Revealing the History and Heritage of the Philippines: One Post at a Time
The Carta Hydrographica y Chorographica de las Yslas Filipinas, commonly known as the 1734 Murillo Velarde Map, is often cited as the “Mother of all Philippine Maps.” Looking specifically at the segment depicting the island of Cebu (labeled “Zebu”), one is immediately struck by how recognizable the geography and toponymy…
The history of the nineteenth-century Visayas is often told through the ledger books of merchant houses or the revolutionary fervor of the Ilustrados. We speak of the opening of the Port of Cebu in 1860, the sugar boom of Negros, and the sudden influx of British and American capital that…
Stepping into the town of Lazi on the southern edge of Siquijor, one is immediately arrested by a sense of scale that seems almost out of place in such a tranquil, provincial setting. Here, amidst the whispering acacia trees and the humid breeze of the Mindanao Sea, stands the San…
In the quiet coastal town of Valencia, Bohol, formerly known as Panangatan, the architectural timeline of the Philippines is often measured in the erosion of coral stone or the fading of timber. Yet, dominating the town center stands a structure that defies the organic decay of the Spanish era, asserting…
The southern littoral of Cebu possesses a deceptive tranquility, particularly along the Tañon Strait in Malabuyoc. Observing the silhouette of Negros Island across the channel, one might appreciate the scenic geography, yet a historical analysis reveals this strait was less a picturesque boundary and more a strategic chokepoint. The calm,…
There is a specific quality to the air in Loay, where the mouth of the Loboc River spills into the Bohol Sea, a mix of brine and the ancient humidity of the river delta. It was here, upon a plateau chosen for defense against the slave-raiding fleets of the past,…
Just six kilometers east of Tagbilaran City lies a structure that is far more than a place of worship; it is a calcified chronicle of the Visayas, a fortress disguised as a sanctuary, and a testament to the sheer grit of the Boholano spirit. The Immaculate Conception Parish , often…
Deep in the quiet coastal municipality of Dimiao, nestled along the southern ethos of Bohol, lies a structure that feels less like a remnant of Spanish colonial rule and more like a scene from a fever dream. We often think of heritage sites as static monuments—stone churches standing guard against…
When you travel just eight kilometers south of Dumaguete City, leaving the urban bustle for the coastal breeze of Negros Oriental, you are greeted by a structure that defies the architectural norms of the Visayas. Facing the vast Bohol Sea, the San Agustin Church of Bacong is not merely a…
Watchtowers, known locally as baluartes or bantayan, were constructed across the Philippines primarily as a vital coastal defense mechanism against the devastating threat of Moro slave raiders from Mindanao and Sulu, a conflict that escalated dramatically during the Spanish colonial period (16th to 19th centuries). For the islands of the…
