San Nicolas, Manila

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San Nicolas
District of Manila
Binondo - Intramuros Bridge.jpg
San Nicolas skyline at night
Ph fil manila san nicolas.png
San Nicolas, Manila
Country Philippines
Region National Capital Region
City Manila
Congressional districtPart of the 3rd district of Manila
Barangays 15
Founded1598
Founded by Dominican Order
Named after Saint Nicholas
Area
  Total
1.6385 km2 (0.6326 sq mi)
Population
 (2020) [1]
  Total
42,957
  Density26,000/km2 (68,000/sq mi)
Zip codes
1010
Area codes 2

San Nicolas is one of the sixteen districts in the city of Manila in the Philippines. It is located at the west central part of the city, on the northern bank of the Pasig River [2] bounded by the districts of Binondo to the east by Estero de Binondo, and Tondo to the north and west, and by the Pasig River to the south. Considered as a heritage district of Manila, [3] this community has kept its 19th-century ancestral houses, which symbolizes the wealthy lives of the people who used to live there, similar to the ancestral houses of Silay and Vigan.

Contents

As of the May 1, 2020, national census, the population of San Nicolas, which is composed of 15 barangays named as numbers from 268 to 276 and from 281 to 286, is 42,957. This is slightly lower than the 2010 census that counted San Nicolas residents at 44,241. [1]

History

The town of San Nicolas was originally named Baybay, meaning "shore" in Tagalog. [3] [4]

According to Piet Van der Loon (1966), a Sangley Chinese community had already settled in Baybay near Tondo on the banks of the Pasig river, before the Spanish conquest of Manila in the Battle of Manila (1570), and way before the market at Parián (modern-day Arroceros Urban Forest Park) attracted large numbers of traders and craftsmen, especially immigrants and merchants from Southern Fujian, [5] so before Parián and Binondo became the local Chinatown of the area, Sangley Chinese settlers and merchants were already living in Baybay in between Tondo and old Manila (modern-day Intramuros) on the south bank of the Pasig river.

During Spanish rule, Baybay was renamed to San Nicolas, after the patron saint of sailors, boatmen, and mariners. [6] San Nicolas is now the western part of Manila Chinatown, the first Chinatown in the Philippines, and perhaps the world; [7] the eastern part is Binondo, which was founded in 1594 by Governor-General Luis Pérez Dasmariñas. [7] The Dominican order came to western part of Chinatown in 1596 [7] and then founded San Nicolas in 1598. [3] This was the first mission by the Dominicans outside Intramuros. [3]

In 1901, during the American Occupation of the Philippines, San Nicolas became a district of the newly chartered city of Manila as its borders were extended outside the walled city presently known as Intramuros. [8] Daniel Burnham, an American architect and urban planner, was commissioned to build a Plan of Manila. [9] The result of the plan was the making of places and parishes that included San Nicolas. [10] In modern times, San Nicolas is one of the administrative districts of Manila and part of the third legislative district of Manila. [11] It became an extension of the Filipino-Chinese community in Binondo. [12]

Barangays

BarangayLand area (km²)Population (2020 census)
Zone 25
Barangay 2680.04373489
Barangay 2690.04217904
Barangay 2700.03705918
Barangay 2710.06139633
Barangay 2720.019701,064
Barangay 2730.02041825
Barangay 2740.012101,944
Barangay 2750.0269619,809
Barangay 2760.020802,543
Zone 26
Barangay 2810.092842,288
Barangay 2820.11132,458
Barangay 2830.050351,345
Barangay 2840.05324961
Barangay 2850.054892,066
Barangay 2860.045954,710

Barangays 268, 269, 270, 271, 272, 273, 274, 275, and 276 are part of Zone 25; and Barangays 281, 282, 283, 284, 285, and 286 are part of Zone 26.

List of cultural properties of San Nicolas

In art

Notable

See also

Notes

  1. wmph is an internal identifier used by Wikimedia Philippines to identify the monument. This is not an official identifier, and only shown temporarily in the templates until the government creates an updated complete list.

References

  1. 1 2 "Highlights of the National Capital Region (NCR) Population 2020 Census of Population and Housing (2020 CPH)". Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  2. "Manila Reborn - Filipinas Heritage Library". Google Arts & Culture. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Why San Nicolas is Manila's heritage district". Inquirer Lifestyle. November 2, 2020. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  4. See, Teresita Ang (November 5, 2018). "Behind Binondo's whimsical street names are some amusing stories". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  5. Van der Loon (1966)
  6. Sorilla, Franz IV (June 6, 2022). "San Nicolas District: The Forgotten Treasure of Manila". Tatler Asia. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  7. 1 2 3 Lustre Jr., Philip M. (February 18, 2018). "Where heroes and kin used to tread". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  8. Act No. 183 (July 31, 1901), An act to incorporate the City of Manila , retrieved July 22, 2022
  9. "Historical Background | EMB - National Capital Region". Archived from the original on April 2, 2017. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  10. "NCR - Regional Profile". Department of Trade and Industry Philippines. Archived from the original on February 9, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  11. Torres, Amaryllis T.; Samson, Laura L.; Diaz, Manuel P. (2015). FILIPINO GENERATIONS IN A CHANGING LANDSCAPE (PDF). Philippine Social Science Council. p. 120. ISBN   978-971-8514-36-8.
  12. "Memory and modernity in San Nicolas District". The Urban Roamer. March 30, 2013. Retrieved April 15, 2021.

Sources