Batangas and Mindoro Trade History

The story of Batangas and the nearby island of Mindoro is not only about two provinces facing each other across the Verde Island Passage. The two places are a mere 25 kilometers at the nearest point, something which made interaction between them through the centuries a matter of course. This interaction was about exchange, movement, and shared survival.

The short stretch of sea between them, called the Verde Island Passage in the present day, has long been a bridge rather than a barrier. For Batangueños, Mindoro was a source of food and forest products. For Mindoreños, Batangas was a gateway to the larger markets of Luzon and beyond.

Chinese records from the 10^th to 13^th centuries mention a place called Ma’i¹ as having been visited by Chinese merchants. Many historians identify this with Mindoro². These records describe a community engaged in trade with Chinese merchants, offering beeswax, pearls, and tortoise shells in exchange for porcelain and silk³.

Above, an AI-generated image of a Chinese junk sailing from Batangan to Mindoro.

While the records focus on Mindoro, Batangas was the nearest Luzon port that could connect these goods to inland markets. The bay of Batangas and the natural harbor of Balayan were likely staging points for this early commerce.

When the Spaniards arrived in the 16th century, they quickly recognized the importance of Mindoro as a supply island. Colonial documents describe Mindoro as a source of rice, timber, and other provisions for Manila⁴.

It was in Mindoro, for instance, that the first Spanish exploratory mission to Luzon, led by Martin de Goite and Juan de Salcedo, stopped to obtain provisions and to ask for directions going to Manila from the locals.

Batangas, with its fertile valleys and growing settlements, became both a consumer and distributor of these goods produced in Mindoro. The galleons that passed through Manila Bay depended on food and materials that often came through this Batangas–Mindoro link⁵.

By the 18^th and 19^th centuries, the trade had become routine. Batangas farmers sent surplus rice and sugar to Mindoro, while fishermen and forest gatherers from Mindoro brought dried fish, rattan, and hardwood across the passage⁵.

Puerto Galera, on the northern tip of Mindoro, grew into a busy port⁶. Batangas towns like Bauan and Taal benefited from this constant movement of goods and people. The ferry trade was not yet formalized, but small boats and balangay-type vessels made daily crossings.

The early 1900’s saw the continuation of this exchange under American rule. Steamships began to replace sailboats, and scheduled routes connected Batangas and Calapan⁶. The trade was no longer just barter. Cash transactions and commercial contracts became common.

Still, the essential pattern remained: Batangas provided agricultural surplus and access to Manila, while Mindoro supplied raw materials and marine products.

This trade also shaped culture. Families from Batangas settled in Mindoro, bringing with them language, customs, and religious practices. In turn, Batangueños absorbed stories and traditions from Mindoreños. The shared economy created shared identities. Even today, many Batangueño families trace kinship ties to Mindoro, and vice versa.

The history of Batangas and Mindoro trade is therefore more than a record of goods exchanged. It is a record of relationships.

The sea between them was never empty water. It was a highway of survival, a channel of culture, and a witness to centuries of connection. To understand Batangas history fully, one must also look across the passage to Mindoro, where trade and kinship have always been part of the same story.