Etymology: Pre-Hispanic Period

Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite (Tagalog: Lalawigan ng Kabite;[a] Chabacano: Provincia de
Cavite), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Located on the

southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest of Metro Manila, it is one of the most industrialized
and fastest-growing provinces in the Philippines. Its population of 3,678,301 (2015) makes it one of
the most populated provinces in the country. Originally agricultural and now a booming bedroom
community for ultracongested Metro Manila, its location just north of Taal volcano poses significant
risks of ashfall, and debris flows through it into Manila Bay.
The de facto capital of the province is Trece Martires, although Imus is the official (de jure) capital.
For over 300 years, the province played an important role in both the country's colonial past and
eventual fight for independence, earning it the title "Historical Capital of the Philippines". It became
the cradle of the Philippine Revolution, which led to the renouncement of Spanish colonial control,
finally culminating in the Philippine Declaration of Independence on June 12, 1898 in Kawit, Cavite.
The old provincial capital, Cavite City also hosted docks for the Manila galleon, becoming an
essential part of commerce between Asia and Latin America.
Etymology[edit]
The name "Cavite" comes from the Hispanicized form of kawit or it may be a corruption
of kalawit, Tagalog words for "hook", in reference to the small hook-shaped peninsula jutting out
to Manila Bay.[10] The name originally applied to the peninsula, Cavite La Punta (now Cavite City) and
the adjacent lowland coastal area of Cavite Viejo (now Kawit).
Another theory proposes that the name is a Hispanicized form of kabit, Tagalog for "joined",
"connected", or "attached", referring to the peninsula's topographical relation to the mainland.
[10]
Edmund Roberts, in his 1821 memoir, stated that the "natives" called it Caveit due to the "crooked
point of land extending into the sea".[11]
History[edit]
Pre-Hispanic period[edit]
The present Cavite City was once a mooring place for Chinese junks trading that came to trade with
the settlements around Manila Bay. The land was formerly known as "Tangway". Archeological
evidence in coastal areas show prehistorical settlements. According to local folklore, the earliest
settlers of Cavite came from Sulu or Borneo. The territory of what is Cavite used to be under the
jurisdiction of the Indianized Empire of Majapahit which was superseded by the Kingdom of
Tondo which had waged a successful war for independence, thereafter, invaded by the Sultanate of
Brunei which established a vassal-state, the Rajahnate of Maynila.
Spanish colonial period[edit]

The Spanish colonizers who arrived in the late 16th century saw the unusual tongue of land jutting
out on Manila Bay and saw its deep waters as the main staging ground where they could launch
their bulky galleons. It would later become the most important port linking the colony to the outside
world through the Manila-Acapulco Galleon trade. In 1571, Spanish colonizers established the port
and City of Cavite and fortified the settlement as a first line of defense for the city
of Manila. Galleons were built and fitted at the port and many Chinese merchants settled in the
communities of Bacoor and Kawit, opposite the Spanish city to trade silks, porcelain and other
oriental goods.[12]
"A defensive curtained wall was constructed the length of Cavite's western side," beginning from the
entrance, "La Estanzuela", and continuing to the end of the peninsula, "Punta de Rivera", with the
eastern shore unprotected by a wall. Cavite contained government offices, churches, mission
buildings, Spanish homes, Fort San Felipe and the Rivera de Cavite shipyard. Docks were in place
to construct galleons and galleys, but without a dry dock, ships were repaired by careening along the
beach.[12]
Fort San Felipe, La Fuerza de San Felipe, was built between 1609 and 1616. This quadrilateral
structure of curtained walls, with bastions at the corners, contained 20 cannons facing the seashore.
Three infantry companies, 180 men each, plus 220 Pampangan infantry, garrisoned the fort.[12]:142–143
The galleons Espiritu Santo and San Miguel, plus six galleys were constructed between 1606 and
1616. From 1729 to 1739, "the main purpose of the Cavite shipyard was the construction and
outfitting of the galleons for the Manila to Acapulco trade run." [12]
The vibrant mix of traders, Spanish seamen from Spain and its Latin-American colonies, [13][14] as well
as local residents, gave rise to the use of pidgin Spanish called Chabacano.
In 1614, the politico-military jurisdiction of Cavite was established. As with many other provinces
organized during the Spanish colonial era, Cavite City, the name of the capital, was applied to the
whole province, Cavite. The province covered all the present territory except for the town
of Maragondon, which used to belong to the Corregimiento of Mariveles. Maragondon was ceded to
Cavite in 1754 when Bataan province was created from Pampanga province.[15] Within Maragondon
is a settlement established in 1660 by Christian Papuan exiles brought in by
the Jesuits from Ternate in the Maluku Islands, and named this land Ternate after their former
homeland.[2][3]
Owing to its military importance, Cavite had been attacked by foreigners in their quest to conquer
Manila and the Philippines. The Dutch made a surprise attack on the city in 1647, pounding the port
incessantly, but were repulsed. In 1672, the British occupied the port during their two-year control in
the Philippines.[2]
In the 17th century, encomiendas (Spanish Royal land grants) were given in Cavite and Maragondon
to Spanish conquistadores and their families. The religious orders began acquiring these lands, with
some donated, enlarging vast haciendas (estates) in Cavite during the 18th and 19th century,
enriching themselves. These haciendas became the source of bitter conflicts between the friar
orders and Filipino farmers and pushed a number of Caviteños to live as outlaws. This opposition to
the friar orders was an important factor that drove many Cavite residents to support reform, and
later, independence.[2]
In 1872, Filipinos launched their revolt against Spain. Three Filipino priests—Jose Burgos, Mariano
Gomez and Jacinto Zamora—were implicated in the Cavite mutiny when 200 Filipinos staged a
rebellion within Spanish garrisons. On August 28, 1896, when the revolution against Spain broke
out, Cavite became a bloody theater of war. Led by Emilio Aguinaldo, Caviteños made lightning
raids on Spanish headquarters, and soon liberated the entire province through the Battle of Alapan.
Aguinaldo commanded the Revolution to its successful end – the proclamation of the First Republic
of the Philippines on June 12, 1898 in Kawit.

Etymology: Pre-Hispanic Period

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Etymology: Pre-Hispanic Period

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Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite (Tagalog: Lalawigan ng Kabite;[a] Chabacano: Provincia de

Cavite), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Located on the

Spanish colonial period[edit]

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