The God Culture Philippines Biblical History Library

THE SMOKING QUILL | APRIL 30, 2025

The Lequios Illusion — A Colonial Cartographic Misdirection

Summary:

Modern narratives often place the historical "Lequios" islands within the Ryukyu (Okinawa) chain. However, this attribution appears to be a post-colonial redefinition that disregards geographical reality, Spanish conquest logic, and original Spanish texts. This Smoking Quill exposé re-establishes Lequios in its correct pre-17th-century Spanish context—within the northern Philippine sphere, especially the Babuyan and Batanes island chains.

1. Spanish Expansion Pattern: No Island Left Behind

Spain’s imperial strategy across the Philippine archipelago was systematic and contiguous:

• Babuyan Islands (12): Identified and incorporated early, without full conquest.

• Batanes Islands (10): Not conquered until 1783 but well-known by the 1500s.

• These 22+ islands stand between Luzon and Taiwan, forming the natural northern boundary.

If "Lequios" referred to Okinawa, the Spanish would have had to leapfrog all of these landmasses and skip over the massive visible island of Formosa (Taiwan)—a move that defies all imperial logic.

2. Captain Artieda & Governor Lavezaris: Spanish References to Lequios

• Captain Artieda's report (1573–1575) references Lequios among nearby islands, as do multiple governors.

• Governor Guido de Lavezaris states he intends to send explorers to the islands of Lequios and then immediately describes Ilocos and the foundation of Fernandina—in Northern Luzon.

• Another document lists "Lequios, Japan, and Jaba [Java]" as distinct regions, with Lequios being the closest to Luzon.

Bracketed additions like "[Liu-Kiu]" in modern edits are not in the original Spanish documents—they are colonial reinterpretations.

3. Naval Geography: The Bashi Channel Reality

• The Bashi Channel separates Batanes and Taiwan, clearly observable and charted by the Spanish.

• Okinawa, on the other hand, is hundreds of miles farther north, obscured by Formosa and inaccessible without first encountering the dozens of Philippine islands to the north of Luzon.

If the Spanish had meant Okinawa, they would have mentioned Taiwan or Formosa as an intermediary—they do not.

4. Misidentification of Lequios as Ryukyu

• The Jesuits and later colonial powers deliberately reframed Lequios as Okinawa to redirect attention away from the northern Philippines as a region of wealth and scriptural interest.

• This redirection allowed for the gradual erasure of pre-Spanish geopolitical structures within the Philippine sphere.

5. Cartographic Propaganda in Action

• Bracketed inserts like [Liu-Kiu] are not historical.

• The 1544 Cabot Map, 1539 Spanish charts, and Pigafetta's description place Lequios near Luzon, not Japan.

• Even Ginés de Mafra makes no reference to Ryukyu, and his geographical notes reinforce positions close to the Philippines (e.g., Laniones, possibly Lanzones/Camiguin).

Conclusion:

This case shows how colonial mislabeling has corrupted geographical identity. By re-examining Spanish texts in context and aligning them with navigational logic and conquest chronology, Lequios can only be reasonably placed within the northern Philippine corridor.

This Smoking Quill extinguishes the myth of a Japanese "Lequios." It was, and is, a Philippine legacy.

Yah Bless.

The God Culture Team