Geographical account of Cebu by the Golden Book of Cebu (1937)

This is how the Golden Book of Cebu published in 1937 narrated the birth of Cebu including the famous Battle of Tres de Abril:

"The province extends approximately from 10 degrees, 55' to 11 degrees 14' parallels of North Latitude and lies between 123 degrees and 124 degrees meridians of East Longitude. In kilometers the area of the province is 4,820 square kilometers (1,867 square miles). The inland soil is mostly rocky and is devoted to the raising of coconut, maguey and corn; while tobacco and sugar cane are being raised in the coastal plains. There are, all in all, 51 municipalities and one city.

"The enactment of the Becerra Law of 1889 converted Cebu and other large provincial capitals of the Philippine Islands into municipal corporations patterned after those in Spain, thus making Cebu an Ayuntamiento or Chartered City with an appointive mayor and appointive municipal council or board. When the Americans came to Cebu the present building that houses the municipal government still bore the name of 'Ayuntamiento'.

"Fort San Pedro and the Spanish village were began by Legaspi on May 8, 1565. It was built for the purpose of providing protection against the invasions from the Moros who live on the island of Mindanao and adhere to the Mohammedan faith. Very frequently by the Christian Filipinos had to seek refuge behind these walls from the dangers of the Moro kris.

"Cebu joined the revolution on April 3, 1898, under the leadership of General Pantaleon Villegas, popularly known as Don Leon Kilat. For a short time Cebu fell into the hands of the revolutionists but the reinforcement of the soldiers from Iloilo and other provinces and the assassination of Don Leon Kilat conspired to bring about the weakening and collapse of the revolutionary movement. However, Cebu was able to set up its revolutionary government under Aguinaldo's Republic under the presidency of Don Luis Flores. The existence of Don Luis Flores' government was ephemeral in view of the coming of the Americans that conquered the city.

"There is much beauty and historical interest in Cebu. Relics of the old and ancient Cebu still abound in glaring contrast with those of the new and modern Cebu, all but compelling a comparison of the dead past with the living present. In the old Cebu we gaze with awe at things reminiscent of old Spain, such as the historical monument of Magellan on Mactan Island and that of Legaspi in the city's Plaza Independencia (La Liberty Square), the old Fort San Pedro on the waterfront which still retains much of the character and charm of the old stone battlements and walls that made up the Spanish settlement of Legaspi, the Colon street, the oldest thoroughfare in the Philippines."