Batangas Students Make History as the 1st School Ordered Closed in the American Colonial Era
On the lighter side of history, from Volume 49 1 of the Woodstock 2 Letters, a publication of the Society of Jesus from 1872 to 1969, we f...
March 2018
The Capture and Looting of Lipa by US Troops in 1900 during the Fil-American War
In December of the year 1899, almost a year after the Philippine-American War had broken out, after clearing the Bulacan towns of Baliuag an...
The Philippine Revolution in Batangas during the Tenure of Govenor-General Ramon Blanco
While high school history books told us that Batangas was one of eight provinces that first revolted against Spanish colonial rule late in t...
Lemery, Batangas in the 19th Century as Described by a Spanish Historian
Continuing with this web site’s series on late 19 th century Batangas as described by the former government official and historian Manuel S...
Atrocities in Batangas Cited during General Tomoyuki Yamashita’s Trial for War Crimes after WWII
Mention the name Yamashita in the context of the Second World War and in most likelihood the first thing that comes to most Filipinos’ minds...
Francisco Rubio and his Recruitment of Rebel Soldiers in Tanauan in 1900
On 24 October 1900, one Francisco Rubio was arraigned and tried for charges of “being a spy” by a military commission convened in the town o...
Movements of Company D of the USV 28th Infantry Regiment in Batangas in 1900
Continuing with the campaign of the United States Volunteers 28 th Infantry Regiment in Batangas in the year 1900, we now shift our attenti...
Tingloy, Batangas: Historic and Folkloric Notes about some of its Barrios
This article revisits the otherwise forgotten history and folklore of the barrios of Tingloy, Batangas . The information contained herein h...
The State of Philippine Railroads in 1902 and American Attempts to Improve It, Including New Lines in Batangas
On 18 March 1902, the United States Senate directed Elihu Root, the Secretary of War, to provide “a statement of the legal and traffic relat...
San Juan de Bocboc, Batangas in the 19th Century as Described by a Spanish Historian
We move now to the town of San Juan in eastern Batangas, called San Juan de Bocboc during the latter part of the Spanish colonial era, for t...
The Deadly 1902 Cholera Epidemic in the Philippines, with Special Interest on Its Consequences in Batangas
The disease cholera is an infection of the small intestines that leads to diarrhea, vomiting and muscle cramps. It is caused by a bacterium...
The Case of the 19-Year Old Makapili Charged with Treason for Activities in Lipa and Santo Tomas
In this article, we take a look at another Supreme Court case involving treason charges against a member of the Makabayang Katipunan ng mga ...
Company C: the USV 28th Infantry Regiment Movements in the Taal-Lemery Area during the Fil-Am in 1900
This is the second article of a series about the 28sup>th Infantry Regiment of the United States Volunteers (USV) while on deployment in ...
Santo Tomas, Batangas in the 19th Century as Described by a Spanish Historian
Continuing with the series in this web site on 19 th century Batangas as described by the former government official and historian Manuel S...
The State of Batangas in 1901 as Reported to the 2nd US Philippine Commission
The Second Philippine Commission , otherwise known as the Taft Commission, was appointed by the United States President William McKinley in...
Bauan, Batangas: Historic and Folkloric Notes about Its Barrios
We continue with our series featuring historic and folkloric stories from the barrios of Batangas, this time shifting our focus on the Munic...
Life and Economics in Lian, Batangas Early in the 20th Century
An Anthropological paper 1 written by one Pastor M. Layosa in 1927 offers a compelling descriptive picture of the life end economics in the...
The US Army 28th Infantry Regiment in Batangas in 1900 and their Operations in Taal, Lemery, Calaca and Nasugbu
This article starts a new series in this web site on the activities of the United States Army’s 28 th Infantry Regiment as it saw action in...
The Case of the Makapili in Tanauan and the Heroic Dr. Brigido Carandang
From the archives of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, we get this story 1 of both the heroism and treachery of fellow Batangueños on o...
19th Century Tanauan, Batangas as Described by a Spanish Historian
We continue with the series of articles on late 19 th century Batangas as described the former government official and historian Manuel Sas...
Antonio de las Alas, the Outstanding Taal-born Public Servant of the American Colonial Era
The 1931 publication “Men of the Philippines 1 ” included several Batangueños. In the book’s foreword, the gentlemen included were qualifie...
Ibaan, Batangas: Historical and Folkloric Notes about its Barrios
This article continues the series that resurrects historical and folkloric trivia about the different barrios of Batangas. For this install...
Finding Barrio Sulok, the Strategic Barrio in WWII Santo Tomas, Batangas
In my researches on World War II Batangas, one obscure little barrio kept popping up in documentation of United States Army movements during...
Bauan, Batangas in the 19th Century as Described by a Spanish Historian
We continue with the series of articles on 19 th Century Batangas as described by the former Spanish government official and historian Manu...
Two Makapilis and the Marauoy, Lipa Massacre by Japanese Soldiers in February 1945
The date 11 February 1945 was among the darkest in the history of the then town of Lipa in Batangas. “Almost an entire community” was massa...
Lian, Batangas: Historic and Folkloric Notes about some of its Barrios
We take a look at the small western Batangas town of Lian to continue with our series of barrio history and folklore. The information cont...
The Economic Roles Women in Batangas played in 1916
In the present day, women in Batangas can be just about anything they desire to be. They can be owners or top executives of companies, call...
Know the Most Frequently Used Names among the Barrios of Batangas
It is not uncommon in Batangas if somebody is asked where one is from to be told that there is a similarly named barrio somewhere else in th...
Mabini, Batangas: Historic and Folkloric Notes about some of its Barrios
We return to the barrio histories of Batangas with this feature on the town of Mabini, located on the Calumpang Peninsula. The information ...
The Town of Lobo in the 19th Century as Described by a Spanish Historian
This article continues our series about nineteenth century Batangas, as seen through the eyes of the Spanish government official and histori...
Dates when each Town of Batangas was liberated from the Japanese in WWII
Just ten hours 1 after the treacherous attack on Pearl Harbor in December of 1941, as part of a well-coordinated attack, Japanese planes st...
A Glimpse at Life in Batangas Early in the 1600s
The Spanish government official and historian Antonio de Morga 1 gave a fascinating glimpse of what life must have been in the Lake Bombon ...
Eulalio and Glicera Villavicencio of Taal’s Patriotic Ilustrado Class: Funders of the Philippine Revolution
If one reads through the histories of barrios in Taal and nearby towns, one finds countless stories of village folk, tired of Spanish oppres...
The Fierce Battle for the Control of Cuenca and Mount Makulot in 1945
After the landing of Allied forces on the shores of Nasugbu on the last day of January 1945, among their immediate objectives was the cleari...
Calaca, Batangas: Historic and Folkloric Notes about some of its Barrios
We continue with the series of articles dedicated to resurrecting otherwise forgotten pieces of historical and folkloric trivia about the ba...
The Mariang Ilaya and Engkanto Legends of Mount Makulot as Told by Elders in Cuenca in 1922
If you are from these parts, then you will only be too familiar with stories people tell about the “suno” (hitchhiker) who allegedly boards ...
Taysan’s Relative Isolation from the Rest of Batangas in 1916
Taysan is one of the province of Batangas’ middle-sized municipalities, with a land area of roughly 9,362 hectares and a population of just ...
Traditional Ways by which People of Lipa Estimated Time and Predicted Weather
To be perfectly honest, the methods described in this article were probably more universally used than the title suggests. Still, they will...
Taal, Batangas in the 19th Century, as Described by a Spanish Historian
This article is part of a series that attempts to bring to modern day readers descriptive images of the towns of Batangas in the late ninete...
Agoncillo, Batangas: Historic and Folkloric Notes about some of its Barrios
This article is part of a series dedicated to bringing to younger readers otherwise forgotten historic and folkloric information about the b...
An Old Tourist Spot in Taal Called the Pansipit Fishery
I still carry inside my head very hazy memories of a family trip to the Taal-Lemery area back in the early or mid-sixties. I could not have...
10 Historical Trivia about Batangas All Batangueños Should Know
The history of the great province of Batangas overflows with richness and trivial notes will not do it any justice. That said, there are th...
The Balisong and the Old Knife-Making Rivalry between Taal and Lipa
The blacksmithing industry in the Philippines likely predates the arrival of the Spaniards. A 1590 manuscript called the Boxer Codex 1 , wh...
The Story of Juanang Ilaya, Supposedly a Legend Started in Lipa Town
A few years back, somebody on social media suggested that I wrote about the legend of Juanang Ilaya for this web site. I replied that I wou...
The Merchants of Taal in 1934 and a Business Model Based on Filipino Honesty
A 1934 Anthropology paper written by one Crisologo Atienza documented a remarkable business model used by the merchants of Taal that was tot...
San Luis, Batangas: Historic and Folkloric Notes about some of its Barrios
This article is part of a series of articles dedicated to resurrecting otherwise forgotten historic and folkloric trivia about the barrios o...
Calatagan, Batangas in the 19th Century, as Described by a Spanish Historian
This is the eighth article of a series that seeks to acquaint modern day readers with conditions in the different towns of the Province of B...
Agricultural and Other Products of Batangas in 1916 and the Top Producing Towns
An Anthropological paper written by one Galicano C. Luansing in 1916 offers a glimpse at economic activities undertaken by the people of Bat...
12 Violent Earthquakes that Rocked Batangas from 1645 to 1901
The shaking of the ground which we all refer to as “earthquake” may be caused by different factors: the collapse of an underground cavern o...
Nasugbu, Batangas in the 19th Century as Described by a Spanish Historian
In this seventh article of the series featuring the towns of Batangas as described by the Spanish historian Manuel Sastron, we focus on the ...
The State of Agriculture in San Juan, Batangas in 1919
A 1919 paper written by one Beato M. Bukid 1 provides a rare glimpse at the state of agriculture in the eastern Batangas town of San Juan b...
Taysan: Historical and Folkloric Notes about some of its Barrios
This article is the latest in the series dedicated to folkloric and historic trivia about the barrios of Batangas. This time, we focus on t...
19th Century San Jose, Batangas as Described by a Spanish Historian
This article is the sixth of a series featuring the towns of Batangas in the late nineteenth century, as described by the Spanish Historian ...
Ananias Diokno: the Taal-born General Recognized as the only Tagalog to lead a Military Expedition to the Visayas during the Philippine Revolution
It was 1898. The Philippine Revolution was becoming the success its instigators might have hoped for probably only in their wildest dreams....
12 Marriage and other Customs Observed in Calaca, Batangas in 1931
A 1931 Anthropology paper entitled “Customary Laws in Calaca, Batangas 1 ,” written by one Marcela Endaya, presumably a native of the town, ...
19th Century Ibaan as Described by a Spanish Historian
We continue with the series featuring each of the 22 towns of Batangas as described by the Spanish historian Manuel Sastron in his book “Bat...
Tuy, Batangas: Historical and Folkloric Notes about some of its Barrios
We continue with the series on the barrios of Batangas, and this time we look at the small western Batangas town of Tuy. As with the other ...
Know the Population of 22 Batangas Towns in 1877
An 1895 book entitled “Batangas y su Provincia 1 ” (Batangas and its Province) paints a compelling picture of the province far from the cong...
Beliefs Held by the People in Lian, Batangas in 1924
From the small western Batangas municipality of Lian, we feature some beliefs held by the people during the American colonial era, specifica...
Cuenca, Batangas in the 19th Century, as Described by a Spanish Historian
This article continues our series dedicated to showing how the towns of Batangas were like in the nineteenth century, as described by the Sp...
When the Town of Bauan was founded along the Shores of Taal Lake
For most modern day people of Batangas, it is probably stock knowledge that the town of Bauan is close to the shores of Batangas Bay and is ...
Lemery: Historical and Folkloric Notes about some of its Barrios
This is yet another article in the series dedicated to historical and folkloric trivia about the barrios of Batangas. The information conta...
Rosario, Batangas in the 19th Century, as Described by a Spanish Historian
This article takes a look at the town of Rosario in the nineteenth century through the eyes of Manuel Sastron, the Spanish ex-government off...
19th Century Talisay, Batangas as Described by a Spanish Historian
This article is the second instalment of a series featuring the towns of Batangas in the nineteenth century. Most of the information contai...
The 1749 Eruption of Taal Volcano which Forced 2 Pueblos to Become One as Tanauan
The present-day city of Tanauan is among the Province of Batangas’ oldest population centers. It can trace its roots back to two pueblos se...
The Glory of 19th Century Villa de Lipa as Described by a Spanish Historian
A nineteenth century book written by the Spanish ex-government official and historian Manuel Sastron 1 painted a captivating descriptive pi...
Malvar: Historical and Folkloric Notes about some of its Barrios
This article is the latest installment of a series dedicated to featuring otherwise forgotten historic and folkloric information about the b...
The Augustinians and their Role in the Founding of Taal, Batangas, Tanauan, Bauan and Lipa
The Augustinians were the first Catholic religious order to come to the Philippine Islands. In fact, the expedition led by the conquistador...
San Nicolas and Santa Teresita: Historic and Folkloric Notes about some of its Barrios
In this article, which is part of a series dedicated to historical and folkloric trivia about the barrios of Batangas, we feature the towns ...
Dr. Maximo Kalaw: the other Great Kalaw of Lipa during the American Colonial Era
Many Filipinos – yes, not just Batangueños – ought to have heard of the name Teodoro M. Kalaw, if just for the countless number of streets n...
Francisco Matienza and the Tagalog Revolts in Balayan and Taal in 1745
Most Filipinos ought to have a fairly good grasp from high school history lessons of what went on in the Philippine Revolution of 1896, sinc...
22 Beliefs Held in San Jose, Batangas in 1925
One of the most refreshing documents that I have come across among the Henry Otley-Beyer Anthropological Collection at the National Library ...
The Arrival of Cacao in the Philippines and the Thief from Lipa who helped Propagate It
Mention the name Lipa and most probably the first thing the enters most people’s minds is coffee, something that can be attributed to the gr...
Taal, Batangas: Historical and Folkloric Notes about some of its Barrios
This article is part of a continuing series that focuses on historical and folkloric trivia about the barrios of Batangas. The information ...
Cecilia Muñoz-Palma: the Bauan-born 1st Female SC Justice who stood up to the Marcos Regime
“Ingrata.” This was how then-Secretary of Justice Vicente Abad Santos was supposed to have called Supreme Court Justice Cecilia Muñoz-Palma...
When Batangas was the “Orange Capital” of the Philippines
At the mention of the name Batangas, among the first things that immediately comes to mind is coffee, even if the boom years of the plant ba...
San Jose: Historic and Folkloric Notes about some of its Barrios
This article is another installment of a series dedicated to resurrecting otherwise forgotten folkloric and historical trivia about the barr...
