It was nearly 500 years ago that the Portuguese and the Filipinos met for the rst time. Around a year after his discovery of the strait linking the Atlantic and Paci c oceans, in 1520, Ferdinand Magellan, in the service of the Spanish king, Charles V, and actually with the intention of nding a westward route to the Maluku or “Spice” Islands, reached the Philippines, where he died in combat in April 1521. Tomé Pires, in Suma Oriental, was the rst European to mention the archipelago of the Philippines (1514?) and gave an exact description of the Moluccas.
2016 marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relationships between Portugal and the Philippines, and it is the perfect occasion for a joint issue of postage stamps to remember the bonds of friendship and healthy companionship with roots rmly embedded in the history of the two countries. Chosen as the theme of this philatelic issue were the traditional owers of both countries: for Portugal, a type of lavender, “rosmaninho-maior” (Lavandula pedunculata), and for the Philippines, Arabian Jasmine (Jasminum sambac), locally known as “sampaguita”.
For centuries, we have cultivated diverse species of owers for di erent purposes and at di erent times, for aesthetic reasons or for use in natural medicine, but also in order to say that which cannot be openly said or written, and doing so with beauty and grace.
Many ancient populations gave owers a symbolic meaning that, closer to our time, in Victorian England, became essential knowledge, a social norm for standing in society.
In this sense, jasmine is a universal icon of hope and spirituality. Lavender, in turn, represents modesty and simplicity, a symbol of balance, harmony and communication.
