Ternate, Cavite

The town is named after the Indonesian island of Ternate, which was the homeland of settlers in the region in the late 1600s as they were emigrants from the Moluccas. The town was also known as Barra or Bahra (from Barra de Maragondón) in Chavacano. Prior to the arrival of migrants, the area was known as Wawa by the native Tagalogs, from the Tagalog wawa ("river mouth" or "river delta").^[6]

The Merdicas (also spelled Mardicas or Mardikas) were Catholic natives of the islands of Ternate and Tidore of the Moluccas, converted by Jesuit missionaries during the Portuguese occupation of the islands. The islands were later captured by the Spanish, who vied for their control with the Dutch. In 1663, the Spanish garrison in Ternate were forced to pull out to defend Manila against an impending invasion by Koxinga on the Kingdom of Tungning in modern Taiwan, sacrificing the Moluccas to the Dutch. Two hundred families of Merdicas (of mixed Mexican-Filipino-Spanish and Papuan-Indonesian-Portuguese descent)^[7] volunteered, and were resettled in a sandbar near the mouth of the Maragondon River (known as the Bahra de Maragondon) and Tanza, Cavite.^[8] Among them was their ruler, Sultan Said Din Burkat, who deported to Manila together with his entourage and family and later converted to Christianity.^[9]

The invasion did not occur as Koxinga fell ill and died. The Merdicas community eventually assimilated into the local population. Today, the descendants of the Merdicas continue to speak their Spanish creole (with Portuguese and Papuan influences), which came to be known as Ternateño Chabacano.^[8]

Ternate was once a barrio of Maragondón, and was the first town to attain full independence from it on March 31, 1857. The agreement was signed on behalf of the residents of Ternate by Tomás de León, Félix Nigosa, Pablo de León, Florencio Nino Franco and Juan Ramos.

On October 15, 1903, Ternate was merged with Naic by virtue of Act No. 947.^[10] It was later separated by virtue of Executive Order No. 96 in November 1915 but was effective only on January 1, 1916.^[11]

On March 3, 1992, Mayor Octavio Velasco, along with his two bodyguards and the town chief of police Felipe Enero, were assassinated in front of the municipal hall by five unknown gunmen, alleged to be bodyguards of then-Cavite Representative Jorge Núñez.^[12][13] As of March 1994, the assassins were still at large.^[14]

Ternate is 47 kilometres (29 mi) from Imus and 57 kilometres (35 mi) from Manila.

In the 2024 census, the population of Ternate, Cavite, was 24,891 people,^[23] with a density of 420 inhabitants per square kilometre or 1,100 inhabitants per square mile.

Poverty incidence of Ternate

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority^{[25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32]}

The Ternate Schools District Office governs all educational institutions within the municipality. It oversees the management and operations of all private and public, from primary to secondary schools.^[33]