Historic Background Of Manila

At the time of Ferdinand Magellan’s path-breaking voyage to the Philippines, a kingdom existed on the banks of the Pasig River in Luzon, ruled over by Lakandula and his nephew, Raha Sulayman. The kingdom, called `Maynilad’ (after the local `nilad’ plant), proved irresistible to the Spaniards, who invaded it under the conquistador, Miguel Lopez de Legaspi and declared it the capital of their new colonies in this part of the world.
Over the years, Manila grew- both in size and stature with Spanish style medieval palaces, churches and residences- some replicas of European structures- came up. Part of the city was walled off with an 8 ft thick, 3 mile long wall, and the area within it, especially designed for the Spanish nobility and the clergy, came to be known as Intramuros. The area outside the walled city was the habitat of the common people- natives and foreigners. In the centuries to come, Manila saw invasions by the Chinese, the Dutch and the British (all of which failed), and internal rebellions. Eventually, a revolution headed by Jose Rizal succeeded in freeing Manila- and the Philippines- from the Spanish.

Manila passed into the hands of the USA, who set about developing the city and improving its social and educational infrastructure. American rule was interrupted with the onset of the Second World War, when Manila once again changed hands- this time falling to the Japanese, who occupied it for 3 years and were eventually dislodged by heavy bombing that all but destroyed the city. After the World War, the country finally won its freedom, and Manila continued as the capital - of the new Republic of the Philippines. Today, it’s the country’s main city- the administrative, commercial and political hub.