Silay, officially the City of Silay and often referred to as Silay City, is a third class city in the province

of Negros Occidental,Philippines. According to the 2010

census, it had a total population of 120,999 people.[3] It is part of the metropolitan area calledMetro Bacolod, which includes the cities of Bacolod and Talisay.[5] It
has a sizable commercial and fishing port and is the site of the new Bacolod-Silay International Airport, which replaced the Bacolod City Domestic Airport.
Silay is often referred to as the "Paris of Negros"[6] due to its artists, cultural shows and large collection of perfectly preserved heritage houses. More than thirty of
these houses have been declared as historical landmarks. Silay is the second Philippine city to have been declared a museum city, next to Vigan in Ilocos Sur.[citation
needed]

Contents
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1 Etymology

2 History

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o
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2.1 Spanish colonization

2.2 Negros Revolution
2.3 World War II

3 Cultural and political aspects

4 Barangays
5 Demographics
6 Transportation

1.1 The legend of Princess Kansilay

6.1 Airports

7 Schools

7.1 Public Schools

7.1.2 High Schools

8 Sister city

7.1.1 Elementary

8.1 Local

9 Notable residents
10 See also
11 References
12 External links

Etymology[edit]
The appellation Silay is derived from the name of a tree which grew abundantly in the area. The kansilay is the city's official tree.

The legend of Princess Kansilay[edit]

A local legend tells of how Silay City got its name. It is said that in the days of the datus and rajahs, there once lived a princess named Kansilay. An attack on the
settlement by pirates was thwarted when the princess bravely led the people in the village's defense. The fight was furious and the princess fought like a seasoned
warrior. Murals that used to grace some of the city's public buildings depict her as a fierce fighter wielding a huge talibong, a short native single-edged sword. The
pirates were routed, but at the cost of the princess' life. Her paramour arrived in time to see her die. In grief, the people lovingly buried her. To their surprise, a tree
grew right over her grave, the first Kansilay tree, a final gift from the brave princess.

History[edit]
Spanish colonization[edit]
Silay was first settled in 1565 under the name "Carobcob", which means "to scratch" in Kinaray-a; residents of the settlement relied upon harvesting tuway clams,
which involved "scratching" (or raking) the sands for the mollusks at low tide, as a means of livelihood. In early writings, the settlement was also referred to
as "Calubcub", "Caracol" and "Caraco".[7] The last two variations mean "snail" or a "spiral" in Spanish. Carobcob was built near the mouth of a creek; nothing is left
of the village today. Carobcobwas granted as an encomienda to Cristobal Nuez Paroja, one of the seventeen soldiers of Miguel Lpez de Legazpi on January 25,
1571.
In the second half of the century, Moro slave raiders escalated their incursions on the island, forcing the Corregidor of Negros to adopt the policy of flight rather
than resistance. People left their homes sometime in 1760 and settled in a new location between two small rivers, Matagoy and Panaogao.

A paloisades or estacada (Spanish for "fortification") was constructed to protect the populace from Moro raiders. The place is now known as Sitio Estaca, its name
derived from the Spanish word estacada.
In 1760 Silay was recognized as a town being referred to in a letter from Governor Juan Jose de Mijares (17721775) mentioning Silay as a leading town in the
north. In 1776, the bishop of Cebu considered Silay as the center of the parish. In 1760, it became apueblo or town. By 1896, it had become a leading sugarproducing area because of the Horno Economico (sugar mill) built in 1846 by a Frenchman who became a permanent resident of Silay, Yves Leopold Germain
Gaston.

Negros Revolution[edit]
Main article: Negros Revolution
With the outbreak of the Revolution of 1896 came a division between the sugarcane planters of Silay and the clergy. Some planters and clergy supported the
rebels while others were against the revolution. On November 5, 1898 at about 2:00 in the afternoon, residents of Silay gathered in the street corner now known
as Cinco de Noviembre Street and from there they proceeded to the Spanish garrison near the Catholic Church. The encounter was bloodless. The Spanish civil
guard commander, Lt. Maximiano Correa, refused to surrender. After negotiations with the revolutionaries mediated by Juan Viaplana, a local Spaniard, the
Spanish garrison did surrender. A Philippine flag was raised for the first time at the Silay plaza later that afternoon. Leandro Locsin became temporary president
after the signing of the terms of surrender. Timoteo Unson and the group of Silay residents then marched south to join forces with some residents of Talisay for an
attack on Bacolod.

World War II[edit]

On the slopes of Mt. Silay lies Patag, the site of the Japanese military's last stand in Western Visayas during World War II. In 1945,U.S. military forces landed
in Negros Island. The occupying forces of the Nagano Detachment of the Imperial Japanese Armyretreated to Silay and proceeded up Mt. Silay to Patag. There,
they established a defensive position. Military forces of the Philippine Commonwealth and soldiers of the U.S. 40th Infantry Division proceeded up the slopes of Mt.
Silay with help from Filipino soldiers of the 7th, 71st, 72nd and 75th Infantry Division of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and Negrosanon guerrilla fighters and
defeated the Japanese defenders. Today, the site is marked by a monument dedicated to the efforts which led to the liberation of Negros Island.