Editing Samar (section)

==== Foreign descriptions ====

Samar was the first island of the Philippines sighted by the Spanish expedition led by [[Ferdinand Magellan]] (transcribed as ''Zamal'' in the diary of [[Antonio Pigafetta]]). He sighted it on 16 March 1521, having sailed there from the [[Mariana Islands]].<ref>[https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/culture/spotlight/03/14/21/the-hospitable-shores-of-samar-during-magellans-landfall "The hospitable shores of Samar during Magellan’s landfall"]. ANCX. Retrieved February 23, 2023.</ref><ref name="Ocampo">{{cite book |last1=Ocampo |first1=Ambeth |title=Looking Back: Volume 1 |date=2012 |publisher=Anvil Publishing, Inc. |isbn=9789712736087}}</ref>  Realizing he had arrived at an [[archipelago]], he charted the islands, and called them ''San Lazaro'' ([[Lazarus of Bethany|Saint Lazarus]] in English) because they were sighted on [[Lazarus Saturday]]. The Spaniards later called the island Filipinas. Although Samar was the first island of the Philippines sighted by Magellan, he did not land there. He continued south, weighed anchor at [[Suluan]] Island, and then finally, on 17 March 1521, he landed on [[Homonhon]] Island.<ref>Parr, Charles McKew ''So Noble a Captain: The Life and Times of Ferdinand Magellan'' Thomas Y. Crowell, New York, 1953. p.431</ref>  Later in the 1700s, Samar was recorded to have about 103 [[Spanish Filipino]] families and 3,042 native families.<ref name="Estadismo2">[https://ia601608.us.archive.org/10/items/bub_gb_ElhFAAAAYAAJ_2/bub_gb_ElhFAAAAYAAJ.pdf ESTADISMO DE LAS ISLAS FILIPINAS TOMO SEGUNDO By Joaquín Martínez de Zúñiga (Original Spanish)]</ref>{{rp|113}}

Years later, other Spanish expeditions arrived. The historian William Henry Scott wrote that a "Samar datu by the name of Iberein was rowed out to a Spanish vessel anchored in his harbor in 1543 by oarsmen collared in gold; while wearing on his own person earrings and chains." Scott recounted a Samarnon saga, which was called ''siday'', about Bingi of Lawan, a prosperous settlement in Samar.<ref name="Scott"/>

Samar also had names which are recorded in early Spanish sources, including ''Ibabao'' (or ''Cibabao''), ''Achan'', ''Camlaya'', and ''Taridola''. The Spanish captain [[Miguel Lopez de Legaspi]] also infamously called the island ''Tandaya'', after mistaking the name of a lord with the name of the island (not to be confused with [[Datu Daya]] of northern Cebu). This was spelled by [[Miguel de Loarca]] as ''Candaya''.<ref name="Ocampo"/>