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The nomadic Blaan people are the original inhabitants of present-day General Santos, and traces of their early settlements of the area are found in the city's place names, which are derived from their vocabulary. Their name for the city, Dadiangas, is from the Ziziphus spina-christi tree that was once abundant in the area and is now a protected species under Republic Act 8371 or the Indigenous Peoples Right Act of 2007. The Blaan now lives alongside the city's new generation of settlers and other immigrants.
Beforehand, the Blaan would have been forced upland into the surrounding hills after the Muslims settled in the area under the rule of the Sultanate of Maguindanao.
After the fall of Maguindanao, Datu Uto of Buayan expanded his domain south towards Sarangani Bay. Dadiangas remained as a port under the Sultanate of Buayan until the Spanish conquered the Sarangani Bay area by the end of the 19th century.
Spanish and American colonial period[edit]
In 1898, by the end of Spanish colonial rule in the Philippines, two brothers hailing from Barcelona, Spain, Jose and Alberto Olarte, settled in Makar, now known as Brgy. Labangal. On October 29, 1903, the Municipality of Makar was officially established under the American Insular Government Act No. 21 Section 4. Nearly eleven years later on July 23, 1914, the Municipal District of Buayan was situated in what is now Brgy. Buayan was established. Makar formed what would later become the western part of General Santos, while Buayan consisted of its eastern part.
In 1924, the Provincial Board Resolution No. 8 proposed by the provincial government of Cotabato declared the creation of a settlement with an area of 300 hectares which will serve as the market settlement for agricultural products coming from Allah Valley and areas situated south of Lake Buluan. Makar was included in the proposed 300-hectare townsite area which was divided into three areas. The proposal was submitted to Governor-General Henry L. Stimson in 1928. However, for reasons unknown, only one area was approved for the said proposed market town, which happened to be an area which is a flat plain dotted by evergreen trees now eponymously known as Dadiangas, which would instead serve as the nucleus of General Santos as a city for the years to come.
Commonwealth period[edit]
Statue of General Paulino Santos for whom the city is named
Organized under the National Land Settlement Administration (NLSA) of the Commonwealth Government headed by President Manuel L. Quezon, General Paulino Santos led the relocation of 62 Christian settlers from Luzon to the shores of Sarangani Bay aboard the steam ship "Basilan" of the Compañía Marítima on February 27, 1939. The 62 pioneers, mostly agricultural and trade graduates, were the first large batch of settlers to land in the area with the mission to industriously cultivate the region. After this first influx of pioneers, more Christians from Visayas and Luzon subsequently migrated into the area, gradually driving some of the Blaan residents to the hills and mountains, where they have lost their livelihood and somewhat displaced Maguindanaon living in the area.
In March 1939, the first formal settlement in the city was established in Alagao, which is now known as Barangay Lagao. Lagao was known then as the "Municipal District of Buayan" under the jurisdiction of the deputy governor of the Municipal District of Glan, until it officially became an independent Municipal District of Buayan on October 1, 1940, appointing Datu Sharif Zainal Abedin, an Arab mestizo married to a daughter of a very influential datu of lower Buayan, as the first district municipal mayor.
Second World War[edit]
During World War II, the Municipal District of Buayan became one of the last frontiers between the combined American and Filipino forces and troops from the Empire of Japan. Retreating Imperial Japanese forces made Klaja Karsts Land their last ground for defence, constructing round cement bunkers and tunnels. These bunkers can still be seen at Sitio Guadalupe; most of the tunnels, however, have since been damaged and even destroyed by treasure hunters and land developers.
Renaming and elevation to city status[edit]
Main article: Cities of the Philippines
National Highway corner Santiago Boulevard
A year after the Philippines regained full sovereignty from the United States on July 4, 1946, the Municipality of Buayan became a 4th class regular municipality by virtue of the Executive Order Number 82, dated August 18, 1947, by President Manuel Roxas, absorbing the Municipality of Makar and the Municipal District of Glan, whose low income bracket at the time disqualified it for the honour. Dadiangas was the seat of government for the Municipality of Buayan electing Irineo Santiago as its first Municipal Mayor in a local election that was held on November 11, 1947. Mayor Santiago was formally inducted on January 1, 1948.
Six years later, in June 1954, the Municipality of Buayan was renamed General Santos as a tribute to the leading pioneer via Act No. 1107 authored by Congressman Luminog Mangelen of Cotabato Province.
From 1963 to 1967, the municipality's economy experienced a boom under Mayor Lucio A. Velayo, as several large agri-based and multinational firms such as Dole Philippines, General Milling Corporation and UDAGRI expanded into the area. Although it was then qualified to become a fourth class city from being a municipality, the residents rejected a move by Congressman Salipada Pendatun to convert the Municipality of Buayan into a city and to rename it "Rajah Buayan".
On July 8, 1968, the Municipality of General Santos was converted into a city upon the approval of Republic Act No. 5412, authored by Congressman James L. Chiongbian. By this time, General Santos City had already established itself as a major economic and educational hub in the region. Three of the oldest educational institutions in the city — Notre Dame Dadiangas University (1948), Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Colleges (1957), and Mindanao State University (1961) — were established prior to the city's official founding. It was inaugurated on September 5 of that year, with Antonio C. Acharon became the new city's first mayor. On September 5, 1988, a decade after its inauguration as a chartered city, GenSan was declared a highly urbanized city of South Cotabato.
Even after becoming a highly urbanized city independent from South Cotabato in 1988, General Santos remained part of the province's congressional representation. The city only gained a separate representative with the passage of Republic Act No. 11243 on March 11, 2019, which segregated General Santos from the first congressional district of South Cotabato to be its 3rd congressional district. On September 15, 2021, House Bill No. 10021 authored by Representative Ferdinand Hernandez, that officially mandates General Santos as a lone district, separate from South Cotabato was passed on third and final reading.
In April 2001, Mayor Adelbert W. Antonino, an ally of deposed president Joseph Estrada, coordinated with various mayors and governors to bring their respective constituents to Epifanio delos Santos Avenue in Metro Manila to protest the arrest of Estrada.
On June 8, 2026, a Mw 7.8 earthquake struck off the southern coast of Mindanao, resulting fatalities and a state-of-emergency in General Santos.
