HISTORY
Intramuros was settled and became the site of power, center of education and spirituality of Spanish Empire in the Philippines.
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In same ancient cities in the world, high walls were created to provide protection for their territories and for their people such idea was also incorporated by the Spaniards the largest colonizers of the Philippines and made a city which is kept within the wall. This creation is called Intramuros . Miguel Lopez de Legazpi is one of the persons who initiated the transfer of the Philippines capital from Cebu to Manila. As such, he created a city which is strategically located near the Pasig River which is the only ingress and egress of water from the lake called Laguna de Bai – Pasig River had also became the passage of various merchants and even military intelligence even before Spaniards 333 years period of colonization since there are tribes ruled by Rajah’s that already settling near what we call as Intramuros. From that city, intramuros which literally translate as a city within the wall. Intra means “within” while muros means “city/cities” became the capital of trade and industry religion and even military more importantly it became the seat of colonial government and intramuros is known as the oldest district of manila, The capital of the Philippine’s. It is considered one of Philippine History.
As you may have learned from world history class, we were under the Spanish rule for more than 300 years. It was during the Spanish regime that the defensive walls were built later in the 16th century to protect the city from foreign aggression. The walls of Intramuros follow the contours of Manila Bayand the curving banks of the Pasig River. The walls covered an area of 64 hectares of land. Fort Santiago is a place in intarmuros which served as the guarding frontier during world waar II and strategically located at the mouth of the pasig river, Further more Intramuros was heavily damaged during the recapture of the city of manila by Americans from the Japanese imperial army during world war II. In 1951, the damage walls of Intramuros were reconstructed at the same time it was declared a national historical monument, Intramuros was also named by the global heritage fund as one of the 12 world wide sites nearing irreparable loss due to lack of management and development. Intramuros boasts as numerals old Spanish era structures and one of these structures is the Fort Santiago, now as park maintained by the local government of manila. It is a famous travel destination. Many reconstruction projects to preserve Intramuros Manila brought back the atmosphere of Spanish colonial period.
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Intramuros Journey
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The Intramuros Administration enjoins your support its effort in the restoration and development of this priceless heritage
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