The City of Iloilo is described elsewhere, page 64.
Haciendas and Sugar Centrals THE ISLAND OF NEGROS.—This island is divided into two provinces—Occidental Negros and Oriental Negros. Occidental Negros is about three hours’ ride by boat from the City of Iloilo. It is the most important sugar producing district in the Philippines. About 75 per cent of all the exported sugar comes from this province. Bacolod, Bago, Talisay, San Carlos, Binalbagan, and La Carlota are the centers of the sugar industry. There are about 518 haciendas and about half a dozen sugar centrals in actual operation. The sugar centrals are well worth the visit and the traveler should not miss them. Other principal places of interest are Mount Canlaon, an active volcano and the Mambucal Hot Springs, which is recommended by medical authorities.
The trip to Oriental Negros has to be made direct from Manila, although there are boats from Cebu and Iloilo calling occasionally at Dumaguete, the capital.
Silliman Institute The principal points of interest in Dumaguete are the old watch-tower on the plaza, built to guard against surprise by piratical Moro fleets, and the buildings of the Silliman Institute. This latter is a high-grade Protestant endowed school, with preparatory, classical, and industrial departments; in it are enrolled some 500 students, representing a wide range of localities. It was founded in 1901 with a gift of Dr. Horace B. Silliman, of New York, and is now maintained by the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions. The buildings are located on the beach, about five minutes’ walk from the central part of the town.
Other Places of Interest There are a few other places of some interest within a moderate distance of Dumaguete. Among these are some hot springs, about 6 kilometers (about 4 miles) west of the town. There is a fairly good horse trail to within a few minutes’ walk of them, and the scenery along the route is picturesque. Of more interest is the active Volcano of Magaso, which lies 14 kilometers to the south. It is accessible by a good trail; and a horse can be ridden to the top of the crater. The descent into the latter is not difficult.
CEBU PROVINCE.—The Island of Cebu which is co-extensive with the province of that name was discovered by Magellan on April 7, 1521. The town was then under the rule of Raja Humabon, a powerful chief who had eight subordinate chieftains and a force of some two thousand warriors under him. Magellan made friends with Humabon and succeeded in baptizing him, his wife, and as many as eight hundred of his men. Magellan also endeavored to bring the people of Mactan under Spanish influence. In this attempt, he was killed while engaged in battle with the people of Opon who were then under Chief Lapulapu.
Magellan Monument, Mactan Island
First Spanish Settlement Forty-four years after Magellan’s time, Legaspi occupied the town of Cebu which was then under the rule of Tupas. Here Legaspi founded the first Spanish settlement in the Philippines which he called San Miguel. The town, which was planned in the shape of a triangle, was defended on the land side by a palisade and on the two sides facing the sea by artillery. The name of the town was later changed to the City of the Most Holy Name of Jesus “in honor of an image of the Child Jesus which a soldier had found in one of the houses.”
The establishment of the Spanish settlement in Cebu brought to this island the Portuguese who then disputed the ownership of the Archipelago. In 1566, 1568, and 1570, Portuguese expeditionary forces were sent to Cebu to drive away the Spaniards. First in 1568 and again in 1570, the Portuguese blockaded Cebu, but in both cases the blockade resulted in a failure.