Cavite, city, southern Luzon, Philippines. Cavite occupies a peninsula on the southern shore of Manila Bay and is primarily a residential centre for commuters to Manila, which lies to the northeast. In 1872 the city was the site of the Cavite Mutiny, a brief and unsuccessful uprising of Filipino soldiers and workers against Spanish rule. In 1896–97 the city was an important base for Emilio Aguinaldo, the insurrectionary leader against Spain.
Cavite was chartered in 1940 and served for a time as a provincial capital. Sangley Point Naval Base, at the city’s outer edge, was an old Spanish naval base that was captured by Commodore George Dewey (May 1, 1898). It thereafter functioned as the chief U.S. naval base and fueling station in Asia until 1941. It continues as a Philippine naval air facility and shipyard, and transport equipment is manufactured there. It is also a commercial centre and fishing port. Pop. (2000) 99,367; (2010) 101,120.