesuit and Portuguese travel accounts over the next century, the term Lequios consistently tracks:

  • Rich resources: Wax, ebony, sugar, gold, pearls.

  • Strategic position: The maritime route from Malacca to China/Japan via the Philippines.

  • Cultural traits: Early baptism and tribute systems (seen in northern Luzon).

The Philippines, not Okinawa or the Ryukyus, consistently match both geographic and economic references.

🧭 Timeline Footnote

  • c. 1520s: Álvares writes his account referencing “Lequios.”

  • 1540s: Spanish/Portuguese translations circulate widely.

  • 1502: The Cantino Planisphere places relevant archipelagos east of Malacca and south of China—depicting “Lequios” before the name appears in texts. It was always the Philippines in origin and then, the Jesuits changed it.

🧾 Citations

  1. Francisco Álvares. Historia de las cosas de Ethiopia. Miguel de Selves, trans. c. 1540s. [Digitized by Universidad Complutense de Madrid].

  2. Cantino Planisphere, Biblioteca Estense, 1502. [Annotated reproduction]. Read The Lequios of Sambalas — Exposing the 1502 Cantino Map’s Forgotten Truth

#Lequios #PhilippinesHistory #EarlyMaps #SmokingQuill #JesuitMissions #CantinoPlanisphere #LuzonHistory #Ophir #Tarshish #PortugueseExplorers #ColonialNarratives #AncientGeography #MuskTrade #EbonyGoldWax #FranciscoAlvarez #ForgottenLands
ADDITION:

🗺️ A Jesuit Colonial Trail of Tears
The visual record of how truth was displaced, overwritten, and erased.

🎉 “The maps were never lost… only silenced. Now, the silenced speak.”

📌 1. 1714 Vander Aa – "Lossonia 5ve"
    Labels the east Luzon isles as Lossonia and places "I. Parta" west of Batanes.A direct resurrection of Pinto’s Five Isles narrative.
1714 Vander Aa Map

📌 2. 1640 Jan Jansson Map
    Omits Batanes but names Taiwan as "Lequios"Places "I. de Prata" west of a cluster of 5 yellow islets, very close to the Babuyanes.
1640 Jansson Map

📍 3. 1700 Valk Map
    Labels “5. Insulae” above Luzon and includes Prata Isle, preserving the Lequios identification.
1700 Valk Map - Isle de Prata (Silver)

📌 4. 1774 Dutch Map
    Offers fine delineation of the five Batanes isles with Prata just west. Labels Luzon as Luconia.
1774 Bowen Map

📌 5. 1706 Thornton Map

  • Uses “Five Islands” and places Prata directly west of Luzon.

  • The R. Hecos or R. Ilecos stands out as the Lequios River from other maps.


1706 Thortnton Map

📌 6. 1700 Vander Aa Map – Pigafetta-Inspired

Clearly ties 5 Isles of Pinto, Prata, and the Philippines into one cohesive region.
1700 Vander Aa Map

📌 7.

1650 Antoine de Fer Map

  • Names Luzon as "Leuconia," echoing Lequios, and situates it above Mindanao just below the Tropic of Cancer where Luzon is.

1650 Antoine de Fer Map

📌 8.

1690 Coronelli Map

  • Offers a stunning depiction of Luzon as a bifurcated landmass, with terms like "Lucon creduta favolosa" or "Lucon believed to be fabulous" implying mythical fame—possibly a nod to Zipangu/Ophir myths.

  • Notice as well the bifurcated island in 2 sections– North and South just as we referenced previously.

1690 Coronelli Map

📌 9.

1645 Spilbergen Map

  • Names the northern part of Luzon as “I. Locos”, a variant of “Lequios”. West of Batanes, an isle labeled “Wateb” appears—possibly a distorted Prata or ghost island.

  • Wateb as a label also appears as "or Isla de Prata on other maps.
1645 Janssonius/Spilbergen Map

📌 10.

1644-58 Janssonius Map (Colorized)

  • Replaces Ilocos with “ILLECOS”, a near-exact spelling of Lequios.

  • Preserves I. de Prata and 5 yellow isles.
1644 Janssonius Map
1502 Cantino Map

Cantino World Map

1502 

[See above]

Lequios of Zambales at 17N. Affirmed within.

1512 Francisco Rodrigues' Sketches

Jorge Reinel/Rodriguez Chart 

1512

[Click Image for Blog Link]

"The Main Island of Lequios" is charted and noted geographically near Luzon, not near Okinawa.
1527 Diogo Ribeiro Map

Diogo Ribeiro Map

1527

[Click Image for Blog Link]

Locates Lequios near Luzon, reinforcing the Philippines as the center of early Southeast Asian trade routes.
1535 Penrose Chart

Anonymous Penrose Chart

1535

[Click Image for Blog Link]

Lequios plotted between 17°–20° North Latitude, matching Northern Philippines, not Okinawa.

1539 Santa Cruz SPanish Government Map

Santa Cruz Map

1539 

[See above]

SPANISH GOVERNMENT MAP! Luquios as Luzon, Philippines With Visayas and Mindanao Charted With It.

 
1544 Sebastian Cabot Map

Sebastian Cabot Map

1544

[Click Image for Blog Link]

Cabot's 'Canal of Lequios' flows into the West Philippine Sea, cementing Lequios’ geographic tie to the Philippines. 10-15N.
1554 Lopo Homem Map

Lopo Homem Planisphere

1554

[Click Image for Blog Link]

Colonial Propaganda Begins! Homem still places Lequios closer to the Philippines; later maps begin shifting it northward under colonial reinterpretations.
1561 Giacomo Gastaldi Map

Giacomo Gastaldi

1561

Lequios Canal continues to be recognized near Palawan, and labels North Luzon as "Cangu", the likely Zipangu of Marco Polo.
1561 Munster Map

Italian Urbano Monti Map

1587 

Canal route for major trade between Palawan and Borneo still referenced where Lequios Canal is on previous maps.

 
1589 Ortelius Maris Pacifici

Spanish Maris Pacifici: Abraham Ortelius

1589

[Click Image for Blog Link]

Ortelius’ 1589 map silently reversed Portuguese propaganda by restoring the Philippines’ true heritage.
1607 Mercator Map

Mercator Map

1607

[Click Image for Blog Link]

The famous Mercator labels Batanes just South of Taiwan as Lequio Major where Pinto was shipwrecked.

1613 Dutch Globe

Dutch Globe

1613

[Click Image for Blog Link]

Flemish and Dutch engraver and cartographer preserves Batanes as Pintos' location for Lequios while bending to Colonial pressure for Ryukyu.
1615 Jodocus Rossi Map

Hondius, Jodocus, and Giuseppe Di Rossi.

1615

Batanes maintained as Lequio and Ryukyu as Lequi Grand.

1627 Bertius Map

P. Bertius Map

1627

Lequios Minor and Pequeno are both place in the Batanes Islands in the Philippines, while moving Lequeo Grande to Ryukyu in error.

1630 Albernaz Map

Albernaz Map

1630

4 Maps include Lequios in one Atlas. All equate Batanes Islands, Philippines as Lequeo–3 of them as Grande (main) and 1 confuses it with Ryukyu. One can see the mindset waffling into Colonial propaganda.

1640 Bleau Map

Bleau Map

1640

The 5 Isles of Pinto's legend appear just to the West of Batanes defining it as Lequios. This same dynamic occurs on the:

1676 Speed Map

1700 Visscher Map
1587 Urbano Monte Map

French Map

1752 

Just west of the Bashee Isles (Batanes), the map boldly labels:

“Les 5 Isles” — The Five Islands

Relating the legend from Pinto's shipreck with Batanes as Lequios.

 
1794 Spanish-British Map

Spanish-British Map

1794

[Click Image for Blog Link]

Lequios River, Batanes as Pinto's Shipwreck, Five Isles, and the Final Blow to Ryukyu Theory.
1799 Italian Map Lequios River, Pinto Account

Italian Map

1799

[Click Image for Blog Link]

Pinto's legend of The 5 Isles appears West of Batanes, as Lequios.
1589 Maris Pacifici: Abraham Ortelius

🪶 “History didn’t just speak — it sang… and the world finally listened.”
“The final page wasn’t colonial ink — it was joy, justice, and memory.”

Join The God Culture Community

Become a part of our mission to promote truth and enlightenment. Sign up now to receive exclusive updates, resources, and more.