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Town of Father Pedro Murillo Velarde
History Before it was called only Andarax. It is a landscape full of trees and water due to its high rainfall. There are up to 16 different types of fountains scattered through the village. El Zagal, last king of Almeria, spent some time here after the Capitulations of Baza, Guadix and Almeria in 1489. It was also the official residence of Boabdil after he left Granada once he had handed it over to the Catholic Monarchs. He would later leave definitively for Africa. The first Moorish revolt in 1500 was especially dramatic for the people of Laujar as they were hiding inside the mosque and it was set on fire. Later the entire Moorish population was obliged to convert to Christianity or leave the kingdom. In this village Fernando de Valor, Aben Humeya, was assassinated. He had been chosen as King of the Moors, in this very place, and they had rebelled in 1568. Aben Aboo also lived here, the nephew and murderer of the above-mentioned, another of the leaders of the Moorish rebellion. Two years later, the rebellion would be put down by Juan of Austria with the expulsion of the Moors from the Kingdom of Granada. This village, like many others, would be left deserted and in later years repopulation would be carried out with people from outside the Kingdom of Granada. Nowadays Laujar is experiencing good times due to programmes to develop the Alpujarra being undertaken by different administrations. The importance of rural tourism should be mentioned; an activity that in its turn affects the agroalimentary industry and handicrafts. This all offers a promising future for this village. Eminent citizens Francisco Villaespesa Martin, poet. Pedro Murillo Velarde, Jesuit historian. Florentino Castañeda, historian. Source: http://www.andalucia.org/en/destinations/provinces/almeria/municipalities/laujar-de-andarax/history/ Share this:TweetShare on...
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A shadow of Filipino businessman Mel Velarde is cast upon a replica of a 1734 map
DATE IMPORTED: 19 June, 2015 A shadow of Filipino businessman Mel Velarde is cast upon a replica of a 1734 map he bought at an auction in London, which shows the Scarborough Shoal as part of the Philippine territory under Spanish rule during a Reuters interview in Manila June 19, 2015. A nearly 300-year-old map of the Philippines showing islands in disputed waters hopes to boost the country’s claim in the South China Sea, Velarde said on Tuesday. The map, published in 1734 by Spanish priest Pedro Murillo Veralde, showed Scarborough Shoal, located around 124 nautical miles from the island of Luzon and labeled as “Panacot” in the map , as part of the Philippines territory. The original map was still in London for safekeeping, but a certified true copy was submitted to the Philippine government when it requested copies of historical maps for its UN arbitration case against China in The Hague. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco Source: http://pictures.reuters.com/archive/GF10000133071.html Share this:TweetShare on...
read more300 year old Philippine map hopes to boost claims in the South China Sea
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read moreChina and Philippines diplomatic row ignited after old map found washed up under Newcastle housing estate
15-Jun-2015 Intellasia | The Independent | 6:00 AM When an ageing Victorian culvert collapsed on land owned by the Duke of Northumberland in May 2012, the effects were immediate and serious: landslips and flooding which resulted in the residents of nearby blocks of flats being evacuated and some of the properties demolished. But nobody could have predicted that the decay of an underground drainage system in a housing estate in the west of Newcastle would result in the unearthing of a crucial piece of evidence in a bitter land dispute between the Philippines and China. The story, involving a hard-up English aristocrat, a wealthy Filipino businessperson and a 281-year-old map, has yet to reach a conclusion but already reads like the script of a Hollywood film. Alnwick Castle, which is owned by the Duke of Northumberland and where scenes from Harry Potter were filmed, could even act as a ready-made backdrop to the drama. After the culvert collapsed three years ago, the Duke was left facing a repair bill of up to GBP 12 million to fix the damage. To finance the project, he agreed to sell around 80 family heirlooms at an auction in Sotheby’s in London. Lot #183 was a map drawn up in Manila in 1734 by Pedro Murillo Velarde, a Jesuit priest, which the auction house’s catalogue described as “the first scientific map of the Philippines”. Specialists at Sotheby’s set a price of between GBP 20,000 and GBP 30,000 for the 44 by 47-inch document, but it eventually sold for GBP 170,500. The buyer was Filipino businessperson Mel Velarde, the president of an IT firm, who lodged the winning bid over the phone from a steakhouse where he was celebrating his 78-year-old mother’s birthday. Although he was initially interested in the map because he shared a name with the cartographer, he said winning the auction became a “personal crusade” when he realised that it may prove his country’s claim to the Scarborough Shoals. The Shoals, a group of rocks and reefs 120 miles west of the main Philippine island of Luzon, are labelled as “Panacot” on the map, which also shows them as forming part of Philippines territory. The ownership of the rocky islands has long been disputed, with both China and the Philippines laying claim. Asked why he was so keen to secure the map, Velarde said: “In a true-to-life movie, there’s a part for everybody. There’s a bully in the neighbourhood. He already took over our land. Then, this map is owned by a Duke in a Harry Potter castle. It’s like you wanting to play your part in the movie.” The businessperson has now given a copy of the map to the Philippine government, where it will be put to use by officials during legal debate at the UN’s Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague. A final judgement on the row is not expected until March next year. The Philippine government are hopeful that the map may tip the balance in their favour. “China’s claim is about historical title. This old map would certainly present the side of the Philippines when it comes to any historical basis,” said Edwin Lacierda, a spokesman for the country’s president Benigno Aquino III. The Philippines accused China of seizing the Shoal in 2012, when ships...
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Gov’t: 18th century map to boost territorial claim
By JC Gotinga, CNN Philippines Updated 20:21 PM PHT Tue, June 9, 2015 An 18th century map may hold the key to solving the maritime dispute between the Philippines and China. The government is submitting a copy of it to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea this week. In this report, we find out that this map was at Hogwart’s castle for more than 200 years. This report aired on CNN Philippines’ Network News on June 9, 2015. Source: http://cnnphilippines.com/videos/2015/06/09/Govt-18th-century-map-to-boost-territorial-claim.html Share this:TweetShare on...
read moreMother of Philippine maps’ settles sea dispute with China
IT WILL come as a big surprise for many that, in 1991, the 1734 Murillo Velarde map, now making front-page news, was offered with a starting bid of 10,000 German marks (P186,000) at an auction in Frankfurt! Alerted by friends in Europe, I immediately sought out a dozen alumni willing to contribute P50,000 each to place a bid for the map. Unfortunately Mt. Pinatubo had erupted at the time and its lahar kept flooding Central Luzon. So I incurred the ire of an historian who scolded me for initiating such a project. His tirade dwelt on the vanity of collectors and their apathy to the suffering of their fellow human beings during a national disaster. His simplistic argument sounded like that of Judas who questioned Mary Magdalene’s “frivolous” act of pouring on Christ’s head the perfume which could have been sold and its proceeds given to the poor. The presupposition here seems that for as long as the poor and hungry are around, one should not indulge in the “guilty pleasure” of buying artworks and cultural artifacts. But then, do human beings live by bread alone? Beyond material needs like food and housing, human beings desire meaning. Culture and art are not “luxuries” but are essential to being human, for they bestow us with meaning and a sense of self-esteem. Culture, taken here in the broadest sense, refers to any human experience insofar as it leaves traces. It covers human works on the technical, social, economic, political, intellectual, moral and artistic levels. These human achievements are expressed in the forms of tools, documents, monuments, actions like rituals, and works of art. To quote Hegel, these constitute “the very substance of the life of a people.” These reveal that layer of images and symbols comprising the basic ideals of a people. It will also come as a bigger surprise that for 30 years now, a copy of the 1734 Murillo Velarde map has been in Malacañan Palace, according to a reliable source! It is strange then that no one in the national government took notice of this until Velasco Velarde’s heroic act of winning the bid and generous gesture of donating the coveted map to the National Museum. The “truth dissemination” planned by this Ateneo alumnus could have started earlier. To quote him: “[E]very Chinese child since 1935 was taught in school that these contested islands were owned by China for centuries… We must match the indoctrination, propaganda and brainwashing of their youth with our own truth seeking and truth dissemination among our youth. A P12-million map without the accompanying follow-through programs would make that map a mere wallpaper!” Collecting is noble Velasco Velarde may have imparted an important lesson to collectors—that one never collects for oneself alone but for generations to come. He reminds them that artworks and cultural artifacts are not only viable as economic investments for self-gain. They are also powerful vessels for promoting esteem of one’s heritage, pride of one’s country and dedication to one’s people. A “noble-minded” collector differs from a “hoarder,” The true collector is ever mindful that he lives in time and in the world with and for others. She is constantly aware of the intimate intertwining of the spiritual and the material—that matter is the necessary slope of the spirit....
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