History of Cavite

Etymology
Early settlers, who were Tagalogs, called it "Tangway," meaning peninsula. The name "Cavite"
evolved from the word “Kawit” or “Cauit” meaning "hook" as people from other places refer to
it, referring to the hook-shaped land along the coast of Bacoor Bay. It was mispronounced by the
Spaniards as "Kawite" or "Cavite" there being no "K" in the Castillan alphabet, then changing
"w" to "v" so as to conform to their accentuation. The Chinese traders or the Sangleys who came
to Cavite to do business with the natives called it Keit, a corruption of the word Kawit.

Pre-Hispanic Era
The early inhabitants of Cavite City were the Tagalogs ruled by the Kampilan and the bullhorn of
a datu, the tribal form of government. According to folklore, the earliest settlers came
from Borneo, led by Gat Hinigiw and his wife Dayang Kaliwanag who bore seven children.
Archaeological evidences in the coastal areas show prehistoric settlements.
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.

Spanish Colonial Period

On May 16, 1571 the Spanish conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi declared the region a royal
encomienda, or royal land grant. Spanish colonizers settled in the most populated area of the
place they called it Cavite. The old Tangway at the tip of the Cavite Peninsula, across Bacoor
Bay was referred to as Cavite la Punta meaning "Point of Cavite" or Cavite Point. Upon
discovering that because of its deep waters, Cavite la Punta was a suitable place for the repair
and construction of Spanish ships and galleon, the Spanish moved their settlement there and
called it Cavite Nuevo (New Cavite) or plainly Cavite, while the first settlement was renamed
"Cavite Viejo". In 1590, the Spaniards fortified Cavite Nuevo with a muralla on its western,
northern and eastern side while the side fronting Baccor Bay remained open. Fort Guadalupe on
the easternmost tip was also built at the same time, and the town became the Puerto de
Cavite (Port of Cavite) or Cavite Puerto. The Fort of San Felipe Neri and Porta Vaga gate were
constructed in 1595 and completed in 1602. Puerta Vaga (corrupted to Porta Vaga) was the port
city's barbican western and only principal entrance from San Roque. It was flanked by the
western wall protected by two bastions at its north and southern end. The wall and gate were also
separated from the mainland by a moat, which also made the town like an island.
Cavite was officially founded as a town in 1614 with Tomás Salazar as the earliest
known gobernadorcillo recorded. At the same time, the town became the capital of the new
politico-military province of Cavite, established also in 1614.
San Roque was founded as a separate town also in 1614. It was placed under the civil
administration of Cavite Puerto until it was granted a right to be a separate and an independent
municipality in 1720. La Caridad, formerly known as La Estanzuela of San Roque, separated and
was founded as town in 1868. The Spanish Governor General Jose de la Gardana granted the
petition of the people led by Don Justo Miranda to make barrio La Estanzuela an independent
town.

City of churches
As the town was progressing, it also became a cosmopolitan town that attracted the
different religious orders to set up churches, convents and hospitals within the limited
confines of the fortified town. The Franciscan Hospital de San Jose (Saint Joseph
Hospital) was built for sailors and soldiers in 1591, the San Diego de Alcala convent in
1608, the Porta Vaga (La Ermita), Our Lady of Loreto (Jesuit), San Juan de Dios (St.
John of God), Santo Domingo (Dominicans), Santa Monica (Recollects), and San Pedro,
the port's parish church. At the most, the fortified town enclosed eight churches, the Jesuit
college of San Ildefonso, public buildings and residences, which served the needs of its
population of natives, soldiers and workers at the port, transients and passengers on board
the galleons.[7]
It was also during those times when it was called "Tierra de Maria Santisima" (Land of
Most Holy Mary) because of the popularity of the Marian devotion in this place. Plazas
and parks were evidence of importance, Plaza de Armas across from San Felipe Fort,
Plaza de San Pedro across from the church and Plaza Soledad across from Porta Vaga,
Plaza del Reparo was at the bayside.

Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade

The Port of Cavite (Puerto de Cavite) was linked to the history of world trade. Spanish
galleons sailed every July to Acapulco (Mexico) while another ship sailed from Acapulco
to Cavite. Galleons and other heavy ocean-going ships were not able to enter the Port of
Manila along Pasig River because of a sand bar that limits entrance to the river port only
to light ships. For this reason, the Port of Cavite was regarded as the Port of Manila, the
main seaport of the capital city.
At the height of the Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade, the Port of Cavite was the arrival
and departure port of the Spanish galleons that brought many foreign travelers, mostly
Spaniards and Latinos, to its shores. The Port of Cavite was fondly called Ciudad de Oro
Macizo meaning the "City of Solid Gold". The Chinese emperor at one time sent some of
his men to this place to search for gold.
 Between 1609 and 1616 the galleons Espiritu Santo and San Miguel were constructed in
the shipyard of the port, called the Astillero de Rivera (Rivera Shipyard of Cavite),
sometimes spelled as Ribera.

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 of 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.

Battle of Binakayan Monument was the site of a significant encounter between Spanish
forces and Filipino revolutionaries from November 9-11, 1896 wherein hundreds of Spanish
soldiers were killed. It was the most decisive battle of the revolution as it marked the first defeat
of the Spanish forces and is commemorated as the first major victory of the Philippine
Revolution.
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.

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American Colonial Period

Control over the port was turned over to the Americans by Spain after the Treaty of Paris of 1898
at the turn of the 19th century. At the start of the American era, Cavite Puerto became the seat of
the U.S. Naval Forces in the Philippines. It was redesigned to make way for modern ships and
armaments. The ruinous historical structures like Fort Guadalupe were demolished, along with
most of Fort San Felipe.
Local government administration was under the renamed Presidentes municipales with the direct
supervision of the American Army Officers (the first being Colonel Meade). The first
Filipino Presidentes municipales were appointed: Don Zacaria Fortich for Cavite Puerto, Don
Francisco Basa for San Roque, and Don Pedro Raqueño Bautista for Caridad.
In 1900, the Caviteños tasted their first election under the American regime. They elected in each
pueblo or town, local officials called Presidente municipal, Vice-Presidente municipal and
a Consejo (council) composed of Consejales (councilors). They elected Don Gregorio Basa
as Presidente Municipal of the town now known as Cavite City.
In 1901, the Philippine Commission approved a municipal code as the organic law of all local
governments throughout the country. In its implementation in 1903, the three separate pueblos of
Cavite Puerto, San Roque and La Caridad were merged into one municipality, which was called
the Municipality of Cavite. By virtue of a legislative act promulgated by the First Philippine
Assembly, Cavite was again made the capital of the province. Subsequently, its territory was
enlarged to include the district of San Antonio and the island of Corregidor. The Municipality of
Cavite functioned as a civil government whose officials consisted of a Presidente Municipal, a
Vice-Presidente Municipal and ten Consejales duly elected by the qualified voters of
the municipality.
In 1909, Executive Order No. 124, of Governor-General W. Cameron Forbes, declared the Act
No. 1748 annexing Corregidor and the islands of Caballo (Fort Hughes), La Monja, El Fraile
(Fort Drum), Sta. Amalia, Carabao (Fort Frank) and Limbones, as well as all waters and
detached rocks surrounding them, to the Municipality of Cavite.

World War II and Japanese Colonial Period

On December 10, 1941, two days after an attack that had destroyed American air defenses
at Clark Field and three days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese Imperial Forces
destroyed Cavite Naval Base and bombed Cavite City.
Later, after Japan seized the Philippines, Japanese leaders appointed at least two city mayors of
Cavite City.
The island of Corregidor played an important role during the Japanese invasion of the
Philippines. The island was the site of two costly sieges and pitched battles—the first during the
first months of 1942, and the second in January 1945—between the Imperial Japanese Armyand
the U.S. Army, along with its smaller subsidiary force, the Philippine Army.
In 1945 during the fight for the liberation of the country from Japanese hands, the US and
Philippine Commonwealth military bombarded the Japanese forces stationed in the city,
completely destroying the old historic port city of Cavite. The old walls and the Porta Vaga gate
were damaged. Most of the structures were destroyed while some of the church towers remained.
The city was littered with bomb craters.[15]
After the war, the city's local administration resumed the way it was before the war. The walls,
gate and ruins of the old city were later removed. Only the bell tower of the Santa Monica
Church of the Recollects and the two bastions of Fort San Felipe remain of the old city.