Before I get on to work from tomorrow, I set out to explore Manila and its rich heritage. And it was a revelation that the Philippines had such a rich history, a proud history...
My first stop on the historical discovery of Philippines was at the Ayala Museum at Makati, which is touted to be Manila's Manhattan!
The museum houses ethnographic and archaeological exhibits on Filipino culture, art, and history, since its establishment in 1967 by the Ayala Foundation, which is run by a prominent business family of the Philippines - the Ayalas.
Now the Ayalas are of Spanish origin and the family settled in the Philippines in the 1800s, when the nation was under Spanish colonial rule. They invested quite a lot in infrastructure and urban development - in the late 19th century, the Ayalas constructed the Puente de Ayala (Ayala Bridge) over the Pasig River in Manila, they introduced the first tramcar service in the Philippines and they developed Makati as Manila's financial district in the 1950s. Makati has an interesting history - in 1851, Don José Bonifacio Roxas, a member of the Ayala family purchased the land here from the Jesuits, who had called this estate the "Hacienda de San Pedro de Macati" - it was sold for 52,800 pesos.
Till today, the land here is owned by the Ayalas, but is leased out on long term basis to developers. The Ayalas are responsible for providing infratsructure services here. Naturally, Makati, is a far cry from the chaos of Manila. The orderliness of Makati made it stand out a lot like a utopian development - just like Mumbai's fledgling Bandra Kurla Complex!
Our first stop in the Ayala Museum was the Diorama Experience - this section features sixty handcrafted dioramas highlighting major events and themes from prehistoric times to the recognition of Philippine independence by the United States in 1946.
The earliest evidence of human inhabitation comes from Cagayan valley in Luzon where prehistoric tools made from stones and bones were discovered...
It is estimated that these civilizations thrived nearly 250,000 years ago - there is a marked similarity between the artifacts discovered in the rest of South East Asia and here providing a clue to the ancient cultural links between the two areas...
The Palawan Tabon caves date back to nearly 52000 years back and this is where the first remains of homo sapiens were found...
The Palawan burial caves - evidence from the caves points to the ceremonial disposal of human remains and a belief in afterlife!
Traces of advancements made were found in Bicol, south eat of Luzon - the pottery wheel and advanced pottery techniques were used here in 5000 BC...
The Banaue rice terraces were carved by hand by the Ifugao people in north Luzon nearly 2000 years back. The terraces equal eight times the length of the Great Wall of China and are a UNESCO World Heritage Site!
Evidence of metal forging was found in southern Philippines that dates back to nearly 3200 BC...
Trade between the Philippines and China existed in those days. Chinese junks crisscrossed the South China Sea bringing ceramics, tea and silk, while taking back gold, wax, pearls, arecanuts and tortoise shells...
Islam came to the Philippines in 1175 AD and by 1450, the Sultanate of Sulu in southern Philippines was established...
Christianity came to the Philippines with the expedition of the Spanish colonist, Ferdinand Magellan in 1521...
The Battle of Mactan - to defend the independence of his people, the chieftain Lapu-Lapu of Mactan island fought the Spanish colonialists and defeated them in 1521...
The Legazpi-Sikatuna Blood Compact - a peace treaty between Miguel Lopez de Legazpi and Rajah Sikatuna of the island of Bohol helped the Spanish overcome the defeats and strengthened their positition in the archipelago which ultimately resulted in a fall of all the islands to the Spanish. I would say it wasn't a blood compact, it was treachery...
After the Spanish conquered Luzon, they engaged locals in manufacturing of cannons to defend the garrison at Manila...
The Spanish conquistador Juan de Salcedo allied with the locals to repel an attack on Manila by a Chinese pirate Limahong in 1575...
Evangelization of locals through medical aid cemented Spanish rule in the Philippines...
Along also came western education and books. The gospels were the first books published in the Philippines in the late 1500s...
The Aetas - an indigenous tribe of the Philippines...
Chinese pirate attacks and the murder of the Spanish governor-general of Manila by the Chinese led to a riot in which the Chinese were massacred...
The oldest university of South East Asia - the University of Santo Tomas was established in 1611...
Despite the evangelization of the Philippines, Sultan Kudarat fiercely resisted resisted the new religion in Mindanao, which to this date remains predominantly Muslim...
The Chinese got increasingly marginalised in society and were distrusted by the 1700s and were confined to ghettos called Parians...
Conflict with the clergy led to the assasination of Governor General Fernando Bustamante in 1719. For sure, religion and politics make for a deadly cocktail, even today...
The Dagohoy Revolt, is considered as the longest rebellion in Philippine history. Led by Francisco Dagohoy, this rebellion took place in the island of Bohol from 1744 to 1829, lasting roughly 85 years...
Manila had developed as a major port and trade between Manila and Acapulco flourished. Silk, ivory, jewelry and spices were traded for silver from Mexico...
Now this was a revelation to me - I had not known the fact that the British (with an army from India) had invaded Manila in 1762 in retaliation for Spanish support to the French during the Seven Year War. The occupation lasted two years...
With the end of the British occupation of Manila, the Spanish stepped up the commercial exploitation of minerals in the Philippines and the Santa Ines mines were among the first to be exploited...
News from Europe reached the Philippines by ship. And then the Philippines got its first newspaper - Del Superior Govierno. It was first published in 1811 and was edited by the Spanish Governor General himself...
Damian Domingo established an art academy in 1811 that admitted students cutting across racial barriers and that was a big social move...
A Sunday mass scene from Santa Ana in the 1850s - the religious congregation was an important social event of the locals...
The wide street of Escolta, north of Pasig River, which had assumed commercial importance in the 1860s...
