The City of Magellan - A geographical account of Cebu in the Golden Book of Cebu 1937

“The City of Cebu, also the capital of the province of the same name, is on Cebu island, 302 miles from Manila, 252 miles from Zamboanga, and 175 miles from Iloilo. It is the port of Eastern Visaya group of which Samar, Leyte, Cebu, Negros, Bohol, Panay, and Mindoro, are the largest islands. Its population is about 100,000. Cebu is an important port with an average of 10,000 vessels arriving and departing each year. The harbor is protected by the Island of Mactan which lies directly opposite the city.

“In ancient books Cebu is known as Zebu, Zubu, Subu and Sugbo. It has a prominent place in the history of the Philippines, of Spain and of the civilized world. It has been the cradle of Catholicism and European civilization in the Archipelago.

“Geographically, the province of Cebu comprises the main island of Cebu, and several other islands, the most important being Bantayan, Camotes, and Mactan. While there is no available data regarding the total area of the entire province, yet the area of the island of Cebu is known to be 1762 square miles, with an approximate area in hectares of 483,550 of which 428,300 hectares are agricultural lands and 220,000 hectares are still available for cultivation.

“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 sugarcane 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 Cities with an appointive mayor and appointive municipal council or board. When the Americans first came to Cebu the present building that houses the municipal government still bore the name of Ayuntamiento.

“Fort San Pedro and the Spanish villages 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 Muhammedan faith. Very frequently the Christian Filipinos had to seek refuge behind these walls from the dangers of the Moro kris.”