CEBU

This article appears in Volume V05, Page 593 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: CAU-CHA

CEBU , a city and municipality, port of entry, and the

capital

CAPITAL (i.e. capital stock or fund)
CAPITAL (Lat. caput, head)

of the province of Cebu, island of Cebu, Philippine Islands, on the E. coast, a little N. of the centre. Pop. (1903) of the city proper, 18,330;. of the municipality, 31,079; in the same year, after the census enumeration, the neighbouring municipalities of Mabolo (pop. 1903, 8454) and El Pardo (pop. 6461) were added to the municipality of Cebu. The surrounding country, which is level and fertile, is traversed by several good carriage roads. The port, formed by the north-west shore of the island of Mactan, is well protected from violent winds, and in front of it stands a picturesque Spanish fort. The streets are wide and regularly laid out. The government buildings are fairly good, and the church buildings very fine. Cebu is an episcopal see, and the palace of the bishop, although small, is widely known for its interior decorations. The Augustinian church is famous for its so-called miraculous image of Santo Nino. The Recoleto monastery and the

seminary

SEMINARY (Lat. seminarium, from semen, seed)

of San Carlos are worthy of mention. The cathedral was finished toward the end of the eighteenth century. The San Jose

hospital

here was founded by one of the religious orders. There was a leper

hospital

in the outskirts of the city until 1906, when a leper colony was established on the island of

Cullen

. Commercially, Cebu is the second city of the Philippines. Hemp, tobacco, sugar and copra are the most important exports. In addition to the trade with foreign ports, an important domestic commerce is carried on with Manila, Bohol, Negros and northern Mindanao. Salt, pottery and fabrics of silk, sinamay, hemp and

cotton

are manufactured, and sugar sacks are woven in considerable quantity. The island of Cebu is known for its excellent mangoes and for the rare cornucopia-shaped sponges, called Venus's flower basket (Euplectella aspergillum), found here. Historically CeM1 is famous as the scene of

Magellan

MAGELLAN, FERDINAND (in Sp. FERNANDO MAGALLANES, in Port. FERNAO DE MAGALHAES) (c. 1480-152I)

's landing in 1521. A cross, said to be the one first erected by him, is still preserved in the cathedral. The

great

GREAT

explorer lost his life in the neighbouring island of Mactan; a monument marks the place where he was
killed. The first Spanish

settlement

SETTLEMENT
SETTLEMENT, ACT OF

in the Philippines was established at Cebu in 1565, and from that year to 1571 it was the

capital

CAPITAL (i.e. capital stock or fund)
CAPITAL (Lat. caput, head)

of the colony. The city is unincorporated. The language is Cebu-Visayan.

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