A Brief History of Baguio City

The area now known as Baguio City was first called Kafagway and occupied by the
Kankaney and Ibaloi tribes of the Cordilleras.
Spanish Occupation. During their occupation of the Philippines, the Spanish
colonizers conducted a series of expeditions, led by Juan Salcedo in 1572 and Don
Q. M. Quirante in 1694 to the cool mountains of Benguet.
A series of failed attempts to conquer the natives were made until foothold was
finally gained by Commandante de Galvey in 1846, when he was able to establish a
commandancia or military garrison in a beautiful stretch of fertile flat land.
This he named after his wife, and is now known as La Trinidad. Galvey went on to
establish the province of Benguet with 31 'rancherias' (camps or rural settlements).
The area known as Kafagway was then a small rancheria composed of about 20
houses. La Trinidad remains the capital of Benguet province to this date. The
'presidentia' (civil government) was first established in the Guisad Valley area. It
was later moved to the present site of the Baguio City Hall.
One of the notable contributions of the Spanish era was the introduction of coffee,
of the arabica variety, which is still grown in this area and known as Benguet coffee.
American Occupation. When the Americans arrived in Baguio, after Spain ceded the
entire Philippine islands to the United States of America for $20,000.00, they found
the pine-covered hills and the cool heights ideal for retreats from the sweltering
heat of the lowlands. In what was termed a "supreme feat of engineering" they
carved Kennon Road from the mountains surrounding the Bued River Canyon,
connecting Kafagway to the Pangasinan and Ilocos lowlands.
Japanese Occupation. After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor the war in the Pacific
broke out and the Philippines, being the only colony of the United States, became a
prime target. The Japanese bombed Baguio on December 8, 1941 and occupied it
on December 27 of the same year, setting up their headquarters at Camp John Hay.
However, the war eventually changed course and on September 3, 1945, General
Yamashita formally surrendered to the Americans at the US Ambassador's residence
in Camp John Hay, after which, Baguio immediately set to the task of rehabilitation.
Philippine Independence. When the Philippines was granted independence in 1946,
Baguio City resumed its role as the Summer Capital of the Philippines, with Camp
John Hay being retained by the Americans under the RP-US Bases Agreement.
Today, the city is the seat of the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), composed
of the provinces of Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga, Apayao and Mountain Province, and
kept the monicker "Summer Capital of the Philippines."