Brief Introduction

Fort Santiago is a citadel first build by Spanish conquistador, Miguel Lopez de

Legazpi for the new established city of Manila in the Philippines which is part of the
structures of the walled city of Manila referred to as Intramuros. Jose Rizal, our national
hero, was imprisoned here before his execution in 1896.

History & Description

Originally the site of a Muslim kingdom headed by Rajah Sulaiman, the area was
then destroyed and the Spaniards started building Fort Santiago (Fuerte de Santiago)
after the city of Manila under Spanish rule on June 24, 1571, and made Manila the
capital of the newly colonized islands.

The first fort was a structure of palm logs and earth (dirt) which was then
destroyed by Chinese pirates led by Limahong.

The construction of Fort Santiago with hard stone, together with the original
fortified walls of Intramuros, commenced in 1590 and finished in 1593 during the reign
of Gomez Perez Dasmariñas. The stones used were volcanic tuff quarried from
Guadalupe. The fort as Dasmariñas left it consisted of a castellated structure without
towers, trapezoidal in trace, its straight gray front projecting into the river mouth. Arches
supported an open gun platform above, named the battery of Santa Barbara, the patron
saint of all good artillerymen. These arches formed casemates which afforded a lower
tier of fire through embrasures. Curtain walls of simplest character, without counter forts
or interior buttresses, extended the flanks to a fourth front facing the city.

In 1714, the ornate gate of Fort Santiago was erected together with some military
barracks.[8] The Luzon earthquakes of 1880, which destroyed much of the city of
Manila, destroyed the front edifice of the fort changing its character.

During the leadership of Fernando Valdés y Tamon in the 1730s, a large

semicircular gun platform to the front called media naranja (half orange) and another of
lesser dimensions to the river flank were added to the Bastion of Santa Barbara. The
casemates were then filled in and embrasures closed. He also changed the curtain wall
facing city ward to a bastioned front. A lower parapet, bordering the interior moat,
connects the two bastions.

British occupation

On September 24, 1762, British forces led by Brigadier-General William Draper

and Rear-Admiral Samuel Cornish invaded and captured Manila, and along with it Fort
Santiago. It was during this time that the fort served as a base of operations for the
Royal Navy until April 1764 when they agreed to a ceasefire with the Spanish.

American colonial period

On August 13, 1898, the American flag was raised in Fort Santiago signifying the
start of the American rule in the Philippines. The fort served as the headquarters for the
U.S. Army and several changes were made to the fort by the Americans. One of these
changes included the draining of the moats surrounding the fort. The grounds were then
transformed into a golf course.

World War II
During World War II, Fort Santiago was captured by the Japanese Imperial Army,
and used its prisons and dungeons including the storage cells and gunpowder
magazines for hundreds of prisoners who were killed near the end of the war (see
Manila massacre).[10] The fort sustained heavy damage from American and Filipino
military mortar shells during the Battle of Manila in February 1945. Also, approximately
600 American prisoners of war died of suffocation or hunger after being held in
extremely tight quarters in the dungeons at Fort Santiago.

The Fort Today

Today, the fort, its bastions, and the prison dungeons for criminals used by the
Spanish officials, is now part of a historical park which also includes the Plaza Moriones
and several ruins. The park houses well-preserved legacies from the Spanish Colonial
Period including memorabilia of José Rizal at the Rizal Shrine, a replica of his ancestral
house in Laguna province.
Adaptive use of this famous historical landmark makes certain areas ideal for
open air theater, picnics, and as a promenade. The Intramuros Visitors center gives an
overview of the various attractions in the walled city.
After its destruction during WWII, Fort Santiago was declared as a Shrine of
Freedom in 1950. Its restoration by the Philippine government did not begin till 1953
under the hands of the National Parks Development Committee. The Intramuros
Administration now manages the reconstruction, maintenance, and management of the
fort since 1992.

In conclusion, Fort Santiago back in the day was a very scary place for Filipinos
because this is where they were tortured and executed during the war torn era many
people who entered never came out alive but is now a historical site, with connection to
Philippine History and Dr. Jose Rizal, beloved by Filipinos and other Tourist around the
world and we hope that it can be beloved by future generations to come.