Cebu History

Before the arrival of the Spaniards, Cebu was a trading post with trade routes to Borneo, Indonesia, China and Arabia. Magellan reached the Philippine Archipelago on March 16, 152 and headed for Cebu, where they could trade and get provisions.

Arriving in Cebu City, Magellan befriended Rajah Humabon of Cebu and persuaded the Raja of allegiance to Emperor Charles V of Spain. Later Raja Humabon and his wife were baptized as King Carlos and Queen Juana. On April 14, Magellan erected a large wooden cross on the shores of Cebu. Afterwards, some 800 native Cebuanos were baptized. Forty-four years after Magellan first set foot in Cebu, conquistador Miguel L?pez de Legazpi and his 500 armed soldiers declared that the Spanish crown succeeded in colonizing the islands. Cebu, like the rest of the Philippines was a Spanish colony until the Spanish American War in 1898. On June 12th, 1898, Spanish rule ended and America became the country’s colonial power.

Cebu served as a vital Japanese base during the Japanese occupation in World War II which began in April 1942. Almost three years later in March 1945, Filipino and American forces landed and reoccupied the city. Cebuano guerrillas led by American, James Cushing, are credited for the capture of the Koga Papers which is said to have changed the American plan to retake the Philippines from the Japanese in 1944. After the Japanese were defeated in 1945, the Philippines (and Cebu) were granted independence from the United States on July 4, 1946.

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