Remnants of Spanish era commerce in Malabon

(an article from My Malabon Blogspot)

The day that we discovered the Rivera House, we also found remnants of
two industries that thrived in Malabon and underscored the town's
importance during the Spanish era.

LA PRINCESA TABACALERA

In 1782 Governor General Jose Basco y Vargas launched an economic

program which came to be known as the Tobacco Monopoly, in which
tobacco production in the Philippines would be totally controlled by the
government.  The Spaniards, according to Karl J. Pelzer, were determined
to use the monopoly to ease the financial burden on the Spanish Crown due
to its overseas holdings in the Philippines.

Through a royal decree, some "pueblos" (or towns) like Ilocos and Cagayan
were designated as tobacco districts where tobacco planting was
compulsory, and factories were put up in Manila and its vicinity for the
manufacture of cigars and cigarettes.

The biggest cigar and cigarette factory complex in the islands was located in
Barrio Hulo, Malabon.  Known as FABRICA NG PRINCESA to Malabon
outsiders but as Fabrica ng Hari and/or Fabrica ng Reina to locals, the
compound was about 40,000 square meters in area, and at one time during
the height of the tobacco monopoly accommodated as many as 10,000
workers.

It was bounded by General Luna Street in the east, by the Tanza River in
the northwest, and by Women's Club Street in the south.
The tobacco monopoly was a big success and contributed to the islands'
progress.  However, it eventually became a source of smuggling and
corruption among the Spaniards and revenue collection became smaller
every year, that the King decided to abolish it in 1882.
THE MALABON SUGAR COMPANY

Established in 1857 in the island of Tanza, the MALABON SUGAR

COMPANY processed sugar cane grown in Pampanga and Bulacan by
Malabon landowners.  The company may be said to have been the pioneer
in the refined sugar industry, and was instrumental in the growth of the
refined sugar market since 1878.

Large one-story buildings with tiled roofing called "palduhans"

(warehouses) were located along the banks of the Malabon-Navotas River. 
In these palduhans, the sugar cane was squeezed of its juices, the molasses
drained, and the remaining crystallized sugar grains later refined into
white, export-quality sugar in earthen receptacles called "pilones." 
Afterwards the sugar was loaded on "cascos" (wooden rafts) and bamboo-
poled along riverbanks and esteros to nearby Manila.

The MALABON SUGAR COMPANY's location at the junction of the 

Dampalit/Navotas Rivers made it accessible by water to and from Manila. 
By land, however, it could only be reached through a bridge built from
Malabon.  When Malabon and Navotas were split up in 1859, it became a
part of Navotas.  But the original name was retained, and it became one of
the biggest sugar refineries in the islands.