Manila is the chief seaport, the largest city, and the capital of the Philippines. It is a city of about 250,000 people. It is situated on Manila Bay, which affords only a fairly good harborage for vessels. Hurricanes sometimes sweep across the broad bay and scatter the shipping. The bay is noted in American history for the battle of Manila, fought May 1, 1898. Here the American fleet under Dewey defeated the Spanish fleet and hammered the Spanish forts to pieces. The Pasig (pä´ sg) River divides the City of Manila into two parts-an old and a new section. The old section is on the south side of the river. It was founded by the Spanish in 1570-71, by Legaspi. It was at once made the capital of the islands, and this it has been ever since. The old city is walled in. The wall dates from 1590. It is built of stone throughout, and is 2½ miles long. Six gates through it connect with the chief streets. Along this wall are old forts, and in front of it is a moat, once crossed by drawbridges where the gates are. This is the way in which most cities were fortified in the Middle Ages. You are looking down the principal street of the old city from the top of one of the gates in the wall. This street is the Calle Real, which is Spanish for King's Street. There are 16 other streets in the old section. This part formerly contained the government, school, and church quarters. The business section lay beyond the Pasig. The Pasig is crossed by 4 bridges. The new city is partly on the island of Binondo (b-nn´ d). Here are fine, new streets and many modern buildings. Many of the stores are owned by Spanish merchants. In many of the small shops Chinese do a thriving trade. Keystone ID: 10058 Note: All titles, descriptions, and location coordinates are from the original Keystone Slide documentation as supplied by the Keystone View Company. No text has been edited or changed.