Fort San Antonio Abad

Fort San Antonio Abad
Location in Metro Manila
Former names	Fuerte de San Antonio Abad
General information
Status	Restored
Type	Fortification
Architectural style	Triangular bastioned fort
Location	Central Bank of the Philippines Complex
Address	Roxas Boulevard
Town or city	Malate, Manila
Country	Philippines
Coordinates	14°33′45.5″N 120°59′12.6″E / 14.562639°N 120.986833°ECoordinates: 14°33′45.5″N 120°59′12.6″E / 14.562639°N 120.986833°E
Completed	1584
Renovated	1970s[1]
Owner	Government of the Philippines
Technical details
Structural system	Masonry
Designations	Historical Structure marker from the National Historical Commission of the Philippines

interior of Fort San Antonio Abad in the Bangko Sentral complex

Fort San Antonio Abad (Spanish: Fuerte de San Antonio Abad)^[2] is a fortification located in the Malate district of the City of Manila built during the Spanish Colonial Period in the Philippines.

History

Named in honour of its patron saint, Saint Anthony the Abbott, the structure was originally built in 1584 in what was then a separate hamlet of Malate to serve as a rear protection for the Manila as well as to guard the Manila-Cavite route.

The Spanish used the "little fortress", Polvorista, to store gunpowder.^[3] The fort, known as Fort Polverina, was captured by the British when they invaded Manila in 1762 and was transformed into a British garrison from where the British forces launched their land offensive against the Spaniards defending Intramuros.^[4] The fort was returned to Spanish control upon the end of the British occupation of Manila in 1764 and became a gunpowder storage facility.^[5]

The fort fell into American hands in 1898 during the Battle of Manila and eventually into Japanese control during World War II when it was used as a bunker.

The fort suffered considerable damage after the war but was not restored until the 1970s. The restored fort is now enclosed within the confines of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Central Bank) Complex between the Manila Metropolitan Museum and other Central Bank buildings.^[1]

References

1. (2008-01-26). "Fort San Antonio Abad - Manila". Muog - Spanish Colonial Fortifications in the Philippines]. Retrieved on 2012-04-24.
2. Sonido, Juned (2012-01-31). "The Other Fort: The Fort of San Antonio Abad". Baratillo Pamphlet. Retrieved on 2012-04-24.
3. Tracy, Nicholas (1995). Manila Ransomed. University of Exeter Press. p. 34.
4. Grant, James (1873). British Battles On Land and Sea. Cassell & Company, Limited. pp. 126–130.
5. Javellana, Rene (1997). Fortress of empire : Spanish colonial fortifications of the Philippines. Makati: Bookmark.