History
DAVAO- Is known to be the largest city in the world in terms of land areas with 2,443.61 square kilometers. It’s one of the most visited city of the Philippines; like Manila in Luzon & Cebu in Visayas, where Davao is situated in Mindanao. The ever famous Mount Apo, famed to be the 2nd highest peak in the world, where lots of hikers and trekkers found it to be their favorite destination. and the Durian fruit, many said it smells like hell but tastes like heaven.
Davao, was coined from the words Davoh, Duhwow, Davau, davoh, where the three Bagobo subgroups the aboriginal Obos, the Clatta or Guiangans, and the Tagabawa Bagobos used them to describe the Davao river, when asked where they were going, the usual reply is davoh, while pointing towards the direction of the place. Duhwow which also refers to a trading settlement where they barter their forest goods in exchange for salt or other commodities, that’s why the famous street TRADING, which is located somewhere in Boulevard, where actually the first trading of goods happened.
It was in 1848 that a Spaniard Don Jose Uyanguren, helps spread Christianity in the swamp area of mangrove, popularly known now as Bolton Riverside, after having defeated Datu Bago and its troops from a battle. He then renamed the region Nueva Guipúzcoa, in honor of his home in Spain, and became its first governor. Developed private farm ownership grew and transportation and communication facilities were improved, it was after a few years the American forces conquered the area in 1990.
Kichisaburo Ohta, A Japanese entrepreneur who was granted a permit to take advantage with the vast of land to become an abaca and coconut plantations. It was 1903 that the first Japanese workers came. While creating a little Japan here, they manage to have their own school, newspapers, an embassy, and even a Shinto Shrine. They established extensive abaca plantations around the shores of Davao Gulf and developed large-scale commercial interests such as copra, timber, fishing and import-export trading. Filipinos learned the techniques of improved cultivation from the Japanese and agriculture became the lifeblood of the province’s economic prosperity.
Because of the increasing influence of the Japanese in the trade and economy of region, on March 16, 1936, Romualdo Quimpo, the congressman from Davao filed Bill no. 609 and was subsequently passed as Commonwealth Act no. 51 creating the City of Davao from the Town of Davao (Mayo) and the Guianga District. The bill further called for appointments of the local officials from the President.[2]
Davao was formally inaugurated as a chartered city on October 16, 1936, by President Manuel L. Quezon.The City of Davao then became the Provincial capital of the then undivided Davao Province. Davao officially became a city in 1937.
On December 8, 1941 Japanese planes bombed the city. Japanese occupation started in 1942.
In 1945, American and the Philippine Commonwealth forces liberated Davao City from Japanese forces.
Thirty years later, in 1967, the Province of Davao was subdivided into three independent provinces, namely Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, and Davao Oriental. The City of Davao was grouped with Davao del Sur and was no longer the capital. However, it became a center of trade for Southern Mindanao. Over the years, Davao has become an ethnic melting pot as it continues to draw migrants from all over the country, lured by the prospects of striking it rich in the country’s third largest city.
In 1970′s to present, Davao became the Regional Capital of Southern Mindanao and with the recent reorganization, became the regional capital of the Davao Region (Region XI).
reference: wikipedia.com
