Fort Pilar
Encyclopedia
Fort Pilar is a 17th century military defense fortress built by the Spanish colonial government
in Zamboanga City
on Mindanao
Island in the Republic of the Philippines. The fort, which is now a regional museum
of the National Museum of the Philippines
, is the major landmark of Zamboanga City and a symbol of the city's cultural heritage. Outside the eastern wall is a Marian
shrine dedicated to Our Lady of the Pillar, the patroness of the city.
Fray Pedro of Cebu
, the Spanish governor
of the Philippines Juan Cerezo de Salamanca
(1633–1635) approved the building of a stone fort in defense against pirates and raiders of the sultans of Mindanao and Jolo
. The cornerstone
of the fort, originally called Real Fuerza de San José (Royal Fort of Saint Joseph
), was laid by Melchor de Vera, a Jesuit priest-engineer, on June 23, 1635, which also marks the founding of Zamboanga as a city
, then known as Jambangan.
The construction of the early fort continued within the governorship of Sebastián Hurtado de Corcuera
(1635–1644), ex-governor of Panama
. Because of insufficient manpower, laborers from Cavite
, Cebu
, Bohol
, and Panay
had to be imported to help the Spaniards and Mexicans in the construction of the fort. This period also marks the beginning of the Zamboangueño Chavacano as a pidgin
that eventually developed into a full-pledged creole language
for Zamboangueño
s.
in 1662 to help fight the Chinese pirate Koxinga
who had earlier defeated the Dutch
. In 1669, the fort was reconstructed by the Jesuit missionaries after pirates and raiders continued to destroy it.
In 1718-1719, it was rebuilt by the Spaniard engineer Juan Sicarra upon the orders of Spanish Governor General Fernando Manuel de Bustillo Bustamante y Rueda and was renamed as Real Fuerza de Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Zaragoza (Royal Fort of Our Lady of the Pillar of Zaragoza) in honor of the patron virgin of Spain
, Our Lady of the Pillar. A year after, it was stormed by Dalasi, king of Bulig and 3,000 Moro pirates but they were repulsed.
In 1798, the fort was bombarded by British
troops, but again it proved robust enough to repeal strong military attacks. Fort Pilar was the scene of a mutiny of 70 prisoners in 1872.
of the Our Lady of the Pillar was placed above the eastern wall of the fort making it an outdoor shrine with an altar
for praying. Tradition reveals the Virgin Mary appeared to a soldier on December 6, 1734, at the gate of the city. Not recognizing her, the soldier asked her to stop. Upon recognizing her, he fell down to his knees.
On September 21, 1897 at 1:14 PM in the afternoon, a strong earthquake
struck the western region of Mindanao. The Virgin Mary made an apparition, according to the people who witnessed it, they saw the virgin standing mid-air over the Basilan Strait, she had her right hand raised to signal the onrushing waves to stop, saving the city from a tsunami
.
, the Fort Pilar and its Spanish troops surrendered to the Revolutionary Government of Zamboanga
on May 18, 1899, under General Vicente Álvarez
, a Zamboangueño, at the onset of the Philippine Revolution
against Spain. The Spaniards, in reality, again abandoned the fort after Spain ceded the Philippines to the United States
a year before in 1898 by the Treaty of Paris
. On November 19, 1899, the fort was captured by U.S. expeditionary forces.
in 1942, Japanese forces captured and took control of the fort. It was recaptured by the United States and Filipino troops on March 1945 and was finally and officially turned over to the government of the Republic of the Philippines on July 4, 1946.
, which reconstructed three of the four structure inside the fort. After six years of rehabilitation work, the museum branch opened its door to the public with a special exhibit on Philippine Contemporary Art.
In October 1987, a permanent exhibit on the marine life of Zamboanga
, Basilan
and Sulu
was opened at the second floor of Structure II showing 400 species of marine life specimens in giant diorama
s. Also opened was a special exhibit on the 18th century relics from the Griffin Shipwreck
at the ground floor, which coincided with the formal inauguration of the structure.
Former congresswoman and Zamboanga City Mayor Maria Clara Lobregat
, one of the staunch supporters of Fort Pilar Museum, and the civic-minded residents of the city greatly contributed to the realization of development projects in the museum.
. Inside the fort, only the southern structure is still in ruins; inside and outside the fort are well maintained gardens. The Paseo del Mar, a reclaimed esplanade
, protects the fort from the ravages of the sea.
History of the Philippines (1521–1898)
This article covers the history of the Philippines from the arrival of European explorer Ferdinand Magellan in 1521, up to the end of Spanish rule in 1898.-Spanish expeditions and conquest:...
in Zamboanga City
Zamboanga City
The City of Zamboanga : is a highly urbanized, independent and a chartered city located in Mindanao, Philippines....
on Mindanao
Mindanao
Mindanao is the second largest and easternmost island in the Philippines. It is also the name of one of the three island groups in the country, which consists of the island of Mindanao and smaller surrounding islands. The other two are Luzon and the Visayas. The island of Mindanao is called The...
Island in the Republic of the Philippines. The fort, which is now a regional museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
of the National Museum of the Philippines
National Museum of the Philippines
The Museum of the Filipino People is a department of the National Museum of the Philippines that houses the Anthropology and Archaeology Divisions of the National Museum. It is located in the Agrifina Circle, Rizal Park, Manila adjacent to the main National Museum building...
, is the major landmark of Zamboanga City and a symbol of the city's cultural heritage. Outside the eastern wall is a Marian
Blessed Virgin Mary (Roman Catholic)
Roman Catholic veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary is based on Holy Scripture: In the fullness of time, God sent his son, born of a virgin. The mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God through Mary thus signifies her honour as Mother of God...
shrine dedicated to Our Lady of the Pillar, the patroness of the city.
Establishment
In 1635, upon the requests of the Jesuit missionaries and BishopBishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
Fray Pedro of Cebu
Cebu
Cebu is a province in the Philippines, consisting of Cebu Island and 167 surrounding islands. It is located to the east of Negros, to the west of Leyte and Bohol islands...
, the Spanish governor
Governor-General of the Philippines
The Governor-General of the Philippines was the title of the government executive during the colonial period of the Philippines, governed mainly by Spain and the United States, and briefly by Great Britain, from 1565 to 1935....
of the Philippines Juan Cerezo de Salamanca
Juan Cerezo de Salamanca
Juan Cerezo de Salamanca was interim Spanish governor of the Philippines from August 2, 1633 to June 25, 1635.Cerezo de Salamanca was named interim governor of the Philippines by the viceroy of New Spain, Rodrigo Pacheco y Osorio, marqués de Cerralvo to replace Juan Niño de Tabora, who had died in...
(1633–1635) approved the building of a stone fort in defense against pirates and raiders of the sultans of Mindanao and Jolo
Jolo, Sulu
Jolo is a municipality on the island of Jolo, and the capital and largest town of the province of Sulu. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 87,998 people in 12,814 households. Part of its population is of Chinese descent, mainly from Singapore...
. The cornerstone
Cornerstone
The cornerstone concept is derived from the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation, important since all other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure.Over time a cornerstone became a ceremonial masonry stone, or...
of the fort, originally called Real Fuerza de San José (Royal Fort of Saint Joseph
Saint Joseph
Saint Joseph is a figure in the Gospels, the husband of the Virgin Mary and the earthly father of Jesus Christ ....
), was laid by Melchor de Vera, a Jesuit priest-engineer, on June 23, 1635, which also marks the founding of Zamboanga as a city
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
, then known as Jambangan.
The construction of the early fort continued within the governorship of Sebastián Hurtado de Corcuera
Sebastián Hurtado de Corcuera
Sebastián Hurtado de Corcuera was a Spanish soldier and colonial official. From 1632 to 1634 he was governor of Panama. From June 25, 1635 to August 11, 1644 he was governor of the Philippines. And from 1659 to his death in 1660 he was governor of the Canary Islands...
(1635–1644), ex-governor of Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
. Because of insufficient manpower, laborers from Cavite
Cavite
Cavite is a province of the Philippines located on the southern shores of Manila Bay in the CALABARZON region in Luzon, just 30 kilometers south of Manila. Cavite is surrounded by Laguna to the east, Metro Manila to the northeast, and Batangas to the south...
, Cebu
Cebu
Cebu is a province in the Philippines, consisting of Cebu Island and 167 surrounding islands. It is located to the east of Negros, to the west of Leyte and Bohol islands...
, Bohol
Bohol
Bohol is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, consisting of Bohol Island and 75 minor surrounding islands. Its capital is Tagbilaran City. With a land area of and a coastline long, Bohol is the tenth largest island of the Philippines...
, and Panay
Panay
Panay may refer to*Panay Island*Panay *Panay, Capiz*Panay River*Panay Gulf* USS Panay *Panay incident...
had to be imported to help the Spaniards and Mexicans in the construction of the fort. This period also marks the beginning of the Zamboangueño Chavacano as a pidgin
Pidgin
A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a simplified language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups that do not have a language in common. It is most commonly employed in situations such as trade, or where both groups speak languages different from the language of the...
that eventually developed into a full-pledged creole language
Creole language
A creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable natural language developed from the mixing of parent languages; creoles differ from pidgins in that they have been nativized by children as their primary language, making them have features of natural languages that are normally missing from...
for Zamboangueño
Zamboangueño
People from other ethnic groups came to Zamboanga City when the construction of the present-day Fort Pilar begun. The colonial Spanish government ordered the construction of a military fort to guard off the city from pirates and slave raiders of Sulu. Laborers from Cebu, Cavite, Bohol, Panay and...
s.
Early attacks
Fort Pilar was attacked by the Dutch in 1646 and was later abandoned by the Spanish troops who went back to ManilaManila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
in 1662 to help fight the Chinese pirate Koxinga
Koxinga
Koxinga is the customary Western spelling of the popular appellation of Zheng Chenggong , a military leader who was born in 1624 in Hirado, Japan to Zheng Zhilong, a Chinese merchant/pirate, and his Japanese wife and died in 1662 on the island of Formosa .A Ming loyalist and the arch commander of...
who had earlier defeated the Dutch
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
. In 1669, the fort was reconstructed by the Jesuit missionaries after pirates and raiders continued to destroy it.
In 1718-1719, it was rebuilt by the Spaniard engineer Juan Sicarra upon the orders of Spanish Governor General Fernando Manuel de Bustillo Bustamante y Rueda and was renamed as Real Fuerza de Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Zaragoza (Royal Fort of Our Lady of the Pillar of Zaragoza) in honor of the patron virgin of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Our Lady of the Pillar. A year after, it was stormed by Dalasi, king of Bulig and 3,000 Moro pirates but they were repulsed.
In 1798, the fort was bombarded by British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
troops, but again it proved robust enough to repeal strong military attacks. Fort Pilar was the scene of a mutiny of 70 prisoners in 1872.
Marian apparitions
It was in 1734, when a reliefRelief
Relief is a sculptural technique. The term relief is from the Latin verb levo, to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is thus to give the impression that the sculpted material has been raised above the background plane...
of the Our Lady of the Pillar was placed above the eastern wall of the fort making it an outdoor shrine with an altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
for praying. Tradition reveals the Virgin Mary appeared to a soldier on December 6, 1734, at the gate of the city. Not recognizing her, the soldier asked her to stop. Upon recognizing her, he fell down to his knees.
On September 21, 1897 at 1:14 PM in the afternoon, a strong earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
struck the western region of Mindanao. The Virgin Mary made an apparition, according to the people who witnessed it, they saw the virgin standing mid-air over the Basilan Strait, she had her right hand raised to signal the onrushing waves to stop, saving the city from a tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
.
American Colonial Period
Following the Spanish-American WarSpanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
, the Fort Pilar and its Spanish troops surrendered to the Revolutionary Government of Zamboanga
Republic of Zamboanga
The Republic of Zamboanga was a short-lived revolutionary republic, founded after the collapse of Spanish colonial rule in Zamboanga in 1899.-End of Spanish Occupation:...
on May 18, 1899, under General Vicente Álvarez
Vicente Alvarez
General Vicente Alvarez is a Philippine revolutionary general who led the revolution in Zamboanga which forced the last Spanish troops stationed there to flee from the Philippines.-Early life:...
, a Zamboangueño, at the onset of the Philippine Revolution
Philippine Revolution
The Philippine Revolution , called the "Tagalog War" by the Spanish, was an armed military conflict between the people of the Philippines and the Spanish colonial authorities which resulted in the secession of the Philippine Islands from the Spanish Empire.The Philippine Revolution began in August...
against Spain. The Spaniards, in reality, again abandoned the fort after Spain ceded the Philippines to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
a year before in 1898 by the Treaty of Paris
Treaty of Paris (1898)
The Treaty of Paris of 1898 was signed on December 10, 1898, at the end of the Spanish-American War, and came into effect on April 11, 1899, when the ratifications were exchanged....
. On November 19, 1899, the fort was captured by U.S. expeditionary forces.
World War II
During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in 1942, Japanese forces captured and took control of the fort. It was recaptured by the United States and Filipino troops on March 1945 and was finally and officially turned over to the government of the Republic of the Philippines on July 4, 1946.
Restoration of the Fort
Fort Pilar was recognized as a National Cultural Treasure on August 1, 1973 by Presidential Decree No. 260. The fort though have been in disrepair since World War II. Restoration was started in the early part of 1980 by the National Museum of the PhilippinesNational Museum of the Philippines
The Museum of the Filipino People is a department of the National Museum of the Philippines that houses the Anthropology and Archaeology Divisions of the National Museum. It is located in the Agrifina Circle, Rizal Park, Manila adjacent to the main National Museum building...
, which reconstructed three of the four structure inside the fort. After six years of rehabilitation work, the museum branch opened its door to the public with a special exhibit on Philippine Contemporary Art.
In October 1987, a permanent exhibit on the marine life of Zamboanga
Zamboanga Peninsula
Zamboanga Peninsula / Western Mindanao is a peninsula and an administrative region in the Philippines. Designated as Region IX, the region consists of three provinces, namely, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, and Zamboanga Sibugay, its component cities of Dipolog, Dapitan, Pagadian, and...
, Basilan
Basilan
The Province of Basilan is an island province of the Philippines within the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao . Basilan is the largest and northernmost of the major islands of the Sulu Archipelago and is located just off the southern coast of Zamboanga Peninsula...
and Sulu
Sulu
Sulu is an autonomous island province of the Philippines located in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao . Its capital is Jolo and occupies the middle group of islands of the Sulu Archipelago, between Basilan and Tawi-Tawi...
was opened at the second floor of Structure II showing 400 species of marine life specimens in giant diorama
Diorama
The word diorama can either refer to a nineteenth century mobile theatre device, or, in modern usage, a three-dimensional full-size or miniature model, sometimes enclosed in a glass showcase for a museum...
s. Also opened was a special exhibit on the 18th century relics from the Griffin Shipwreck
Shipwreck
A shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....
at the ground floor, which coincided with the formal inauguration of the structure.
Former congresswoman and Zamboanga City Mayor Maria Clara Lobregat
Maria Clara Lobregat
María Clara Rafols Lorenzo Lobregat was a Filipina politician from Zamboanga City, where she served as its first woman mayor and also a representative to the Philippine Congress.-Early life:...
, one of the staunch supporters of Fort Pilar Museum, and the civic-minded residents of the city greatly contributed to the realization of development projects in the museum.
Fort Pilar today
Fort Pilar is now an outdoor Roman Catholic Marian shrine and a regional branch of the National Museum of the PhilippinesNational Museum of the Philippines
The Museum of the Filipino People is a department of the National Museum of the Philippines that houses the Anthropology and Archaeology Divisions of the National Museum. It is located in the Agrifina Circle, Rizal Park, Manila adjacent to the main National Museum building...
. Inside the fort, only the southern structure is still in ruins; inside and outside the fort are well maintained gardens. The Paseo del Mar, a reclaimed esplanade
Esplanade
An esplanade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The original meaning of esplanade was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide clear fields of fire for the fortress' guns...
, protects the fort from the ravages of the sea.