Hispanic social place names of Manila

Abstract

Place names mirror the social history of a territory, the daily life, and the relations of its settlers. Hispanic historical social place names in Manila depict the urban society during the colonial period. In the following pages, I gather and explain the living Hispanic toponyms coined before the 1945 Manila battle and discuss the different activities, peoples, and economic classes they depict. I conclude that different areas were prone to administrative, financial, leisure, military, nonprofit, rural, transport, and working-class activities: the distance to Intramuros, the core of the historical city, witnessed their relevance.