Dansalan,
Marawi's old name, was explored by the Spaniards as early as 1639. It is said that at that time, Marawi was already the citadel of Malayan-Arabic culture in Mindanao. Feeling the pulse of strong refusal among its inhabitants to adopt Christianity, the Spaniards abandoned the project of colonizing the area. Dansalan, physically speaking, would have satisfactorily qualified to become a town or municipality during the time of said exploration based on the Spanish Policy of "Ecclesiastical Administration" except for fanatical resistance of the natives who were mostly under Muslim rule. A strong Spanish expedition to conquer the Maranaos was fielded in 1891 during the time of Governor-General
Valeriano Weyler, but this force was driven back to
Iligan after failing to capture Dansalan. In 1895, Governor-General
Ramón Blanco sent a stronger force to take Marawi that thanks to superior firepower finally overrun the last defenses. The Spanish forces won a decisive victory and were able to erect a garrison in Dansalan and they already took with them Chabacanos and Chabacano-speaking Muslims from Zamboanga and Basilan and
Cebuanos. However, they had to abandon it just four years later after the outbreak of the
Spanish–American War in 1898, leaving it on the hands of the new American colonizers, who imposed their own rule on the population.
American occupation On May 24, 1904, the American Colonial Government proclaimed Dansalan a regular Municipality. The Philippines was still under the Commonwealth regime of the Americans when Dansalan was chartered into a city in 1904. In 1914, the
Department of Mindanao and Sulu was created and Lanao was converted as a province.
Division , photographed in 1932 The
Department of Mindanao and Sulu was provided with autonomous government beginning September 1, 1914, through Act No. 2408 enacted on July 23, 1914. Bukidnon sub-province and the former
Moro Province districts of
Cotabato,
Davao, Lanao,
Sulu, and
Zamboanga were converted to provinces. The passage of Republic Act No. 2228 divided Lanao into two (2) provinces giving birth to
Lanao del Norte and
Lanao del Sur. The new province was inaugurated on July 4, 1959, making
Iligan City as the capital of the north and
Marawi City for the south. During the establishment process of the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Lanao del Sur (and later Marawi City) voted to be part of the new autonomous region, while Lanao del Norte chose to remain in
Northern Mindanao. Meranaw province was created from Lanao del Sur on October 4, 1971, through Republic Act No. 6406, but this remained unorganized due to the disruption caused by the declaration of
martial law in the Philippines. ==Geography==