Early Philippine history The region of Tondo has been settled by humans for over 1,100 years. Historically, Tondo already existed in the year 900 AD according to the
Laguna Copperplate Inscription, a legal document that is the earliest document in the Philippines, written in
Kawi script now housed in the
National Museum of Anthropology. According to this document, Tondo was ruled by an
unnamed person who held the
Sanskrit title of
senapati or the equivalent of an admiral. Tondo was ruled by a
lakan until the Spanish conquest.
Colonial period After the Spaniards conquered Tondo in June 1571 they established the Province of Tondo which covered many territories in Northern Luzon particularly Pampanga, Bulacan and Rizal (formerly called Morong), with the city of Manila as its center. In a census conducted by Miguel de Loarca in 1583, Tondo was reported to have spoken the same language as the natives of the province of Pampanga. Institute of National Language commissioner
Jose Villa Panganiban also wrote that the dividing line between
Kapampangan and Tagalog was the Pasig River, and that Tondo therefore originally spoke
Kapampangan. However, Fray Isacio Rodriquez's
Historia dela Provincia del Santisimo Nombre de Jesus de Filipinas stated that Provincia de Tagalos which is Tondo covers all the territories of the future
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila. Prior to the establishment of
Bulacan in 1578,
Malolos and
Calumpit were also included in the territory of Tondo as its
visitas. By the end of the 1700s, Tondo was a populous province of 14,437 native families and 3,528
Spanish Filipino families. In 1800, the Province of Tondo was renamed to
Province of Manila. Tondo was one of the first provinces to declare rebellion against Spain in the year 1896. In 1901, under the American colonial regime, there was a major reorganization of political divisions, and the province of Tondo was dissolved, with its towns given to the provinces of Rizal and Bulacan. Today, Tondo just exists as a district in the City of Manila.
Contemporary Period Slums developed in Tondo along the
Pasig River. Authorities sought to improve housing conditions on these areas without condoning the
squatting committed by the slums' residents. In the 1970s, the
World Bank provided funds to improve conditions in Tondo which led the increase of rent prices and a property boom in the area. This led to
gentrification. The slums that were upgraded were legalized but these areas remain vastly different from other parts of Manila with higher population density, more irregular road and plot patterns, and uncontrolled housing. In the 1987 constitution, Tondo was split into two congressional districts of Manila making the first district to the west while the second district in the east. ==Economy==