Fort San Pedro, also called Fuerza de la Nuestra Señora del Rosario, was a military defense structure in

Iloilo City Iloilo City, officially the City of Iloilo ( hil, Siyudad/Dakbanwa sang Iloilo; fil, Lungsod ng Iloilo), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines on the island of Panay. It is the capital city of t ...

, Philippines. It was built in 1602 by

Pedro Bravo de Acuña Pedro Bravo de Acuña (died June 24, 1606) was a Spanish military officer and colonial official in the New World and the Philippines. From 1602 to 1606 he was the eleventh governor of the Philippines. Early career and arrival in the Philippines ...

to protect the city from Moro and

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

attacks, and was completely destroyed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It was the second Spanish-built fort after the one in

Cebu Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 ...

(also

Fort San Pedro Fort San Pedro ( es, Fuerte de San Pedro) is a military defense structure in Cebu, Philippines, built by the Spanish under the command of Miguel López de Legazpi, first governor of the Captaincy General of the Philippines. It is located in ...

) in the Philippines and Asia.

History

Fort San Pedro, formerly called ''Fortificación de Nuestra Señora del Rosario en el Puerto de Yloylo, Provincia de Oton'', was first built out of wood in 1602 by

. It was renovated into a stone fort by Diego de Quiñones following the

attack in 1616, where he found the image of

Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Our Lady of the Rosary, also known as Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, is a Titles of Mary, Marian title. The Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, formerly known as Feast of Our Lady of Victory and Feast of the Holy Rosary is celebrated on 7 October in ...

, now enshrined at San Jose Church. On October 10, 1903, US President Theodore Roosevelt declared it and its adjoining areas as a military reservation. In 1936, President Manuel Quezon designated the fort as a Philippine Army Post. When

erupted, the Japanese Imperial army seized control and made it into a headquarters. In March 1945, combined forces from the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

and

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

bombed all Japanese installations in Iloilo and pulverized Fort San Pedro. Fort San Pedro, once a ruin, is now used as a park for recreation, outdoor dining, and drinking. Since 2015, there have been several proposals to reconstruct Fort San Pedro.

References

{{coord, 10, 41, 17, N, 122, 34, 48, E, type:landmark_region:PH, display=title Buildings and structures in Iloilo City Visayan history History of the Philippines (1565–1898) Spanish colonial infrastructure in the Philippines Spanish Colonial Fortifications of the Philippines Buildings and structures destroyed during World War II San Pedro Tourist attractions in Iloilo City

History

See also

References