Brick Ruins on the left side of the Museo ni Rizal in Fort Santiago just beside the wall. The aisle serve as the passage leading to the entrance of the museum.

The brick ruins are part of the old building inside Fort Santiago. It was constructed using volcanic tuff (adobe) between 1589 and 1592 (some say from 1590 to 1593) after the Spanish soldiers repelled the attack of Chinese pirate Lin Feng (Limahong). The first Spanish fort, a palisaded structure made of logs and earth, was destroyed during the attack in 1574.

The fort was used as barracks and headquarters of the following foreign powers that occupied Manila, and the Philippines as a whole:

1571-1898: Spanish

1762-1764 – British (during the Seven Years War)

1898-1964 – Americans

1942-1945 – Japanese

It was Governor-General Perez Dasmariñas who ordered the reconstruction of the walls of intramuros and Fort Santiago. The volcanic tuff or ash was discovered by a Jesuit Priest named Antonio Sedeño in Guadalupe (now Guadalupe Viejo in Makati City).

Spanish colonial government named the fort as “Fierte de Santiago.” Santiago or St. James is the patron saint of Spain.

References:

http://www.pia.gov.ph

http://www.oldmanila.org

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