THE riiiLiri'iNE islands 81 



Zebu. 



Zebu or Cebn is a long and narrow island, lying im- 

 mediately to the east of Negros, from which it is separated 

 by a strait from 5 to 15 miles wide, and over 100 

 miles in length. Zebu is 1.30 miles long, and not more 

 than 20 broad in its widest part, and contains 2275 

 .square miles, or rather less than half the area of Negros. 

 Several chains of mountains of no great height traverse 

 it from north to south, but little is known of its geology 

 except that it produces gold, silver, and lead, and has no 

 active volcanoes. Coal occurs abundantly, and is of 

 fairly good quality, but the complete neglect of all 

 mineral wealth by the Spaniards is exhibited here as else- 

 where. The inhabitants are almost exclusively Bisayans, 

 but there are said to be a few Negritos. The population 

 has greatly increased of late years owing to the great de- 

 velopment of the sugar and abaca cultivation, and now 

 numbers 518,000, but locusts and low prices have 

 recently dealt as heavy a blow to Zebu as to Panay. In 

 all these islands sugar-growing will probably give place 

 to hemp or some more paying crop. In 1890 only 3000 

 tons were exported as against 11,000 tons in 1889, and 

 while in the latter year thirty-four vessels — almost all of 

 which were British — entered the port, the number in 

 1800 only amounted to 14. 



The capital. Zebu, dignified by the title of city, is the 

 oldest settlement in the Philippines, and was the seat of 

 government until the founding of Manila. It w^as the 

 first place of any importance visited by Magellan on his 

 discovery of the group, and it was upon the little island 

 of Mactan which forms the harbour of Zebu that he met 

 with his death on the 27th April, 1521. Kfty years 



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