orders. Observing that in the other part of the arroyo the rampart was lower, he ordered a skiff brought there and after beaching it, he ordered some of his soldiers to use it as passage to the other side and take a more elevated point from where they could fire at the defenders of the town. With the defenders retreating, Salcedo and his men were able to approach the wall and breach it. The intrepid Gat-Maitan with his Cainta men came to close the breach, forcing Saavedra to back off. In the meantime, the cannons of the galley destroyed the bulwarks and the houses in the town in a manner the people had not seen before. And the shouts of the 600 Visayans allied with the Spanish made the natives believe that the Spaniards were already inside the poblacion [town proper]. Because of this, the valiant defenders of the breach abandoned it and retreated to the center of the town. Salcedo observed this from a distance and ordered the breach attacked again. This time, the Spaniards encountered little resistance. Led by Salcedo and with Saavedra carrying the Spanish banner, they succeeded in entering the town. Together with their soldiers, they advanced rapidly and shortly scaled the wall where a bloody battle was fought. The Cainta men, encouraged by their chief Gat-Maitan, preferred to die rather than surrender. Having taken over the walls, the Spaniards climbed the towers and hoisted the Spanish banner. At the blare of the bugle, the cannons stopped firing from the galley. Spanish rule Founded on November 30, 1571, Cainta was a fiercely independent village that fought valiantly against the Spaniards but was later defeated and became a visita (annex) of Taytay in 1571 under the Jesuits. Changes in ecclesiastical administration made Cainta a part of Pasig under the Augustinians but it was deeded back to the Jesuits by the King of Spain in 1696. Cainta became a separate township in 1760. Conversion to Catholicism The chief religion is Roman Catholicism. When the Spaniards came they celebrated the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle and a mass was held in a chapel made of nipa palm branches and wood. Many people came to attend and consequently were baptized into the faith. The Church of Cainta was completed in 1715. It was gutted during World War II. Only the outer walls and the facade remained which was repaired