San Juan (City of San Juan)
The city is known historically for the site of the first battle of the Katipunan, the organization which led the 1896 Philippine Revolution against the Spanish Empire. Notable landmarks today such as Pinaglabanan Shrine and heritage homes are located in the city. Other locations include Greenhills and Santolan Town Plaza, making the city a major shopping hub with a range of upscale, boutique and bargain retail.
"San Juan" is a contraction of the city's traditional name of "San Juan del Monte". As with numerous other places in the Philippines, the name combines a patron saint and a toponym; in this case Saint John the Baptist with the locale's hilly terrain and relatively higher elevation compared to surrounding areas.
The city's official name is "Dakilang Lungsód ng San Juan".
Map - San Juan (City of San Juan)
Map
Country - Philippines
Flag of the Philippines |
Negritos, some of the archipelago's earliest inhabitants, were followed by successive waves of Austronesian peoples. Adoption of animism, Hinduism and Islam established island-kingdoms called Kedatuan, Rajahnates, and Sultanates. The arrival of Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese explorer leading a fleet for Spain, marked the beginning of Spanish colonization. In 1543, Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos named the archipelago Las Islas Filipinas in honor of Philip II of Spain. Spanish settlement through Mexico, beginning in 1565, led to the Philippines becoming ruled by the Spanish Empire for more than 300 years. During this time, Catholicism became the dominant religion, and Manila became the western hub of trans-Pacific trade. In 1896, the Philippine Revolution began, which then became entwined with the 1898 Spanish–American War. Spain ceded the territory to the United States, while Filipino revolutionaries declared the First Philippine Republic. The ensuing Philippine–American War ended with the United States establishing control over the territory, which they maintained until the Japanese invasion of the islands during World War II. Following liberation, the Philippines became independent in 1946. Since then, the unitary sovereign state has often had a tumultuous experience with democracy, which included the overthrow of a decades-long dictatorship by a nonviolent revolution.
Currency / Language
ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
---|---|---|---|
PHP | Philippine peso | ₱ | 2 |
ISO | Language |
---|---|
EN | English language |
TL | Tagalog language |