Negrenses

The Negrenses (; ) are the native cultural group of the Philippine provinces of Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental and Siquijor.

Overview

Negrense (English: ''Negrese''; Hiligaynon and Cebuano: ''Negrosanon'' or ''Buglasnon'') identity is closely intertwined with the history and culture of Negros and Siquijor, the latter which had been part of Negros Oriental until 1971. This identity first emerged in the 19th century when Spanish-speaking migrant landowners—mostly but not exclusively from Panay, Cebú and Bohol—and their families started to develop and strengthen an independent, common identity tied neither to ethnicity nor language but rather to the land.Rodríguez, C. A. (1988). Economic transformation of Negros Oriental
''Philippine Studies, 36''(1), 68–74.

History

Precolonial period

Negros was originally known as Buglas, an old Visayan word meaning "cut off". The original natives of the island are the dark-skinned Ati Negritos, from where the island would later derive its name after an expedition of Castilian conquistadors in April 1565 came in contact with the Ati in what is now the town of Ilog.

Southern Negros—in particular, Candoni—came to be settled by precolonial migrants from the island of Panay. These came to be known as the Negrense highlanders ( Hiligaynon and Cebuano: ''bukidnong Buglasnon'' or ''Magahat''). A second wave of migrants from Panay came to inhabit the northwestern portion of the island; they are known today as the Panayan highlanders (Hiligaynon and Cebuano: ''bukidnong Panaynon'' or ''Suludnon''), who continue to reside on Panay as well as on Negros. The Madyaas Confederation would later exert nominal control over the villages and ''sakup''s of the Panayan highlanders.

Spanish colonial era

After the island was discovered by Castilian colonizers in April 1565, it was only in 1573 and 1583 that the island was settled permanently, centered around Binalbagan and the designated capital, Ilog in the present-day Negros Occidental, and Dumaguete in the present-day Negros Oriental. Miguel López de Legazpi placed Negros under the jurisdiction of the governor of Oton on Panay. In 1734, however, the island became a military district with Ilog as its first capital. The seat of government was later transferred to Himamaylan until Bacólod became the capital in 1849, heralding the opening of the sugar industry spearheaded by British diplomat and businessman Nicholas Loney. Through the missionary efforts of the Recollects, additional settlements in Hinigaran, Bago, Marayo (now Pontevedra), Mamalan (now Himamaylan) and San Enrique.

Sugar boom

The mass settlement of Negros, beginning in the 1850s and greatly encouraged by Loney,Gonzaga, V. L. (1988). The roots of agrarian unrest on Negros, 1850–90
''Philippine Studies, 36''(2), 151–165. was triggered by the surge in the demand for sugar back in Europe. European demand and Philippine supply would place Negros squarely on the British-dominated global economic map for the next hundred years. The mass settlement was pioneered by Iloílo-based landowners, though the mountainous terrain of the island made it more practical for colonists to settle the coastal areas on opposite ends. As a result, the western half came to be settled by Hiligaynon-speaking migrants, while the eastern half was settled by Cebuano-speaking migrants, with subsequent settlers from other parts of the Philippines assimilating into either linguistic sphere. Administration became difficult as the trip between the eastern portions to Himamaylan (the second capital) and later on, Bacólod in 1849, required a 3–5-day trek through the mountains. Thirteen Recollect friars assigned to the eastern side appealed to the Governor-General to divide the island, with their side assigned to the civil government in Cebú.

Finally, on January 1, 1890, Governor-General Valeriano Weyler issued a decree, partitioning Negros into Negros Occidental, with Bacólod retained as its designated capital, and Negros Oriental, with Dumaguete as the designated capital. The division was not made along linguistic lines but rather for practical administrative purposes: those falling under the jurisdiction of the 13 friars composed the new Negros Oriental province, which also includes the Hiligaynon-speaking towns of Tolong (present-day Santa Catalina) and Tolong Nuevo (present-day Bayawan City). The Cebuano-speaking towns of Sagay, Escalante, San Carlos (all three later converted into cities) and Calatrava chose to remain with Negros Occidental.

Negros Revolution

The armed uprising against Spanish colonial rule was divided between Papa Isio's ''dumaan'' and ''sacada'' army and the ''hacendero''-led cantonal forces, between which relations were tense. Both armies as well had inconstant relations with the Malolos Republic, with the former being denigrated by its ''ilustrado'' core for his Dayawism, and the latter breaking away from it to form the Republic of Negros under US protection. Papa Isio would continue the Philippine Revolution until 1907, when he surrendered to the newly formed Philippine Constabulary. He is remembered as the last of the Malolos revolutionaries to surrender, outlasting even the Malolos Republic.

Emigration

In the aftermath of World War II, there began a steady rise of migration to Mindanao. Many Negrenses, who would otherwise inherit only a small portion of family land on Negros, availed of resettlement benefits from the government instead. This diaspora on Mindanao would in turn spur the creation of the sugar industries in the highland areas of Northern Mindanao and Soccsksargen. Families such as the Montillas and Zubiris of southern Negros would also rise to political prominence in their adopted provinces of Sultan Kudarat and Bukidnon, respectively. Mindanao localities that are home to the highest concentrations of diaspora Negrenses are found in Valencia, Tacurong, Kidapawan, Koronadal and General Santos, while significant numbers reside in Dávao, Zamboanga and Cagayán de Oro as well.

With the declaration of martial law by President Ferdinand Marcos in 1972 and the collapse of the sugar industry on Negros in the 1980s due to the expiration a few years earlier of the Laurel–Langley Agreement, which had previously guaranteed Philippine sugar-producers access to the US market, Negrense families emigrated ''en masse'' from Negros to the United States, Canada and Australia to escape the economic losses incurred with the steep decline of the island's main crop. Large diaspora populations have since formed in the United States (Hawaii, California, New Jersey and New York) and in Australia (Queensland and New South Wales). Sizable diasporas have also emerged in Canada, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom, where they work and live as either overseas workers or permanent expatriates.

The collapse of the Negros sugar industry and the "widespread hunger, unemployment, and terrorism" that subsequently engulfed the island accounts for the large Negrense presence outside the homeland,Billig, M. S. (1994). The death and rebirth of entrepreneurism on Negros island, Philippines: A critique of cultural theories of enterprise
''Journal of Economic Issues, 28''(3), 659–678. whether in other parts of the country or abroad. All strata of Negrense society took part in the emigration from the island: from the impoverished

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