In 1635, Spanish soldiers established Zamboanga on the site of a local village. Its name comes from the Malay word “jambangan,” which means “place of flowers,” and the Zamboangan roadsides are bordered with bougainvillea, orchids, and other tropical flowers. The shrine of Our Lady of the Pillar, Fort Pilar, was established in the 1700s to protect Christian settlers against Moro (local Muslim) pirates, and it currently houses a branch of the national museum.
This vignette of the Murillo Velarde 1734 Map exhibits the very image of Zamboanga and its vicinity from Padre Pedro Murillo Velarde’s vision.