The first botanic gardens in the Philippines

MANILA, Philippines – Botanic gardens have been in existence for more than 400 years now and present records show that there are more than 800 gardens that have formed a global network for conservation. The oldest of these is located in Pisa, Italy,established in 1543 and Padua, Italy established in 1545. The first tropical botanic garden however, was established in Calcutta, India in 1787.

The first botanic garden in Manila was apparently originally conceived by Juan de Cuellar, a Spanish botanist hired by the “Real Compaña de Filipinas” (Royal Philippine Company), in the late 18th century. Cuellar, a native of Aranjuez, Spain arrived in Manila in August 9, 1786. His initial work for the Company involved cultivation of indigo, black pepper, cotton, mulberries, coffee and cacao. In 1788 Cuellar was directed to promote the cultivation of cinnamon and nutmeg in an attempt by the Spanish monarchy to break the Dutch monopoly on these spices. Aside from these tasks Cuellar thought of establishing a botanic garden in Manila. The letter of proposal was sent to then Spanish Governor General in the Philippines, Antonio Porlier, on September 20, 1788. Cuellar’s plan was to cultivate local ornamental and economic plants and conduct scientific studies about them (Anonymous, 1952). However, his proposal was not immediately acted upon despite several follow-up letters of Cuellar. It is not clear from records whether Cuellar got the official approval for his project. What is evident is that in 1792 a huge monument was erected in the premises of a botanic garden in Malate to commemorate Antonio de Pineda, a Spanish naturalist of the Malaspina expedition, who died in Badoc, Ilocos Sur in 1792 (Madulid, 1981; 1982). A sketch of the botanic garden with the monument as the centrepiece was made by Fernando Brambilla, one of the artists of the Malaspina expedition (Plate 1). This sketch is kept in the archives of Museo Naval, Madrid and was later printed as a lithograph. The same monument of Pineda was depicted in a sketch by an unknown artist and published in 1892 (Zaragoza,1892) reproduced in Merrill, 1912. The botanic garden in Malate is historically significant for it was ahead of other famous botanic gardens in Southeast Asia such as Penang, Malaysia (1796), Bogor, Indonesia (1817), Peradiniya, Sri Lanka (1821) and Singapore (1982).

It is evident that the botanic garden was not maintained in latter years and eventually abandoned. Cuellar lost his job as “Botanico Real” when the Real Compaña de Filipinas he was serving closed down in June, 1795. It is said that Cuellar was later appointed as superintendent of the cloth factories in the province of Ilocos where he also served as Mayor. He died in Vigan, Ilocos Sur in 1801.

Arenas (1850) mentioned that the Pineda monument stood in the place until 1850 “although no one had cared for it.” According to Zaragosa (1892) he still saw the monument standing in 1892 but the surrounding area looked like a small plantation. At the time of American occupation of the Philippines in 1898 the monument was already in a ruinous condition and when Merrill visited the place in 1904, nothing remained of the monument except the square foundation.

As to the location of the botanic garden, it was in a property in Malate previously owned by the “Sociedad Economica de Amigos del Pais” This site was acquired by the “Real Compañia” in 1789 purposely for planting of economic plants by its botanist Juan de Cuellar. Since Cuellar was personally assigned to assist the Malaspina naturalists in their expedition in the Philippines he must have allocated a portion of the plantation to be the site of the garden where the Pineda monument was erected. In the early 1900s the American botanist, Elmer Merrill (1912) made his own research and concluded that the garden was “approximately in the middle of what is now Wright Street, immediately north of the new Malate School Building.” Later, the American historians Salt and Heistand (1971) stated that the Pineda monument stood originally on the NE corner of what is called Wright Street (now Vasquez St.) and Calle Indiana (now Pura Hidalgo-Lim St.). A visit to the place reveals that the block is now occupied partly by the Bureau of Plant Industry compound and by private residential houses (Plate 2). Except for some open spaces planted to ornamental plants and fruit-bearing trees inside the BPI compound there are no traces of the existence of the former botanic garden.

The purpose of this article is to let readers know that earlier in the history of Manila, i.e. in 1790s, there was a place in Malate that was established as a botanic garden. Unfortunately it did not withstand the test of time and was later abandoned. Had it been formally established, cared for and properly maintained to date the place would have been a landmark as one of the first botanical gardens in Southeast Asia.

On September 13, 1858 then Spanish Governor General Fernando de Norzaga-ray issued a decree creating a botanic garden situated near the Pasig River in Manila (Santos 1974). The history of this botanic garden, which later became known as the Mehan Garden can be read in publications and archival records.