Santiago de Vera facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Santiago de Vera
|
|
|---|---|
| 6th Governor and Captain-General of the Philippines | |
| In office May 16, 1584 – May 1590 |
|
| Monarch | Philip II of Spain |
| Governor | (Viceroy of New Spain) Luis de Villanueva y Zapata Pedro Moya de Contreras Álvaro Manrique de Zúñiga, 1st Marquess of Villamanrique Luis de Velasco, 1st Marquess of Salinas |
| Preceded by | Diego Ronquillo |
| Succeeded by | Gómez Pérez Dasmariñas |
Santiago de Vera was an important person from Alcalá de Henares, Spain. He was the sixth Spanish governor of the Philippines. He served from May 16, 1584, until May 1590.
Contents
Becoming Governor of the Philippines
Before Santiago de Vera, the governor was Gonzalo Ronquillo de Peñalosa. The first bishop of Manila, Domingo de Salazar, asked the King of Spain for a special court. This court was called the Audiencia. It was made to help solve disagreements between the Church and the government.
In 1584, three judges came from Mexico to start this court. Santiago de Vera was the main judge. After Governor Peñalosa suddenly passed away, his nephew, Diego Ronquillo, took over for a short time. However, Diego Ronquillo had problems with the money from Peñalosa's estate. He was sent back to Spain. Because Santiago de Vera was the chief justice of the court, he became the new governor of the islands on May 16, 1584.
Building Manila with Stone
On March 19, 1583, a big fire happened in Manila. It started during the funeral of Governor Gonzalo Ronquillo de Peñalosa at the San Agustin Church. After this fire, Santiago de Vera ordered that all new buildings in Manila should be made of stone.
People found that stone could be easily cut near the Pasig River in Guadalupe. This area is now called Guadalupe Viejo in Makati. The stones were then brought to Manila by boats.
Fort of Nuestra Señora de Guia
In 1587, Governor de Vera also built the first stone fort in Manila. It was called Nuestra Señora de Guia, which means "Our Lady of Guidance." This fort was built where the San Diego Bastion is today. This is at the southwestern corner of Intramuros. A Jesuit named Sedeño helped with the plans for the fort.
The cannons for this fort were made by a famous metalworker named Panday Pira. De Vera also started digging the moat, which was a ditch filled with water around the city. He also built a stone wall along the Pasig River. The really big city wall was not started until the time of Governor Gómez Pérez Dasmariñas.
See also
In Spanish: Santiago de Vera para niños
