The Fort Santiago in Intramuros, Manila
Fort Santiago is a famous historic Spanish fortress in which once stood the palace of the Muslim chieftain, Rajah Suleiman before the Spaniards ever set foot on Philippine soil. This fort is a very significant site in the history of the Philippine independence from Spain. Jose Rizal, the national hero of the Philippines was imprisoned here and spent his last night before being executed in 1896. The fort has a museum containing Spanish artifacts, wares, documents and other historic articles. Within the fort is Rizal Shrine which houses the utensils, garments, shoes, housewares, kitchen wares, books, manuscripts, drawings, artworks, artifacts and other objects used and worn throughout the life of the genius and multi-talented Philippine national hero.
The location of Fort Santiago was once the site of a wooden fort of Rajah Sulaiman, a Muslim chieftain of pre-Hispanic Manila. It was destroyed by the conquistadors (Martin de Goiti) when, upon arriving in 1570, they fought several battles with the Islamic natives. The Spaniards built the Fuerza de Santiago and the fortified city of Intramuros in 1571, and made Manila the capital of the Philippines.