Source: https://museodesilan.wordpress.com/
Colonizers arriving
in the late 16th century saw an unusual tongue of land thrust into
Manila Bay and saw its value as the main staging ground from where they
could launch their bulky galleons. Formed in the shape of a hook, which
in Tagalog is called kawit , it became the most important port linking
the colony to the outside world.
What is now Cavite
City was once a mooring place for Chinese junks trading that came to
trade with the settlements around Manila Bay. In 1571, Spanish
colonizers founded the port and city of Cavite and fortified the
settlement as a first line of defense for the city of Manila. Galleons
were built and fitted at the port and many Chinese merchants settled in
the communities of Bacoor and Kawit, opposite the Spanish city to trade
silks, porcelain and other Oriental goods. The vibrant mix of traders,
Spanish seamen and local residents gave rise to the use of pidgin
Spanish called chabacano.
In 1614, the
politico-military jurisdiction of Cavite was established covering all
the present territory except for the town of Maragondon, which used to
belong to the corregimiento of Mariveles. Maragondon was ceded to Cavite
in 1754. Within Maragondon was a settlement established in 1663 for
Christian exiles from Ternate, Mollucas.
Owing to its military
importance, Cavite was attacked by foreigners in their quest to conquer
Manila and the Philippines. The Dutch made a surprise attack on the
city in 1647, founding the port incessantly, but were repulsed. In 1672,
the British occupied the port during their two-year interregnum in the
Philippines. American forces attacked the Spanish squadron in Cavite.
The Spanish defeat marked the end of Spanish rule in the country.
Missionary orders
acquired and enlarged vast haciendas in Cavite during the 18th and 19th
century. These haciendas became the source of bitter agrarian conflicts
between the friar orders and Filipino farmers and pushed a number of
Cavitenos to live as outlaws. This opposition to the friar orders was an
important factor that drove many Cavite residents to support reform,
and later, independence.
In 1872, a mutiny by
disgruntled navy men in Cavite led to a large-scale crackdown on
reformers and liberals. Three Filipino priests – Jose Burgos, Mariano
Gomez and Jacinto Zamora- were executed and dozens others sent into
exile. In 1896, after the outbreak of the Philippine Revolution, Cavite
took center stage as thousands of Katipuneros liberated most of the
province’s towns.
On August 26, 1896,
when the Philippine revolution against Spain broke out, Cavite became a
bloody theatre war. Led by Emilio Aguinaldo, Cavitenos made surprise
attacks on the Spanish headquarters and soon liberated the whole
province.
Emilio Aguinaldo, the
first Philippine president came from the town of Kawit and directed the
conduct of the Revolution from his base in the province. He agreed to
go into exile in December 1897, but returned to the Philippines in May
1898. On June 12, he declared Philippine independence from the balcony
of his home in Kawit.
The Americans
established civil government in the province in 1901. The naval station
in Sangley Point became the chief American naval base in the country.
The Japanese targeted the naval base during the first wave of attacks on military installations in the Philippines.
Cavite and its
people, what they are today, and what will be tomorrow will remain their
infinity, as a place with a glorious history, and a people fortified
with strength to live and die for a worthy cause.
Source: http://cavite.gov.ph/home/province/general-information/history/brief-history-of-cavite/
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