1590s: Fort Santiago and Intramuros in Manila, Philippines

Here is another fortified structure I wanted to offer for your consideration. I guess it's all about the proverbial BS meter. This structure definitely set mine off. May be at some point, masses will start questioning the narrative. As it stands, we can only provide some reading material and create a pattern of thinking, analyzing and investigating.

This article is about Fort Santiago located within Intramuros in Manila, Philippins. I already understand that it will be a rather broad topic, full of various issues. Here is what we have:

• Fort Santiago is a citadel built by Spanish navigator and governor Miguel López de Legazpi for the new established city of Manila in the Philippines.
  • LOL: He died in 1572. Fort Santiago was built 1590-93 (other version 1589-92). Allegedly of course it was.
• Intramuros, urban district and historic walled city within Metropolitan Manila, in the Philippines. The name, from the Spanish word meaning “within walls,” refers to the fortified city founded at the mouth of the Pasig River shortly after 1571 by the Spanish conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi.

This article will require paying attention to detail. Considering the amount of information, I respectfully request you watching this short YT video as a prerequisite of sorts. It will help you picture the place, and some of its history.

Images for this article were sitting on my desktop for over a year. I did not know in what logical sequence to approach this story back then, and I am still not sure how to do it. It appears, to get all ducks in a row, we have to touch up on the early history of Manila. In our knowledge we are limited to the conventional wisdom, but in this case it will contribute to pointing out the ridiculousness of the narrative.

• Maynilà, the Filipino name for the city, comes from the phrase may-nilà, which translates to "where indigo is found." ​

The below map snippet is not to insult anyone's geographical intelligence, but to emphasize where Manila is. I am not gonna go as far as calling this location a middle of nowhere, but factoring in the 1500s time frame, the middle of nowhere had to be somewhere nearby.

Manila is located on the island of Luzon. It is is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. It is ranked 15th largest in the world by land area.

• Luzon was originally inhabited by Negritos before Austronesians from Taiwan scattered and displaced them.
• The word Negrito is the Spanish diminutive of negro, used to mean "little black person". This usage was coined by 16th-century Spanish missionaries operating in the Philippines, and was borrowed by other European travellers and colonialists across Austronesia to label various peoples perceived as sharing relatively small physical stature and dark skin.

I'm pretty sure the evolutionists developed a way to explain the presence of black people in the Pacific Ocean, but this is not what this article is about. I just figured it was an interesting detail not to mention. As the story goes, Negritos lived across the island of Luzon before the Malayo-Polynesians migrated in and assimilated them. I am not sure when the assimilation took place, for we can clearly see that in the beginning of the 20th century, Negritos looked pretty unassimilated.


Additionally, I am not sure if the below two quotes from Wikipedia mean the exact same thing. But these quotes are sourced, so decide for yourself.

• Luzon was originally inhabited by Negritos before Austronesians from Taiwan scattered and displaced them.
• Negritos lived across the island of Luzon before the Malayo-Polynesians migrated in and assimilated them.

The history of the area continues with some seriously confusing mambo jumbo. One thing is obvious that we jump from 3,000 BC to 1571 in a matter of four paragraphs.

• Manila was an active trade partner with the Song and Yuan dynasties. The Tondo district was the traditional capital of the empire, and its rulers were sovereign kings, not mere chieftains.
  • This Kingdom of Tondo is probably something to dig into for a later date. I think it has some indicators of the global world-enveloping civilization.
• In the 13th century, Manila consisted of a fortified settlement and trading quarter. It was then settled by the Indianized empire of Majapahit, as recorded in the epic eulogy poem "Nagarakretagama", which described the area's conquest by Maharaja Hayam Wuruk.
• During the reign of the Arab Emir, Sharif Ali's descendant, Sultan Bolkiah, from 1485 to 1521, the Sultanate of Brunei which had seceded from Hindu Majapahit and became a Muslim, had invaded the area. The Bruneians wanted to take advantage of Tondo's strategic position in trade with China and Indonesia and thus attacked its environs and established the Muslim Rajahnate of Maynilà.
• And then came the Spaniards.

Historians think we are idiots, and rightfully so. When we blindly accept the unacceptable, TPTB gets braver with each lie they feed us. This is like Hernan Cortes, and Francisco Pizzaro all over again. Arrive with 5 soldiers, form an alliance and conquer by killing millions. This history falsification pattern starts to stand out. Check this stuff out:

• On June 24, 1571, the conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi arrived in Manila and declared it a territory of New Spain (Mexico), establishing a city council in what is now the district of Intramuros. He took advantage of a Tondo vs Manila territorial conflict to justify expelling or converting Bruneian Muslim colonists who supported their Manila vassals while his Mexican grandson Juan de Salcedo had a romance with a princess of Tondo, Kandarapa. ​
  • López de Legazpi governed the Philippines for a year before dying suddenly of a stroke in Manila on August 20, 1572 after scolding an aide. ​
  • He died bankrupt, leaving a few pesos behind, due to having spent most of his personal fortune during the conquest. ​

In 1570, having heard of the rich resources in Luzon, López de Legazpi dispatched Martín de Goiti to explore the northern region with a force of 120 Spaniards.

• López de Legazpi wanted to use Manila's harbor as a base for trade with China. ​
• Goiti's soldiers in Luzon on May 8, 1570, and camped on the shores of Manila Bay for several weeks, while forming an alliance with the Muslims.
• On May 24, 1570, disputes and hostility erupted between the two groups.
  • Tariq Suleiman formed a fleet of two thousand five hundred moros consisting of soldiers from the villages along Manila Bay.
  • On May 30, 1570, Bambalito sailed to Tondo with Caracoas and encountered the Spaniards at Bangkusay Channel, headed by Martin de Goiti on June 3, 1571.
  • Bambalito and his fleet had lost the battle.
  • The Spaniards occupied the Islamized states of Tondo and Maynila.
• There, they defeated most of Tariq Suleiman's, Rajah Matanda's, and Lakan Dula's people.
• The Spaniards marched their armies towards the Pasig River, and occupied the settlements in Manila on June 6, 1570 and burned them.
• Ta-Da: Manila was prepared by Goiti for López de Legazpi. ​

Guerrilla warfare broke out following the battle, which continued for about ten months. The Spaniards fortified themselves in the area and constructed their military barracks of Fort Santiago, which became their outpost for trade with Mexico.

• KD: So, who are we trading with, China or Mexico? And why did they need an outpost to trade?

López de Legazpi did not accompany his men during their conquest of Manila because of health problems and advanced age. Once in Manila, López de Legazpi formed a peace pact with the native councils as well as the local rulers.

• Both groups agreed to organize a city council, consisting of two mayors, twelve councilors and a secretary.
  • Miguel López de Legazpi agreed to a peace agreement sealed by betrothing one of his half-caste (Half Aztec and Half Spanish) daughters to Batang Dula, heir apparent of Lakan Dula. Eventually their descendants unified the 3 royal houses of Tariq Suleiman, Rajah Matanda and Lakan Dula with the half-Aztec and half Spanish de Goiti family.
• López de Legazpi established a settlement there on June 24, 1571, and he also ordered the construction of the walled city of Intramuros.
• He proclaimed the town as the island's capital, and the seat of the Spanish government in the East Indies.

One of the bullets above says this: Tariq Suleiman formed a fleet of two thousand five hundred moros consisting of soldiers from the villages along Manila Bay.

• Well, let us see what vessels local population used at the time. Today I Learned, that those were Karakoa vessels.

Karakoa were large outrigger warships from the Philippines. They were used by native Filipinos, notably the Kapampangans and the Visayans, during seasonal sea raids. Karakoa were distinct from other traditional Philippine sailing vessels in that they were equipped with platforms for transporting warriors and for fighting at sea. During peacetime, they were also used as trading ships. Large karakoa, which could carry hundreds of rowers and warriors.

• Notably: By the end of the 16th century, the Spanish denounced karakoa ship-building and its usage. It later led to a total ban of the ship and the traditions assigned to it.​

To be honest, these Moors, Moro, Maori start to form a name pattern of their own. How many coincidences do we need to experience, before we start seeing footprints of something big hidden behind those coincidences?

• From above again: Tariq Suleiman formed a fleet of two thousand five hundred moros consisting of soldiers from the villages along Manila Bay.​

For the historical confusion and TPTB description of the 13 ethnic groups comprising Moro People, you can read this Wiki article. In a nutshell, the earliest history of Moro People goes like this:

• In the 13th century, the arrival of Muslim missionaries from the Persian Gulf.​
• In 1457, the introduction of Islam led to the creation of Sultanates. ​
• That's it. No earlier history is listed. ​

At the same time when our two Spaniards - López de Legazpi and Goiti - were conquering Manila, they had to face locals outfitted with the following items of equipment. This is in addition to the above Karakoa ships.

Moros were armed with Lantaka cannons. According to this Wiki article, Philippine government may nominate lantakas to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists.

I do not know about you, but to me these swords remind of a dystopian movie, the name of which I do not remember. In that movie the society went through some major cataclysmic even. All the technology was lost, and stuff was in a disarray. They had to reuse items they has left from the times before the drastic event took place. Essentially there was a sword made of some driveshaft, or something like that.

• Post-submission Edit: I was able to recall the movie. It was not dystopian, but rather a Viking Sci-Fi named Outlander.

• Kris - Wikipedia​
• Kalis - Wikipedia​

As we can see, those natives had some decent vessels and weapons to fight Spaniards. But... you make your own conclusions of how uncivilized they were.

Sources and Links:

• Manila - Wikipedia
• Luzon - Wikipedia
• Miguel López de Legazpi - Wikipedia
• Martín de Goiti - Wikipedia
• Karakoa - Wikipedia
• Moro people - Wikipedia

KD: Stuff appears to be somewhat complicated, but in reality we follow this same very formula, where a few people arrive, and conquer a fairly advanced civilization. Me thinks, the leftovers of the post-catastrophic Unified World got taken over by a stronger and larger "New World" force.

Hopefully I'm done with the hard part. Above was my attempt to paint a general picture. It was probably not too successful, but I hope you get an idea of what the PTB version of the events was. We also established two facts:

• In 1571 López de Legazpi ordered Intramuros to be built. Meaning it allegedly did not exist prior.
• Fort Santiago a.k.a Citadel Santiago was built between 1590 and 1593.

I have never been to this place, so it's kind of challenging to get everything situated on a local scale. If you have anything to contribute, or any corrections need to be made, please do so.

As you can see below, the outside walls are gone. Today we can only witness our "average" star-fortress. Well, at least I think the outside walls are gone, for I do not see them in the photographs.

It took me a couple minutes to separate Fort Santiago from Intramuros. I figured I will point out the difference, in case you end up in the same boat. The smaller red-squared structure is Fort Santiago. Everything else to its right is Intramuros.

This "everything else" is supposed to be our Intramuros, but Intramuros is incomplete because it is missing its main "muros" walls. Those appear to have been removed by the Americans in 1903. Additional Intramuros damages came during/after the 1945 Battle of Manila. It appears that just about everything of architectural value was destroyed.

• Destruction at the Walled City (Intramuros district) of old Manila in May 1945 - after the Battle of Manila. ​
• Image Source​

As usually, Wikipedia does not say all the truth by saying just enough to satisfy the general public interest. TPTB are masters of deception, and they have to be commended for their success. Let us try to point out some unachievable achievements for the dates presented, zero in on a few inconsistencies, and ask a few questions.


The first Spanish fort, a palisaded structure of logs and earth, was destroyed not long after establishment, when in 1574 the Chinese pirate Lin Feng (Limahong) launched an almost successful siege of Manila.

The Spanish army repelled the attack, but the fort, in realization of its defects, was rebuilt in stone. The present fort, constructed using volcanic tuff (adobe), was built between 1589 and 1592. It was named after St. James the Moor-slayer, known by the Spanish as Santiago Matamoros.


The fort has a perimeter of 2,030 feet (620 m), and it is of a nearly triangular form. The 22-foot (6.7 m) high walls, with a thickness of 8 feet (2.4 m) are pierced for the necessary communications. The front gateway façade measures 40 feet (12 m) high being in the south wall and facing the city. The communication with the river and the sea was by an obscure postern gate - the Postigo de la Nuestra Señora del Soledad
Intramuros is the 0.67 square kilometres (0.26 sq mi) historic walled area within the modern city of Manila. Intramuros is also called the Walled City, and at the time of the Spanish Empire was synonymous with the City of Manila. Construction of the defensive walls was started by the Spanish imperial government in the late 16th century to protect the city from foreign invasions.

• From above: López de Legazpi established a settlement there on June 24, 1571, and he also ordered the construction of the walled city of Intramuros. ​

The city was in constant danger of natural and man-made disasters and worse, attacks from foreign invaders. In 1574, a fleet of Chinese pirates led by Limahong attacked the city and destroyed it before the Spaniards drove them away. The colony had to be rebuilt again by the survivors. These attacks prompted the construction of the wall. The city of stone began during the rule of Governor-General Santiago de Vera. He ruled from May 1584 until May 1590.

• You can't make this shit up:
  • Following the great fire of Manila on March 19, 1583 Santiago de Vera made an order that all construction in Manila should be of stone.
    • Enjoy: Urban Fire verdict: global attack on our civilization or incompetency?
  • It was found that stone could be easily cut near the banks of the Pasig in Guadalupe and brought to Manila in boats.

The city was planned and executed by Jesuit Priest Antonio Sedeno in accordance to the Laws of the Indies. The succeeding governor-general, Gómez Pérez Dasmariñas brought with him from Spain the royal instructions to carry into effect the said decree stating that "to enclose the city with stone and erect a suitable fort at the junction of the sea and river".

• Gómez Pérez Dasmariñas ruled June 1, 1590 until October 25, 1593
• Leonardo Iturriano, a Spanish military engineer specializing in fortifications, headed the project.
• Chinese and Filipino workers built the walls.

Fort Santiago was rebuilt and a circular fort, known as Nuestra Senora de Guia, was erected to defend the land and sea on the southwestern side of the city.

• Fort Nuestra Señora de Guia aka Baluarte de San Diego

Them people had a serious gambling problem in 1590s. Well, it's either that, or we are being lied to, but this is exactly what some of the construction was funded with. Gambling fines, and 2 years of taxing Chinese goods did the trick.

• Funds came from a monopoly on playing cards and fines imposed on its excessive play. ​
  • That's exactly what you would start doing if you were just conquered, right?
• 
  
• Chinese goods were taxed for two years. ​

Designed by Geronimo Tongco and Pedro Jusepe, construction of the walls began on 1590 and continued under many governor-generals until 1872. By the middle of 1592, Dasmarinas wrote the King about the satisfactory development of the new walls and fortification. The last construction works were completed by the start of the 19th century.

After the end of the Spanish-American War, Spain surrendered the Philippines and several other territories to the United States as part of the terms of the Treaty of Paris for $20 million. The American flag was raised at Fort Santiago on August 13, 1898 indicating the start of American rule over the city.

The Americans made drastic changes to the city, such as in 1903, when the walls from the Santo Domingo Gate up to the Almacenes Gate were removed as the wharf on the southern bank of the Pasig River was improved. The stones removed were used for other construction happening around the city. The walls were also breached in four areas to ease access to the city: the southwestern end of Calle Aduana (now Andres Soriano Jr. Ave.); the eastern end of Calle Anda; the northeastern end of Calle Victoria (previously known as Calle de la Escuela); and the southeastern end of Calle Palacio (now General Luna Street). The double moats that surrounded Intramuros were deemed unsanitary and were filled in with mud dredged from Manila Bay where the present Port of Manila is now located. The moats were transformed into a municipal golf course by the city.
This article is getting longer than I expected, but I absolutely have to add a few photographs. None of them do justice to this place, but hopefully they will be able to reflect a small portion of the greatness of the remaining structure. I will add a few, but for more you will have to look those up yourself:

• Fort Santiago - Images​
• Intramuros in the 1890s​
• Intramuros - Images​
• Gates of Intramuro​
• Intramuros - Various Images​

Additional links:

• La Fuerza de Santiago (Fort Santiago)​
• Fort Santiago. A fortress of the past, present and future​

KD Summary: I was gonna cover the hardness of Tuff rock they used to build this thing, but what's the point? Without elaborating, the hardness is 4 to 6 on Moh’s Scale. The detailed info can be looked up here: Tuff Rock - All You Need to Know. You can figure out the rest about how they were cutting this tuff rock in 1590s, and about how they brought this structure's worth of tuff by boat.


In my opinion we are witnessing the remnants of the efforts of those who came before us. I do not believe that López de Legazpi, Goiti or whoever assited, else by Chinese and Filipino workers had anything to do with building this monster. At least not in the context presented to us. They simply did not have a proper infrastructure to accomplish something like this.

Meanwhile we are gonna keep on running into things like this oil painting on the inside of a wooden chest, and dated c. 1640-1650. After the 1645 "earthquake" Manila was reconstructed. By the end of the 17th century, Intramuros had some six hundred houses that were protected by its stone walls. But what do we know? Those people knew two things: how to fight and how to build. Idiots embraces fighter-builders.


Hanging labels on the individuals who deprived us of hour real history is pointless. We have what we have, because we deserve what we have. We stay blind and stay silent. Consuming historical BS appears to be our destiny. One smart, or "in the know" guy, who was probably a part of the PTB allegedly said once:

• He who does not know his past cannot make the best of his present and future, for it is from the past that we learn. ​