Photo Gallery of Zamboanga's Historical Past

This is one of a many great finds for the ever increasing picture treasure trove of Zamboanga's ancient history, helping us capture a visual representation of what the storied place looked like then.  It also shows what kind of activities where happening around the old town of Samboanga during this time period.  The above French artist went on a global cruise with a flotilla of French warships, capturing their experiences in his paintings.  This old painting entitled "Straight of Basilan, Island of The Philippines" was done on a visible hillside overlooking the town of Zamboanga and the expansive view beyond, of ships in Basilan Straight, two small islands nearby that might be the Santa Cruz islands, and the big Island of Basilan in the far distance.  From the painter's vantage point, we would surmise that the scenery was viewed near a hillside village in present-day Pasonanca.  The year of this painting is shown as 1846.  If anyone can add to the story of this scenery painting, please contact the webmaster.  We'd appreciate your input.

photo courtesy: National Library of Australia