TRADING HISTORY OF THE PORT OF MANILA AND ITS IMPACT TO POPULATION

GEOG 1 THV-1 Submitted by: JOLLY HOT GEOGS Submitted to: Maam Rocelyn De Vera

I. Pre-Spanish Period

The kingdom of ancient Tondo flourished with its trade with China during the Ming Dynasty. The kings territories stretched from Manila Bay to Laguna de Bay. Their capital in Sapa is called Santa Ana today. As early as the 9th Century, the Port of Manila had trade relations with China, Japan, India, and modern Malaysia and Indonesia. The Port of Manila also traded with Arab merchants. Built atop older towns, it was well fortified with a trading quarter on the Pasig River in the 13th Century. In the late 15th and early 16th Centuries, the Kingdom of Tondo's was attacked by Brunei in an attempt to destroy the Port of Manila's trade with China. Many people ruled over the port for many years, all of them trading with different countries. Impact to Trading There were conflicts because of pending wars that happened between rulers, however, the settlement of groups near the port somehow helped the trading. The most successful trading was between the port and the Chinese. Impact to Geography The presence of the port as trading area brought in more people around the area with the goal to either trade with others or to claim the port. Impact to Economy Trades with foreign countries flourished, however, the frequent wars downed the economy. Compared to the latter periods, the Pre-Spanish period of trading in the port is relatively low.

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II. Spanish Period

Trade in the Philippines centered around the Manila galleons, which sailed from Acapulco on the west coast of Mexico (New Spain) with shipments of silver bullion and minted coin that were exchanged for return cargoes of Chinese goods, mainly silk textiles and porcelain. There was no direct trade with Spain and little exploitation of indigenous natural resources thus; most investment was in the galleon trade. In 1834 the Royal Company of the Philippines was abolished, and free trade was formally recognized. With its excellent harbor, Manila became an open port for Asian, European, and North American traders. In 1873 additional ports were opened to foreign commerce, and by the late nineteenth century, three cropstobacco, abaca, and sugardominated Philippine exports.

Impact to Trading

With its excellent harbor, Manila became an open port for Asian, European, and North American traders. Trade served as the fundamental source of income for Spanish colonists in the Philippine Islands.

Impact to Geography

During the Galleon Trade, the Port of Manila was secured by building fortress against rebels. Trading during the Spanish era was vulnerable to several attacks that causes economic downturn.

Impact to Economy

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The galleon trade had a negative effect on economic development in the Philippines, since virtually all Spanish capital was devoted to speculation in Chinese goods.

III. American Period

The Port of Manila was originally located at the Pasig River. Ships, both for-local and for-international, docked at its mouth located at its northern bank in Binondo; and they could sail up to what is now called the Jones Bridge. During the American period, the port moved to Manila Bay, to serve larger ships. The old port is still in function today, as a docking place for barges.

Impact to Trading

On the one hand, there was more obvious commercialism in this period. The subjective land stealing, tactic, often employed by rich people to get land from poor farmers, was put into play. First, it started in the Spanish period, when the Spaniards gave enormous land properties to the Catholic Church. In 1904, the Americans redistributed the land by paying $7.2 M to the Vatican, but the small farmers or tenants didnt get any of their land back. It was because they couldnt pay, or they couldnt prove that they owned the land. On the other hand, with the Port of Manila now moved to Manila Bay, and its gaining of world recognition, it offered more positive effects on trading, due to it now serving larger and more vessels. We can say that American influence also helped the Philippines.

Impact to Geography

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The land issues can also be included in the geographical impact. Other than those, we can say that the move to Manila Bay made the Pasig River lose a great deal of function, hence its being derelict today.

Impact to Economy

The Philippine economy was rather dry, not because of its produce, but because of its lack of self. In this period, the economy was typical colonial. It was strongly related and extremely dependent to the United State. It was focused on mining and exporting crops, and there was not much industrial growth. But the American influence also helped, as before the Second World War broke out, the Philippines was said to have the second largest economy in Asia.

IV. Japanese Period

The Port of Manila was declared an open city on December 1941, American troops were also ordered to retreat hoping that the invading Japanese will spare the Port of Manila from destruction. The Japanese bombed the Port of Manila although. The Japanese Imperial army marched into the Port of Manila on January 2, 1942. The Japanese gave the leaders of Port of Manila three choices as to how they would be governed. The leaders of the Port of Manila chose government by commission selected by Filipinos and established the Philippine Executive Commission that would manage greater Manila; however, this was later extended to the whole Philippines.

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Impact to Trading After sometime, the port recovered from the destruction that happened during the bombing. There was no significant changes that happened in trading and they just continued what was started during the American Period. Impact to Geography The Battle of Manila, also known as the Liberation of Manila, fought from 3 February to 3 March 1945 by American, Filipino and Japanese forces, was part of the 1945 Philippine campaign. The one-month battle, which culminated in a terrible bloodbath and total devastation of the city, was the scene of the worst urban fighting in the Pacific theater, and ended almost three years of Japanese military occupation in the Philippines (19421945). The city's capture was marked as General Douglas MacArthur's key to victory in the campaign of reconquest. Impact to Economy Few studies have analyzed the Philippine economic experience during the Japanese occupation. Relying on limited relevant work to make an assessment of a discovered intelligence report on the wartime economy and relying on prewar and immediate postwar data on the economy, an effort is undertaken to estimate the impact of the occupation in terms of impact on the national output. Using intuitive knowledge based on the review of these sectors and employing conservative assumptions about the Philippine economy, the national output at the end of the war was found to be at least 30 percent of the level of the prewar output. In effect, total output in 1945 was 70 percent lower than that of 1940. Going to the estimate of the war damage in today's current terms, the economic loss (not including human, of course) suffered during the war was equivalent to 13 percent of the current GDP. Translating this to the output of 1940 on the very conservative assumption that there was no growth of per capita output over the years, the economic loss from the war was 62 per-

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cent of the GDP of 1940. Since the economic damage to capital happened over time as the war went on, these estimates conform to the assessment that Philippine GDP in 1945 at the end of the war was close to 30 percent of the output of 1940.

V. Marcos Era

After the World War II, a huge effort went to the rehabilitation of Manila. Philippines were given economic aid given by the Americans. During the Martial Law, then-President Ferdinand Marcos attracted many foreign investors by enacting tax incentives for them. Because of this, the Philippines Gross National Product increased. The Philippine economy focused on trading surpluses with foreigners.

Impact to Trading

Trading, after World War II and during Martial Law, became a huge part of the economy of the Philippines. Due to the increase of trading during Martial Law, the Philippine government established the Philippine Port Authority to supervise the port trading in the Philippines through Presidential Decree No. 857.

Impact to Geography

The increase of trading transaction in the port of manila forced its expansion. Through Executive Nos. 297 and 857, signed by then-President Marcos, Vitas Area, Tondo became part of Port of Manila. And then-President Corry Aquino signed Executive Order No. 321, expanding the Port of Manila eastward to the Bonifacio Drive.

Impact to Economy
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In terms of the effect of trading to the economy, trading helped boost the economic standing of the Philippines. But due to the debts the Philippine had, the economy had a setback. Trading alone, it has a rating of 9.

VI. 21st Century

Sea transport is an important means of delivering domestic and/or imported foods from an island to another since Philippines is a maritime nation. Mainstream of products and materials exported and imported to and from this country comes thru maritime exchanges. The revolution of Port of Manila has been very important in the eyes of exports from being the needed trading country during Galleon Trade, to Trade center of the Pacific before World War II.

Philippines Manila Port Souths border is todays foremost portal to international commerce and one of the maritime-hub in Asia-Pacific region (And was anticipated to be the alternative maritime region to Hong Kong and Singapore).

[This Article is excerpted from the Electronic book (E Book) of http://countrystudies.us/philippines/.]

Colonial income derived mainly from entrept trade: The "Manila galleons" sailing from Acapulco on the west coast of Mexico brought shipments of silver bullion and minted coin that were exchanged for return cargoes of Chinese goods, mainly silk textiles. There was no direct trade with Spain. Failure to exploit indigenous natural resources and investment of virtually all-official, private, and church capital in the galleon trade were mutually

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reinforcing tendencies. Loss or capture of the galleons or Chinese junks en route to Manila represented a financial disaster for the colony.

Philippine trading systems can be traced back up since the early times. Trade became more complex then with the surge of Chinese porcelains during the Sung dynasty and Ming dynasty. One often relate the rise of chiefdoms to the rise of pottery, metal objects and other status goods are all over the country through trade networks. (Junker)

One example of these trading areas is San Jose in Palawan. Once a virgin forest, in just a span of 50 years, the place was converted to a place more inviting for trading and commerce. These changes brought upon economic development to the people living on that area. (Eder)

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-. Economy - Martial Law and Its Aftermath. Country Studies. http://www.country-studies.com/philippines/economy---martial-law-and-its-aftermath.html

-. Retrieved September 5, 2012. From, http://www.philippines.hvu.nl/history3.htm. 3. Website

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-. Port of Manila. World Port Source. Retrieved September 5, 2012. From http://www.worldportsource.com/ports/review/PHL_Port_of_Manila_1947.php.

Eder, James. A Generation Later: Household Strategies and Economic Change in the Rural Philippines. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1999. 191 pp.

De San Francisco, Muelle. (2009). Featured Port: The Manila South Border. Pinoy Shipspotter Blog. Retrieved September 4, 2012, from http://mcgutib.wordpress.com/2009/06/27/featured-ports-pmo-south-harbor/.

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Dolan, Ronald, ed. Philippines: A Country Study: The Early Spanish Period. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1991 [Electronic Version]. Retrieved September 5, 2012, from http://countrystudies.us/philippines/4.htm

Junker, Laura Lee. Raiding, Trading, and Feasting: The Political Economy of Philippine Chiefdoms. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1999. 477 pp.

Lowry, Malcolm. Vice Admiral Gordon Campbell VC, DSO. Gutters of the Past. http://guttedarcades.blogspot.com/2012_08_01_archive.html

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