History of Cebu

Cebu is one of the provinces of the Philippines. It lies to the east of Negros Island; to the west of Leyte and to the southeast is Bohol province. It is flanked on both sides by the straits of Bohol (between Cebu and Bohol) and Tañon (between Cebu and Negros). Cebu is located between 9°25'N and 11°15'N latitude and between 123°13'E and 124°5'E longitude in the center of the archipelago.

Cebu Island is a long narrow island stretching 225 km (140 mi) from north to south, surrounded by 167 neighboring smaller islands, that includes Mactan Island, Bantayan, Malapascua, Olango and the Camotes Islands. Of the hundreds of small islands some are uninhabited which make them the targets of adventure-seeking tourists.

Cebu is known for its narrow coastlines, limestone plateaus, and coastal plains, all characteristics of a typical tropical island. Cebu also has predominant rolling hills and rugged mountain ranges traversing the northern and southern lengths of the island. Cebu's steep mountains reach over 1,000 meters. Flat tracts of land can be found in the city of Bogo and in the towns of San Remigio, Medellin, and Daanbantayan at the northern tip of the province.

Its capital is Cebu City, the oldest city in the country, which forms part of the Cebu Metropolitan Area together with 6 neighboring cities Carcar City, Danao City, Lapu-Lapu City, Mandaue City, Naga City, Bogo, and Talisay City and 6 other municipalities. Cebu is served by Mactan-Cebu International Airport in Mactan Island, thirty minutes drive from downtown Cebu City.

Cebu is one of the most developed provinces in the country and the main center of commerce, trade, education and industry in the central and southern parts of the archipelago. It has five-star hotels, casinos, white sand beaches, world-class golf courses, convention centers, and shopping malls.

The UK-based Condenast Travellers Magazine named Cebu the 7th best island destination in the Indian Ocean-Asia region in 2007, 8th best Asian-Pacific island destination in 2005, and 7th in 2004

People and culture

The native people of Cebu are called Cebuanos. Most are descendants from Austronesian people, some have Spanish and Chinese ancestry. Spanish and Chinese communities play an important economic and political role in Cebu. Cebuano culture is laid back and has preserved Hispanic traditions in its culture. The Philippines being under American rule for the early part of the 20th century, American culture is pervasive in certain areas of life, with English being retained as the medium of instruction of most subjects in private schools and, to a lesser extent, in public ones. American culture also influenced contemporary music, the fastfood industry, etc. As with other countries, foreign nationals have inter-married with the locals, with some of these nationalities being American, Japanese, Western European (British, German, etc.) Australian, and other East Asians.
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