Philippines — Fort Santiago and Reducto de San Pedro, Manila, Philippines
Exploring the fort
January 2016
Fort Santiago
There was a charge to get in, and it was worth paying.
Fort Santiago is one of the oldest fortifications in Manila and has an interesting history.
The fort was built in 1571 on the site of the native settlement of Raia Soliman.
The first fort was a palisaded structure of logs and earth. And the Limahong attack in 1574 destroyed the fort.
A stone fort was built between 1589 and 1592 and damaged in the 1645 earthquake — the same earthquake that destroyed the third cathedral.
Between 1658 and 1663, the fort was repaired and strengthened.
From 1762 to 1764, the fort was the headquarters of the British occupation army and was repaired and renovated again in 1778.
The fort contains the Postigo de la Nuestra Señora Del Soledad (Postern of our Lady of Solitude), used to get to the Pasig River.
When the British captured Manila in 1762, Lieutenant Governor-General Simon de Anda escaped via the gate with part of the…
