| Notes |
- Notes - A view of the northern gate of the fort. Until the Spanish troops captured Jolo, Fort Pilar in Zamboanga was the southermost bastion of Spanish rule in the Philippines. Named after Our Lady of the Pillar, it was designed by Father Melchor de Vera, S.J. and constructed in 1635. (Source: Fortress of Empire, Rene Javellana, 1997) In 1635, during the Spanish campaign in the south, the military base of the "Real Fuerza de San Jose" was constructed in Zamboanga as a defense point against the Muslims. Father Melchor de Vera, a Jesuit, designed and supervised its construction. Inside the fort, which was surrounded by a moat, were a magazine powderhouse and quarters for the commander, soldiers, and artisans. The fort was attacked by the Dutch in 1646. In 1663, it was abandoned by the Spanish troops in answer to a call for help from Manila to resist the expected invasion of the Chinese Kue-Sing or Koxinga. Consequently, the abandoned fort deteriorated but three years later it was reconstructed by the Jesuits. Again, in 1719, it was rebuilt by the engineer Juan Siscarra, who renamed it "Real Fuerza de la Virgen Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Zaragoza," in honor of the patroness of Zaragoza, Spain. An image of the Virgin was brought to the Philippines by Spanish sailors in 1734 and this was enshrined on top of the fort''s eastern gate.The stronghold withstood attacks by Dalisi, king of Bulig in 1770; by the British armada in 1789; and a number of less significant attacks. Catholics believe that the preservation of the fort from complete destruction was due to the miraculous powers of the patroness guardian. The Spaniards abandoned the stronghold completely in 1898 after General Vicente Alvarez, head of the Filipino revolutionary force, took control of Zamboanga and Basilan. Refusing to surrender to the Americans in 1899, the General fled and the fort was turned over to the Americans by Isidro Midel, the mayor of Tetuan. In 1942, the Japanese took control of the fort which was finally turned over by the Americans to the Philippine government in 1946, after they had seized it from the Japanese in March, 1945. YYY
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