Root • Tree
Mangroves have tangled roots that are
partly aboveground.
The mango
tree is an evergreen
tree of
the cashew
family.
42 Mangrove BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
Manila
Population
(2007 estimate)
1,660,714
Manila is the capital of the Philippines,
an island country in Southeast Asia. It
has been the country’s main city for
about 400 years. It lies on Manila Bay,
on Luzon Island. The Pasig River runs
through the middle of the city.
A flowering plant called nilad once grew
all over the banks of the Pasig River. The
city was named Maynilad after this
plant. Its name was later shortened to
Manila.
Manila is the Philippines’ center of business,
trade, and industry. It is also the
country’s main port. Factories in the city
make fabrics, clothes, processed foods,
medicines, and many other products.
In the 1500s Manila was a Muslim
settlement. Spanish conquerors
destroyed the settlement in 1571 and
built a new town there. It became the
capital of the Spanish colony of the Philippines.
Spain ruled the colony for more
than 300 years.
U.S. forces captured Manila during the
Spanish-AmericanWar of 1898. After
the war the United States took control
of the whole country. It made Manila its
headquarters in the Philippines. The city
became a center of trade and tourism.
DuringWorldWar II (1939–45) the
Japanese captured Manila. U.S. forces
recaptured the city in 1945. Manila was
damaged during the fighting but was
later rebuilt. In 1946 the Philippines
became an independent country with
Manila as its capital.
..More to explore
Philippines
Manila is a busy, modern city.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Manila 43
Manitoba
Manitoba is one of Canada’s
three Prairie Provinces. Manitoba
is also called the Keystone Province
because it is centrally located within
Canada, like the keystone in an arch. Its
capital is Winnipeg.
Geography
On the west, Manitoba borders
Saskatchewan, another of the Prairie
Provinces. (Alberta is the third Prairie
Province.) Nunavut lies to the north,
and the cold waters of Hudson Bay are
to the northeast. To the east is Ontario.
To the south are the U.S. states of Minnesota
and North Dakota.
Flat prairies with rich soils cover much
of southern Manitoba. Most of the rest
of the province is rocky land with many
forests and rivers. The land near Hudson
Bay in the far north is treeless tundra.
Manitoba has more than 38,000 lakes.
The three largest—LakesWinnipeg,
Manitoba, andWinnipegosis—are in
the south.
People
Manitoba has more ethnic groups than
any other Canadian province. More
than half of its people have ancestors
who came from Great Britain or Ireland.
People of German, Ukrainian, French,
and Polish ancestry also make up large
segments of the population. More than
100,000 people have American Indian
roots. Most of them are Chipewyan,
Assiniboin, Cree, or Ojibwa. The Metis
people have both American Indian and
European (mostly French) ancestry.
Winnipeg and its suburbs are home to
about 60 percent of Manitoba’s people.
Winnipeg is the largest city in central
Canada.
Economy
Manitoba’s location in central Canada
has made transportation and shipping
important to its economy. Lying 60
miles (95 kilometers) north of the U.S.
border,Winnipeg is a key linking point
for air, railroad, and truck routes. Products
made in Manitoba are shipped in
all directions. They include foods and
drinks, airplane parts, buses, computers,
clothing, and paper. Mines in the north
produce copper, zinc, nickel, and gold.
44 Manitoba BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
About 20,000 farms, mostly on the
southern prairies, contribute to Manitoba’s
economy. Wheat, canola, alfalfa,
barley, oats, and flax are the most important
crops. Farmers also raise hogs and
cattle.
History
The first residents of Manitoba were
American Indians who arrived thousands
of years ago. European explorers
came in the early 1600s. They found
that the area was rich in fur-bearing
animals. In 1670 the English government
created the Hudson’s Bay Company
to build fur-trading posts in the
area. The company faced fierce competition
from French fur traders. After the
English drove the French from Canada
in 1763, the Hudson’s Bay Company
controlled the whole area.
The Hudson’s Bay Company soon had
another competitor, a Canadian furtrading
company called the NorthWest
Company. In 1811 the Hudson’s Bay
Company started the first farming
colony in Manitoba along the Red River,
near what is nowWinnipeg. The North
West Company attacked the colony, but
it survived. In 1821 the NorthWest
Company became part of the Hudson’s
Bay Company.
In 1869 the Hudson’s Bay Company
turned its territory over to the new
country of Canada. The Metis who lived
in the area feared that the Canadians
would take their land and change their
way of life. Led by Louis Riel, the Metis
rebelled. The Canadian government
defeated the rebels, but Riel won rights
for his people.
Canada made Manitoba a province in
1870. Manitoba grew slowly at first, but
in the early 1900s many immigrants
arrived from eastern Canada and
Europe. Many of the early settlers were
farmers, but mining and manufacturing
soon developed. Later in the 1900s
