Fuerte dela Concepcion y del Triunfo

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Fuerte de la Concepción y del Triunfo
Fuerte de la Concepción y del Triunfo
Fuerte de la Concepcion y del Triunfo walls.jpg
Fuerte dela Concepcion y del Triunfo is located in Mindanao
Fuerte dela Concepcion y del Triunfo
Alternative namesEl Fuerte de Nuestra Señora de la Concepción del Triunfo, Fort of Misamis, Cotta Fort
General information
TypeFortification
Architectural styleBastioned fort
LocationBrgy. Baybay Triunfo
Town or cityOzamiz City
CountryPhilippines
Coordinates8°08′25″N 123°50′50″E / 8.14028°N 123.84722°E / 8.14028; 123.84722Coordinates: 8°08′25″N 123°50′50″E / 8.14028°N 123.84722°E / 8.14028; 123.84722
Construction started1756
Renovated2002
Technical details
Structural systemMasonry
DesignationsNational Historical Landmark[1][full citation needed]

Fuerte de la Concepción y del Triunfo (Fort of the Conception and the Triumph), also known as El Fuerte de Nuestra Señora de la Concepción del Triunfo (The Fort of Our Lady of the Conception of Triumph), Fort of Misamis, and Cotta Fort, is a citadel first built by Spanish Jesuit priest and commander, José Ducos, as a Spanish fortress in the old town of Misamis (now known as the modern city of Ozamiz) in the island of Mindanao. The fort is now an important landmark of the city and it symbolizes the cultural heritage. Outside of the fort is a Marian shrine dedicated to Nuestra Señora de la Inmaculada Concepción y del Triunfo de la Cruz de Migpangi, the patroness of the city.

Background[]

The fort is square in shape, with one of its side is facing the bay while the opposite side is facing the city. The fort has 4 bastions (baluarte), namely San Fernando, San Jose, Santiago and San Ignacio. The fort's material is mostly blocks made from a mixture of coral and sandstone joined together by lime. The stones were a common material used in buildings and these were mostly abundant in the nearby Panguil Bay and islands.

The Santiago relief

At the fort's entrance is a large gate that was added during the fort's renovation. The gate features a bas relief of Saint James (Santiago in Spanish), adorned on its façade.

History[]

Construction[]

Fuerte dela Concepcion y del Triunfo Marker

1754 was known back then as a time of great suffering for people living in coastal towns and villages in southern Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Marauding pirates would appear, with no warning, and would burn the houses, crops, and carry away as many of the people as they could catch in order to be sold as slaves in Maguindanao, Sulu, Borneo or the islands now known as Indonesia. Because of this, the Spanish government created a flotilla and appointed a Spanish Jesuit missionary, Father José Ducos, as its commander in order to counter this scourge. After several successful victories and when some peace was restored, it was decided to construct a stone fort at the mouth of Panguil Bay as a form of protection against future attacks.[2][better source needed] Construction of the fortress soon began in 1756.[3] But due to limited money for the payment of workers and transport of materials, the fort took nine years to finish. The fort also served as shelter for the ships of the Spanish fleet during that time.[4][better source needed]

Because of that fort, Misamis became the most important town in Northern Mindanao in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Misamis was then made the capital of the District of Misamis when Mindanao was originally divided into 5 districts, until during the 1870s when the seat of government was transferred to Cagayan.

Naming of the Fort[]

Father Ducos belonged to a Society that had a special devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary under her title of the Immaculate Conception. The fort was therefore put under her patronage. It was then officially called "Fuerte de la Concepción y del Triunfo."

The "Triunfo" (Triumph) was the name of the leading vessel in the battles that cleared the harbor of Misamis and Panguil Bay of pirates. It was named in honor of the "Triunfo de la Cruz", the decisive battle in which the united Christian armies of Spain defeated the Moors at Las Navas de Tolosa in the year 1212. In thanksgiving for that victory, the Spaniards celebrated a special feast on July 16 called Triunfo de la Cruz (Triumph of the Cross).

Patronage[]

The Birhen sa Cotta relief

Soon after, the image of the Nuestra Señora dela Inmaculada Concepción y del Triunfo de la Cruz de Migpangi arrived. Father Ducos then placed the fort under her patronage and enshrined the image in a chapel inside the walls. Outside the walls is a bas-relief of the Virgin, facing the bay.[5][better source needed]

World War II[]

During World War II, Wendell Fertig established the command headquarters of the growing guerrilla resistance to the Japanese occupation of Mindanao in the Spanish fort in the city on October 1942 during the Japanese occupation in Misamis. However, his headquarters was abandoned June 26, 1943, in the face of a large Japanese attack.[6] The Cotta was garrisoned by a contingent of Japanese who dug foxholes near or under the walls. This undermining of walls will later lead to the destruction of the Southwest bastion in the earthquake of 1955.

1955 Earthquake[]

Sometime in March 1955, a 7.6 magnitude earthquake shook Ozamiz and its environs. The quake destroyed many important landmarks of the city, including the fort's southwest bastion and the town's century-old church that enshrined the image of the Virgin Mary (as it was transferred from the fort in 1876). One of the main reasons for the sinking was the foxholes that was dug under the walls by the Japanese during World War II, weakening its foundation. For many years, the fort laid destroyed. It wasn't until in 2002 when it was finally renovated and restored to its original design.

The damage to the fort

Cotta Fort today[]

The fort is now an outdoor Roman Catholic Marian Shrine and a known tourist destination. It is also now divided into 3 parts: Cotta Shrine, Cotta Garden (the inside), and Cotta Beach. This section was formerly a gate, which is now closed and walled in. Inside the fort is a garden, where it features a small museum that holds precious artifacts from the fort. On the eastern bastion is a 9 meter (30 ft) tall, concrete lighthouse. The lighthouse has a focal plane of 17 meters (55 ft) and it has two red flashes every 10 s.[7][better source needed] The fort later became a historical symbol on March 13, 2002. The Cotta Garden and Beach is currently closed due to renovations.

Gallery[]

  • The entrance of Cotta Fort

  • Ditto

  • Cotta Fort Historical Marker

  • The Garden/Courtyard

  • The museum

  • The arsenal

  • The ramp

  • The lighthouse

  • A replica of a cannon

  • Cotta Beach (2018)

  • One of the bastions in the shrine area

  • Cotta Shrine (2017)

  • Cotta Shrine (2022)

  • Birhen sa Cotta

  • The fort taken from a drone (2016)

  • The old entrance (taken from outside)

  • The old entrance (taken from inside)

References[]

  1. ^ "NHI Resolution". Retrieved January 12, 2018 – via drive.google.com.
  2. ^ "Destinations". City of Ozamiz. Archived from the original on November 28, 2019. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  3. ^ Bernad, Miguel A. (July 10, 2016). "The Historic Fort in Misamis". Philstar Global (Opinion). Archived from the original on December 28, 2017. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  4. ^ Maranga, Mark Anthony (April 29, 2016). "Cotta Fort in Ozamiz". Philippines Tour Guide. Archived from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
  5. ^ "She Is Coming Home". City of Ozamiz. November 26, 2017. Archived from the original on December 27, 2019. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  6. ^ Holmes, Kent (2015). Wendell Fertig and His Guerrilla Forces in the Philippines: Fighting the Japanese Occupation, 1942-1945. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co. p. 43.
  7. ^ "Lighthouses of the Philippines: Northern Mindanao". ibiblio.org. July 24, 2005. Archived from the original on July 27, 2021. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
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