Manila
For other uses of this name, see Manila (disambiguation).Manila (pop. 1,581,082, 2000 Census) (Maynila in Filipino) is the capital city of the Philippines, located on Luzon, at Manila Bay. The city is also one of the 17 cities and municipalities that comprise the larger Metro Manila region. People, especially foreigners and Filipinos living outside Metro Manila, use the term Manila to refer to the whole metropolitan area.
2000 census—1,581,082.
Density—41,014 per km².
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2 Interesting Spots 3 History 4 External Links |
Manila lies at the eastern shores of Manila Bay. It is surrounded by several municipalities and cities in Metro Manila: Navotas and Caloocan City to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong City to the east, Makati City to the southeast, and Pasay City to the south. The Pasig River bisects Manila into two.
Administratively, Manila is divided into 897 barangays (small political subdivisions). These barangays are grouped into 100 zones and further into 14 districts. These districts are Binondo, Ermita, Intramuros, Malate, Paco, Pandacan, Port Area, Quiapo, Sampaloc, San Miguel, San Nicolas, Santa Ana, Santa Cruz, and Tondo.
The district of Binondo is the city's Chinatown. Tondo is the poorest, while the districts of Ermita and Malate are popular with many tourists, having many bars, restaurants, and shopping malls.
Seven of the districts lies north of the Pasig River while the remaining half are to the south. There are also two other areas in Manila that are informally considered districts: Santa Mesa in Sampaloc and San Andres Bukid in Santa Ana.
Manila is also divided into six congressional districts; each district has a congressman in the House of Representatives.
The Pasig River is crossed by a number of bridges in Manila. Eastward they are Roxas Bridge, Jones Bridge, McArthur Bridge, Ayala Bridge, Nagtahan Bridge, Pandacan Bridge, and Lambingan Bridge.
Manila began as the northern most Muslim sultanate at the mouth of the Pasig River along the shores of Manila Bay. The name came from the term maynilad, literally "there is nilad." Nilad is a white-flowered mangrove plant that grew in abundance in the area.
During the time when Manila was ruled by Rajah Sulaiman, who held ties with the Brunei, Ternate and Sulu sultanates, a Spanish expedition led by Martin de Goiti arrived in Manila and conquered the settlement, eliminating the fledgeling sultanate. One year later, Miguel López de Legaspi went to the town and proclaimed the Philippine Islands for Spain and establishing the city of Manila as its capital. The enclave of Intramuros, at the southern banks of Pasig River was built to protect the Spanish colonizers.
Manila was captured by Japanese forces on January 2, 1942 but on February 5, 1945 American General Douglas MacArthur fulfilled a promise to return to Manila and on February 23 the city was liberated.
The headquarters for USAFFE were located here as were the 31st Infantry Regiment and the 808th Military Police Company. The headquarters and bulk of the Philippine Division was located just to the south, at Fort William McKinley. The headquarters for the USAFFE Air Force was on the outskirts of town, at Nielson Field. Nearby, at Nichols Field was the 20th Air Base Group. A battalion of the 12th Quartermaster Regiment was located in the port area and training was conducted there for quartermasters of the Philippine Army.
There were 6 airfields, for the Far East Air Force, within 130 km of Manila, notably Clark, Nichols, and Nielson Fields.
Geography
Interesting Spots
History
World War II
Manila and USAFFE
External Links
