Intramuros, Manila

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Intramuros

Map of Manila with the location of its 5th district highlighted, of which Intramuros is a part.
City Manila
Population (2000) 7,466
– Density 11,099.52 per km²
Area 67.26 hectares
– Barangays 5
– Cong. Districts 5th District

Intramuros, located along the southern bank of the Pasig River, was built by the Spaniards in the 16th century and is the oldest district of the city of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. Its name, in Spanish, intramuros, literally "within the walls", meaning within the wall enclosure of the city/fortress, also describes its structure as it is surrounded by thick, high walls and moats. During the Spanish colonial period, Intramuros was considered Manila itself.

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[edit] History

[edit] Pre-hispanic settlement

The site of Intramuros was originally a large Malayan-Islamic settlement named "Maynilad", ruled by three chieftains Rajah Sulayman, Lakan Dula and Rajah Matanda. The name came from "may nilad", "nilad" being a water plant whose star-shaped flowers clustered in abundance along the low-lying riverbanks. The strategic location of Maynilad, being on the Pasig River and the Manila Bay, made it an ideal location for indigenous Tagalog tribes to trade with other Asian civilizations, including Chinese and Islamic merchants who had come from China, Borneo and Indonesia. Maynilad was also the seat of power for native chiefs who ruled the area before Europeans first arrived in Luzon.

[edit] Spanish colonial period

Coat of arms of the insigne y siempre leal Ciudad de Manila, conceded in 1596.
Coat of arms of the insigne y siempre leal Ciudad de Manila, conceded in 1596.

In 1564, conquistadors led by Miguel López de Legazpi sailed from New Spain (Mexico) and arrived on the island of Cebu in February 13, 1565. There they established the first Spanish colony in the archipelago. Having heard of rich resources of Manila by local natives, López de Legazpi dispatched two of his Lieutenant-commanders, Martín de Goiti and Juan de Salcedo to explore the northern regions of the Visayas.

In 1570, the Spaniards arrived in the island of Luzon. After quarrels had erupted between the Islamic natives and the Spaniards; Goiti and López de Legazpi's soldiers waged war on the people, before they were able to take control and establish a permanent settlement in the area. In 1571 after the natives were defeated in battle, López de Legazpi made a peace pact with Rajah Sulayman, Rajah Lakandula and Rajah Matanda; who, in return, handed over Manila to the Spaniards.

Citing the rich resources and location of Manila; López de Legazpi declared the area as the new capital of the Spanish colony in the Philippines on June 24, 1571. The King of Spain, delighted at the new conquest achieved by López de Legazpi and his men, awarded the city a coat of arms and declaring it Ciudad Insigne y Siempre Leal ("Distinguished and ever loyal city").

The planning of the city of Manila was commenced by López de Legazpi who had become the first Governor general on the islands. He established forts, roads, churches and schools. The plans for Intramuros were based on King Philip II's Royal Ordinance issued on July 3, 1573 in San Lorenzo, Spain. It's design was based upon a star fort or trace italienne (a very flat structure composed of many triangular bastions, specifically designed to cover each other, and a ditch) and covered 64 hectares of land, surrounded by 8 feet thick stones and high walls that rise 22 feet.It was built to protect the seat of the Government by raiding chinese pirates, especially Lim-Ah-Hong.

Intramuros was completed in 1606 and it served as the center of political, military and religious power of the Spaniards during the time that the Philippines was a colony of Spain. Inside Intramuros; there are several Roman Catholic churches, like the Manila Cathedral and the San Agustin Church, convents and church-run schools, such as the Universidad de Santo Tomás, the Colegio de San Juan de Letrán and the Ateneo Municipal de Manila, which were usually being run by religious orders such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans and Jesuits. The Governor's Palace, the official residence of the Spanish Viceroyalties to the Philippines was originally in Intramuros before it was officially moved to Malacañang Palace and Fort Santiago. Only Spaniards and Mestizos were allowed to take part on political issues and take residence inside the walled city, Christian natives and Chinese were allowed to enter, but Spanish officials prevented them living inside. The vast majority of the natives and Chinese residents lived outside the walled city.

Intramuros itself is named after a Spanish term; Intra Muros, meaning "within the walls".

[edit] Original building structures

Note: parenthesis () indicates the new buildings that occupies the same site today.

[edit] Churches, convents and chapels

[edit] Schools

[edit] Other buildings

[edit] World War II

At the end of World War II, much of Intramuros was damaged by the returning American and Filipino military forces.

In 1942 when the Japanese forces invaded the Philippines, Gen. Douglas McArthur realized that Manila was indefensible so he declared it an Open City. He regrouped the USAFFE forces in the Bataan peninsula, only to be trapped there by the advancing Japanese.

Upon the return of the United States and the Philippine Commonwealth troops in 1945, they bombarded Manila including Intramuros to flush out the remaining Japanese. Intramuros was in ruins after the war and the only structure that survived was the church of San Agustin; almost no other buildings remained standing. Almost 100,000 people died during the liberation of Manila.

[edit] Present day Intramuros

In the 1980s, under the direction of former Philippine First Lady Imelda Marcos, the Intramuros Administration restored the city and at present the walled city is the only district of Manila where old Spanish-era influences were retained. Much of the development of present-day Manila occurred outside the gates of Intramuros, leaving the surviving walls, streets and churches of Intramuros minimally touched by modernization, although outlets of Jollibee, McDonald's and Starbucks now sit alongside distinguished educational institutions within its walls. The old moats that surrounded Intramuros have been filled up and transformed into a golf course where locals and foreign nationals play the sport. The garrison that was Fort Santiago is now a tourist spot where visitors can enjoy the nostalgic romance of a bygone Spanish era within its gardens. In 2003, during Visit Philippines Year, tourism secretary Richard J. Gordon cleaned up Intramuros with the help of student and civilian volunteers as well as raised funds to light up the place and build a lights and sound museum.


Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila.
Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila.

Intramuros now houses some of the higher education institutions in the Philippines. These are the city-owned Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, the technical school Mapúa Institute of Technology, Lyceum of the Philippines University, Colegio de San Juan de Letran and high schools such as the Manila High School,and Colegio de Santa Rosa.


Following the design of medieval fortifications, along the massive walls of Intramuros are strategically located bulwarks: baluarte, ravelins: ravellin, redoubts: reducto. Entrance to the the city are through gates: puerta, most of which have been restored or rebuilt. Most of these features have names such as Baluarte de San Diego, Baluarte de San Francisco de Dilao, Baluarte de San Gabriel, Baluarte de Sta. Barbara, Baluarte de San Andres; Puerta Real, Puerta Isabel II, Puerta del Parian, Puerta Almacenes, Postigo del Palacio, Puerta Sta. Lucia.

[edit] Picture Gallery (Images of Intramuros)

Puerta del Parian

Puerta Isabela II

Palacio del Gobernador

Manila Cathderal

Fort Santiago

Reducto de San Pedro

Plaza de la Fuerza

Casa Manila

Plaza de Roma, with the statue of King Carlos IV of Spain

Statue of Philip II of Spain in Intramuros

[edit] References

  1. ^ Fire razes old COMELEC Building

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Districts of Manila
Binondo • Ermita • Intramuros • Malate • Pandacan • Paco • Port Area • Quiapo • Sampaloc • San Andres • San Miguel • San Nicolas • Santa Ana • Santa Cruz • Santa Mesa • Tondo

Coordinates: 14°35′27″N, 120°58′30″E

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intramuros%2C_Manila"
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