An Old Photograph Of The Bustling Street Of Escolta In Binondo.docx

An old photograph of the bustling street of Escolta in Binondo, Manila. Taken on the 4th of July, 1898. Manila and portions of the Philippine islands was at that time occupied by the American forces after defeating the Spanish squadron in Manila Bay on May 1, 1898 during the Spanish-American War. This section consists of 30 vintage pictures of people and places in and around Manila, Philippines from the late 1800s to early 1900s.

An old Photo of Binondo, a district in Manila, circa early 1900s. Under the backdrop of the Binondo church are horse and carabao drawn carriages.

Filipino insurgents are lined-up as prisoners of war (POW) by Americans in this rare 1899 photo near San Miguel Cathedral in Manila.

An 1898 photograph of American soldiers guarding the bridge over Pasig river to Escolta, Manila. Photo was taken on the day Spanish forces surrendered to the Americans Published by Harper and Brothers in 1899.

An 1899 photo of Luneta Park in Manila. It was the promenade of choice during the Spanish era. The Governor-General with his entourage, the elite and the masses would come in the afternoons and early evening to get some fresh air and watch the Spanish military band play. Luneta was also the place where special events were held, including celebrations, parades and executions.

Photo of the execution of the Philippines' national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal (full name: JoséProtasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda) on December 30, 1896 at Bagumbayan (later called Luneta, then again renamed Rizal Park in his honor).

The first Philippine flags was made of red cloth with white KKK initials sewn in white. The red color symbolized the blood of the members of the Katipunan in which inductee to the society signed in their names with their own blood.

The Filipino flag had variations (from 1892 to 1896). Some members arranged the KKK in a triangle while some generals of the revolution designed their own flags.

Of note is the black banner of General Mariano Llanera in Nueva Ecija with a letter K and a skull with two cross bones underneath.

Another variation of the Filipino flag was that of General Pio del Pilar. It had an equilateral triangle with a K at each angle with a rising sun behind a mountain.

In this Philippine flag picture, the Sun with the KKK underneath was also a derivative of previous Filipino flags.

In 1896, the Magdalo faction of the Katipunan in Cavite headed by General Emilio Aguinaldo had a red ensign with a sun and at the center of the sun is the letter K written in the ancient Filipino alphabet.

Another variation is the Sun of Liberty of the Naic Assembly in 1897 and the flag used by the Republic of Biak-na Bato.

General Gregorio del Pilar also used another flag during the Battle of Pasong Balite and at the Battle of Tirad Pass. This Filipino flag is similar to the flag of Cuba, according to del Pilar.

In 1898 Emilio Aguinaldo while in exile in Hong Kong had a banner sewn with the triangle of the Masonry with the mythical sun and face with 8 rays representing the 8 provinces that revolted against the Spanish rule (Manila, Cavite, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Bataan, Laguna, and Batangas) and 3 stars representing the main island groups: Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

In 1936, Manuel L. Quezon as president of the commonwealth, issued Executive Order 23 which contained the specifications of the national flag. The banner is almost unchanged with a few exceptions, the most notable is the use of a plain sun without the face. Retained were the while triangle, the sun and the stars and the blue and red stripes. The triangle stood for equality and its white color stood for purity. The blue stripe stood for peace and the red for courage.