MANILA CITY TRAVEL INFORMATION

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Manila City Brief History

Long before the arrival of the Spaniards headed by Adelantado Governor Miguel Lopez de Legazpi in Manila in 1571, a town called "Maynilad" (from the word "nild") was flourish.

Pre-Spanish Maynilad was originally a Moslem settlement ruled by a Moslem sultan, Rajah Sulayman of Borneon nobility. It was a small but a prosperous trading port lying between two (2) great bodies of water, Pasig river and Manila Bay.

When the Spaniards heard of this Moslem settlement on the shore of a great bay in Luzon, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi (who at that time was in Panay Island) sent forth his men headed by marshal Martin de Goiti and Captain Juan de Salcedo to the first expedition to Maynilad on May 8, 1570.

Upon arrival in Maynilad, the Spanish Fleet was welcomed and feted by the friendly Filipino-Moslem natives. However, the morning of May 24, 1570 proved to be a red day for the two races- for there was a fierce battle; thus the Spaniards defeated the natives and conquered Maynilad under the name of the King of Spain.

But courageous and high-spirited Filipino-Moslems who fled to nearby Bagumbayan and Tondo didn't lose hope in fighting back the Spaniards to retake Maynilad. On the other hand, marting de Goiti did not stay long in Maynilad. So the following year, in 1571, Governor General Miguel Lopez de Legazpi brought his entire force to Maynilad and for the second time conquered Maynilad on June 24, 1571 - proclaiming it as the country's capital and permanent seat of the Spanish government in the East.

As a result of these successive conquests; Adelantado Governor Miguel Lopez de Legazpi ordered the creation of a municipal government of "Cabildo", set of Spanish style houses, monasteries, nunneries, churches and schools - thus gave birth to "Intramuros" - the "Ever Loyal and Distinguished City of Spain in the Orient."

Under Spain, Manila became the great entrepot in the Far East. The Manila Acapulco Galleon Trade between Philippines and Mexico flourished from the years 1571-1815. So from the 16th to the 19th centuries, Manila was Intramuros.

Manila has led a far from placid existence. After Legazpi's conquests, it was assulted by a succession of Chinese warlords, Dutch and Portugese fleets from Indonesia, and a British Occupation Force. It then underwent a facelift when in 1898, American signs were standing side if not totally replacing the Spanish for the next 50 years. A four-year occupation by the Japanese Imperial Forces followed in the forties declaring Manila an "Open City".

Its mad culmination was the destruction of the city and its people by bombings and killings at the close of World War II, making Manila as one of the most heavily destroyed capitals in the world. The birth of Philippine Independence in 1946 gave Manila the title the "Premiere City of the Philippines."

And since Manila's most winning characteristic is its "inflappability" - the history of Manila is the history of the Philippines.

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