Metropolitan Manila, formally the National Capital Region (NCR) and commonly called Metro Manila, is the capital region and largest metropolitan area of the Philippines. The region is located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay, between the Central Luzon and Calabarzon regions. It consists of 16 highly urbanized cities: the City of Manila, Caloocan, Las Piñas, Makati, Malabon, Mandaluyong, Marikina, Muntinlupa, Navotas, Parañaque, Pasay, Pasig, Quezon City, San Juan, Taguig, and Valenzuela, and one municipality: Pateros. The region encompasses an area of 619.57 square kilometers (239.22 sq mi) and a population of 13,484,462 as of 2020. It is the second most populous and the most densely populated region in the Philippines. It is also the 9th most populous metropolitan area in Asia and the 6th most populous urban area in the world.
The region is the center of culture (including arts and entertainment), economy, education and government of the Philippines. Designated as a global power city, the region exerts a significant impact on commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and entertainment, both locally and internationally. It is the home to all embassies in the Philippines, thereby making it an important center for international diplomacy in the country. Its economic power makes the region the country's premier center for finance and commerce. The region accounts for 36% of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the Philippines.
The metropolis was established in 1975 through Presidential Decree No. 824 in response to the needs to sustain the growing population and for the creation for the center of political power and the seat of the government of the Philippines. The Province of Manila, the predecessor entity of the region, is one of the first eight provinces that revolted against the Spanish colonial rule in the Philippines at the end of the 19th century. Manila's role in the Revolution is honored in the flag of the Philippines, where the sun's eight rays symbolize the eight revolutionary provinces.
Manila, to the extent that it has this placename, was likely founded in the Middle Ages, or between 400 and 1500s, due to the Sanskrit origin of the component "nila" in its name which refers to "indigo", and the prevalence of the placename during the rule of Raja Matanda, the old King of Luzon, who was born in the early 1500s. The earliest evidence of Hinduism and Sanskrit influence in maritime Southeast Asia is in Sanskrit inscriptions from the late 300s in eastern Kalimantan (or Borneo). This analysis of the placename is supported by many other nearby placenames in the Tagalog region with the prefix "may-". As for Luzon, what is now considered Luzon island, or at least its southern portion, was called "Luzon the greater", while what is now considered Mindoro island was called "Luzon the lesser".
Manila has historically been a global city due to its role for international trade. By the 15th and 16th centuries, Manila was a walled and fortified city and was the capital of the Kingdom of Luzon. Its institution, government, and economy were associated with the Tagalogs and the Kapampangans, and the Malay language was extensively used for foreign affairs as customary in much of Southeast Asia at the time. It was also well known by other Southeast Asian kingdoms such as Cebu, Brunei, Melaka, other Malay kingdoms, Ternate, and Cambodia.
In the current territory of Metropolitan Manila, there were several lordships that were either sovereign or tributary such as Tondo (Tundók), Malate (Maalát), Navotas (Nabútas), Tambobong (Tambúbong), Taguig (Tagiig), Parañaque (Palanyág), Cainta (Kay Intâ), and Pateros
Shortly after Raja Matanda's birth, sometime around the early 1500s while he was raja muda or heir apparent, his father, the King of Luzon, died, leaving his mother as Queen Regent of Luzon. By 1511, Luzonians had been carrying out large-scale trade in places near Java and Maluku (or Moluccas) with some Luzonians being hired as officials in various kingdoms in what is now Indonesia. It was there at that time that Luzonians met the Portuguese. In 1521, Raja Matanda, then still a young man, was known in maritime Southeast Asia as the son of the King of Luzon, married a princess of Brunei, and served as an admiral for his grandfather, the Sultan of Brunei, in an attack near Java in exchange for soldiers and a fleet of ships. On the way home, he met and had an encounter with a Castilian fleet.
Some Luzonians in the 1500s had also been taking part in mercenary work in other kingdoms. The Luzonians' commercial influence also reached as far as Butuan. By the 1570s, the ruling class of Manila together with the international Luzonian merchants were Muslim and Islam was spreading through the freemen and the slaves.
On 24 May 1570, the battle of Manila was fought between the Kingdom of Luzon, under the command of the heir apparent Prince Sulayman, and the Kingdom of the Spains and the Indies, under the command of field marshal Martin de Goiti who was aided by some foreign forces. This resulted in the arson and destruction of Manila.
After destroying Manila, the Spanish set up a settlement to secure territory on the same site on the Luzon island for the Spanish ruler. Initially enclosed in wood, much later in stone, a new walled city of Manila became the capital of the Spanish East Indies. After setting up a settlement and consolidating some territorial holdings outwards, the Spanish instituted a province known as Manila.
Later on, the Manila galleon continually sailed the Pacific from end-to-end, bringing to Mexico Asian merchandise and cultural exchange.
In the First Philippine Republic, the province included the walled city of Manila and 23 other municipalities. Mariquina also served as the provincial capital from 1898 to 1899. However, despite almost the entirety of the territory being occupied by Philippine forces, the walled city of Manila was occupied by Spanish forces.
In 1942, during the World War II, President Manuel L. Quezon created the City of Greater Manila as an emergency measure, merging the cities of Manila and Quezon City, along with the municipalities of Caloocan, Makati, Mandaluyong, Parañaque, Pasay, and San Juan. Jorge Vargas was appointed as its first mayor. Mayors in the cities and municipalities included in the City of Greater Manila served as assistant mayors in their town. This was to ensure that Vargas, who was Quezon's principal lieutenant for administrative matters, would have a position of authority recognized under international military law. The City of Greater Manila served as a model for the present-day Metro Manila and the administrative functions of the Governor of Metro Manila that was established during the Marcos administration.
The City of Greater Manila was dissolved in 1945, when President Sergio Osmeña signed Executive Order No. 58.