The Name

How the city got its name wasn't really that epic as to how it has outdone number of foreign conquers like every city or region would have in history. The etymology of the word "Davao" is in fact a combination of phonetics of the three terms from three different subgroups of the Bagobo, the early inhabitants of Davao. The terms were used when referring to what is now the Davao River. One subgroup named Obos called the river as Davoh, the Clatta or Guiangans subgroup called it Duhwow or Davau, and the Tagabawa Bagobos named it Dabu.

Influences

The influence that got first in Davao was the Spanish influence. Davao was still ruled by a Muslim chieftain named Datu Bago when an expedition led by a Spanish Don Jose Uyanguren reached the city in 1848. They established a Christian colony in the area of Mangrove swamps which is now the Bolton riverside and had since set differences between the leaders. Uyanguren defeated Datu Bago from the rule and renamed the region Nueva Guipúzcoa. He became its first governor. However, Uyanguren failed to develop the area despite his efforts.

It was the presence of American forces few years after that paved the way for the region's prosperity. In 1900, American influence started, private farm ownership grew and transportation and communication facilities were improved which led to the growth of economy.

The Japanese influence was first sighted in 1903 when a Japanese enterpreneur named Kichisaburo Ohta started exploiting territories and revolutionized into abacá and coconut plantations. Many Japanese plantation workers came into shores forming a little Japan. They formed a society with their own Shinto Shrine and established a wide commercial interests such as copra, timber, fishing and import-export trading. Improved cultivation was first learned by Filipinos from the Japanese and has led Agriculture to bec ame the core of province’s economic prosperity.

Inauguration as City

Davao was officially acknowledged chartered city on March 1, 1937 by Philippine President Manuel L. Quezon. 30 years later, Davao was subdivided into three independent provinces, namely Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, and Davao Oriental. Davao has become a place of ethnic diversity over the years as it continues to attract migrants from across the nation, drawn by the opportunities of getting rich in the country's third largest city now.