History

Cavite's location in relation to Manila and Manila Bay ensured it a prominent place in the nation's past; historical markers can be found throughout the province. It is believed that the Chinese were mooring their junks and trading at Sangley Point, on the tip of Cavite Peninsula, by the early 13th century. From here, they crossed to the Pasig River and Laguna de Bay. Sangley is said to be an adaptation of seng-li or xang-li ("trader" in the Amoy Chinese dialect). Cavite was only lightly populated when the Spanish arrived. They founded what is now Cavite City in 1571 and fortified it against Moro raiders. Encomiendas were granted and Cavite was designated a politico-military province in 1614. It became a Jesuit stronghold. During the 17th century, Cavite City developed as a center for shipbuilding and naval operations. Giant molave trees from the forests around Paete were floated across Laguna de Bay, down the Pasig River, and across Manila Bay to Cavite, where many of the great Manila galleons were built. Cavite City was attacked by the Dutch in 1647, and British landed here during their 1762 invasion.

The Revolution

Cavite played a crucial role in the struggle for independence. The 1872 mutiny of about 200 native soldiers and workers in Cavite City's arsenal in which they killed their Spanish officers, was swiftly suppressed, but it led to the unjust implication and execution of the Filipino priests Gomez, Burgos, and Zamora. This incident helped focus and inflame the native desire to be free of the colonial yoke, and the province was among the first to rise in the arms in 1896. Cavite produced many revolutionary leaders and saw much action. The small, flamboyant General Emilio Aguinaldo (1869-1964) of Kawit came to prominence when he led the Katipuneros in taking Kawit, Binakayan, and several other settlements. His success made Cavite the focal point of the revolution. Rivalry between Aguinaldo and Bonifacio became intense after a split in revolutionary ranks between factions of loyal to one or the other. Bonifacio's headquarters was at Imus and Aguinaldo's at what is now General Trias. After conciliatory attempts failed, Bonifacio and his brother were arrested by the Aguinaldo group, taken to Maragondon, tried, and condemned for sedition by a revolutionary military court. They were executed on Mt. Buntis, outside Maragondon. After this, the revolutionaries' disunity, compounded by a lack of arms and supplies, enable the Spaniards to recapture town after town and regain control of Cavite. Aguinaldo was forced to retreat to Bulacan, and after the Pact of Biak-na-Bato, he was exiled to Hong Kong, but returned after U. S. Commodore Dewey had destroyed the Spanish fleet off Cavite's coast. Aguinaldo landed at Cavite on 19 May 1898 and, believing that the Americans had come as liberators, he urged Filipinos to rise in support. They routed the Spanish forces throughout most of Luzon. Aguinaldo's home in Kawit was the site of the declaration of Philippine Independence on 12 June 1898. Bacoor was briefly the capital of the revolutionary government before it moved to Malolos.

The Twentieth Century

Meanwhile, the first US expeditionary force debarked at Cavite as the Americans moved to take control of the country. Sangley Point became the chief naval base and coaling station of the U. S. Fleet in Asian waters. These installations and the city's strategic position made Cavite a key Japanese target during the 1941 invasion. U. S. Troops parachuted onto Tagaytay Ridge to join others who had landed at Nasugbu (Batangas) before advancing north to liberate Manila.

The Land

Cavite (1,288 square km) is southwest of Metro Manila, along the southern shore of Manila Bay, whose entrance is guarded by Cavite Peninsula on which Cavite City stands. Cavite, from the Tagalog word kawit (hook), refers to the peninsula's shape. Apart from its hilly boundary with Batangas, Cavite's landscape is generally even, the terrain rising gently from the bay to the ridge overlooking Taal Lake. The climate is dry Dec.through April, wet May through November. The area adjoining Manila, where the towns are virtually suburbs, is densely populated; many residents commute to the metropolis. While the bayshore has long been inhabited, the interior was only lightly settled until recently. The inhabitants are mostly Tagalogs. In Cavite City and Ternate, Chabacano, a kind of pidgin Spanish, is still being spoken by Caviteños and Ternateños, a local Hipanicized Tagalog dialects. Over half the people live in an urban setting, with a relatively high proportion employed in manufacturing and commerce. Fishing is a major occupation; anchovies, herring, mackerel, sardines, and scads from Manila Bay and Batangas coast are supplemented by fish and oysters raised in ponds. Cavite City and Rosario are noted for fish-curing and smoking. Salt production is also an important coastal activity; during the dry season, ponds are filled each morning with one centimeters of sea water which evaporates by the afternoon, leaving crystallized salt, though of inferior quality. Inland, volcanic ash from past eruptions of Taal Volcano has given Cavite fertile soil which is complemented by a well-developed irrigation system. Rice is the main crop; sugarcane, coconuts, coffee, cacao, corn, peanuts and root crops are also grown. Cavite is a leading supplier of vegetables, fruit-bananas, pineapples, mangos, oranges, papayas-and flows to Manila market.

The bayshore road from Manila to Cavite City passes the Las Pinas Bamboo Organ, the jeepney factories of Zapote, and the Aguinaldo Shrine in Kawit.

Zapote

Zapote is three km south of Las Pinas. Tourists are welcome to wander into the Sarao jeepney factory on the main road. Revolutionary forces fought two bloody battles in Zapote-against the Spanish in 1897, and the U. S. in 1899. The best performers of the maglalatik, an old Tagalog war dance, come from here. During the town fiesta dancers perform from house to house for gifts or tips, then join the evening religious procession. The highway splits at Zapote, one branch going to Kawit and Cavite City, the other heading south of Tagaytay.

Bacoor

This town on Bacoor Bay is noted for oysters, which are cultivated in fish ponds, saltbed, and on bamboo poles in the bay. Its fiesta (8 May) features a caracol (boat procession).

Kawit

This town, 23 km from the center of Manila, has a long-established Chinese presence. During the late 16th century, Chinese merchant exchanged porcelain, silk, and tea here for silver coins brought by galleon from Acapulco. Aguinaldo himself was part Chinese. The mansion (1849) birthplace and home of this revolutionary hero and president of the short-live First Philippine Republic is now the Aguinaldo Shrine. Its balcony, from which Independence from Spain was declared, is depicted on the P2 bill. That event was accompanied by the raising of the Philippine flag and playing of the national anthem, each for the first time. Today, the shrine houses a museum displaying Aguinaldo's personal memorabilia, historical relics and weapons, some fine furniture, and decorated ceilings. The dining room ceiling features a map of the Philippines, with Cavite painted red to symbolize war. Aguinaldo's marble tomb is in the garden behind the house. Buses going to Cavite, Tanza and Naic pass the shrine. The old municipal building of Kawit was attacked by revolutionary forces lead by Aguinaldo in 1896. Kawit is also noted for its Santo Entierro procession, marking Christ's burial on Good Friday and Maytinis, a street reenactment of Joseph and Mary's search for shelter, on Christmas Eve.

Noveleta

The Battle of Calero, in which more that 400 Spanish soldiers were killed by Filipino revolutionaries, was fought at a bridge here in 1896. The highway divides at Noveleta, one branch continuing straight to Naic and Ternate, the other following the narrow peninsula up to Cavite City. On the east side of this road is Bacoor Bay. Before the shore was dried, this area was famous of the gathering of kapis shells.

Cavite City

This bustling city, a commercial center and fishing port is situated near the tip of a curving peninsula, 34 km by road from Manila, but only 12 km across the bay. An old Spanish shipbuilding and naval center, it was once like Manila's Intramuros with fortified walls, narrow streets, and colonial houses, some with decorated eaves and gables; only a few have survived W.W.II. The ruins of Porta Vaga, a stone fort destroyed by the Dutch in 1647, are still standing, however, among houses behind the city hall. Each year, on the second Sunday in November, Caviteños honor and thank our Blessed Mother, Our Lady of Solitude of Porta Vaga. Other sights include the former provincial capitol and the old church in the San Roque district. A road leads from the city center to the tip of the land and naval facilities at Sangley Point.

Western Cavite

The bayshore road from Noveleta passes Rosario, site of a petroleum refinery, and Tanza, where a historical marker in the convent hall recalls the oath-taking in 1897 of Aguinaldo and General Trias a president and vice-president of the revolutionary government that replaced the Katipunan. Southwest of Tanza, lies a progressive community, Bgy. Amaya.

Naic

The road between Tanza and Naic runs between irrigated ricefields and the bayshore, along which several resorts are located. The fishing town of Naic is the embarkation point for sportfishermen after triggerfish, locally called papacol or baget.

Maragondon

A Historic Jesuit town, Maragondon has a fine old church with an intricately carve door and ornate interior. The great revolutionary Andres Bonifacio and his brother were imprisoned in this church prior to their execution on nearby Mt. Buntis on 11 May 1897.

Ternate

When the Spanish decided to withdraw from the northern Moluccan island of Ternate, Tidore and Siao in 1663, the Jesuit priests brought their converts to the Philippines and built them a new settlement with familiar name; hence Ternate.

Central Cavite

A road leads south from Tanza to Trece Martires City, a small community which succeeded Cavite City as provincial capital in 1954. It's named after 13 Filipino revolutionaries executed by the Spanish in Cavite City in 1896. Silang, on the highway to Tagaytay City, celebrates the Feast of Out Lady of Candles, 1-3 Feb.; candles are blessed during a procession, then taken home to protect the house against danger. Alfonso, an agricultural town northwest of Tagaytay, is the site of the Magnolia Dairy Farm, from which Manila receives much of its milk, butter, and ice cream. A few kilometers outside the town is Bgy. Marahan, the only place in the Philippines where firewalking is performed. Once a year in January, a group of seven elderly people celebrate their harvest by dancing into a circle of flames. There has been considerable speculation about the origin of this small cult's ritual. Possibly there's a connection with nearby Taal Volcano, which has often spewed fir and ash over this area. Or could there be a lost link with the firewalkers of India, Japan or the South Pacific islands of Fiji and Raiatea?

Tagaytay City

Tagaytay is perched on a ridge, 686 meters above Taal Lake and its active island-volcano. The ridge is believed to be part of the crater of a much larger, long-since-collapse volcano. Today, the ridge forms part of the outer rim of the Taal caldera as it stretches 32 km from Mt. Batulao to Mt. Sungay. The overlook at Taal Vista Lodge offers a spectacular view of the volcano (about 15 km distant) and lake, making Tagaytay one of the most popular excursion trips around Cavite during summer. In clear weather, the South China Sea is visible in the distance, though at other times, fog can come sweeping swiftly across the lake. Folk dancing sometimes takes place at this viewpoint at midday. Hawks glide above, and during March/April, huge black-and-yellow birdwing butterflies frequent the ridge. The elevation results in a pleasantly cool climate, with continual breezes, so that some wealthy Filipinos maintain weekend retreats here. Tagaytay was, in fact, originally established as a potential alternative summer resort to Baguio. Evenings can be chilly. Tagaytay City sprawls over 65 square km; it contains extensive market gardens. Numerous fruit stalls usually line the main road. Tagaytay is a 60-km, 90-min journey from Manila.