Davao City
Founded by Sultan Datu Bago in 1843 after resisting Spanish conquest, the Philippines' largest city by area (2,443 km²) was transformed under Duterte's controversial mayoral rule into a fast-growing economy.
Davao City was forged in resistance. Datu Bago, a Maguindanaon warrior rewarded territory around Davao Gulf for fighting the Spanish in the 1700s, moved from his ancestral home in 1800, unified the Bagobos and local tribes, founded his fortress capital at Pinagurasan in 1830, and was crowned Sultan in 1843—effectively independent from both Spain and the Sultanate of Maguindanao. José Cruz de Uyanguren's 1848 expedition established Nueva Vergara, but Datu Bago's death in 1850 did not end resistance; Muslim datus fought Spanish control for decades more.
American colonizers after 1898 recognized agricultural potential. Migrants from Luzon, Visayas, China, Japan, and the US arrived; by the 1930s, Japanese settlers dominated the abaca industry. Post-independence, Davao became notorious for violent crime until Rodrigo Duterte's 1988 election as mayor began a controversial transformation. Serving 1988-1998, 2001-2010, and 2013-2016, Duterte cracked down on crime through methods that drew sharp criticism for vigilantism and death squads, but local popularity propelled him to the Philippine presidency in 2016.
Davao is now one of the Philippines' fastest-growing economies, anchored by agriculture, real estate, trade, and increasingly tech startups. At 2,443 km², it is the country's largest city by land area—7.8 times larger than Cebu and three times the size of Metro Manila. The Davao International Airport connects the city domestically and internationally.
The Duterte dynasty continues despite controversy: following Rodrigo Duterte's arrest and detention at The Hague in March 2025, his son Sebastian Duterte became acting mayor in June 2025. The city that resisted Spanish, American, and Japanese occupation now navigates a different transition—from one-family rule toward whatever comes next.