Cebu
(2000 est. island pop. 2.4 million; est. city pop. 718,000), City and island in the Philippines. The oldest city in the Philippines, Cebu City (the capital of Cebu province, on the east coast of Cebu Island) is the third-largest metropolis in the country and the major city in the southern Philippines. Cebu Island lies in the central Philippine archipelago, surrounded by the Bohol Strait in the southeast, the Tanon Strait in the west, the Visayan Sea in the north, and the Camotes Sea in the east. The island is approximately 196 kilometers long and 32 kilometers wide, with a land area of 4,422 square kilometers. Overpopulated, the island suffers from environmental degradation because of the dense population.
According to historical records, the island hosted the first European settlements in the Philippine archipelago. Ferdinand Magellan (c. 1480–1521), the Portuguese explorer, landed on Cebu on 7 April 1521 in the course of discovering the Philippines (he was later killed at nearby Mactan Island). An Italian traveling with Magellan, Antonio Pigafetta (1491–1534?), in an account of his experiences on the voyage, wrote that he saw ships from Siam, China, and Arabia at Cebu when the Portuguese sailed into the port; thus the city was already an important settlement before the Europeans arrived.
Miguel López de Legazpi (c. 1510–1570) founded the first Spanish settlement and Catholic mission on the island on 27 April 1565. Cebu City remained the capital of the Spanish possessions in the Philippines until 1571, when Manila on Luzon Island became the main administrative center. In Cebu City are the oldest church in the Philippines, the Basilica Minor del Santo Nino, in front of which is the cross that Magellan erected for the first Mass celebrated in the Philippines; the oldest school—San Carlos, founded in 1595; and the oldest street—Colon.
Today, Cebu City is an important economic center not only for Cebu Island but for the Visaya Islands and Mindanao as well. Cebu Island's economy includes agriculture, mining (coal, copper, limestone, silver), and small-scale manufacturing, such as food processing, textile, footwear, and furniture. Cebu City is also the educational center of the southern Philippines, with several major universities and colleges. The city has an international airport, and the port has maintained its international importance through the centuries.
Rafis Abazov
Further Reading
Fenner, Bruce Leonard. (1985) Cebu under the Spanish Flag, 1521–1896: An Economic-Social History. Cebu City, Philippines: San Carlos Publications, University of San Carlos.
Steinberg, David J. (1994) The Philippines. 3d ed. Boulder, CO: Westview.
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