Cebu

To the west of Cebu is the island of Negros, to the east is Leyte and to the southeast is Bohol province.

Cebu is one of the most developed provinces in the country. The metropolitan area of Cebu city (which includes Mandaue City[?] and Lapu-Lapu City[?] is second only to Metro Manila in population.

People and Culture

Economy

Geography

Political

Cebu is subdivided into 47 municipalities and 6 cities.

Cities

• Cebu City[?]
• Danao City[?]
• Lapu-Lapu City[?]
• Mandaue City[?]
• Talisay City[?]
• Toledo City[?]

Municipalities

Physical

History

Before the arrival of the Spanish, Cebu, known as Zebu or Zubu, was a thriving fishing village and a busy trading post, with trade routes to China, Siam, Arabia as well as nearby Malay islands.

In 1521, Ferdinand Magellan reached the Philippine islands and eventually landed on Mactan Island[?] where he died fighting the natives under Lapu-Lapu[?].

44 years later, in April 1565, Miguel López de Legaspi together with Fray Andres de Urdaneta[?] that the Spanish succeeded in colonizing the islands. Legaspi bombarded the palisades of Rajah Tupas and destroyed the village and called it Villa del Santisimo Nombre de Jesus and became the first Spanish city established by the Spanish Cortes in 1571. Three centuries later, on April 1898 marked the end of the Spanish era and the onset of the American regime. Thus, Cebu became a municipality on the year 1901. Then again, the Filipinos struggled for independence from the American dominance and Cebu turned into a chartered city on February 24, 1937.

Cebu, being the most densely populated island in the country, served as a vital Japanese base during the Japanese occupation in World War II which began with the landing of the Japanese Imperial Army[?] on April 1942. Three years later on March 1945, an American force landed and liberated the city from the Japanese.

External Links

• Official Website of the Provincial Government of Cebu
  http://www.cebu.gov.ph
• Official Website of the City Government of Cebu City
  http://www.cebucity.gov.ph