For over 300 years, the province played an important role in both the country's colonial past and eventual fight for independence, earning it the title "Historical Capital of the Philippines".

The old provincial capital, Cavite City also hosted docks for the Manila galleon, becoming an essential part of commerce between Asia and Latin America.

Originally an agricultural province, its northern cities of Bacoor, Imus, and Dasmariñas (with a combined population of 1,864,560 at the 2020 Census) are now suburbs of Metro Manila due to increasing urbanization in the late 20th century.

The name "Cavite" comes from the Hispanicized form of kawit (alternatively kalawit), Tagalog for "hook", in reference to the small hook-shaped peninsula jutting out to Manila Bay.

The Spanish colonizers who arrived in the late 16th century saw the unusual tongue of land jutting out on Manila Bay and saw its deep waters as the main staging ground where they could launch their bulky galleons.

Galleons were built and fitted at the port and many Chinese merchants settled in the communities of Bacoor and Kawit, opposite the Spanish city to trade silks, porcelain and other oriental goods.

Led by Emilio Aguinaldo, Caviteños made lightning raids on Spanish headquarters, and soon liberated the entire province through the Battle of Alapan.

[2] A captured Spanish cannon from the Cavite arsenal now sits in Village Green Park in Winnetka, Illinois, United States of America.

At its peak the force contained 14 infantry regiments: On January 31, 1945, the liberation of the province of Cavite started with the combined forces of the American 11th Airborne Division under General Joseph Swing and Col. Harry Hildebrand and the valiant Caviteño guerilleros of the Fil-American Cavite Guerilla Forces, which liberated the province of Cavite from the Japanese occupiers, and protected at all costs the National Highway 17 (Aguinaldo Highway) from Tagaytay City to Las Piñas that serve as the vital supply route of the U.S. 11th Airborne Division, paving the way towards the road to the bitter but victorious Battle of Manila.

Also, Tagaytay's high location and cool temperatures would enable it to become a secondary summer capital and a vacation spot especially during the Christmas season, given its proximity to the Manila area.

The exposes told the story of how a group of moro men were recruited by the military for Operation Merdeka, Marcos' secret plan to invade Sabah and reclaim it from Malaysia, and trained them on the island of Corregidor, which is administered by Cavite province.

A site in Carmona was selected, and by the mid-1970s, the resettlement area soon attracted poor and middle class migrants alike from Quezon City, Manila, Makati and Parañaque.

[37] Bacoor, given its proximity to Metro Manila, saw the building of the first residential villages during this time, providing accommodation the rising number of workers from the nearby capital.

[citation needed] One geographical feature of Cavite, Mount Sungay, was significantly altered in 1979 when First Lady Imelda Marcos ordered the construction of the Palace in the Sky, a mansion originally intended as a guesthouse for former California Governor Ronald Reagan (who never arrived).

Forest lands are being maintained as they play a great role in the ecological balance of the province aside from the fact that they are home to numerous flora and fauna that needs to be protected and preserved.

The park lies at the border of Cavite and Batangas and encompasses three peaks, Palay-Palay, Pico de Loro and Mataas na Gulod.

[42] The greater parts of Cavite are composed of volcanic materials, tuff, cinders, basalt, breccias, agglomerate and interbeddings of shales, and sandstones.

The drainage systems are deeply entrenched in the tuffs, eroding thin interbedded sandstones and conglomerate rocks which are the sources of little reserves of sand and gravel in the larger stream.

Investors established their businesses in different industrial estates that magnetized people to migrate to Cavite due to job opportunities the province offers.

[59] The Iglesia ni Cristo with 65 local congregations[60] as well as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints[citation needed] are in Cavite.

[61] Meanwhile, the Members Church of God International (MCGI) has established coordinating centers throughout the province and a local convention center situated in Biga, Silang, Cavite With the influx of Filipino Muslim migrants from the Mindanao, local Caviteño Balik Islam or reverts, and some non-Filipino expats, their OFW spouses and children returning from Muslim countries, Sunni Islam of either the Shafii or Hanbali schools-of-thought has become evident in various areas of the province, and accounts for the majority of the non-Christian population.

[63] Now used almost exclusively in Cavite City and coastal Ternate, Chabacano reached its widest diffusion and greatest splendor during the Spanish and American periods of Filipino history, when newspapers and literary works flourished.

The language is now taught in elementary schools in both Cavite City and Ternate as part of the K-12 national curriculum from first to third grade, fostering a new generation of speakers and writers in the province.

The largest economic zone under development is located in General Trias, the PEC Industrial Park with 177 hectares (440 acres) intended for garments, textiles, semiconductors, food processing and pharmaceuticals.

Palay-Palay and Mataas na Gulod National Park in Ternate and Maragondon, Sitio Buhay Unclassified Forest in Magallanes and flowers, vegetables and coffee farms.

Pico De Loro is the highest part of Cavite at 664 meters above sea level and is noted for its 360-degree view at its summit and a cliff known as Parrot's Beak or Monolith that mountaineers would also like to climb.

Pico De Loro's north ridge, and shortens the travel time from Manila to the western coves of Cavite and Nasugbu, Batangas.

The 11.7-kilometer (7.3 mi) route of the light railway system that will start from Baclaran to Niog was planned to carry a capacity of 40,000 passengers per direction per hour.

A groundbreaking ceremony for LRT Line 1 South Extension Project was held on May 4, 2017 and construction started on May 7, 2019 after the right-of-way was "free and clear" of obstructions.

The project will improve passenger mobility and reduce the volume of vehicular traffic in the Cavite area by providing a higher capacity mass transit system.