History of Manila
Encyclopedia
According to the history of Manila
, the city was first known as Gintu and was named by locals as Maynilad. Although proven a myth, it was still the most famous of how Manila got its name.
Manila
lies about 950 kilometers southeast of Hong Kong
, 2,400 kilometers northeast of Singapore
and more than 2,100 kilometers northeast of Kuala Lumpur
. The Pasig River
bisects the city in the middle. Almost all of the city sits on top of centuries of prehistoric alluvial
deposits built by the waters of the Pasig River and on some land reclaimed from Manila Bay.
The layout of the city was haphazardly planned during the Spanish Era
as a set of communities surrounding the fortified walls of Intramuros
(within the walls), which was the original Manila. Intramuros, one of the oldest walled cities in the Far East
, was constructed and designed by Spanish Jesuit missionaries to keep from invading Chinese pirates and native uprisings. During the American Period, some semblance of city planning using the architectural designs and master plans by Daniel Burnham
was done on the portions of the city south of the Pasig River.
Manila is bordered by several cities in Metro Manila
such as Navotas City
and Caloocan City
to the north, Quezon City
to the northeast, San Juan
and Mandaluyong City
to the east, Makati City
to the southeast, and Pasay City
to the south.
Well into the 13th century, the city consisted of a fortified settlement and trading quarter at the bay of the Pasig River, on top of previous older towns. The official name of the city under its Malay
aristocracy was Seludong/Selurung, which was the same name given for the general region of southwestern Luzon
at that time, suggesting that it was the capital of Ancient Tondo
. However, the city became known by the name given to it by its Tagalog
inhabitants, Maynila, first recorded as Maynilad. The name is based on the nila
, a flowering mangrove plant that grew on the marshy shores of the bay, used to produce soap for regional trade; it is either from the phrase may nila, Tagalog
for "there is nila," or it has a prefix ma- indicating the place where something is prevalent (nila itself is probably from Sanskrit nila 'indigo tree'). (The idea that the plant name is actually "nilad" is a myth.). Originally it was a province of the Hindu Majapahit Empire, before it was made a colony by Sultan Bolkiah
of Brunei before eventually fragmenting into rival city-states.
Manila became the seat of the colonial
government of Spain
when it officially controlled the Philippine Islands for over three centuries from 1565 to 1898. During the British occupation of the Philippines
, the city was occupied by Great Britain
for two years from 1762-1764 as part of the Seven Years War. The city remained the capital of the Philippines under the government of the provisional British governor, acting through the Archbishop of Manila and the Real Audiencia. Armed resistance to the British centred in Pampanga
.
Manila, Philippines also became famous during the Manila-Acapulco
trade which lasted for three centuries and brought the goods as far as the Americas all the way to South East Asia. In 1899, the United States
purchased the Philippines from Spain and colonized the whole Philippine archipelago. Manila was fought over during the Spanish-American War
and during the subsequent Philippine-American War
. During World War II, much of the city was destroyed, but the city was rebuilt in 1946. It was the second most destroyed city in the world after Warsaw
, Poland during World War II
. The Metropolitan Manila region was enacted as an independent entity in 1975.
inhabitants, as Maynila, first recorded as Maynilad. The name is based on the nila
, a flowering mangrove plant that grew on the marshy shores of the bay, used to produce soap for regional trade; it is either from the phrase may nila, Tagalog
for "there is nila," or it has a prefix ma- indicating the place where something is prevalent (nila itself is probably from Sanskrit nila (नील) 'indigo tree'). The idea that the plant name is actually "nilad" is a myth.
Another theory suggests the name as from the Arabic
Fi Aman Allah, or "God be with/protect you". This Islamic resonance in the city’s name was apparently disposed of by the Spanish.
aristocracy, the city was known Seludong/Selurung, which was the same name given for the general region of southwestern Luzon
at that time, suggesting that it was the capital of Ancient Tondo
. It was also known as Gintu ("The Land/Island of Gold") or Suvarnadvipa by its neighbors. The said kingdom flourished during the latter half of the Ming Dynasty
as a result of trade relations with China. Ancient Tondo
has always been the traditional capital of the empire. Its rulers were equivalents to kings and not mere chieftains, and they were addressed as panginuan or panginoon ("lords"), anak banwa ("son of heaven") or lakandula ("lord of the palace"). Well into the 13th century, the city consisted of a fortified settlement and trading quarter at the bay of the Pasig River, on top of previous older towns.
flourished via an active trade with Chinese sea traders in the area. Later serving as a smuggling nexus after the Chinese imposed restrictions on their foreign trade. During this time, the lord-minister Jayadewa presented a document of debt forgiveness to Lady Angkatan and her brother Bukah, the children of Namwaran. This is described in the Philippine's oldest known document the Laguna Copperplate Inscription
.
This inscription shows the possible link between the ancient Philippines with Medang Kingdom of Java.
which was dedicated to Maharaja
Hayam Wuruk
.
Saludong or Selurong which is a historical name for the City of Manila is listed in Canto 14 alongside Sulot (Sulu) and Kalka.
During the reign of Sultan Bolkiah
in 1485 to 1521, the Sultanate of Brunei
decided to break the Dynasty of Tondo
's monopoly in the China trade by attacking Tondo
and establishing the state of Selurong (now Manila) as a Bruneian satellite-state. A new dynasty under the Islamized Rajah Salalila was also established to challenge the House of Lakandula in Tondo. Islam was further strengthened by the arrival to the Philippines of traders and proselytizers from Malaysia and Indonesia
. The multiple states competing over the limited territory and people
of the islands simplified Spanish colonization by allowing its conquistadors to effectively employ a strategy of divide and conquer
for rapid conquest.
governed by Muslim Rajahs. Rajah Sulayman
and Rajah Matanda
ruled the Muslim
communities south of the Pasig River
, and Rajah Lakandula
ruled the Kingdom of Tondo, the Hindu
-Buddhist community north of the river. The two Muslim communities of Sulayman and Matanda were unified into the Kingdom of Maynila
. Both city-states were officially Malay
-speaking and held diplomatic ties with the Bolkiah
dynasty of Brunei
, and the sultanates of Sulu, and Ternate.
Governor-General Miguel López de Legazpi
, searching for a suitable place to establish his capital after being compelled to move from Cebu
to Panay
by Portuguese
pirates, and hearing of the existence of a prosperous sultanate in Luzon
, sent an expedition under Marshal
Martin de Goiti
and Captain Juan de Salcedo
to discover its location and potential. De Goiti anchored at Cavite
, and attempted to establish his authority peacefully by sending a message of friendship to Maynilad. Rajah Sulayman
, then its ruler, was willing to accept the friendship that the Spaniards were offering, but did not want to submit to its sovereignty unto them and waged war against them. As a result, De Goiti and his army attacked Maynilad on June 1570. After a stout fight, he captured the city before returning to Panay.
In 1571, the unity of the Luzon Empire was already threatened by the uneasy alliance of the Rajah Matanda of Sapa, the Lakandula of Tondo, and Rajah Sulayman, the rajah muda or "crown prince" of Maynila and laxamana or "grand admiral" of the Macabebe Armada. Powerful states like Lubao
, Betis and Macabebe became bold enough to challenge the traditional leadership of Tondo and Maynila. In about the same year, the Spaniards returned, this time led by López de Legazpi himself along with his entire force (consisting of 280 Spaniards and 600 native allies). Seeing them approach, the natives set the city on fire and fled to ancient Tondo
and neighboring towns. The Spaniards occupied the ruins of Maynilad and established a settlement there. On June 3, 1571, López de Legazpi gave the title city to the colony of Manila. The title was certified on June 19, 1572. Under Spain, Manila became the colonial entrepot in the Far East
. The Philippines was a Spanish colony administered under the Viceroyalty of New Spain and the Governor-General of the Philippines who ruled from Manila was sub-ordinate to the Viceroy in Mexico City. The Manila-Acapulco Galleon
trade route between the Philippines and Mexico
flourished from 1571 until 1815. Manila became famous during the Manila-Acapulco
trade which brought the goods as far as Mexico all the way to South East Asia.
Because of the Spanish presence in the area, the Chinese people
, who were living in the area and engaging in free trade relations with the natives, were subjected to commercial restrictions as well as laws requiring them to pay tribute to Spanish authorities. As a result, the Chinese revolted against the Spaniards in 1574, when a force of about 3,000 men and 62 Chinese warships under the command of Limahong
attacked the city. The said attempt was fruitless, and the Chinese were defeated. In order to safeguard the city from similar uprisings later, the Spanish authorities confined the Chinese residents and merchants to a separate district called Parian de Alcaceria.
On June 19, 1591, after the commencement of the construction of a fort
there, López de Legazpi made overtures of friendship with Rajah Lakandula
of Tondo, which was prudently accepted. However, Rajah Sulayman refused to submit to the Spaniards and gathered together a force composed of Tagalog warriors after failing to get the support of Lakandula and that of the chieftains of Hagonoy
and Macabebe. On June 3, 1571, Sulayman led his troops and attacked the Spaniards in a decisive battle at the town of Bangkusay, but were defeated. With the destruction of Sulayman's army and the friendship with Rajah Lakandula, the Spaniards began to establish themselves throughout the city and its neighboring towns. Then came the rapid Christianization
of the city. The first missionaries to arrive were the Augustinians, followed by the Franciscan
s, Jesuits, Dominican
s, Augustinians and other religious orders. The friars also began to establish schools and churches dedicated to the Christian faith, eventually spreading throughout Manila and beyond.
In 1595, Manila was decreed to be the capital of the Philippines, although it had already in fact served that function practically from its founding in 1571. Legazpi then ordered the creation of a municipal government or cabildo with a set of Spanish-style houses, monasteries, nunneries, churches, and schools giving birth to Intramuros
. The layout of the city was haphazardly planned during this era
as a set of communities surrounding the fortified walls of Intramuros
(within the walls), which was the original Manila. Intramuros, one of the oldest walled cities in the Far East
, was constructed and designed by Spanish Jesuit missionaries to provide protection from invading Chinese pirates and native uprisings.
At various times in the following century, the Chinese rose in revolt against the Spaniards. In 1602, they set fire to Quiapo
and Tondo, and for a time threatened to capture Intramuros. In 1662, they again revolted, while in 1686, a conspiracy led by Tingco plotted to kill all the Spaniards. These events led to the expulsion of the Chinese from Manila and the entire country by virtue of the decrees that were made by the Spanish authorities to that effect. However, later reconciliations nearly always permitted the continuation of the Chinese community in the city.
and Britain
. Spain became Britain's enemy when it sided with France due to ties between their royal families. The fleeing Spaniards destroyed many of the records, and in the ensuing sack of the town by the British, many historical documents of great value were destroyed or stolen from the archives.
In reality the British only controlled Manila and Cavite. But Manila was the capital, and key, to the Spanish Philippines, and the British accepted the written surrender of the Spanish government in the Philippines from Archbishop Rojo and the Real Audiencia on 30 October 1762. The city remained the capital of the Philippines under the government of the provisional British governor, acting through the Archbishop of Manila and the Real Audiencia.
The terms of surrender proposed by the Audencia Real and agreed to by the British leaders, secured private property, guaranteed the Roman Catholic religion and its episcopal government, and granted the citizens of the former Spanish colony the rights of peaceful travel and of trade 'as British subjects'. Under the direction of the provisional British governor, the Philippines continued to be governed by the Audencia Real, the expenses of which were agreed to be paid for by Spain.
The only armed resistance to the British was in Pampanga where Oidor Don Simón de Anda y Salazar
established his headquarters first in Bulacan, then in Bacolor.,
The terms of surrender dated 29 October 1762 signed by Archbishop Rojo and the Real Audencia, and sealed with the Spanish Royal Seal, ceded the entire archipelago to Great Britain. The Seven Years War was ended by the Peace of Paris
signed on 10 February 1763. At the time of signing the treaty, the signatories were not aware that the Philippines had been taken by the British and was being administered as a British colony. Consequently no specific provision was made for the Philippines. Instead they fell under the general provision that all other lands not otherwise provided for be returned to the Spanish Crown.
An unknown number of Indian soldiers known as Sepoy
s, who came with the British, deserted and settled in Cainta, Rizal
, which explains the uniquely Indian features of generations of Cainta residents.
's book Noli Me Tangere
(Touch Me Not), a novel critical of the way the Spanish friars were governing the Philippines. The Spanish government condemned the book, and Rizal was exiled to Dapitan. In 1892, he returned to Manila to found La Liga Filipina
, a nationalistic organization. Later that year, in Tondo
, Andrés Bonifacio
founded the Katipunan
, a secret organization with aim of overthrowing Spanish colonial rule.
The Katipunan movement grew until open rebellion broke out in August 1896 after its discovery by the Spaniards. Bonifacio's attack on Manila was unsuccessful. Rizal became a martyr of the revolution when the Spaniards executed him by firing squad on December 30, 1896 in Bagumbayan. After several months of fighting, a revolutionary government was formed at the Tejeros Convention
in Cavite province with Emilio Aguinaldo
at its head. Aguinaldo's government was also unsuccessful in its fight for independence, and as part of the Pact of Biak-na-Bato
peace treaty, Aguinaldo accepted exile in Hong Kong.
U.S. Troops invaded Manila in 1898 and waged war with the Spaniards and Filipinos in the Spanish–American War and the Philippine–American War. Following the defeat of Spain, U.S. forces took control of the city and the islands in one of the most brutal and forgotten chapters of Philippine American history.
The American Navy, under Admiral George Dewey
, defeated the Spanish squadron in the
Battle of Manila Bay
on May 1, 1898. Admiral Dewey testified that after the battle the Spanish Governor wished
to surrender to the Americans rather than the Filipinos, whom he feared.
Having just won their independence from Spain, the Filipinos were fiercely opposed to once again being occupied. Emilio Aguinaldo
proclaimed the First Philippine Republic
at the Malolos Congress
and had begun to build the foundations for an independent nation.
Admiral Dewey, however, claimed he never recognized the Philippine Republic, as he did not have the authority to do so
and did not consider it an organized government. War broke out between the Filipinos and the Americans on February 4, 1899, when an American soldier shot and killed a Filipino in Manila. The Americans pursued the retreating Filipino forces province by province, until General Emilio Aguinaldo (then president of the Republic) surrendered in Palanan, Isabela, on March 23, 1901.
American high command at that time was headed by General Otis who ordered invasion and occupation. By that time the Filipino troops had taken classic defensive positions around Manila to attempt to keep them out. However, the poorly armed, ill-trained soldiers could not compete with the superior firepower of the Americans and they lost and were severely beaten; so much so that it has been reported that the dead were used as breastworks.
Under Aguinaldo
's command the Filipinos began a guerrilla campaign to resist the new occupiers. This campaign had limited success in the early days following the initial occupation of the Americans although any successes were short-lived. The replacement of Otis by General Arthur MacArthur, Jr.
began an extensive campaign to suppress the local population.
This campaign by the USA has been reported as being a particularly bloody suppression with wild reports of commanders ordering the murder of everyone over 10 years old. Several books have been written on this war and its implications for both the local peoples and the US.
In the Treaty of Paris
in 1898, Spain handed over the Philippines to the United States of America for US$ 20,000,000 and ending 333 years of Spanish rule in the islands.
Manila continued under an American military government until civil government was established for the city on July 31, 1901. During the American Period, some semblance of city planning using the architectural designs and master plans by Daniel Burnham
was done on the portions of the city south of the Pasig River.
The Philippine–American War continued through 1903 at the cost of many lives both in Manila and elsewhere in the Islands. In 1935, the United States
government committed itself to granting the Philippines Independence after a ten-year transition, a period that was extended by one year due to World War II.
American combat units were ordered to withdraw from the city and all military installations removed on December 24, 1941 (Philippine time). That same day, Manila was declared an open city to spare the city from death and destruction. Despite this, the Japanese forces bombarded Manila using war planes and for the first time, Manileños experience the first air raid. Quezon issued a decree enlarging the safe zone to include outlying areas of Manila as safe zones, establishing the new administrative jurisdiction, Greater Manila.
The post of mayor of Greater Manila was given to Quezon's former Executive Secretary, Jorge B. Vargas
. On the evening of New Year's Day of 1942, a Japanese courier delivered notice to Vargas that Japanese forces already bivouacked at Parañaque would enter Greater Manila the following day. From 9 am to 10 am of January 2, Japanese imperial
forces marched into the City of Manila.
Vargas was tasked to hand over to the new authorities Greater Manila and present the remaining Filipino leaders to Japanese authorities. Vargas and the Filipino leaders present were asked to choose three options; (1) a purely Japanese military administration, (2) a dictatorial government run by a Filipino under General Artemio Ricarte
who went on self-exile to Japan after the Filipino-American war, or (3) a government by commission selected by Filipinos. Vargas and the local leaders chose the third option and established the Philippine Executive Commission
to manage initially Greater Manila, and was later expanded to cover the whole of the Philippines.
Vargas assumed the chairmanship of the Philippine Executive Commission and appointed to the post of Mayor of Greater Manila in 1942, Leon G. Guinto Sr., a Secretary of Labor under the Philippine Commonwealth administration of President Manuel L. Quezon. Guinto held the position of Mayor of Greater Manila until the liberation of the city.
On October 20, 1944, American and Philippine troops, led by American General Douglas MacArthur
, began the reconquest of the Philippines. Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita
ordered the commander of Shimbu Group, Gen. Shizuo Yokoyama
, to destroy all bridges and other vital installations and evacuate the city. However, units of the Imperial Japanese Navy
, led by Sanji Iwabuchi, refused to leave the city. Thus, from February 3 to March 3, 1945, much of the city was destroyed during the Battle of Manila and 100 000 civilians were killed during the Manila Massacre
. As a result of these events in World War II
, Manila was the second most destroyed city in the world after Warsaw
, Poland during World War II
. Once Manila was officially liberated
, Greater Manila was dissolved, and its towns returned to their pre-war status. On July 4, 1946, the Philippine flag was raised for the first time in Rizal Park
. Reconstruction took place during the years following WWII.
mayor Cesar Climaco
were touted as exemplars of good local governance. His administration of the City of Manila is regarded as Manila's "Golden Age", even though the city began it in bankruptcy.
At the time Lacson assumed office, Manila had around 23.5 million pesos in debt, some of which had been contracted thirty years earlier, and had no money to pay its employees. Within three years, the debt had been reduced in half, [8] and by 1959, the city had a budget surplus of 4.3 million pesos and paid its employees twice the amount earned by other local government employees. By that time, Lacson claimed that the income earned by Manila for the Philippines supported 70% of the salaries of the national government officials and members of Congress, as well as 70% of the expenses of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Lacson embarked on crusades to maintain peace and order and good government in Manila. He fired 600 city employees for incompetence, and dismissed corrupt policemen. He personally led raids on brothels masquerading as massage parlors and on unauthorized market vendors. Lacson ordered bulldozers to clear a squatter colony in Malate that had stood since shortly after the war. Lacson established a mobile 60-car patrol unit that patrolled the city at all hours, and he himself would patrol the city at nights in a black police car. Lacson also established the Manila Zoo and the first city underpass, located in Quiapo, posthumously named after him.
To date, no Filipino politician has replicated Lacson's success in local governance.
by President Ferdinand Marcos
. During that period, the local economy continued disintegration amid charges of overwhelming corruption by Marcos and his associates.
During Ferdinand Marcos' rule, he declared Martial Law just before the election of 1972 and suspended the writ of habeas corpus. From 1972 to the February 1986 EDSA Revolution, Marcos and his generals have caused the imprisonment and disappearance of tens of thousands of social activists who opposed his extended martial rule and clamored for change through free elections. After he was deposed in February 1986, the 1081 Claimants or victims of Martial Law won a record decision against the Marcos estate when a US Court in Hawaii ruled in their favor granting them more than US$500 million dollars in compensatory damages.
In 1963, Mayor Antonio Villegas worked hard for the creation of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, which was to become first university in the country fully subsidized by a local government unit. It took about two years for the bill seeking for its establishment to be passed by Philippine Congress, and eventually signed by the then-President Diosdado Macapagal
.
On August 21, 1983, opposition leader Benigno Aquino
flew to Manila from the United States and was assassinated as he left the airplane in Manila. Increasingly, the population opposed Marcos' rule.
After the People Power Revolution, Aquino's widow, Corazon
, was installed as president in 1986. During the Aquino presidency, Manila witnessed six unsuccessful coup attempts, the most serious occurring in December 1989.
In 1992, Alfredo Lim
was elected Mayor of Manila, beating six opponents. He won re-election in 1995 with a margin of 250,000 votes, the highest majority of vote in the city’s political history. During his first two-terms in office, he earned the nickname "Dirty Harry" for his anti-crime crusades. He founded the City College of Manila that would serve to complement Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila.
In 1998, Lito Atienza
was elected Mayor, and he completed two more consecutive terms by being re-elected in 2001 and in 2004. His administration focused on social welfare and development as well as urban renewal and city beautification projects. In the areas of urban renewal for the City of Manila, Atienza implemented the "Buhayin ang Maynila" (Revive Manila) program, renovating most of Manila’s decaying public facilities such as lighting and improving the sidewalk by the Manila Bay along Roxas Boulevard and the area is now filled with al fresco restaurants and coffee shops. Public places such as the Plaza Miranda, the Andres Bonifacio monument, Rajah Sulayman, the Binondo areas, the creation of a Linear-Park in Pandacan, renovating Carriedo and the R. Hidalgo streets in Santa Cruz, upgrading services of the city’s public libraries, schools and hospitals including the Ospital ng Maynila and the building a permanent campus for the Universidad de Manila are among the achievements under Atienza’s administration. Upon the end of Atienza's third term, Alfredo Lim was elected once again in 2007. Lim immediately ordered the reversal of all Atienza projects and rerouted major roadways so as to erase so-called traces of "progress" in his absence. Lim's actions to do away with Atienza's introduced changes was considered by many as a wastage of city funds. But according to him, it was actually doing away with changes which contributed very little to the development of the city and returning life back again to Manila. On July 17, 2008, councilor Dennis Alcoreza, filed human rights
complaints before the Commission on Human Rights, against Lim, and other Manila
officials. 24 Manila officials also resigned because of the maltreatment of Lim's police forces.
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
, the city was first known as Gintu and was named by locals as Maynilad. Although proven a myth, it was still the most famous of how Manila got its name.
Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
lies about 950 kilometers southeast of Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, 2,400 kilometers northeast of Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and more than 2,100 kilometers northeast of Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
. The Pasig River
Pasig River
The Pasig River is a river in the Philippines that connects Laguna de Bay to Manila Bay. Stretching for , it is lined by Metro Manila on each side...
bisects the city in the middle. Almost all of the city sits on top of centuries of prehistoric alluvial
Alluvium
Alluvium is loose, unconsolidated soil or sediments, eroded, deposited, and reshaped by water in some form in a non-marine setting. Alluvium is typically made up of a variety of materials, including fine particles of silt and clay and larger particles of sand and gravel...
deposits built by the waters of the Pasig River and on some land reclaimed from Manila Bay.
The layout of the city was haphazardly planned during the Spanish Era
History of the Philippines (1521–1898)
This article covers the history of the Philippines from the arrival of European explorer Ferdinand Magellan in 1521, up to the end of Spanish rule in 1898.-Spanish expeditions and conquest:...
as a set of communities surrounding the fortified walls of Intramuros
Intramuros
Intramuros is the oldest district in the present day city of Manila, the capital of the Republic of the Philippines. Nicknamed the "Walled City", Intramuros is the historic fortified city of Manila, the seat ot the government during the Spanish Colonial Period. Its name in Latin, intramuros,...
(within the walls), which was the original Manila. Intramuros, one of the oldest walled cities in the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
, was constructed and designed by Spanish Jesuit missionaries to keep from invading Chinese pirates and native uprisings. During the American Period, some semblance of city planning using the architectural designs and master plans by Daniel Burnham
Daniel Burnham
Daniel Hudson Burnham, FAIA was an American architect and urban planner. He was the Director of Works for the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. He took a leading role in the creation of master plans for the development of a number of cities, including Chicago and downtown Washington DC...
was done on the portions of the city south of the Pasig River.
Manila is bordered by several cities in Metro Manila
Metro Manila
Metropolitan Manila , the National Capital Region , or simply Metro Manila, is the metropolitan region encompassing the City of Manila and its surrounding areas in the Philippines...
such as Navotas City
Navotas, Metro Manila
The City of Navotas is a 1st class city in Metro Manila, Philippines. The city occupies a narrow strip of land along the eastern shores of Manila Bay...
and Caloocan City
Caloocan City
The City of Caloocan is one of the cities and municipalities that comprises the Metro Manila region in the Philippines. It is a major residential area inside Metro Manila...
to the north, Quezon City
Quezon City
Quezon City is the former capital and the most populous city in the Philippines. Located on the island of Luzon, Quezon City is one of the cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila, the National Capital Region. The city was named after Manuel L...
to the northeast, San Juan
San Juan, Metro Manila
The City of San Juan or simply San Juan is a city in Metro Manila in the Philippines. Before the creation of Metro Manila, it was part of Rizal Province. Currently the smallest city in the region and the country in terms of area, San Juan is one of the smallest among the cities and municipalities...
and Mandaluyong City
Mandaluyong City
The City of Mandaluyong is one of the cities and municipalities that comprise Metro Manila in the Philippines. It is bordered on the west by the country's capital, Manila, to the north by San Juan City, to the east by Quezon City and Pasig City, and by Makati City to the south...
to the east, Makati City
Makati City
The City of Makati is one of the 17 cities that make up Metro Manila, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. Makati is the financial center of the Philippines and one of the major financial, commercial and economic hubs in Asia...
to the southeast, and Pasay City
Pasay City
The City of Pasay is one of the cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila in the Philippines. It is bordered on the north by the country's capital, Manila, to the northeast by Makati City, to the east by Taguig City, and Parañaque City to the south.Pasay City was one of the original four...
to the south.
Well into the 13th century, the city consisted of a fortified settlement and trading quarter at the bay of the Pasig River, on top of previous older towns. The official name of the city under its Malay
Malay people
Malays are an ethnic group of Austronesian people predominantly inhabiting the Malay Peninsula, including the southernmost parts of Thailand, the east coast of Sumatra, the coast of Borneo, and the smaller islands which lie between these locations...
aristocracy was Seludong/Selurung, which was the same name given for the general region of southwestern Luzon
Luzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
at that time, suggesting that it was the capital of Ancient Tondo
Ancient Tondo
Tondo, was a Philippine fortified kingdom which was located in the Manila Bay area, specifically north of the Pasig river, on Luzon island. It is one of the settlements mentioned by the Philippines' earliest historical record, the Laguna Copperplate Inscription...
. However, the city became known by the name given to it by its Tagalog
Tagalog people
The Tagalog people are an ethnic group in the Philippines. The name Tagalog comes from either the native term tagá-ilog, meaning 'people living along the river', or another native term, tagá-alog, meaning 'people living along the ford', a ford being a shallow part of a river or stream where people,...
inhabitants, Maynila, first recorded as Maynilad. The name is based on the nila
Scyphiphora hydrophyllacea
Scyphiphora hydrophyllacea is a shrub that is about tall. It is often found in mangrove forests or sandy beaches.-Description:...
, a flowering mangrove plant that grew on the marshy shores of the bay, used to produce soap for regional trade; it is either from the phrase may nila, Tagalog
Tagalog language
Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...
for "there is nila," or it has a prefix ma- indicating the place where something is prevalent (nila itself is probably from Sanskrit nila 'indigo tree'). (The idea that the plant name is actually "nilad" is a myth.). Originally it was a province of the Hindu Majapahit Empire, before it was made a colony by Sultan Bolkiah
Bolkiah
Sultan Bolkiah was the fifth Sultan of Brunei. He ascended the throne of Brunei upon the abdication of his father, Sultan Sulaiman. He ruled Brunei from 1485 to 1524. His reign was known as the Golden Age because Brunei became the superpower of the Malay archipelago...
of Brunei before eventually fragmenting into rival city-states.
Manila became the seat of the colonial
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
government of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
when it officially controlled the Philippine Islands for over three centuries from 1565 to 1898. During the British occupation of the Philippines
British occupation of the Philippines
The British occupation of Manila occurred between 1762 and 1764, when a British force occupied Manila, the Spanish colonial capital of the Philippines, and the nearby principal port, Cavite, both on Manila Bay....
, the city was occupied by Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
for two years from 1762-1764 as part of the Seven Years War. The city remained the capital of the Philippines under the government of the provisional British governor, acting through the Archbishop of Manila and the Real Audiencia. Armed resistance to the British centred in Pampanga
Pampanga
Pampanga is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the City of San Fernando, Pampanga. Pampanga is bordered by the provinces of Bataan and Zambales to the west, Tarlac and Nueva Ecija to the north, and Bulacan to the southeast...
.
Manila, Philippines also became famous during the Manila-Acapulco
Acapulco
Acapulco is a city, municipality and major sea port in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific coast of Mexico, southwest from Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semi-circular bay and has been a port since the early colonial period of Mexico’s history...
trade which lasted for three centuries and brought the goods as far as the Americas all the way to South East Asia. In 1899, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
purchased the Philippines from Spain and colonized the whole Philippine archipelago. Manila was fought over during the Spanish-American War
Battle of Manila (1898)
The Battle of Manila was a short land engagement between the United States and Spain at the end of the Spanish-American War, which occurred a couple of months after the pivotal American victory during the naval Battle of Manila Bay...
and during the subsequent Philippine-American War
Battle of Manila (1899)
The Battle of Manila, the first and largest battle fought during the Philippine–American War, was fought on 4 and February 5, 1899, between 12,000 Americans and 15,000 Filipinos. Armed conflict broke out when American troops, under orders to turn away insurgents from their encampment, fired upon an...
. During World War II, much of the city was destroyed, but the city was rebuilt in 1946. It was the second most destroyed city in the world after Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, Poland during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The Metropolitan Manila region was enacted as an independent entity in 1975.
Etymology
The city became known by the name given, "Manila", by its TagalogTagalog people
The Tagalog people are an ethnic group in the Philippines. The name Tagalog comes from either the native term tagá-ilog, meaning 'people living along the river', or another native term, tagá-alog, meaning 'people living along the ford', a ford being a shallow part of a river or stream where people,...
inhabitants, as Maynila, first recorded as Maynilad. The name is based on the nila
Scyphiphora hydrophyllacea
Scyphiphora hydrophyllacea is a shrub that is about tall. It is often found in mangrove forests or sandy beaches.-Description:...
, a flowering mangrove plant that grew on the marshy shores of the bay, used to produce soap for regional trade; it is either from the phrase may nila, Tagalog
Tagalog language
Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...
for "there is nila," or it has a prefix ma- indicating the place where something is prevalent (nila itself is probably from Sanskrit nila (नील) 'indigo tree'). The idea that the plant name is actually "nilad" is a myth.
Another theory suggests the name as from the Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
Fi Aman Allah, or "God be with/protect you". This Islamic resonance in the city’s name was apparently disposed of by the Spanish.
Prehistory and indigenous civilizations
Under the MalayMalay people
Malays are an ethnic group of Austronesian people predominantly inhabiting the Malay Peninsula, including the southernmost parts of Thailand, the east coast of Sumatra, the coast of Borneo, and the smaller islands which lie between these locations...
aristocracy, the city was known Seludong/Selurung, which was the same name given for the general region of southwestern Luzon
Luzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
at that time, suggesting that it was the capital of Ancient Tondo
Ancient Tondo
Tondo, was a Philippine fortified kingdom which was located in the Manila Bay area, specifically north of the Pasig river, on Luzon island. It is one of the settlements mentioned by the Philippines' earliest historical record, the Laguna Copperplate Inscription...
. It was also known as Gintu ("The Land/Island of Gold") or Suvarnadvipa by its neighbors. The said kingdom flourished during the latter half of the Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
as a result of trade relations with China. Ancient Tondo
Ancient Tondo
Tondo, was a Philippine fortified kingdom which was located in the Manila Bay area, specifically north of the Pasig river, on Luzon island. It is one of the settlements mentioned by the Philippines' earliest historical record, the Laguna Copperplate Inscription...
has always been the traditional capital of the empire. Its rulers were equivalents to kings and not mere chieftains, and they were addressed as panginuan or panginoon ("lords"), anak banwa ("son of heaven") or lakandula ("lord of the palace"). Well into the 13th century, the city consisted of a fortified settlement and trading quarter at the bay of the Pasig River, on top of previous older towns.
Rise of the Kingdom of Luzon
In the year 900, the Kingdom of Luzon which is otherwise known as the Dynasty of Tondo centered in Manila BayManila Bay
Manila Bay is a natural harbor which serves the Port of Manila , in the Philippines.The bay is considered to be one of the best natural harbors in Southeast Asia and one of the finest in the world...
flourished via an active trade with Chinese sea traders in the area. Later serving as a smuggling nexus after the Chinese imposed restrictions on their foreign trade. During this time, the lord-minister Jayadewa presented a document of debt forgiveness to Lady Angkatan and her brother Bukah, the children of Namwaran. This is described in the Philippine's oldest known document the Laguna Copperplate Inscription
Laguna Copperplate Inscription
The Laguna Copperplate Inscription is the earliest known written document found in the Philippines. The plate was found in 1989 by a sand laborer working on Lumbang River near the outlet to Laguna de Bay, in Barangay Wawa, Lumban, in the Laguna province.The inscription on the plate was first...
.
This inscription shows the possible link between the ancient Philippines with Medang Kingdom of Java.
As a province of Majapahit
In 14th century there is evidence of Manila being a province of the Indonesian Hindu empire of Majapahit, due to the epic eulogy poem NagarakretagamaNagarakretagama
The Nagarakretagama or Nagarakrtagama, also known as Desawarnana, is an Old Javanese eulogy to Hayam Wuruk, a Javanese king and the monarch of the Majapahit Empire. It was written as a kakawin by Mpu Prapanca in 1365 . The Nagarakretagama contains detailed descriptions of the Majapahit Empire...
which was dedicated to Maharaja
Maharaja
Mahārāja is a Sanskrit title for a "great king" or "high king". The female equivalent title Maharani denotes either the wife of a Maharaja or, in states where that was customary, a woman ruling in her own right. The widow of a Maharaja is known as a Rajamata...
Hayam Wuruk
Hayam Wuruk
Hayam Wuruk, also called Rajasanagara, , was a Javanese King and the fourth monarch of Majapahit empire. Together with his prime minister Gajah Mada, he reigned the empire at the time of its greatest power. He was preceded by Tribhuwana Wijayatunggadewi and succeeded by his son in law...
.
Saludong or Selurong which is a historical name for the City of Manila is listed in Canto 14 alongside Sulot (Sulu) and Kalka.
The Conquest of Sultan Bulkiah from Brunei
Bolkiah
Sultan Bolkiah was the fifth Sultan of Brunei. He ascended the throne of Brunei upon the abdication of his father, Sultan Sulaiman. He ruled Brunei from 1485 to 1524. His reign was known as the Golden Age because Brunei became the superpower of the Malay archipelago...
in 1485 to 1521, the Sultanate of Brunei
Brunei
Brunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...
decided to break the Dynasty of Tondo
Ancient Tondo
Tondo, was a Philippine fortified kingdom which was located in the Manila Bay area, specifically north of the Pasig river, on Luzon island. It is one of the settlements mentioned by the Philippines' earliest historical record, the Laguna Copperplate Inscription...
's monopoly in the China trade by attacking Tondo
Ancient Tondo
Tondo, was a Philippine fortified kingdom which was located in the Manila Bay area, specifically north of the Pasig river, on Luzon island. It is one of the settlements mentioned by the Philippines' earliest historical record, the Laguna Copperplate Inscription...
and establishing the state of Selurong (now Manila) as a Bruneian satellite-state. A new dynasty under the Islamized Rajah Salalila was also established to challenge the House of Lakandula in Tondo. Islam was further strengthened by the arrival to the Philippines of traders and proselytizers from Malaysia and Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. The multiple states competing over the limited territory and people
People
People is a plurality of human beings or other beings possessing enough qualities constituting personhood. It has two usages:* as the plural of person or a group of people People is a plurality of human beings or other beings possessing enough qualities constituting personhood. It has two usages:*...
of the islands simplified Spanish colonization by allowing its conquistadors to effectively employ a strategy of divide and conquer
Divide and rule
In politics and sociology, divide and rule is a combination of political, military and economic strategy of gaining and maintaining power by breaking up larger concentrations of power into chunks that individually have less power than the one implementing the strategy...
for rapid conquest.
Warring cities period
In the mid-16th century, the areas of present-day Manila were part of larger thalassocraciesThalassocracy
The term thalassocracy refers to a state with primarily maritime realms—an empire at sea, such as Athens or the Phoenician network of merchant cities...
governed by Muslim Rajahs. Rajah Sulayman
Rajah Sulayman
Rajah Sulayman was the Muslim Rajah of Maynila, a kingdom at the mouth of the Pasig River where it meets Manila Bay, at the time the Spanish forces first came to Luzon....
and Rajah Matanda
Rajah Matanda
Rajah Ache Matanda was a 16th century Muslim chieftain of the Kingdom of Maynila, a Tagalog kingdom on the region of the Pasig River in the Philippines...
ruled the Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
communities south of the Pasig River
Pasig River
The Pasig River is a river in the Philippines that connects Laguna de Bay to Manila Bay. Stretching for , it is lined by Metro Manila on each side...
, and Rajah Lakandula
Rajah Lakandula
Lakan Banaw Dula or Gat Banaw Dula , often referred to simply by his title Lakan Dula, and later baptised Lakan Carlos Dula, was the Lakan of the pre-colonial Philippine Kingdom of Tondo when the Spaniards first conquered the lands of the Pasig River delta in the 1570s...
ruled the Kingdom of Tondo, the Hindu
Hinduism in Southeast Asia
Hinduism in Southeast Asia gave birth to the former Champa civilization in southern parts of Central Vietnam, Funan in Cambodia, the Khmer Empire in Indochina, Langkasuka Kingdom, Gangga Negara and Old Kedah in the Malay Peninsular, the Srivijayan kingdom on Sumatra, the Singhasari kingdom and the...
-Buddhist community north of the river. The two Muslim communities of Sulayman and Matanda were unified into the Kingdom of Maynila
Kingdom of Maynila
The Kingdom of Seludong , or Maynila, which after colonization became Manila, capital of the Philippines, was one of three major city-states that dominated the area around the upper portion of the Pasig River before the arrival of Spanish colonizers in the 16th century.The early inhabitants of the...
. Both city-states were officially Malay
Old Malay
The Old Malay language, also called Classical Malay, is the ancestor of the modern Malay language, including Indonesian and Malaysian. It developed in the now Melayu Kingdom of Sumatra. It was heavily influenced by Sanskrit and Kawi , and was grammatically quite similar to modern Malay.-Old...
-speaking and held diplomatic ties with the Bolkiah
Bolkiah
Sultan Bolkiah was the fifth Sultan of Brunei. He ascended the throne of Brunei upon the abdication of his father, Sultan Sulaiman. He ruled Brunei from 1485 to 1524. His reign was known as the Golden Age because Brunei became the superpower of the Malay archipelago...
dynasty of Brunei
Brunei
Brunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...
, and the sultanates of Sulu, and Ternate.
Spanish period (1581-1898)
Miguel López de Legazpi
Miguel López de Legazpi , also known as El Adelantado and El Viejo , was a Spanish conquistador who established one of the first European settlements in the East Indies and the Pacific Islands in 1565. He is the first Governor-General in the Philippines...
, searching for a suitable place to establish his capital after being compelled to move from Cebu
Cebu
Cebu is a province in the Philippines, consisting of Cebu Island and 167 surrounding islands. It is located to the east of Negros, to the west of Leyte and Bohol islands...
to Panay
Panay
Panay may refer to*Panay Island*Panay *Panay, Capiz*Panay River*Panay Gulf* USS Panay *Panay incident...
by Portuguese
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
pirates, and hearing of the existence of a prosperous sultanate in Luzon
Luzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
, sent an expedition under Marshal
Marshal
Marshal , is a word used in several official titles of various branches of society. The word is an ancient loan word from Old French, cf...
Martin de Goiti
Martin de Goiti
Martín de Goiti was a Spanish Basque conquistador and founder of the city of Manila in the Philippines. Martín de Goiti was one of the soldiers who accompanied the Spanish colonization of the East Indies and the Pacific, in 1565. He was the leader of the expedition to Manila, ordered by Miguel...
and Captain Juan de Salcedo
Juan de Salcedo
Juan de Salcedo was a Spanish conquistador. He was born in Mexico in 1549 and he was the grandson of Miguel López de Legazpi and brother of Felipe de Salcedo. Salcedo was one of the soldiers who accompanied the Spanish colonization of the Philippines in 1565...
to discover its location and potential. De Goiti anchored at Cavite
Cavite
Cavite is a province of the Philippines located on the southern shores of Manila Bay in the CALABARZON region in Luzon, just 30 kilometers south of Manila. Cavite is surrounded by Laguna to the east, Metro Manila to the northeast, and Batangas to the south...
, and attempted to establish his authority peacefully by sending a message of friendship to Maynilad. Rajah Sulayman
Rajah Sulayman
Rajah Sulayman was the Muslim Rajah of Maynila, a kingdom at the mouth of the Pasig River where it meets Manila Bay, at the time the Spanish forces first came to Luzon....
, then its ruler, was willing to accept the friendship that the Spaniards were offering, but did not want to submit to its sovereignty unto them and waged war against them. As a result, De Goiti and his army attacked Maynilad on June 1570. After a stout fight, he captured the city before returning to Panay.
In 1571, the unity of the Luzon Empire was already threatened by the uneasy alliance of the Rajah Matanda of Sapa, the Lakandula of Tondo, and Rajah Sulayman, the rajah muda or "crown prince" of Maynila and laxamana or "grand admiral" of the Macabebe Armada. Powerful states like Lubao
Lubao, Pampanga
Lubao is a 1st class municipality in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 143,058 people in 23,446 households...
, Betis and Macabebe became bold enough to challenge the traditional leadership of Tondo and Maynila. In about the same year, the Spaniards returned, this time led by López de Legazpi himself along with his entire force (consisting of 280 Spaniards and 600 native allies). Seeing them approach, the natives set the city on fire and fled to ancient Tondo
Ancient Tondo
Tondo, was a Philippine fortified kingdom which was located in the Manila Bay area, specifically north of the Pasig river, on Luzon island. It is one of the settlements mentioned by the Philippines' earliest historical record, the Laguna Copperplate Inscription...
and neighboring towns. The Spaniards occupied the ruins of Maynilad and established a settlement there. On June 3, 1571, López de Legazpi gave the title city to the colony of Manila. The title was certified on June 19, 1572. Under Spain, Manila became the colonial entrepot in the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
. The Philippines was a Spanish colony administered under the Viceroyalty of New Spain and the Governor-General of the Philippines who ruled from Manila was sub-ordinate to the Viceroy in Mexico City. The Manila-Acapulco Galleon
Manila Galleon
The Manila galleons or Manila-Acapulco galleons were Spanish trading ships that sailed once or twice per year across the Pacific Ocean between Manila in the Philippines, and Acapulco, New Spain . The name changed reflecting the city that the ship was sailing from...
trade route between the Philippines and Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
flourished from 1571 until 1815. Manila became famous during the Manila-Acapulco
Acapulco
Acapulco is a city, municipality and major sea port in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific coast of Mexico, southwest from Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semi-circular bay and has been a port since the early colonial period of Mexico’s history...
trade which brought the goods as far as Mexico all the way to South East Asia.
Because of the Spanish presence in the area, the Chinese people
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
, who were living in the area and engaging in free trade relations with the natives, were subjected to commercial restrictions as well as laws requiring them to pay tribute to Spanish authorities. As a result, the Chinese revolted against the Spaniards in 1574, when a force of about 3,000 men and 62 Chinese warships under the command of Limahong
Limahong
Limahong, Lim Hong or also called Lin Feng was a notorious Chinese pirate and warlord who invaded the northern Philippine Islands in 1574. He built up a reputation for his constant raids to ports in Guangdong, Fujian and southern China...
attacked the city. The said attempt was fruitless, and the Chinese were defeated. In order to safeguard the city from similar uprisings later, the Spanish authorities confined the Chinese residents and merchants to a separate district called Parian de Alcaceria.
Fort Santiago
Fort Santiago is a defense fortress built for Spanish conquistador, Miguel López de Legazpi. The fort is part of the structures of the walled city of Intramuros, in Manila, Philippines. José Rizal, the Philippines' national hero, was imprisoned in the fort before his execution in 1896...
there, López de Legazpi made overtures of friendship with Rajah Lakandula
Rajah Lakandula
Lakan Banaw Dula or Gat Banaw Dula , often referred to simply by his title Lakan Dula, and later baptised Lakan Carlos Dula, was the Lakan of the pre-colonial Philippine Kingdom of Tondo when the Spaniards first conquered the lands of the Pasig River delta in the 1570s...
of Tondo, which was prudently accepted. However, Rajah Sulayman refused to submit to the Spaniards and gathered together a force composed of Tagalog warriors after failing to get the support of Lakandula and that of the chieftains of Hagonoy
Hagonoy, Bulacan
Hagonoy is a 1st class urban municipality in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2007 NSO census, it has a population of 126,329 inhabitants distributed in 25,900 households. It is the birthplace of Former Senator Blas F...
and Macabebe. On June 3, 1571, Sulayman led his troops and attacked the Spaniards in a decisive battle at the town of Bangkusay, but were defeated. With the destruction of Sulayman's army and the friendship with Rajah Lakandula, the Spaniards began to establish themselves throughout the city and its neighboring towns. Then came the rapid Christianization
Christianization
The historical phenomenon of Christianization is the conversion of individuals to Christianity or the conversion of entire peoples at once...
of the city. The first missionaries to arrive were the Augustinians, followed by the Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
s, Jesuits, Dominican
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
s, Augustinians and other religious orders. The friars also began to establish schools and churches dedicated to the Christian faith, eventually spreading throughout Manila and beyond.
In 1595, Manila was decreed to be the capital of the Philippines, although it had already in fact served that function practically from its founding in 1571. Legazpi then ordered the creation of a municipal government or cabildo with a set of Spanish-style houses, monasteries, nunneries, churches, and schools giving birth to Intramuros
Intramuros
Intramuros is the oldest district in the present day city of Manila, the capital of the Republic of the Philippines. Nicknamed the "Walled City", Intramuros is the historic fortified city of Manila, the seat ot the government during the Spanish Colonial Period. Its name in Latin, intramuros,...
. The layout of the city was haphazardly planned during this era
History of the Philippines (1521–1898)
This article covers the history of the Philippines from the arrival of European explorer Ferdinand Magellan in 1521, up to the end of Spanish rule in 1898.-Spanish expeditions and conquest:...
as a set of communities surrounding the fortified walls of Intramuros
Intramuros
Intramuros is the oldest district in the present day city of Manila, the capital of the Republic of the Philippines. Nicknamed the "Walled City", Intramuros is the historic fortified city of Manila, the seat ot the government during the Spanish Colonial Period. Its name in Latin, intramuros,...
(within the walls), which was the original Manila. Intramuros, one of the oldest walled cities in the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
, was constructed and designed by Spanish Jesuit missionaries to provide protection from invading Chinese pirates and native uprisings.
At various times in the following century, the Chinese rose in revolt against the Spaniards. In 1602, they set fire to Quiapo
Quiapo, Manila
Quiapo is a district and city square of Manila. Referred as the "Old Downtown", Quiapo in known for where cheap buys or goods are being sold at rock-bottom prices and was the home of the Quiapo Church, where the feast for the Black Nazarene is held, with over millions of people attending...
and Tondo, and for a time threatened to capture Intramuros. In 1662, they again revolted, while in 1686, a conspiracy led by Tingco plotted to kill all the Spaniards. These events led to the expulsion of the Chinese from Manila and the entire country by virtue of the decrees that were made by the Spanish authorities to that effect. However, later reconciliations nearly always permitted the continuation of the Chinese community in the city.
British rule (1762-1764)
There was a brief British occupation of Manila from 1762-1764 as a result of the Seven Years' War, which was fought between FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
. Spain became Britain's enemy when it sided with France due to ties between their royal families. The fleeing Spaniards destroyed many of the records, and in the ensuing sack of the town by the British, many historical documents of great value were destroyed or stolen from the archives.
In reality the British only controlled Manila and Cavite. But Manila was the capital, and key, to the Spanish Philippines, and the British accepted the written surrender of the Spanish government in the Philippines from Archbishop Rojo and the Real Audiencia on 30 October 1762. The city remained the capital of the Philippines under the government of the provisional British governor, acting through the Archbishop of Manila and the Real Audiencia.
The terms of surrender proposed by the Audencia Real and agreed to by the British leaders, secured private property, guaranteed the Roman Catholic religion and its episcopal government, and granted the citizens of the former Spanish colony the rights of peaceful travel and of trade 'as British subjects'. Under the direction of the provisional British governor, the Philippines continued to be governed by the Audencia Real, the expenses of which were agreed to be paid for by Spain.
The only armed resistance to the British was in Pampanga where Oidor Don Simón de Anda y Salazar
Simón de Anda y Salazar
Simón de Anda y Salazar was a Spanish Basque governor of the Philippines from July, 1770 to October 30, 1776.-Oidor at the Royal Audience of Manila and Lieutenant Governor:...
established his headquarters first in Bulacan, then in Bacolor.,
The terms of surrender dated 29 October 1762 signed by Archbishop Rojo and the Real Audencia, and sealed with the Spanish Royal Seal, ceded the entire archipelago to Great Britain. The Seven Years War was ended by the Peace of Paris
Treaty of Paris (1763)
The Treaty of Paris, often called the Peace of Paris, or the Treaty of 1763, was signed on 10 February 1763, by the kingdoms of Great Britain, France and Spain, with Portugal in agreement. It ended the French and Indian War/Seven Years' War...
signed on 10 February 1763. At the time of signing the treaty, the signatories were not aware that the Philippines had been taken by the British and was being administered as a British colony. Consequently no specific provision was made for the Philippines. Instead they fell under the general provision that all other lands not otherwise provided for be returned to the Spanish Crown.
An unknown number of Indian soldiers known as Sepoy
Sepoy
A sepoy was formerly the designation given to an Indian soldier in the service of a European power. In the modern Indian Army, Pakistan Army and Bangladesh Army it remains in use for the rank of private soldier.-Etymology and Historical usage:...
s, who came with the British, deserted and settled in Cainta, Rizal
Cainta, Rizal
The Municipality of Cainta is a first-class urban municipality in the province of Rizal, Philippines. It is one of the oldest , and is the town with the second smallest land area of 26.81 km² next to Angono with 26.22 km².Cainta serves as the secondary gateway to the rest of Rizal...
, which explains the uniquely Indian features of generations of Cainta residents.
Spanish rule in the 19th Century
Being the traditional seat of education and liberal thinking in the Philippines, Manila was a rich field for anticlerical propaganda. The seeds of revolution germinated in 1886 with the publication of José RizalJosé Rizal
José Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda , was a Filipino polymath, patriot and the most prominent advocate for reform in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era. He is regarded as the foremost Filipino patriot and is listed as one of the national heroes of the Philippines by...
's book Noli Me Tangere
Noli Me Tangere (novel)
Noli Me Tangere is a novel by Filipino polymath José Rizal and first published in 1887 in Berlin, Germany. Early English translations used titles like An Eagle Flight and The Social Cancer, but more recent translations have been published using the original Latin title.Though originally written in...
(Touch Me Not), a novel critical of the way the Spanish friars were governing the Philippines. The Spanish government condemned the book, and Rizal was exiled to Dapitan. In 1892, he returned to Manila to found La Liga Filipina
La Liga Filipina
La Liga Filipina was a progressive organization created by Dr. José Rizal in the Philippines in a house at Ilaya Street, Tondo, Manila in 1892.The organization derived from La Solidaridad and the Propaganda movement...
, a nationalistic organization. Later that year, in Tondo
Tondo, Manila
Tondo is a district of Manila, Philippines. The locale has existed prior to the arrival of the Spanish, referred to as "Tundun" in the Laguna Copperplate Inscription. One of the most densely populated areas of land in the world, Tondo is located in the northwest portion of the city and is primarily...
, Andrés Bonifacio
Andres Bonifacio
Andrés Bonifacio y de Castro was a Filipino nationalist and revolutionary. He was a founder and later Supremo of the Katipunan movement which sought the independence of the Philippines from Spanish colonial rule and started the Philippine Revolution...
founded the Katipunan
Katipunan
The Katipunan was a Philippine revolutionary society founded by anti-Spanish Filipinos in Manila in 1892, whose primary aim was to gain independence from Spain through revolution. The society was initiated by Filipino patriots Andrés Bonifacio, Teodoro Plata, Ladislao Diwa, and others on the night...
, a secret organization with aim of overthrowing Spanish colonial rule.
The Katipunan movement grew until open rebellion broke out in August 1896 after its discovery by the Spaniards. Bonifacio's attack on Manila was unsuccessful. Rizal became a martyr of the revolution when the Spaniards executed him by firing squad on December 30, 1896 in Bagumbayan. After several months of fighting, a revolutionary government was formed at the Tejeros Convention
Tejeros Convention
The Tejeros Convention was the meeting held between the Magdiwang and Magdalo factions of the Katipunan at San Francisco de Malabon, Cavite on March 22, 1897...
in Cavite province with Emilio Aguinaldo
Emilio Aguinaldo
Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy was a Filipino general, politician, and independence leader. He played an instrumental role during the Philippines' revolution against Spain, and the subsequent Philippine-American War or War of Philippine Independence that resisted American occupation...
at its head. Aguinaldo's government was also unsuccessful in its fight for independence, and as part of the Pact of Biak-na-Bato
Pact of Biak-na-Bato
The Pact of Biak-na-Bato, signed on December 14, 1897, created a truce between Spanish Colonial Governor-General Fernando Primo de Rivera and Emilio Aguinaldo to end the Philippine Revolution...
peace treaty, Aguinaldo accepted exile in Hong Kong.
American period (1898-1942)
The American Navy, under Admiral George Dewey
George Dewey
George Dewey was an admiral of the United States Navy. He is best known for his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War...
, defeated the Spanish squadron in the
Battle of Manila Bay
Battle of Manila Bay (1898)
The Battle of Manila Bay took place on 1 May 1898, during the Spanish-American War. The American Asiatic Squadron under Commodore George Dewey engaged and destroyed the Spanish Pacific Squadron under Admiral Patricio Montojo y Pasarón...
on May 1, 1898. Admiral Dewey testified that after the battle the Spanish Governor wished
to surrender to the Americans rather than the Filipinos, whom he feared.
Having just won their independence from Spain, the Filipinos were fiercely opposed to once again being occupied. Emilio Aguinaldo
Emilio Aguinaldo
Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy was a Filipino general, politician, and independence leader. He played an instrumental role during the Philippines' revolution against Spain, and the subsequent Philippine-American War or War of Philippine Independence that resisted American occupation...
proclaimed the First Philippine Republic
First Philippine Republic
The Philippine Republic , more commonly known as the First Philippine Republic or the Malolos Republic was a short-lived insurgent revolutionary government in the Philippines...
at the Malolos Congress
Malolos Congress
-Further reading:*Philippine House of Representatives Congressional Library...
and had begun to build the foundations for an independent nation.
Admiral Dewey, however, claimed he never recognized the Philippine Republic, as he did not have the authority to do so
and did not consider it an organized government. War broke out between the Filipinos and the Americans on February 4, 1899, when an American soldier shot and killed a Filipino in Manila. The Americans pursued the retreating Filipino forces province by province, until General Emilio Aguinaldo (then president of the Republic) surrendered in Palanan, Isabela, on March 23, 1901.
Under Aguinaldo
Aguinaldo
Aguinaldo is a folk genre of Christmas music in Puerto Rico, and is based on an archaic form of Spanish Christmas carols. Aguinaldo music is often performed by what is called parrandas—a casual group of people, often family or friends, who go from house to house.- Puerto Rican aguinaldo :In...
's command the Filipinos began a guerrilla campaign to resist the new occupiers. This campaign had limited success in the early days following the initial occupation of the Americans although any successes were short-lived. The replacement of Otis by General Arthur MacArthur, Jr.
Arthur MacArthur, Jr.
Lieutenant General Arthur MacArthur, Jr. , was a United States Army General. He became the military Governor-General of the American-occupied Philippines in 1900 but his term ended a year later due to clashes with the civilian governor, future President William Howard Taft...
began an extensive campaign to suppress the local population.
This campaign by the USA has been reported as being a particularly bloody suppression with wild reports of commanders ordering the murder of everyone over 10 years old. Several books have been written on this war and its implications for both the local peoples and the US.
In the Treaty of Paris
Treaty of Paris (1898)
The Treaty of Paris of 1898 was signed on December 10, 1898, at the end of the Spanish-American War, and came into effect on April 11, 1899, when the ratifications were exchanged....
in 1898, Spain handed over the Philippines to the United States of America for US$ 20,000,000 and ending 333 years of Spanish rule in the islands.
Manila continued under an American military government until civil government was established for the city on July 31, 1901. During the American Period, some semblance of city planning using the architectural designs and master plans by Daniel Burnham
Daniel Burnham
Daniel Hudson Burnham, FAIA was an American architect and urban planner. He was the Director of Works for the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. He took a leading role in the creation of master plans for the development of a number of cities, including Chicago and downtown Washington DC...
was done on the portions of the city south of the Pasig River.
The Philippine–American War continued through 1903 at the cost of many lives both in Manila and elsewhere in the Islands. In 1935, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
government committed itself to granting the Philippines Independence after a ten-year transition, a period that was extended by one year due to World War II.
World War II and Japanese occupation
The post of mayor of Greater Manila was given to Quezon's former Executive Secretary, Jorge B. Vargas
Jorge B. Vargas
Jorge B. Vargas was a lawyer and youth advocate born in Bago City, Negros Occidental, Philippines. He graduated valedictorian from Negros Occidental High School in 1909 and obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1911 and a Bachelor of Law degree with honors in 1914, both from the University of the...
. On the evening of New Year's Day of 1942, a Japanese courier delivered notice to Vargas that Japanese forces already bivouacked at Parañaque would enter Greater Manila the following day. From 9 am to 10 am of January 2, Japanese imperial
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
forces marched into the City of Manila.
Artemio Ricarte
Artemio Ricarte y Garcia was a Filipino general during the Philippine Revolution and the Philippine-American War. He is considered by the Armed Forces of the Philippines as the "Father of the Philippine Army"...
who went on self-exile to Japan after the Filipino-American war, or (3) a government by commission selected by Filipinos. Vargas and the local leaders chose the third option and established the Philippine Executive Commission
Philippine Executive Commission
The Philippine Executive Commission or PEC was established on January of 1942 with Jorge B. Vargas as its first Chairman. The PEC was created as the temporary care-taker government of the Greater Manila area and eventually of the whole Philippines during the Japanese occupation of the country...
to manage initially Greater Manila, and was later expanded to cover the whole of the Philippines.
Vargas assumed the chairmanship of the Philippine Executive Commission and appointed to the post of Mayor of Greater Manila in 1942, Leon G. Guinto Sr., a Secretary of Labor under the Philippine Commonwealth administration of President Manuel L. Quezon. Guinto held the position of Mayor of Greater Manila until the liberation of the city.
On October 20, 1944, American and Philippine troops, led by American General Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...
, began the reconquest of the Philippines. Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita
Tomoyuki Yamashita
General was a general of the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II. He was most famous for conquering the British colonies of Malaya and Singapore, earning the nickname "The Tiger of Malaya".- Biography :...
ordered the commander of Shimbu Group, Gen. Shizuo Yokoyama
Shizuo Yokoyama
-External links:* - Notes :...
, to destroy all bridges and other vital installations and evacuate the city. However, units of the Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
, led by Sanji Iwabuchi, refused to leave the city. Thus, from February 3 to March 3, 1945, much of the city was destroyed during the Battle of Manila and 100 000 civilians were killed during the Manila Massacre
Manila massacre
The Manila massacre refers to the February 1945 atrocities conducted against Filipino civilians in Manila, Philippines by Japanese troops during World War II.-Description:...
. As a result of these events in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Manila was the second most destroyed city in the world after Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, Poland during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Once Manila was officially liberated
Battle for the Liberation of Manila
The Battle of Manila, also known as the Liberation of Manila, fought from 3 February to 3 March 1945 by American, Filipino and Japanese forces, was part of the 1945 Philippine campaign...
, Greater Manila was dissolved, and its towns returned to their pre-war status. On July 4, 1946, the Philippine flag was raised for the first time in Rizal Park
Rizal Park
Rizal Park, also known as Luneta Park or colloquially Luneta, is a historical urban park located in the heart of the city of Manila, Philippines, adjacent to the old walled city of Manila, now Intramuros. Since the Spanish Colonial Era, the park has been a favorite spot for unwinding, socializing,...
. Reconstruction took place during the years following WWII.
Lacson Administration and the Golden Age (1952-1962)
Arsenio H. Lacson was the first publicly elected mayor of Manila in 1951. Lacson successfully unseated the incumbent presidentially appointed mayor Manuel de la Fuente in the first ever mayoralty election in the city. He assumed the office of mayor on January 1, 1952. He was consecutively re-elected in 1955 and 1959. Lacson forged a reputation as a tough-minded reformist mayor, and in the 1950s, he and Zamboanga CityZamboanga City
The City of Zamboanga : is a highly urbanized, independent and a chartered city located in Mindanao, Philippines....
mayor Cesar Climaco
Cesar Climaco
Cesar Cortez Climaco was a Filipino politician who served as mayor of Zamboanga City for 11 years. A prominent critic of the martial law regime of Ferdinand Marcos, he was famed for his toughness in governance and colorful personality. He is also famous for his refusal to cut his hair until...
were touted as exemplars of good local governance. His administration of the City of Manila is regarded as Manila's "Golden Age", even though the city began it in bankruptcy.
At the time Lacson assumed office, Manila had around 23.5 million pesos in debt, some of which had been contracted thirty years earlier, and had no money to pay its employees. Within three years, the debt had been reduced in half, [8] and by 1959, the city had a budget surplus of 4.3 million pesos and paid its employees twice the amount earned by other local government employees. By that time, Lacson claimed that the income earned by Manila for the Philippines supported 70% of the salaries of the national government officials and members of Congress, as well as 70% of the expenses of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Lacson embarked on crusades to maintain peace and order and good government in Manila. He fired 600 city employees for incompetence, and dismissed corrupt policemen. He personally led raids on brothels masquerading as massage parlors and on unauthorized market vendors. Lacson ordered bulldozers to clear a squatter colony in Malate that had stood since shortly after the war. Lacson established a mobile 60-car patrol unit that patrolled the city at all hours, and he himself would patrol the city at nights in a black police car. Lacson also established the Manila Zoo and the first city underpass, located in Quiapo, posthumously named after him.
To date, no Filipino politician has replicated Lacson's success in local governance.
Marcos era and martial law (1965-1986)
Between 1972 and 1981, Manila and the rest of the country was placed under Martial LawMartial law
Martial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis— only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively , when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law...
by President Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos, Sr. was a Filipino leader and an authoritarian President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He was a lawyer, member of the Philippine House of Representatives and a member of the Philippine Senate...
. During that period, the local economy continued disintegration amid charges of overwhelming corruption by Marcos and his associates.
During Ferdinand Marcos' rule, he declared Martial Law just before the election of 1972 and suspended the writ of habeas corpus. From 1972 to the February 1986 EDSA Revolution, Marcos and his generals have caused the imprisonment and disappearance of tens of thousands of social activists who opposed his extended martial rule and clamored for change through free elections. After he was deposed in February 1986, the 1081 Claimants or victims of Martial Law won a record decision against the Marcos estate when a US Court in Hawaii ruled in their favor granting them more than US$500 million dollars in compensatory damages.
In 1963, Mayor Antonio Villegas worked hard for the creation of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, which was to become first university in the country fully subsidized by a local government unit. It took about two years for the bill seeking for its establishment to be passed by Philippine Congress, and eventually signed by the then-President Diosdado Macapagal
Diosdado Macapagal
Diosdado Pangan Macapagal was the ninth President of the Philippines, serving from 1961 to 1965, and the sixth Vice President, serving from 1957 to 1961. He also served as a member of the House of Representatives, and headed the Constitutional Convention of 1970...
.
On August 21, 1983, opposition leader Benigno Aquino
Benigno Aquino, Jr.
Benigno Simeon "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr. was a Filipino Senator and a former Governor of Tarlac. Aquino, together with Gerry Roxas and Jovito Salonga, formed the leadership of the opposition to the Marcos regime in the years leading to the imposition of martial law in the Philippines...
flew to Manila from the United States and was assassinated as he left the airplane in Manila. Increasingly, the population opposed Marcos' rule.
Fifth Republic (1986–present)
Corazon Aquino
Maria Corazon Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino was the 11th President of the Philippines and the first woman to hold that office in Philippine history. She is best remembered for leading the 1986 People Power Revolution, which toppled Ferdinand Marcos and restored democracy in the Philippines...
, was installed as president in 1986. During the Aquino presidency, Manila witnessed six unsuccessful coup attempts, the most serious occurring in December 1989.
In 1992, Alfredo Lim
Alfredo Lim
Alfredo Siojo Lim is the incumbent Mayor of the City of Manila and a former senator of the Philippines. A widower, he first served as mayor of Manila from 1992 to 1998 and returned to that post after winning in the 2007 mayoral election.-Early life and career:Born on December 21, 1929 in 1324 J...
was elected Mayor of Manila, beating six opponents. He won re-election in 1995 with a margin of 250,000 votes, the highest majority of vote in the city’s political history. During his first two-terms in office, he earned the nickname "Dirty Harry" for his anti-crime crusades. He founded the City College of Manila that would serve to complement Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila.
In 1998, Lito Atienza
Lito Atienza
Jose Livioko Atienza, Jr. , commonly known by his nickname Lito Atienza, is the former city mayor of Manila and former secretary of the Department of Environment and Resources. He stepped down as mayor of Manila on June 30, 2007, after serving a three-year three-term limit for local government...
was elected Mayor, and he completed two more consecutive terms by being re-elected in 2001 and in 2004. His administration focused on social welfare and development as well as urban renewal and city beautification projects. In the areas of urban renewal for the City of Manila, Atienza implemented the "Buhayin ang Maynila" (Revive Manila) program, renovating most of Manila’s decaying public facilities such as lighting and improving the sidewalk by the Manila Bay along Roxas Boulevard and the area is now filled with al fresco restaurants and coffee shops. Public places such as the Plaza Miranda, the Andres Bonifacio monument, Rajah Sulayman, the Binondo areas, the creation of a Linear-Park in Pandacan, renovating Carriedo and the R. Hidalgo streets in Santa Cruz, upgrading services of the city’s public libraries, schools and hospitals including the Ospital ng Maynila and the building a permanent campus for the Universidad de Manila are among the achievements under Atienza’s administration. Upon the end of Atienza's third term, Alfredo Lim was elected once again in 2007. Lim immediately ordered the reversal of all Atienza projects and rerouted major roadways so as to erase so-called traces of "progress" in his absence. Lim's actions to do away with Atienza's introduced changes was considered by many as a wastage of city funds. But according to him, it was actually doing away with changes which contributed very little to the development of the city and returning life back again to Manila. On July 17, 2008, councilor Dennis Alcoreza, filed human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
complaints before the Commission on Human Rights, against Lim, and other Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
officials. 24 Manila officials also resigned because of the maltreatment of Lim's police forces.