Tondo, Manila

Tondo
Recto Avenue running through Divisoria.
Country	Philippines
Region	National Capital Region
City	Manila
Congress	Part of the 1st and 2nd Districts of Manila
Barangays	169

Tondo is a district located in Manila, Philippines. It is the largest in terms of area and population of Manila's sixteen districts, with a Census-estimated 631,313 people in 2015 and consists of two congressional districts. It is also the most densely populated district in the city. Today, if it were an independent city, Tondo would rank as the thirteenth most populous city in the Philippines, behind only the other districts of the City of Manila combined, and the cities of Quezon, Davao, Caloocan, Cebu, Zamboanga, Taguig, Antipolo, Pasig, Cagayan de Oro, Paranaque and Dasmarinas. Tondo hosts the country's largest ports, the Manila North Harbour and the Manila International Container Terminal.

According to Laguna Copperplate Inscription, Tondo has existed since 900 AD, and has been ruled first by Jayadewa who holds the title Senapati or "admiral" in Sanskrit.

Numerous theories on the origin of the name "Tondo" have been put forward. Philippine National Artist Nick Joaquin suggested that it might be a reference to high ground ("tundok"). French linguist Jean-Paul Potet, however, has suggested that the River Mangrove, Aegiceras corniculatum, which at the time was called "tundok" ("tinduk-tindukan" today), is the most likely origin of the name.

The former region of Tondo is over 1,100 years old. Historically, Tondo already existed in the year 900 AD according to the Laguna Copperplate Inscription, a legal document written in Kawi now housed in the National Museum of the Philippines. According to this document, Tondo was ruled by person called Jayadeva who holds the Sanskrit title of senapati or the equivalent of an admiral. The Kingdom of Tondo also extended all the way to the modern-day province of Bulacan particularly around Lihan (Malolos) and Gatbuca (Calumpit).