Information on research done on Ternate Chabacano (Whinnom, 1956 and Molony, 1873) provide some historical data from which the following account was derived.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, Ternate was the most important of the Island of Moluccas, Indonesia. At that time, several of the colonizing countries of rope quarreled over their claim to get hold of the monopoly of the spice trade of the world. In 1655, however, the Spaniards had to withdraw from the Moluccas in order to concentrate their forces in Manila. This was to fortify themselves against the threatened attack of a Chinese warlord, Koxinga.
In moving out of the Moluccas, the Spanish missionary who went with the troops took along with him some 200 Christians, better known as Márdikas. To this band of 200 immigrants can be traced to entry of Chabacano into the Philippines.
The immigrants settled in Ermita, Manila for a short time. By 1700, they moved to the mouth of the river of the Tagalog town of Maragondon, Cavite. IT is a place about 50 miles south of Manila, opposite the island of Corregidor, right at the entry of Manila Bay. The immigrants called this new settlement, Ternate, after their own homeland in the Moluccas.
At the time of their coming, the Márdikas were known to have spoken their 'own language' as well as amixture of Tagalog and Spanish (Blair & Robertson 24: 41, 66, 237). Eventually, they are assumed to have come to speak PCS as their native tongue (Frake, 1971:224-225).
Except available data from preliminary investigation made by Molony (1973, 1974) on sound changes in Chabacano, it is not ascertained if these people invented the language that they speak now or if they adapted a Philippine military pidgin or a Postuguese Pidgin brought from the Moluccas.
IN her 1973 study, Molony claims that there are 8,000 inhabitants of the town of Ternate who speak Tr. They gain their living mostly by fishing. There income is supplemented by cultivation. They are also helped by relatives who have gone elsewhere, especially to Manila and the United States to seek employment.
Tr is the first language of almost all of the people of Ternate. It has been observed, however, that almost everyone is bilingual in Ternate and Tagalog, the basis of the national language of the Philippines.
Tr=Ternate Chabacano Cv=Cavite Chabacano Zm=Zamboanga Chabacano Ct=Cotabato Chabacano