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CEBU
Queen City of the South
First Capital of the Philippines
Furniture Capital of the Philippines
Native Name: Sugbo
Nickname: Hara nga Dakbayan sa Sugbo
HISTORY
August 6, 1569
● The province was founded with the city provincial capital, Cebu City.
Between the 13th and 16th century Cebu then known as Zubu (or Sugbo) was an island
inhabited by Hindus, Buddhists, animists and Muslims ruled by Rajahs and Datus. It was a
kingdom of the defunct Rajahnate of Cebu.
The Rajahnate of Cebu was a native kingdom which used to exist in Cebu prior to the
arrival of the Spaniards.It was founded by Sri 'Lumay' otherwise known as 'Rajamuda Lumaya',
a half Malay and Half Tamil prince of the Chola dynasty which had invaded Sumatra in
Indonesia. He was sent by the Maharajah to establish a base forexpeditionary forces to subdue
the local kingdoms, but he rebelled and established his own independent Rajahnate instead.
The arrival of Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan in 1521 established a period of
Spanish exploration and colonization.
Losing favour for his plan of reaching the Spice Islandsfrom King Manuel I of Portugal,
by sailing west from Europe, Magellan offered his services to King Charles I of Spain. On
September 20, 1519,Magellan led five shipswith a crew of 250 people from the Spanish fort of
Sanlúcar de Barrameda en route to Southeast Asia via the Americas and Pacific Ocean. They
reached the Philippineson March 16, 1521. Rajah Kolambu the king of Mazaua told themto sail
for Cebu, where they could trade and have provisions.
Arriving in Cebu City, Magellan, with Enrique of Malacca as translator, befriended
Rajah Humabon the Rajah or King of Cebu and persuaded the natives of allegiance to Charles I
of Spain.Humabon and his wife were given Christian names and baptized as Carlos and Juana.
The Santo Niño was presented to the native queen of Cebu, as a symbol of peace and friendship
between the Spaniards and the Cebuanos. On April 14,Magellan erected a large wooden cross
on the shores of Cebu. Afterwards, about 700 islanders were baptized.
Magellan soon heard of Datu Lapu-Lapu,a native king in nearby Mactan Island, a rival
of the Rajahsof Cebu. It was thought that Humabon and Lapu-Lapu had been fighting forcontrol
of the flourishing trade in the area. On April 27, the Battle of Mactan occurred where the
Spaniards were defeated and Magellan killed by the natives of Mactan in Mactan Island.
According to Italian historian and chronicler, Antonio Pigafetta, Magellan's body was never
recovered despite efforts to trade for it with spice and jewels. Magellan's second in command,
Juan Sebastián Elcano took his place ascaptain of the expedition and sailed their fleet back to
Spain, circumnavigating the world.
Survivorsof the Magellan expedition brought tales of a savage island in the East Indies
with themwhen they returned to Spain.Consequently,several Spanish expeditions were sent to
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the islands but all ended in failure. In 1564, Spanish explorers led by Miguel López de Legazpi
sailing fromMexico arrived in 1565 and established a colony. The Spaniards fought the King
Rajah Tupas and occupied his territories. The Spaniardsestablished settlements; trade flourished
and renamed the island to Villa del Santísimo Nombre de Jesús (Town of the Most Holy
Name of Jesus).Cebu became the first European settlement established by the Spanish Cortés in
the Philippines. In 1595, the Universidad de San Carlos (University of San Carlos) was
established and in 1860, Cebu opened its forts to foreign trade. The first printing house,
Imprenta de Escondrillas y Cia was established in 1873 and in 1880, the Colegio de la
Inmaculada Concepcion (College of the Immaculate Conception)was established and the first
periodical The Bulletin of Cebu (El Boletin de Cebú) began publishing in 1886. In 1898, the
island was ceded to the United States after the Spanish-American War and Philippine-American
War. In 1901, Cebu was governed by the United States for a brief period; however it became a
charter province on February 24,1937 and wasgoverned independently by Filipino politicians.
Cebu, being one of the most densely populated islands in the Philippines, served as a
Japanese base during their occupation in World War II which began with the landing of
Japanese soldiers in April 1942. The 3rd, 8th, 82nd and 85th Infantry Division of the Philippine
Commonwealth Army was re-established from 1942 to 1946 and the 8th Infantry Regiment of the
Philippine Constabulary was re-established again from 1944 to 1946 at the military general
headquarters and the military camps and garrisoned in Cebu City and Cebu Province. They
started the Anti-Japanese military operations in Cebu from April 1942 to September 1945 and
helped Cebuano guerrillasand fought against the Japanese Imperial forces. Almost three years
later in March 1945, combined Filipino and American forces landed and reoccupied the island
during the liberation of the Philippines. Cebuano guerrilla groups led by an American, James
Cushing is credited for the establishment of the Koga Paperswhich is said to have changed the
American plans to retake the Philippines from Japanese occupation in 1944, by helping the
combined United Statesand the Philippine Commonwealth Army forcesenter Cebu in 1945. The
following year the island achieved independence from colonial rule in 1946.
February 6, 2012
● Cebu Island experienced the effects of magnitude 6.7 earthquake on the
neighbouring island of Negros and was the largest quake in the area for 90
years. The tremor shook buildings and caused fear however there were no
reports of major building damage or loss of life on Cebu Island itself. This
tremor was caused by a previously unrecorded "blind" fault.
October 15, 2013
● Cebu and Bohol were hit by record setting 7.2 magnitude earthquakes
leaving over 100 dead, 5 historical churches collapsed sending residents to
panic, there were over 700 aftershocks.
LOCATION
ABSOLUTE LOCATION
10° 19´ N 123° 45´ E
RELATIVE LOCATION
N Visayan Sea
S Siquijor Island and Mindanao Sea
W Tañon Strait and island of Negros
E Island of Leyte and Camotes Sea
SE Island of Bohol and Bohol Strait
GEOGRAPHY AND TOPOGRAPHY
TOTAL LAND AREA
508,840 hectares (5,088.4 km²)
9th
largest island in the Philippines
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DIVISIONS
Independent Cities 3
Component Cities 6
Municipalities 44
Barangays 1,066
Districts 6
*Surrounded by 167 islands and islets
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
● Long and narrow, stretching 196 kilometres (122 mi) from north to south
● 32 kilometres (20 mi) across at its widest point
● It has narrow coastlines, limestone plateaus and coastal plains
● Province’s terrain consists of rugged and mountainous with low peak
● It also has rolling hills and rugged mountain ranges traversing the northern and
southern lengths of the island
● Province’s highest mountains are over 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) high
● Flat tracts of land can be found in the city of Bogo and in the towns of San
Remigio, Medellin and Daanbantayan at the northern region of the province
ATTRACTIONS
Basilica Minore del Santo Niño
Cebu Taoist Temple
Fort San Pedro
Lapu-lapu Shrine
Magellan Shrine
Magellan’s Cross
*The Magellan’s Cross was encased in hollow tindalo wood in 1835 upon the order of
the Augustinian Bishop Santos Gómez Marañon to prevent devotees from taking it home
chip by chip
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FESTIVALS AND FIESTAS
Sinulog Festival – Cebu, 3rd
Sunday of January
*The largest fiesta in the Philippines which celebrates the festival of the Santo Niño, the
patron of Cebu. The Sinulog is a dance ritual of pre-Hispanic indigenous origin. The
dancer moves two steps forward and one step backward to the rhythmic sound of
drums. This movement resembles the current (sulog) of the river and thus the name
Sinulog
Others:
Pintos Festival Bogo
Karansas Festival Danao
Garbo sa Lapu-lapu Festival Lapu-lapu
Panagtagbo Festival Mandaue
Halad Inasal Festival Talisay
Dagitab Festival Naga
Hinulawan Festival Toledo
Kabkaban Festival Carcar
DEMOGRAPHY
POPULATION
4,167,320 (as of 2010 by NSO)
LANGUAGE
Cebuano 93%
Other Visayan language 5%
Tagalog 2%
Others 1%
RELIGION
● Majority of its population are Roman Catholic
● There are also some followers of Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism
● The province is the capital of the Catholic Faith by virtue of being the first
Catholic city
● Also known as the birthplace of Christianity and the Philippine Church (Birthplace
of Christianity in the Philippines)
CLIMATE
Tropical
2 seasons – dry and sunny most of the year with some occasional rains during the
months of June to December.
● Temperature can reach a high of 36 °C (97 °F) from March to May, and as low as
18 °C (64 °F) in the mountains during the wet season. The average temperature
is around 24 to 34 °C (75 to 93 °F), and does not fluctuate much except during
the month of May, which is the hottest month. Cebu averages 70–80% humidity.
