A Brief History of Danao City

There are nil records about Danao before the Spanish colonial period except for the early years of 1400 A.D. when Sri Lumay who came from Sumatra, reached and settled in the island now we called Cebu. He became king of Cebu and years later divided Cebu Island into three kingdoms namely: Kingdom of Sugbo – the central Cebu, Kingdom of Sialo – the southern Cebu and Kingdom of Nahalin – the northern Cebu. King Lumay ruled the Kingdom of Sugbo and assigned the rest of the kingdoms to his sons. He assigned Sri Alho to rule the Kingdom of Sialo (Carcar to Santander) and Sri Ukob to rule the Kingdom of Nahalin comprising the area of what is now Consolacion to Bantayan. King Ukob made the area now we called Danao as the center of his kingdom. The settlements and the center of activity in Danao during the time of King Ukob and his successors is believed to be somewhere at the seaside area of what is now barangay Guinsay and Dunggo-an.

As the time went by, the community of people in Danao grew considerably in number. Being the center of Kingdom of Nahalin, Danao, though an ordinary fishing village and farming settlement, gradually became active in commerce and trade for during the time of Humabon who ruled Kingdom of Sugbo and gave Lapulapu an administrative authority for the commerce and trade of Parian, Parian (where Colon is located) further flourished because of the goods which Lapulapu brought from the land and sea in northern Cebu of which Danao is located. The connection of commerce and trade between Nahalin and Sugbo thrived and only ceased when the relationship of Lapulapu and Humabon turned hostile. Lapulapu then lived in Mactan and eventually became a “mangatang” (pirate) who ordered his men to pirate boats from the north every time they pass by Mactan Island. This piratical activity greatly affected the trading transactions in Parian that angered Humabon. At this period, boats were the very means of transportation of goods for trading and the piratical activity had eventually resulted to the discouragement of Nahalin to trade with Sugbo.

Then came the Spaniards, who brought Cebu into the map when Ferdinand Magellan arrived in 1521. But it was only in 1565 (44 years later after Magellan) that the Spaniards headed by Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, successfully conquered Cebu, by penetrating the island and converting people to Christianity. The Spaniards were determined to establish settlements in the whole island of Cebu. Danao, once the center of Kingdom of Nahalin, was no exception. But when the Spaniards established settlement in Cebu by constructing a fort, a church and houses, the Portuguese soldiers then launched an attack against the Spaniards for they claimed that Cebu Island belonged to their king. In early 1568, the conflict between Legazpi of Spain and Captain Pereira of Portugal heightened to the extent of killing the natives and inhabitants without exempting even women and children in Danao and other places in Cebu by the Portuguese by sacking, bombarding and burning of the villages. The greater number of Portuguese soldiers with their superior naval arsenal made Legaspi and his men hard to defend Cebu and so they took their refuge in Panay Island. Legaspi returned to Cebu when Spain later sent reinforcement and a message that ordered him to take full possession of the Philippines. However, the union of Spain and Portugal in 1580 resolved this conflic. It was then that Legaspi and his men successfully conquered Cebu by penetrating the island and converting people to Christianity.

Though Danao was already an established settlement back from the time of King Ukob when the place was already active in commerce and trade but other records of Spanish origin revealed that the founding and naming of the place now we called Danao can be traced back during the time of Legaspi’s conquest in 1565.The oldest writing so far of which the name Danao appeared was the complained letter of Legaspi about the atrocities done by Portuguese Navy led by Captain Gonzalo Pereira dated October 28,1568. Another source is the Agustinian Recollect writer and parish priest of Danao Fray Fidel Moreno in his document dated November 10, 1886 refers Danao's name to a low swampland and situates the founding of Danao to the time of Legazpi's conquest in 1565.

In the early years of Spanish domination, circa 1570s, Danao, like other places in the Philippines was made an “encomienda” of which the encomiendero (a Spanish settler and one who had done well for the Spanish authorities) was given a large area of land as well as the right to control and force the native population to work it. The Encomiendero was also obliged to support the Augustinian priests (OSA) for the evangelization of the people of Danao. Under “encomienda system” priests ruled communities alongside of civil leaders. But in 1700s this system was abolished because of the evils and abuses it brought about to the native population. So the Spaniards moved to institute civil government by establishing municipalities of which control of municipal government was passed largely into the hands of gobernadorcillos and cabezas. But parish priests still exercised civil as well as religious authority.

When the Recollects (now OAR) arrived in the Philippines in 1609, Danao then was dawn to become one of the most important places of missionary activities in Cebu. In 1620, the Augustinian authorities in Cebu decided to turn the oversight of Danao over to the Recollects. Oftentimes, the areas given to the Recollects were the poorest places and not even desired by other Orders because of distance and risk of life. But like what they had done to other places assigned to them, the Recollects later proved themselves to be one of the most important groups in the history ofdevelopment in Danao. In 1671, the Recollects helped established Danao as a parish; however, not as an organized town with its civilian government. Its patron saint is Sto. Tomas de Villanueva. From 1671 to 1898, Spanish Recollect Friars served as parish priest in Danao. In 1742, the spiritual administration of Danao was turned over to the Recollect friars and the territorial domain of Danao parish then was finally defined. Its territory was from what is now Compostela to Catmon. However, the territory was not as vaster as compared to that of Kingdom of Nahalin’s territorial domain in the past.

Why it was named DANAO?

Local legend has a Spanish Captain, Manuel Aniceto del Rosario traveling around northern Cebu. He was tasked by the Spanish government to build and develop towns. While resting beside a lake, the captain met a few resting natives with their carabaos. He then asked where he was. Thinking that he was asking about the lake, one of the farmers answered, "danawan" (Visayan term for a "small lake"). The Spanish Captain then documented the place as "Danao" which really underlined the fatuousness or laziness of some of our early colonizers.