LEGASPI SAILING TO MANILA. ] Legaspi now declared King Philip the overlord of that whole country, and made Maynila the capital. He changed the spelling of the name to _Manila_. This word is made up of two Tagal words—_may_, which means “to have,” and _nila_, a kind of tree that once grew thickly around the city—and _Maynila_ means that there were many nila trees there. Lacondola and Soliman joined forces with Martin de Goiti, to help strengthen the new rule in the islands. The country now known as Batangas (bä tän´gäs) Province was then ruled by several chiefs who were usually at war with the Tagals and other tribes. They and their people had come from Borneo and had intermarried with the Negritos (nā grē´tōs). They were great hunters and good fighters, but would not yield to the Spaniards; so, with the aid of other tribes, the Spaniards drove them from the country. There were other chiefs ruling in the districts about Manila Bay; but these showed themselves friendly to Spain, and were left in office, to govern in the name of the king. The work of putting the country in order now went on rapidly. In June, 1571, Legaspi formed the City Council of Manila, and began to lay the foundation for a wise and just rule in these islands. He made a plan for Manila, and had the city laid out in squares and streets just as we see it to-day inside the walls. He also set the people to work building these walls for a defense against the wild tribes. The walls were nineteen years in building, and to-day, after more than three hundred years, they are still strong and beautiful, to show how well the Tagal people builded. The fort at the mouth of the Pasig River was also begun at this time. Governor-General Legaspi was a strong, wise ruler for this country. He was a man far ahead of his times and of his people, “a good man among men, and a great man among statesmen.” If his plans for the Philippines had been carried out, the history of the islands would be very different from what it is to-day. If those who came after him had been as wise and as kind as he, the Filipinos would have been a happy, contented people. But dark days came all too soon to the colony. On the 20th day of August, 1572, Legaspi died, worn out by the hard labors of his active, useful life. He was buried in the Augustine Chapel of San Fausto, in Manila, and another sort of rule soon began in the islands.