Luzon, Philippines

Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as well as Quezon City, the country's most populous city. With a population of 64 million , it contains 52.5% of the country's total population and is the fourth most populous island in the world. It is the 15th largest island in the world by land area.

''Luzon'' may also refer to one of the three primary island groups in the country. In this usage, it includes the Luzon mainland, the Batanes and Babuyan groups of islands to the north, Polillo Islands to the east, and the outlying islands of Catanduanes, Marinduque and Mindoro, among others, to the south. The islands of Masbate, Palawan and Romblon are also included, although these three are sometimes grouped with another of the island groups, the Visayas.

Etymology

The name ''Luzon'' is thought to derive from ''lusong'', a Tagalog word referring to a particular kind of large wooden mortar used in dehusking rice. A 2008 research paper by Eulito Bautista and Evelyn Javier provides an image of a lusong, explaining:

In old Latin, Italian, and Portuguese maps, the island is often called "Luçonia" or "Luconia." ''Luções,'' (also ''Luzones'' in Spanish) was a demonym used by Portuguese sailors in Malaysia during the early 1500s, referring to the Kapampangan and Tagalog people who lived in Manila Bay, which was then called ''Lusong'' ( pt, Luçon), from which Luzon was also derived. The term was also used for Tagalog settlers in Southern Tagalog region. Eventually, the term "Luzones" would refer to the settlers of Luzon island, and later on, would be exclusive to the peoples of Central Luzon.

History

Before European colonization

Luzon was originally inhabited by Negritos before Austronesians from Taiwan arrived and displaced them. Some of the Austronesian peoples formed highland mountain civilizations, while others formed lowland coastal states. Among the coastal states, some were Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms, some were Muslim principalities, and others were ethnoreligious tribes. These states had trading connections with India, Borneo, Java, Sumatra, Malaya, Indochina, Bengal, Korea, Okinawa, Japan and China.

Before 1000 CE, the Tagalog, Kapampangan, and Pangasinan peoples of south and central Luzon had established several major coastal polities, notably Maynila, Tondo and Namayan. The oldest known Philippine document, written in 900, is the Laguna Copperplate Inscription, which names places in and around Manila Bay and also mentions Medan, a place in Indonesia. These coastal Philippine kingdoms were thalassocracies, based on trade with neighboring Asian political entities, and structured by leases between village rulers (''Datu'') and landlords ('' Lakan'') or Rajahs, by whom tributes were extracted and taxes were levied.

There was also a Buddhist polity known as Ma-i or Maidh, described in Chinese and Bruneian records in the 10th century AD, although its location is still unknown and scholars are divided on whether it is in modern-day Bay, Laguna or Bulalacao, Mindoro.

According to sources at the time, the trade in large native ''Ruson-tsukuri'' (literally ''Luzon-made'', Japanese: 呂 宋 製) clay jars used for storing green tea and rice wine with Japan flourished in the 12th century, and local Tagalog, Kapampangan and Pangasinan potters had marked each jar with Baybayin letters denoting the particular urn used and the kiln the jars were manufactured in. Certain kilns were renowned over others; prices depended on the reputation of the kiln. Of this flourishing trade, the ''Burnay'' jars of Ilocos are the only large clay jar manufactured in Luzon today with origins from this time.

During the 1300s, the Javanese-centered Hindu empire of Majapahit briefly ruled over Luzon as recorded in the epic poem '' Nagarakretagama'', which reports imperial colonies in the Philippines at Saludong (Manila) and Solot (Sulu). Eventually, the kingdoms of Luzon regained independence from Majapahit after the 1365 Battle of Manila. Sulu also reestablished independence and in vengeance assaulted the Majapahit province of Poni (Brunei) before a fleet from the capital drove them out.

The Yongle Emperor instituted a Chinese governor on Luzon during Zheng He's voyages and appointed Ko Ch'a-lao to that position in 1405. China also had vassals among the leaders in the archipelago. China attained ascendancy in trade with the area in Yongle's reign.

Afterwards, some parts of Luzon were Islamized when the former Majapahit province of Poni broke free, converted to Islam, and imported Sharif Ali, a prince from Mecca who became the Sultan of Brunei, a nation that then expanded its realms from Borneo to the Philippines and set up the Kingdom of Maynila as its puppet-state. However, other Luzon kingdoms resisted Islam, like the Wangdom of Pangasinan which had remained a tributary state to China and was a largely Sinified kingdom which maintained trade with Japan.

Interactions with the Portuguese

The Portuguese were the first European explorers who recorded it in their charts as ''Luçonia'' or ''Luçon'' and inhabitants were called ''Luçoes''. Edmund Roberts, who visited Luzon in the early 19th century, wrote that Luzon was "discovered" in 1521.

Many people from Luzon were employed wihin Portuguese Malacca. For example, the spice magnate Regimo de Raja, based in Malacca, was highly influential and was appointed as ''Temenggong'' (Sea Lord)—a governor and chief general responsible for overseeing of maritime trade—by the Portuguese. As ''Temenggong'', de Raja was also the head of an armada which traded and protected commerce between the Indian Ocean, the Strait of Malacca, the South China Sea, and the medieval maritime principalities of the Philippines. His father and wife carried on his maritime trading business after his death. Another important Malacca trader was Curia de Raja who also hailed from Luzon. The "surname" of "de Raja" or "diraja" could indicate that Regimo and Curia, and their families, were of noble or royal descent as the term is an abbreviation of Sanskrit adiraja.

Fernão Mendes Pinto noted that a number of Luçoes in the Islamic fleets went to battle with the Portuguese in the Philippines during the 16th century. The Sultan of Aceh gave one of them (Sapetu Diraja) the task of holding Aru (northeast Sumatra) in 1540. Pinto also says one was named leader of the Malays remaining in the Moluccas Islands after the Portuguese conquest in 1511. Antonio Pigafetta notes that one of them was in command of the Brunei fleet in 1521. However, the Luções did not only fight on the side of the Muslims. Pinto says they were also apparently among the natives of the Philippines who fought the Muslims in 1538.

On Mainland Southeast Asia, Lusung/Luçoes warriors aided the Burmese king in his invasion of Siam in 1547 AD. At the same time, Lusong warriors fought alongside the Siamese king and faced the same elephant army of the Burmese king in the defence of the Siamese capital at Ayutthaya. Lucoes military and trade activity reached as far as Sri Lanka in South Asia where Lungshanoid pottery made in Luzon were discovered in burials.

Scholars have thus suggested that they could be mercenaries valued by all sides.

Spanish Colonial Era

The Spanish arrival in the 16th century saw the incorporation of the Luções people and the breaking up of their kingdoms and the establishment of the ''Las Islas Filipinas'' with its capital Cebu, which was moved to Manila following the defeat of the local Rajah Sulayman in 1570. Under Spain, Luzon also came to be known as the ''Nueva Castilla'' or the New Castile.

In Spanish times, Luzon became the focal point for trade between the Americas and Asia. The Manila Galleons constructed in the Bicol region brought silver mined from Peru and Mexico to Manila. The silver was used to purchase Asian commercial goods like Chinese silk, Indian gems and Indonesian spices, which were then exported back to the Americas. The Chinese valued Luzon so much, in that when talking about Spain and the Spanish-Americas, they preferred to call it as "Dao Lusong” (Greater Luzon) while the original Luzon was referred to as “Xiao (Small) Lusong” to refer to not only Luzon but the whole Philippines.

Luzon also became a focal point for global migration. The walled city of Intramuros was initially founded by 1200 Spanish families. The nearby district of Binondo became the center of business and transformed into the world's oldest Chinatown. There was also a smaller district reserved for Japanese migrants in Dilao. Cavite City also served as the main port for Luzon and many Mexican soldiers and sailors were stationed in the naval garrisons there. When the Spanish evacuated from Ternate, Indonesia; they settled the Papuan refugees in Ternate, Cavite which was named after their evacuated homeland. After the short British Occupation of Manila, the Indian Sepoy soldiers that mutinied against their British commanders and joined the Spanish, then settled in Cainta, Rizal.

Newcomers who were impoverished Mexicans and peninsulares were accused of undermining the submission of the natives. In 1774, authorities from Bulacan, Tondo, Laguna Bay, and other areas surrounding Manila reported with consternation that discharged soldiers and deserters (from Mexico, Spain and Peru) were providing Indios military training for the weapons that had been disseminated all over the territory during the British war. There was also continuous immigration of Tamils and Bengalis into the rural areas of Luzon: Spanish administrators, native nobles, and Chinese businessmen imported them as slave labor during this period.

People from the Philippines, primarily from Luzon, were recruited by France (then in alliance with Spain), first to defend Indo-Chinese converts to Christianity being persecuted by their native governments. Eventually, Filipino mercenaries helped the French conquer Vietnam and Laos and to re-establish Cambodia as a French Protectorate. This process culminated in the establishment of French Cochinchina, centered in Saigon.

After Spanish colonization

After many years of Spanish occupation and resistance to reform, the Andres Novales uprising occurred and it was inspired by the Latin American Wars of Independence. Novales' uprising was primarily supported by Mexicans living in the Philippines as well as immigrant Latinos from the now independent nations of Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Costa Rica. Although the uprising failed it inspired the Cavite Mutiny, the suppression of which, lead to the martyrdoms of Priests, Gomburza and the subsequent execution of the reformist and hero, Jose Rizal. Reeling against this, the Philippine Revolution against Spain erupted in Cavite and spread all throughout Luzon and the Philippines. Consequently, the First Philippine Republic was established in Malolos, Bulacan. In the meantime, Spain sold the Philippines to the United States and the First Philippine Republic resisted the United States in the Philippine–American War which the Republic's forces lost due to its diplomatic isolation (no foreign nation recognized the First Republic) as well as due to the numerical superiority of the American military. After the war, J. Franklin Bell allegedly testified to the United States Senate Committee on the Philippines that American troops had killed up to 600,000 Filipino civilians during the conflict. The Americans then set up the cool mountain city of Baguio as a summer retreat for its officials. The Americans also rebuilt the capital, Manila, and established American military bases in Olongapo and Angeles City.

During the Pacific War, the Philippines were considered to be of great strategic importance because their capture by Japan would pose a significant threat to the U.S. As a result, 135,000 troops and 227 aircraft were stationed in the Philippines by October 1941. Luzon was captured by Imperial Japanese forces in 1942 during their campaign to capture the Philippines. General Douglas MacArthur—who was in charge of the defense of the Philippines at the time—was ordered to Australia, and the remaining U.S. forces retreated to the Bataan Peninsula.

A few months after this, MacArthur expressed his belief that an attempt to recapture the Philippines was necessary. The U.S. Pacific Commander Admiral Chester Nimitz and Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Ernest King both opposed this idea, arguing that it must wait until victory was certain. MacArthur had to wait two years for his wish; it was 1944 before a campaign to recapture the Philippines was launched. The island of Leyte was the first objective of the campaign, which was captured by the end of December 1944. This was followed by the attack on Mindoro and later, Luzon.

The end of the World War necessitated decolonization due to rising nationalist movements across the world's many colonies. Subsequently, the Philippines gained independence from the United States. Luzon then arose to become the most developed island in the Philippines. However, the lingering poverty and inequality caused by the long dictatorship of US-supported dictator, Ferdinand Marcos, gave rise to the Philippine diaspora and many people from Luzon have migrated elsewhere and had established large overseas communities; mainly in the United States, Hong Kong, Singapore and Saudi Arabia. Eventually, the People Power Revolution led by Corazon Aquino and Cardinal Jaime Sin, removed Marcos and his cronies from power and they fled to Hawaii where the US granted them asylum. The following administrations are subsequently managing the political and economic recovery of the Philippines with the particular aim of spreading development outside of Luzon and into the more isolated provinces of the Visayas and Mindanao.

Geography

Luzon island alone has an area of , making it the world's 15th largest island. It is bordered on the west by the South China Sea (''Luzon Sea'' in Philippine territorial waters), on the east by the Philippine Sea, and on the north by the Luzon Strait containing the Babuyan Channel and Balintang Channel. The mainland is roughly rectangular in shape and has the long Bicol Peninsula protruding to the southeast.

Luzon is roughly divided into four sections; Northern, Central and Southern Luzon, and the National Capital Region.

Physical

Northern Luzon

The northwestern portion of the island, which encompasses most of the Ilocos Region, is characterized by a flat terrain extending east from the coastline toward the Cordillera Central mountains.

The Cordillera mountain range, which feature the island's north-central section, is covered in a mixture of tropical pine forests and montane rainforests, and is the site of the island's highest mountain, Mount Pulag, rising at 2,922 metres. The range provides the upland headwaters of the Agno River, which stretches from the slopes of Mount Data, and meanders along the southern Cordillera mountains before reaching the plains of Pangasinan.

The northeastern section of Luzon is generally mountainous, with the Sierra Madre, the longest mountain range in the country, abruptly rising a few miles from the coastline. Located in between the Sierra Madre and the Cordillera Central mountain ranges is the large Cagayan Valley. This region, which is known for being the second largest producer of rice and the country's top corn-producer, serves as the basin for the Cagayan River, the longest in the Philippines.

Along the southern limits of the Cordillera Central lies the lesser-known Caraballo Mountains. These mountains form a link between the Cordillera Central and the Sierra Madre mountain ranges, separating the Cagayan Valley from the Central Luzon plains.

= Image gallery

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View of the north coast of Luzon - ZooKeys-266-001-g002.jpg, North coast of Luzon along the Cagayan- Ilocos Norte boundary
Mount Pulag, Kabayan, Philippines (Unsplash).jpg, Summit of Mount Pulag, Luzon's highest mountain
FvfSanJuanLaUnion8559 10.JPG, West coast of Luzon at San Juan overlooking the South China Sea
View of the Sierra Madre from the west - ZooKeys-266-001-g004.jpg, The Cagayan Valley at Cabagan with the Sierra Madre mountains in the background
Quirino 1.jpg, Canoes along upstream Cagayan River at Quirino province

Central Luzon

The central section of Luzon is characterized by a flat terrain, known as the Central Luzon plain, the largest in the island in terms of land area. The plain, approximately in size, is the country's largest producer of rice, and is irrigated by two major rivers; the Cagayan to the north, and the Pampanga to the south. In the middle of the plain rises the solitary Mount Arayat.

The western coasts of Central Luzon are typically flat extending east from the coastline to the Zambales Mountains, the site of Mount Pinatubo, made famous because of its enormous 1991 eruption. These mountains extend to the sea in the north, forming the Lingayen Gulf, and to the south, forming the Bataan Peninsula. The peninsula encloses the Manila Bay, a natural harbor considered to be one of the best natural ports in East Asia, due to its size and strategic geographical location.

The Sierra Madre mountain range continues to stretch across the western section of Central Luzon, snaking southwards into the Bicol Peninsula.

Southern Luzon

The northern section of Southern Luzon is dominated by the Laguna de Bay (Old Spanish, "''Lake of Bay town''"), the largest lake in the country. The lake is drained into Manila Bay by the Pasig River, one of the most important rivers in the country due to its historical significance and because it runs through the center of Metro Manila.

Located southwest of Laguna de Bay is Taal Lake, a crater lake containing the Taal Volcano, the smallest in the country. The environs of the lake form the upland Tagaytay Ridge, which was once part of a massive prehistoric volcano that covered the southern portion of the province of Cavite, Tagaytay and the whole of Batangas province.

South of Laguna Lake are two solitary mountains, Mount Makiling in Laguna province, and Mount Banahaw, the highest in the region of Calabarzon.

The southeastern portion of Luzon is dominated by the Bicol Peninsula, a mountainous and narrow region extending approximately southeast from the Tayabas Isthmus in Quezon province to the San Bernardino Strait along the coasts of Sorsogon. The area is home to several volcanoes, the most famous of which is the high symmetrically shaped Mayon Volcano in Albay

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