Luzon
Luzon is the name of the largest and most important island in the Philippines, both politically and economically, and one of the country's three large island groups along with Visayas and Mindanao. As a group of islands it includes the island of Luzón itself, Batanes and Babuyán to the north, the islands of Catanduanes, Marinduque, Masbate, Romblón and Mindoro in the south. The Palawan islands, which historically belonged to the Luzon administrative region, were transferred to Region VI (Western Visayas) in 2005.
Luzon has an area of 104,688 km², making it the 17th largest island in the world. In it are both the capital of the country, Manila, and the most populous city, Quezon City. It is a mountainous island. To the west is the South China Sea, to the east is the Philippine Sea, and to the north is the Luzon Strait.
In ancient maps it was called Luçonia or Luçon (Lução in the current spelling) and its inhabitants were called luções. Historically, Luzón was also known as New Castile, while in turn, towards the middle of the century XIX, the Chinese knew Spain as Lusong (pinyin: Lüsong; 呂宋) for Luzon.
The strange relationship that exists, as far as toponymy is concerned, between the people of Luzón, in Spain, and the island of the same name in the Philippines, is very curious. The fact that in the town of Molina de Aragón (Luzón in Guadalajara-Spain belongs to the Señorío de Molina) there is the so-called "Palacio del Virrey de Manila", built for Fernando de Valdés, deepens the mystery. and Tamón, governor of the Philippines from August 14, 1729 to July 1739. In this sense, some oral sources indicate in guided tours of the palace that perhaps the viceroy had a sentimental relationship with a young Luzonera. However, this position is not at all clear and it is difficult to sustain it. Since who did marry a young woman from Molina (Tomasa Josefa de la Muela y Navarro) was his son with the same name and after his father came from the Philippines.
History
The Philippine islands, and especially Luzon, were linked by land bridges to the rest of Asia, through which the indigenous Aetas landed on the islands, more than 15,000 years ago.
Austronesians from Taiwan arrived in northern Luzon during the great Austronesian expansion, around 2500 BCE. C., to later spread to the rest of the Philippines and maritime Southeast Asia.
The first contact with Spain took place in the 16th century with the arrival of the first Spanish conquistadors, led by Martín de Goiti, Juan de Salcedo and Miguel López de Legazpi who arrived between 1570 and 1571 to claim the land for the King of Spain.
The island was the center of battle during the Philippine Revolution. It was on that island where Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed Philippine independence.
During the Philippine-American War, US forces fought Filipino guerrillas in various parts of the island. In 1901 US General J. Franklin Bell told the New York Times newspaper that "One sixth of the inhabitants of Luzon had been killed or died from dengue fever in the last two years. The loss of life has been great, but I think that no man has been killed except when his death has served the legitimate purposes of war. It is necessary to adopt what other countries would probably have thought was a severe measure, but the Filipino is difficult and cunning and must be fought with his own weapons."
On December 8, 1941, Japanese aircraft attacked US bases on Luzon, launching a campaign that would lead to the landing of Japanese occupation forces in various parts of the island (see Philippine Campaign (1941-1942))). The main landings occurred in Lingayen Gulf on 22 December. Due to the superiority of the Japanese forces, the Philippine and US troops began a series of phased withdrawals towards the Batan Peninsula, where they hoped to hold out until US reinforcements arrived and prevent Japanese use of Manila Bay. through control of Corregidor Island at the southern tip of Batán. The Battle of Batán raged for several months, but the Philippine and American forces were eventually overwhelmed by Japanese superiority. Japanese forces completed the occupation of Luzon, despite being harassed by Filipino and US guerrillas, in many cases fighting in the same places where US forces were harassed during the Philippine-American War
Following the first landings on the islands of Leyte and Mindoro, United States forces reached Luzon, in the Lingayen Gulf, on January 9, 1945. Following the same southward route taken by the Japanese between 1941 and In 1943 they advanced towards Manila and fought against the Japanese in the Battle of Manila from February to March of that same year. US troops also landed at many other sites on the island and directed their efforts to freeing prisoners of war from the Cabanatuan and Los Baños camps. Due to the advance of the Americans, the Japanese forces withdrew to the mountains of Luzon from where they fought extensively against the American forces during the summer of 1945. Luzon and the rest of the Philippines were officially liberated on July 5, 1945.
Administrative division
The island of Luzon is administratively divided into eight regions and each of these regions into several provinces. Its administrative centers are merely a formality with no greater relevance than being the head of the regional tourist offices. Power is controlled by the provincial governments. These regions are:
- Ilocos (Region I)
- Cagayán Valley (Region II)
- Central Light (Region III)
- Calabarzón (Region IV-A)
- MIMARO (Region IV-B)
- Bicoland (Region V)
- The Cordillera
- Great Manila
Geography
Luzon covers an area of 104,688 square kilometers, making it the 15th largest island in the world. With its 39,500,000 inhabitants (just over 38% of the country's total), it is the fifth most populous island on the planet. The average demographic density reaches 359.2 inhabitants/km².
The capital of the Philippines, Manila, as well as the most populous city, Quezon, are located on the island. It is a very mountainous island on which Mount Pulag, the second highest mountain in the country, and the famous Mayon volcano are located. The island is surrounded by the South China Sea to the west, the Philippine Sea to the east, and the Luzon Strait including the Babuyan Channel and Balintang Channel to the north.
Most of the island is roughly rectangular, to which is added to the southeast the Bicol Peninsula. To the north of the island is the highest mountain range in the country, the Central Mountain Range, Mount Pulag, is located on it and has an altitude of 2923 meters. To the east of the Cordillera Central lies the Cagayan Valley produced by the Cagayan River, the largest river in the Philippines. To the east of the valley rises the Sierra Madre, one of the longest in the country.
The Sierra Madre extends through the central and southern part of the island. Between it and the Zambales Mountains to the west lies the Central Luzon plain. This plain, with an extension of 11,000 km², is the largest producer of rice in the country. Among the rivers that irrigate this plain, the longest are the Agno River to the north and the Pampanga to the south. In the middle of the plain stands Mount Arayat alone. To the west, in the Zambales Mountains, rises Mount Pinatubo, famous for its massive eruption in 1991.
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The Zambales Mountains reach to the sea to the north, forming the Lingayen Gulf, home to the Hundred Islands National Park. Also to the south the mountains extend to the south forming the Batán peninsula, which surrounds Manila Bay. This natural harbor is considered one of the best natural harbors in East Asia due to its size and strategic location.
South of Manila Bay is the country's largest lake, and also the largest inland lake in Southeast Asia, Laguna de Bay. This 949 km² lake is fed by the Pasig River in Manila Bay. The Pasig River is one of the most important rivers in the country due to its historical importance and also because it runs through the center of Greater Manila.
20 km² southwest of Laguna de Bay is Lake Taal, in the southwest of the island. This caldera contains the smallest volcano in the Philippines, Taal Volcano, which stands on the island in the middle of the lake. In turn, the volcano has a lake in its crater. The entire area around Taal Lake was part of a large prehistoric volcano that covered the southern part of Cavite province, Tagaytay and Batangas province.
To the southwest of Luzon is the island of Mindoro, separated by the Isla Verde Passage. The passage connects the South China Sea with Tayabas Bay. To the south of the bay is the island of Marinduque.
The southeastern part of Luzon is dominated by the Bicol Peninsula, a mountainous and narrow region that extends approximately 150 km to the southeast. Throughout the peninsula there are numerous gulfs and bays, including San Miguel Bay and Lamón Bay, which contains Alabat Island and is south of Polillo Island in the province of Quezon.
To the east of the peninsula is Catanduanes Island and at the head of it is the Caramoan Peninsula. At the upper tip of Bícol is the island of Samar, separated by the San Bernardino Strait. The Bicol Peninsula is connected to the main part of Luzon through the Tayabas Isthmus. In the southern part of the isthmus is the Bondoc Peninsula.
There are also numerous volcanoes on the Bicol Peninsula. The most famous is the Vayon volcano in Albay. This 2,460 meter high volcano is symmetrically shaped and is a symbol for the Bicol region. Other notable mountains are Mount Isarog and Mount Iriga in Camarines Sur and Mount Bulusán in Sorgoson.
Located off the southwest coast of the Bicol Peninsula are the islands of Ticao, Burias, and Masbate.
Demographics
Ethnic groups
Luzon's population, like the rest of the Philippines, is divided into several ethnolinguistic groups. These groups inhabit different areas of the island.
Ilocanos predominate in the Ilocos region and in the Cagayan Valley, with Pangasinenses inhabiting mainly Pangasinan, while Kapampangans inhabit Pampanga, Tarlac, and the rest of Central Luzon. While the Tagalogs are found in Calabarzón and Gran Manila. Bicolanos are located in Bícol. Other ethnic groups are also present such as the Aetas from Zambales, the Ibanag from Cagayan, the Catalanganes from the homonymous river and the Igorrotes from La Cordillera.
Due to recent migrations, Muslim and Chinese populations can be found in urban areas. Populations of descendants of Spaniards and other European, Latin American, American, Japanese, Korean, Desis and mestizo countries are also noteworthy.
Spanish was of great importance on the island, mainly due to the enlightened population (including José Rizal himself) as well as to the authorities of the Spanish Empire. Spanish was the language of the Philippine Revolution and, in 1899, the Malolos Constitution proclaimed it the official language. However, its use declined due to the US occupation of the Philippines and the imposition of English.
Religion
The majority religions on the island are Christianity, especially in the Catholic confession, although there are also Protestant groups such as the Iglesia Filipina Independiente, and the Iglesia ni Cristo. Indigenous traditions and rites are also present.
Sizable Buddhist and Muslim communities can be found in Metro Manila mainly due to migratory movements.
Languages
Almost all the languages spoken in Luzon belong to the Borneo-Philippines group of Malayo-Polynesian languages which are a branch of the Austronesian language family. The most important regional languages are Tagalog, Ilocano, Bikol, Kapampangan and Pangasinense. English and lan-nang are used by many inhabitants.