In 1610, Spanish pilot Juan Bernardo de Fuentidueñas survived a wreck near Macao — but what he discovered next would shake centuries of historical assumptions.

On a remote reef, he encountered three indigenous survivors. His chronicle described them not as Japanese, Ryukyuan, or Chinese... but as Lequian Indians.

For over 400 years, historians have believed Lequios = Ryukyu. But what if we’ve been wrong?

Drawing from firsthand accounts preserved in The Philippine Islands, 1493–1898 (Blair & Robertson, Vol. XVI), this documentary uncovers stunning new evidence that Lequios was not in Japan — but right here in Northern Luzon, Philippines.

🌊 Who were the Lequians?
📜 What did Spanish navigators really mean by Lequios?
🧭 And why has this account been ignored for so long?

This is The Smoking Quill’s deep dive into the forgotten corners of colonial history.

📚 Sources
Blair, Emma Helen, and James Alexander Robertson, eds. The Philippine Islands, 1493–1898, Vol. XVI. Cleveland: Arthur H. Clark, 1903–1909. Available via Project Gutenberg.

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