History
The City of Parañaque (Filipino: Lungsod ng Parañaque), or simply Parañaque, is one of the cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila in the Philippines. It has a population of 552,660 peaple as of 2007 Census
Due to its proximity to the sea, Parañaque is one of the major trade and business centres in the Philippines.
The name "Parañaque" is derived from the phrase "para na aque", which was commonly used in the past when people wished to disembark fromkalesas (horse-drawn carriages). The phrase literally means "stop now, boy": "para" from the Spanish ''parar' (to stop), "na" from the Tagalog word for "now" or "already," and "aque" from the Tagalog word for boy, 'lalaki". An alternative meaning of "para na aque" could be "stop here," with "aque" being derived from the Spanish 'aquí' ("here"). The phrase "para na aque" was used so often that it eventually evolved into a term pertaining to a place, thus, Parañaque.
According to tradition, it was when a Spanish soldier told the driver of his caruaje or horse-drawn carriage, to "Para aqui, para aqui!" ("Stop here, stop here!") that the name stuck. The driver, uncomprehending, kept on prodding his horse to go on while the soldier angrily repeated his instruction: "Para aqui, para aqui!" The incident spread around town and the locals, amused, began calling the place Parañaque.
Another tradition speaks of an imposing balete tree at the mouth of the Parañaque that looked like a boat sailing slowly and majestically, earning it the Tagalog nickname palanyag, a corruption of "palayag" which means "point of navigation". Further adulteration of the term resulted in "palanyaque" and later, Parañaque.
A historian believes the town's name may have come from the term "palañas" which means a "broad flat plain," a geographic description of the area. Other origins of the name are "palañac" (with no special meaning), "patanyag" ("popularity contest"), and "parañac", (a native term for the shell product that used to be the livelihood of the natives of the town at one time).
Whatever the correct origin of the name of Parañaque, the various terms strongly suggest the town's storied and mosaic past.
Due their proximity to the sea, the early Paraqueños traded with the Chinese, Japanese, Indonesians, Indians and Malays. Traditional livelihoods included salt-making, fishing, planting rice, shoemaking, slipper-making and weaving.
Parañaque was officially founded in 1572 by the Augustinian Missionaries from Spain. Early records began in 1580 when Fr. Diego de Espiñar, an Augustinian missionary, was appointed Prior of the town convent. As resident priest, he established the mission house there, with its spiritual jurisdiction reaching up to Kawit in the province of Cavite. The Council of the Definitors (a conference of chiefs of the religious orders) held on 11 May 1580 accepted Palanyag, as Parañaque was then known, as an independent town. The image of Palanyag's patroness, Nuestra Señora del Buen Suceso, was brought to St. Andrew's Church in La Huerta in 1580. Nuestra Señora del Buen Suceso is the third oldest Marian Image in the Philippines.
Early Spanish census dated 1591 to 1593 also mentioned Longalo (or Dongalo) and Parañaque as two villages along Manila Bay composed of some 800 tribute-payers. Politically, Dongalo and Parañaque were then under the Provincia de Tondo. The community was headed by <i<cabezas de barangay, a Westernized version of datus (chieftains), and the principalia, the local aristocrats, who together justified and moderated the demands of the Spanish colonizers. Education was limited to the principalia as they were the only ones who could afford it.
Historical accounts state that the town's strategic location enabled the townspeople to play an important role in Philippine history. Palanyag was located at the crossroads of Manila, between the provinces of Cavite and Batangas. In 1574 during the invasion of the town by the Chinese pirate Limahong, Parañaquenos, particularly those from Barangay Dongalo, heroically aided in preventing the attack in Manila. This incident became known as the "Red Sea Incident" due to the blood that flowed through the sacrifice of the people of barrio Sta. Monica. With the arrival of Spanish forces led by Captain Juan de Salcedo from Ilocos, Limahong was finally repulsed and the occupation of the town was prevented.
When the British invaded Manila in 1762, the townspeople once again remained loyal to the Spanish colonizers, especially the Augustinians. The invasion however showed that the Spaniards was not invincible and that their rule was not to be permanent. More than a hundred years later, this would prove to be true. During the Philippine Revolution of 1896-1898, the Spaniards realized that the town was a practical gateway to Cavite, the bastion of the revolutionary Katipuneros. Conversely, the Katipuneros based in Cavite saw the town as their gateway to Intramuros, the Spanish seat of government in Manila. Prominent Paraqueños such as Manuel Quiogue and secular priest Father Pedro Dandan became leading revolutionary figures.
Due to its proximity to the sea, Parañaque is one of the major trade and business centres in the Philippines.
The name "Parañaque" is derived from the phrase "para na aque", which was commonly used in the past when people wished to disembark fromkalesas (horse-drawn carriages). The phrase literally means "stop now, boy": "para" from the Spanish ''parar' (to stop), "na" from the Tagalog word for "now" or "already," and "aque" from the Tagalog word for boy, 'lalaki". An alternative meaning of "para na aque" could be "stop here," with "aque" being derived from the Spanish 'aquí' ("here"). The phrase "para na aque" was used so often that it eventually evolved into a term pertaining to a place, thus, Parañaque.
According to tradition, it was when a Spanish soldier told the driver of his caruaje or horse-drawn carriage, to "Para aqui, para aqui!" ("Stop here, stop here!") that the name stuck. The driver, uncomprehending, kept on prodding his horse to go on while the soldier angrily repeated his instruction: "Para aqui, para aqui!" The incident spread around town and the locals, amused, began calling the place Parañaque.
Another tradition speaks of an imposing balete tree at the mouth of the Parañaque that looked like a boat sailing slowly and majestically, earning it the Tagalog nickname palanyag, a corruption of "palayag" which means "point of navigation". Further adulteration of the term resulted in "palanyaque" and later, Parañaque.
A historian believes the town's name may have come from the term "palañas" which means a "broad flat plain," a geographic description of the area. Other origins of the name are "palañac" (with no special meaning), "patanyag" ("popularity contest"), and "parañac", (a native term for the shell product that used to be the livelihood of the natives of the town at one time).
Whatever the correct origin of the name of Parañaque, the various terms strongly suggest the town's storied and mosaic past.
Due their proximity to the sea, the early Paraqueños traded with the Chinese, Japanese, Indonesians, Indians and Malays. Traditional livelihoods included salt-making, fishing, planting rice, shoemaking, slipper-making and weaving.
Parañaque was officially founded in 1572 by the Augustinian Missionaries from Spain. Early records began in 1580 when Fr. Diego de Espiñar, an Augustinian missionary, was appointed Prior of the town convent. As resident priest, he established the mission house there, with its spiritual jurisdiction reaching up to Kawit in the province of Cavite. The Council of the Definitors (a conference of chiefs of the religious orders) held on 11 May 1580 accepted Palanyag, as Parañaque was then known, as an independent town. The image of Palanyag's patroness, Nuestra Señora del Buen Suceso, was brought to St. Andrew's Church in La Huerta in 1580. Nuestra Señora del Buen Suceso is the third oldest Marian Image in the Philippines.
Early Spanish census dated 1591 to 1593 also mentioned Longalo (or Dongalo) and Parañaque as two villages along Manila Bay composed of some 800 tribute-payers. Politically, Dongalo and Parañaque were then under the Provincia de Tondo. The community was headed by <i<cabezas de barangay, a Westernized version of datus (chieftains), and the principalia, the local aristocrats, who together justified and moderated the demands of the Spanish colonizers. Education was limited to the principalia as they were the only ones who could afford it.
Historical accounts state that the town's strategic location enabled the townspeople to play an important role in Philippine history. Palanyag was located at the crossroads of Manila, between the provinces of Cavite and Batangas. In 1574 during the invasion of the town by the Chinese pirate Limahong, Parañaquenos, particularly those from Barangay Dongalo, heroically aided in preventing the attack in Manila. This incident became known as the "Red Sea Incident" due to the blood that flowed through the sacrifice of the people of barrio Sta. Monica. With the arrival of Spanish forces led by Captain Juan de Salcedo from Ilocos, Limahong was finally repulsed and the occupation of the town was prevented.
When the British invaded Manila in 1762, the townspeople once again remained loyal to the Spanish colonizers, especially the Augustinians. The invasion however showed that the Spaniards was not invincible and that their rule was not to be permanent. More than a hundred years later, this would prove to be true. During the Philippine Revolution of 1896-1898, the Spaniards realized that the town was a practical gateway to Cavite, the bastion of the revolutionary Katipuneros. Conversely, the Katipuneros based in Cavite saw the town as their gateway to Intramuros, the Spanish seat of government in Manila. Prominent Paraqueños such as Manuel Quiogue and secular priest Father Pedro Dandan became leading revolutionary figures.