Amadeo, officially the Municipality of Amadeo (), is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Cavite Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite (; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region. On the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest of Manila, i ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 41,901 people.

Etymology

The town got its name after King

Amadeo I of Spain Amadeo I (; 30 May 184518 January 1890), also known as Amadeus, was an Italian prince who reigned as King of Spain from 1870 to 1873. The only king of Spain to come from the House of Savoy, he was the second son of Victor Emmanuel II of Italy a ...

, the only Spanish king from the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

House of Savoy The House of Savoy (, ) is a royal house (formally a dynasty) of Franco-Italian origin that was established in 1003 in the historical region of Savoy, which was originally part of the Kingdom of Burgundy and now lies mostly within southeastern F ...

. The town was previously known as Masilao (from Tagalog ''masilaw'', "dazzling"), referenced to the glaring red flowers of the ''dapdap'' plant ('' Erythrina variegata'') common in the area.

History

Amadeo traces its origin to a barangay of Silang named Masilaw. It was separated to become an independent town named Amadeo on July 15, 1872, care of

Governor-General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

Rafael Izquierdo y Gutiérrez Rafael may refer to: * Rafael (given name) or Raphael, a name of Hebrew origin * Rafael, California Fiction * ''Rafael'' (TV series), a Mexican telenovela * ''Rafaël'' (film), a 2018 Dutch film People * Rafael (footballer, born 1978) ( ...

. It initially consisted of eight barangays, all formerly of Silang town: Halang, Pangil, Banaybanay, Bukal, Maitim, Minantok, Salaban, and Talon. During its first 21 years, revolutionists gave it the Tagalog name of ''Maypag-ibig'' (), in line with the revolutionary policy of giving native names to towns with foreign names to eliminate signs of the country's colonial past. On October 15, 1903, it was returned to Silang by virtue of Act No. 947, as the Provincial Executive was displeased of how Amadeo was governed. It regained its independent status in January 1915 under Cavite Governor

Antero Soriano Antero Sosa Soriano (January 3, 1886 – June 15, 1929) was a Filipino lawyer and politician from Tanza, Cavite, who had served as congressman, senator, and governor of Cavite. Early life Antero Soriano was born in Santa Cruz de Malabon (pr ...

. Previously composed of 13 barrios, 12 additional barangays, all in the ''poblacion'', were established in 1972 by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 86. In 1985, Minatok was divided into two barangays, Minatok Silangan and Minatok Kanluran, following a plebiscite. On February 15, 1989, Mayor Jeremias Villanueva and his security man Virgilio Lascano were assassinated by three gunmen riding a vehicle in front of his rented townhouse in

Las Piñas Las Piñas (, officially the City of Las Piñas (), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of ...

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila ( ), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; ), is the capital region and largest List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines, metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located ...

. Four suspects, including a Manila policeman from Amadeo, were later captured in

Parañaque Parañaque, officially the City of Parañaque (, ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of ...

a month later on March 16, and by next day, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) confirmed that the assassination was ordered by Villanueva's political rival, former Mayor Reynaldo Bayot.

Geography

Barangays

Amadeo is politically subdivided into 26

barangay The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...

s, as indicated in the matrix below. Each barangay consists of

purok A ''purok'' () is an informal division within a barangay in the Philippines. While not officially considered a local government unit (LGU), a ''purok'' often serves as a unit for delivering services and administration within a barangay. ''Pur ...

s and some have

sitios A ''sitio'' (Spanish language, Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own bar ...

. Currently, there are 12 barangays which are classified as urban.

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Amadeo, was 41,901 people, with a density of .

Economy

Amadeo is renowned as the "Coffee Capital of the Philippines." Agriculture, especially

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

cultivation that started in the 1880s, plays a pivotal role in the town's economy. In 2022, Amadeo reported a revenue of .

Culture

Amadeo is best known for its Pahimis Festival, which showcases the town's coffee industry. It is usually held on the last weekend of February and its town fiesta is held on the last Sunday of April.

References

External links

*
Pahimis Festival
* Philippine Standard Geographic Codebr>Philippine Census Information
{{Authority control 1872 establishments in the Philippines Populated places established in 1872 Municipalities of Cavite Amadeo I of Spain