Named in honor of its
patron saint,
Saint Anthony the Abbot, the structure was originally built in 1584 in what was then a separate hamlet of Malate to serve as a rear protection for Manila, as well as to guard the Manila–Cavite route. The Spanish used the fort as a ("little fortress") or
gunpowder magazine. The fort, known as , was captured by the
British when they
invaded Manila in 1762 during the
Seven Years' War. They transformed the fort into a garrison from where the British forces launched their land offensive against the Spaniards defending
Intramuros. The fort was returned to Spanish control upon the end of the British occupation of Manila in 1764 and again became a gunpowder storage facility. The fort fell into American hands in 1898 during the
Battle of Manila. During the
Philippine–American War, U.S. military authorities used the prison to carry out multiple executions by hanging. The first American to be executed by U.S. authorities was Harry Cline, an American civilian under the employment of the
United States Army. On April 8, 1901, Cline rode out on a bicycle some from
Parañaque. He saw four small Filipino boys gathering grass. Cline, "with no other apparent motive than natural depravity", proceeded to shoot the boys with a revolver, killing a boy named Agaton Rivera and wounding the other three. Cline was tried by an American military court for murder and three counts of assault with intent to kill. He was found guilty, sentenced to death, and executed by hanging on September 20, 1901. The fort was seized by
occupying Imperial Japanese troops during
World War II, when it was used as a bunker. == Modern history ==