Cavite, chartered city and seaport of the northern Philippines, in Cavite Province. Cavite is located on Luzon Island, on Manila Bay, near Manila. The city has a fine harbor and is encircled by walls. The principal articles of trade include corn, rice, sugar, coffee, cacao, copra, bananas, and Manila hemp. On a narrow neck of land extending east into the bay are the remains of fortifications dating from Spanish colonial times and a former United States naval facility. Under Spanish rule Cavite was a naval base and following its capture by the American admiral George Dewey in 1898, during the Spanish-American War, it became the principal base of the U.S. Asian Fleet. The Japanese captured Cavite in December 1941, during World War II, and held it until 1945. Population (1999 estimate) 90,826.
