Spanish period Spanish colonists founded the settlement on March 4, 1872, in the course of their exploration of the province. As they scanned the Palawan shoreline for a capital site, they came upon a hill with steep declivity. Rowing to shore, they surveyed the hill and discovered an extensive plateau which they decided as ideal for settlement. Soon after, Fr. Antonio Muro levelled a portion of the hill to make way for a chapel (that section is now occupied by the
Roman Catholic Cathedral, the P.C. Barracks and the Rizal Park, the Old Municipal Building used to be there, as well as an Elementary School). The first mass celebrated in Puerto Princesa took place at a site where a marker now stands. In May 1872, the
Port of Puerto Princesa became the center of Spanish naval operations in the area because the Bay met all the navy's requirements. Royal decrees later provided incentives to settlers, and by 1883 the settlement had flourished into a town of twelve roads, a hospital and well-built port. In 1894, Puerto Princesa was recognized by government authorities as one of the most beautiful towns in the country by virtue of the orderly distribution of streets, buildings and houses as well as the cleanliness of the community.
American period and World War II committed by the
Imperial Japanese Army In 1911, the New American Administration made Puerto Princesa the seat of the Palawan Provincial Government with Major John Brown as Lieutenant Governor. In the year 1936, Governor Heginio Mendoza made a directive on the transfer of the Palawan High School (currently Palawan National School) from the island municipality of Cuyo to the central place of the province, which was the Municipality of Puerto Princesa. During the
Pacific campaign of
World War II and the
Japanese occupation, the village was largely abandoned. On May 18, 1942, Japanese troops landed and occupied Puerto Princesa City. The
Filipino Constabulary barracks was the scene of the
Palawan Massacre, just before liberation with the allied
Invasion of Palawan.
Post-World War II In 1951, the barrios of Tinitian, Caramay, Rizal, Del Pilar, Malcampo, Tumarbong, Taradungan, Ilian, and Capayas were separated to form the town of
Roxas. In 1955, the
sitios of Materingen, Tandayag, Nasedoc, and Panlawagan were separated from the barrio of Maroyogon and elevated into a barrio. In 1956, the sitios of Calagbenguen, Tarabanan, Bendoyan, Talabigan, Tagbuan, and Langogan were constituted into the barrio of Concepcion. In 1957, the barrio of
Tapul was renamed to
Salvacion.
Cityhood The town was converted into a city on January 1, 1970, under
Republic Act 5906 as amended by
P.D. 437, through the effort of then Congressman
Ramon Mitra, Jr. Feliberto R. Oliveros, Jr., who then became the first City Mayor. In 1987, the port of Puerto Princesa was put under the administration of the Philippine Ports Authority, expanding the city's importance nationally and advancing its infrastructure.
Highly urbanized city On March 26, 2007, through Proclamation No. 1264, the city of Puerto Princesa was converted into a highly urbanized city. A plebiscite was held on July 21, 2007, where majority of residents voted in its favor. In 2011, the President launched a nationwide campaign for the inclusion of Puerto Princesa's underground river into the New Seven Wonders of Nature. This campaign came into fruition when the
Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, the city's top heritage site, was recognized internationally as one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature in 2012.
Contemporary In May 2001,
Abu Sayyaf gunmen entered the luxury Dos Palmas Resort in
Honda Bay just off the coast of Puerto Princesa and
kidnapped 20 people from the resort, including four resort staff and three Americans. On the morning of January 24, 2011, broadcast journalist and former politician
Gerry Ortega was at an "ukay-ukay" (used clothing) thrift store in Puerto Princesa when he was murdered by a gunman. After a brief chase, police apprehended the alleged shooter, Marlon Recamata, Various courts went back and forth in ordering the arrest or non-arrest of Reyes, with him being released from jail in 2018 upon orders of the
Court of Appeals but ultimately ordered rearrested in 2023, with him surrendering to the
National Bureau of Investigation in
Metro Manila in September 2024. ==Geography==