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MANILA

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Originally appearing in Volume V17, Page 580 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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MANILA , the See also:

capital See also:city and See also:principal See also:port of the See also:Philip-See also:pine Islands, situated on the W. See also:coast of the See also:island of Luzon, on the E. See also:shore of Manila See also:Bay, at the mouth of the See also:Pasig See also:river, in See also:lat. 14° 35' 31" N., and in See also:long. 1200 58' 8" E. It is about 4890 m. W.S.W. of See also:Honolulu, 6990 m. W.S.W. of See also:San Francisco, 628 m. S.E. of Hong-See also:Kong, and 1630 m. S. by W. of See also:Yokohama. Pop. (1876), 93,595; (1887), 176,777; (1903), 219,928. Ofthe See also:total See also:population in 1903, 185,351 were of the See also:brown See also:race, 21,838 were of the yellow race, 7943 were of the See also:white race, and 232 were of the See also:black race (230 of those of this race were See also:foreign-See also:born), and 4564 were of mixed races; of the same total 131,659, or nearly 6o% were See also:males. The foreign-born in 1903 numbered 29,491, comprising 21,083 natives of See also:China, 4300 natives of the See also:United States of See also:America, 2065 natives of See also:Spain, and 721 natives of See also:Japan.

Nearly all of the brown race were native-born, and 8o-6% of them were Tagalogs. The city covers an See also:

area of about 20 sq. m. of See also:low ground, through which flow the Pasig river and several esteros, or See also:tide-See also:water creeks. To the See also:west is the broad expanse of Manila Bay, beyond which are the rugged Mariveles Mountains; to the eastward the city extends about See also:half-way to See also:Laguna de Bay, a See also:lake nearly as large as Manila Bay and surrounded on three sides by mountains. On the See also:south See also:bank of the Pasig and fronting the bay for nearly a mile is the " See also:Ancient City," or Intramuros, enclosed by walls 22 m. long, with a maximum height of 25 ft., built about 1590. Formerly a See also:moat flanked the city on the See also:land sides, and a drawbridge at each. of six See also:gates was raised every See also:night. But this practice was discontinued in 1852 and the moat was filled with See also:earth in 1905. In the See also:north-west See also:angle of the walled enclosure stands Fort See also:Santiago, which was built at the same See also:time as the walls to defend the entrance to the river; the remaining space is occupied largely by a See also:fine See also:cathedral, churches, convents, See also:schools, and See also:government buildings. Out-See also:side the walls the See also:modern city has been formed by the See also:union of several towns whose names are still retained as the names of districts. The Pasig river is crossed by two modern See also:steel See also:cantilever See also:bridges. Near the north-See also:east angle of Intramuros is the See also:Bridge of Spain, a See also:stone structure across the Pasig, leading to Binondo, the principal shopping and See also:financial See also:district; here is the Escolta, the most busy thoroughfare of the city, and the See also:Rosario, noted for its See also:Chinese shops. Between Binondo and the bay is San See also:Nicholas, with the United States See also:custom-See also:house and large See also:shipping interests. North of San Nicholas is Tondo, the most densely populated district; in the suburbs, outside the See also:fire limits, the greater See also:part of the inhabitants live in native houses of See also:bamboo frames roofed and sided with nipa See also:palm, and the thoroughfares consist of narrow streets and navigable streams.

Paco, south-west of Intramuros, has some large See also:

cigar factories, and a large See also:cemetery where the dead are buried in niches in two concentric circular walls. Ermita and Malate along the bay in the south part of the city, San See also:Miguel on the north bank of the river above Intramuros, and Sampaloc farther north, are the more attractive residential districts. Most of the white inhabitants live in Ermita and Malate, or is San Miguel, where there are several handsome villas along the river front, among them that of the See also:governor-See also:general of the Philippines. The better sort of houses in Manila have two storeys, the See also:lower one built of See also:brick or stone and the upper one of See also:wood, roofed with red See also:Spanish See also:tile or with corrugated See also:iron ; the upper See also:storey contains the living-rooms, and the lower has servants' rooms, See also:store-houses, stables, See also:carriage-houses and poultry yards. On See also:account of the warm See also:climate the cornices are wide, the upper storey projects over the lower, and the See also:outer walls are fitted with sliding frames. Translucent See also:oyster shells are a See also:common substitute for See also:glass; and the walls are white-washed, but on account of the frequency of earthquakes are not plastered. More than one half of the dwellings in the city are See also:mere shacks or nipa huts. Few of the public buildings are attractive or imposing. There are, however, some churches with graceful towers and beautiful facades and a few attractive monuments; among the latter are one See also:standing on the See also:Magellan Plaza (Plaza or Paseo de Magellanes) beside the Pasig, to the memory of See also:Ferdinand Magellan, the discoverer of the islands; and another by A. Querol on the shore of the bay, to the memory of See also:Don Miguel de Legaspi (d. 1572), the founder of the Spanish city, and of See also:Andres de Urdaneta (1498–1568), the Augustinian See also:friar who accompanied Legaspi to See also:Cebu (but not to what is now Manila). Many improvements have been made in and about the city since the See also:American occupation in 1898.

The small tram-cars See also:

drawn by native ponies have been replaced by a modern American electric See also:street-railway service, and the railway service to and from other towns on the island of Luzon has been ex-tended; in 1908, 267 M. were open to See also:traffic and 400 M. were under construction. Connected with Manila by electric railway is Fort See also:William See also:McKinley, a U.S. See also:army See also:post in the hills five See also:miles away, quartering about 3000 men. The See also:scheme for dredging some of the esteros in See also:order to make them more navigable and for filling in others has been in part executed. But the greatest improvement affecting transportation is the construction of a safe and deep See also:harbour. Although Manila Bay is nearly landlocked, it is so large that in times of strong winds it becomes nearly as turbulent as the open See also:sea, and it was formerly so shallow that vessels See also:drawing more than 16 ft. could approach no nearer than two miles to the shore, where typhoons of the south-west See also:monsoon not infrequently obliged them to See also:lie several days before they could be unloaded. Two long jetties or break-See also:waters have now been constructed, about 350 acres of harbour area have been dredged to a See also:depth of 30 ft., and two wharves of steel and See also:concrete, one 600 ft. long and 70 ft. wide, and the other 65o ft. long and rro ft. wide, were in See also:process of construction in 1909. The Pasig river has been dredged up to the Bridge of Spain to a depth of 18 ft. and from the Bridge of Spain to Laguna de Bay to a depth of 6 ft. The construction of the harbour was begun about 188o by the Spanish government, but the See also:work was less than one-third completed when the Americans took See also:possession. Among other American improvements were: an efficient fire See also:department, a See also:sewer See also:system whereby the sewage by means of pumps is discharged into the bay more than a mile from the shore; a system of gravity waterworks (1908) whereby the city's water See also:supply is taken from the Mariquina river about 23 M. from the city into a storage See also:reservoir which has a capacity of 2,000,000,000 gallons and is 212 ft. above the sea; the See also:extension of the Luneta, the principal See also:pleasure-ground; a See also:boulevard for several miles along the bay; a botanical See also:garden; and new See also:market buildings. Climate.—Manila has a See also:spring and summer hot See also:season, an autumn and See also:winter cooler season, a summer and autumn See also:rainy season, and a winter and spring dry season. For the twenty years 1883–1902 the See also:annual See also:average of mean monthly temperatures was 26.8° C., the maximum being 27.4° in 1889 and 1897, and the minimum 26.2° in 1884. From May until See also:October the prevailing See also:wind is south-east, from See also:November to See also:January it is north, and from See also:February to See also:April it is See also:cast.

See also:

July and See also:August are the cloudiest months of the See also:year; the average number of rainy days in each of those months being 21, and in February or See also:March only 3. The annual average of rainy days is 138: 94 in the wet season (average precipitation for the six months, 1556.3 mm.) and 44 in the dry season (average precipitation for the six dry months, 382 mm.). Thunderstorms are frequent and occasionally very severe, between May and See also:September; the annual average of thunderstorms for the decennium 1888–1897 was 505, the greatest frequency was in May (average 100.3) and in See also:June (average 90.7) ; the severity of these storms may be imagined from the fact that in a half-See also:hour between 5 and 6 p.m. on the 21st of May 1892 the fall (probably the maximum) was 6o mm. The See also:air is very See also:damp: for the See also:period 1883–1902 the annual average of humidity was 79'4%, the lowest average for any one See also:month was 66.6% in April 1896 (the average for the twenty Aprils was 70.7), and the highest average for any one month was 89.9 % for September 1897 (the average for the twenty Septembers was 85.5). The city is so situated as to be affected by shocks from all the various seismological centres of Luzon, especially those from the active See also:volcano See also:Taal, 35 M. south of the city. At the Manila See also:observatory, about r m. south-east of the walled city, the number of perceptible earthquakes registered by seismograph between 188o and 1897 inclusive was 221; the greatest See also:numbers for any one year were 26 in 1882 and 23 in 1892, and the least, 5 in 1896 and 6 in 1889 and in 1894; the average number in each May was 1.44, in each July, 1.33, and in January and in February 0.72-; the frequency is much greater in each of the spring summer months (except June, average 0.78) than in the months of autumn and winter. Public Institutions.—The public school system of Manila includes, besides the common schools and Manila high school, the American school, the Philippine normal school (1901), the Philippine school of arts and trades (1901), the Philippine medical school (1907) and the Philippine school of See also:commerce (1908). The Philippine government also maintains here a See also:bureau of See also:science which publishes the monthly Philippine See also:Journal of Science, and co-operates with the See also:Jesuits in maintaining, in Ermita, the Manila observatory (meteorological, seismological and astronomical), which is one of the best equipped institutions of the See also:kind in the East. The royal and pontifical university of St See also:Thomas See also:Aquinas (generally known as the university of Santo Tomas) was founded in 1857 with faculties of See also:theology, See also:law, See also:philosophy, science, See also:medicine and See also:pharmacy, and See also:grew out of a See also:seminary, for the See also:foundation of which Philip II. of Spain gave a See also:grant in 1585, and which opened in 1601 ; and of the Dominican See also:college of St Thomas, dating from 1611. Other educa-tional institutions are the (Dominican) San Jose medical and pharmaceutical college, San Juan de Letran (Dominican), which is a See also:primary and secondary school, the ateneo municipal, a corresponding secondary and primary school under the See also:charge of the Jesuits, and the college of St See also:Isabel, a girls' school. In 1908 there were See also:thirty-four See also:newspapers and See also:periodicals published in the city, of which thirteen were Spanish, fourteen were See also:English, two were Chinese, and five were Tagalog; the principal dailies were the Manila Times, Cablenews American, El Comercio, El Libertas, El Mercantil, El Renacimienlo and La Democracia. There are several Spanish hospitals in Manila, in two of which the city's indigent sick are cared for at its expense; in connexion with another a reform school is maintained; and there are a general See also:hospital, built by the government, a government hospital for contagious diseases, a government hospital for government employees, a government hospital for lepers, an army hospital, .a See also:free dispensary and hospital supported by American philanthropists, St See also:Paul's hospital (See also:Roman See also:Catholic), University hospital (See also:Protestant Episcopal), and the See also:Mary See also:Johnson hospital (Methodist Episcopal).

There are several American Protestant churches in the city, notably a Protestant Episcopal cathedral and training schools for native teachers. In Bibilid See also:

prison, in the See also:Santa Cruz district, nearly 80% of the prisoners of the See also:archipelago are confined ; it is under the See also:control of the department of public instruction and its inmates are given an opportunity to learn one or more useful trades. See also:Trade and See also:Industry.—Manila is important chiefly for its commerce, and to make it the See also:chief distributing point for American goods See also:con-signed to Eastern markets the American government undertook the harbour improvements, and abolished the See also:tonnage dues levied under Spanish See also:rule. Manila is the greatest See also:hemp market in the See also:world; 110,399 tons, valued at $19,444,769, were exported from the archipelago in 1906, almost all being shipped from Manila. Other Important exports are See also:sugar, See also:copra and See also:tobacco. The imports represent a See also:great variety of See also:food stuffs and manufactured articles. In 1906 the the total value of the exports was $23,902,986 and the total value of the imports was $21,868,257. The coastwise trade is large. The principal manufactures are tobacco, cigars, cigarettes, See also:malt liquors, distilled liquors, See also:cotton fabrics, clothing, See also:ice, See also:lumber, foundry and See also:machine See also:shop products, carriages, waggons, See also:furniture and boots and shoes. There is some See also:ship and See also:boat See also:building. Lumber is sawed by See also:steam See also:power, and cotton See also:mills in the Tondo district are operated by steam. In the foundries and machine shops small engines, boilers and See also:church bells are made, and the government maintains an ice and See also:cold-storage plant.

With these exceptions manufacturing is in a rather See also:

primitive See also:state. Another industry of importance, especially in the district of Tondo, is fishing, and the city's markets are well supplied with many varieties of choice See also:fish. See also:Administration.—Manila is governed under a See also:charter enacted in 1901 by the Philippine See also:commission, and amended in 1903. This vests the legislative and administrative authority mainly in a municipal See also:board of five members, of whom three are appointed by the governor of the Philippines by the See also:advice and with the consent of the Philippine commission, and the others are the See also:president of the advisory board and the city engineer. The administration is divided into eight departments: See also:engineering and public See also:works; sewer and waterworks construction; sanitation and transportation; assessments and collections; See also:police, fire, law and schools. There are no elective offices, but there is an advisory board, appointed by the governor and consisting of one member from each of eleven districts; its recommendations the municipal board must seek on all important matters. The administration of See also:justice is vested in a municipal See also:court and in one court under justices of the See also:peace and See also:auxiliary justices; the administration of school affairs is vested in a See also:special board of six members; and matters pertaining to See also:health are administered by the insular bureau of health. See also:History.—The Spanish city of Manila (named from " nilad," a See also:weed or See also:bush which grew in the locality) was founded by Legaspi in 1571. The site had been previously occupied by a See also:town under a See also:Mahommedan chieftain, but this town had been burned before Legaspi gained possession, although a native See also:settlement still remained, within the See also:present district of Tondo. In 1572, while its fortifications were still slight, the Spanish city was attacked and was nearly captured by a force of Chinese pirates who greatly outnumbered the Spaniards. About 1590 the construction of the present walls and other defences was begun. At the beginning of the 17th See also:century Manila had become the commercial See also:metropolis of the Far East.

To it came fleets. from China, Japan, See also:

India, Malacca and other places in the Far East for an See also:exchange of wares, and from it See also:rich cargoes were sent by way of See also:Mexico to the See also:mother See also:country in exchange for much cheaper goods. Before the See also:close of the century, however, a decline began, from which there was but little recovery under Spanish rule. Several causes contributed to this, among them the waning of the power of Spain, an exclusive commercial policy, dishonest administration, hostilities with the Chinese, ravages of the See also:Malay pirates, and the growth of Dutch commerce. On several occasions the city has been visited with destructive earthquakes; those of 1645 and 1863 were especially disastrous. In 1762, during See also:war between See also:England and Spain, an English force under See also:Vice-See also:Admiral See also:Sir See also:Samuel Cornish (d. 1770) and Lieut.-General Sir William See also:Draper (1721-1787) breached the walls and captured the city, but by the Treaty of See also:Paris (1763) it was returned to Spain. In 1837 the port of Manila was opened to foreign trade,, and there was a steady but slow increase in prosperity up to about 1890. During this period, however, progress was hampered by vested interests, and the spirit of See also:rebellion among the natives became increasingly threatening. About 1892 a large number of Filipinos in and near Manila formed a See also:secret association whose See also:object was See also:independence and separation from Spain. In August 1896 members of this association began an attack; and See also:late in See also:December the See also:movement was reinforced as a result of the See also:execution in Manila of Dr Jose Rizal y Mercado (1861-1896), a Filipino patriot. It spread to the provinces, and was only in part sup-pressed when, in April 1898, the United States declared war against Spain. On the 1st of May an American See also:fleet under See also:Commodore See also:George See also:Dewey destroyed the Spanish fleet stationed in Manila Bay (see SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR).

The smouldering Filipino revolt then See also:

broke out afresh and an American army under General See also:Wesley See also:Merritt (1836- ) was sent from San Francisco to assist in capturing the city. The Spaniards, after making a rather weak See also:defence, surrendered it on the 13th of August 1898. Trouble now arose between the Americans and the Filipinos under the leadership of Emilio Aguinaldo, for the latter wished to establish a government of their own. On the night of the 4th of February 1899 the Filipinos attacked the American army which was defending the city, but were repulsed after suffering a heavy loss. A military government, however, was maintained in the city until August 1901.

End of Article: MANILA

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