''Poblacion'' (literally "town" or "settlement" in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

; ) is the common term used for the administrative center, central, downtown, old town or central business district area of a

Philippine The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

, which may take up the area of a single

barangay A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolita ...

or multiple barangays. It is sometimes shortened to Pob.

History

During the Spanish rule, the colonial government founded hundreds of towns and villages across the archipelago modeled on towns and villages in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. The authorities often adopted a policy of Reducción, for the resettlement of inhabitants in far-flung scattered

s to move into a centralized ''cabecera'' (town/district capital) where a newly built church and an ''ayuntamiento'' (town hall) were situated. This allowed the government to defend, control and

Christianize Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, conti ...

the indigenous population, to conduct population counts, and to collect

tributes A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of land which the state conqu ...

Features

The ''población'' is considered the commercial and industrial center of the city or municipality. Most citizens of a city or municipality residing in the outlying barangays and satellite ''

sitio A ''sitio'' (Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own barangay if its popul ...

s'' flock to the ''población'' on market days (which is set by a local ordinance of the

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-l ...

) because most local products and goods from the barrios are brought to the public market located in the ''población''. In this way their products could be sold faster by a wide range of buyers, though there are instances where some citizens would choose to go to another town's ''población'' because it is closer to their residences. In some cities and towns, the ''población'' (usually the areas surrounding the parish church) doubles as an old town district that features one or more of a few remaining Spanish-built structures in the country. The ''cabecera'' (or the ''población'' of a ''municipio''/''pueblo'') has a basic plan, with a '' plaza mayor'', church and attached '' convento'', civic buildings such as the town hall, and houses of prominent Spaniards. Other features include the public

market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market Geography *Märket, an ...

, the central elementary school and

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

, police station, and hospital. File:Inbound807053493928591831.jpg, Balanga city plaza showing the church File:Loboc Bohol 1.jpg, The ''población'' of

Loboc, Bohol Loboc, officially the Municipality of Loboc ( ceb, Munisipalidad sa Loboc; tgl, Bayan ng Loboc), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Bohol, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 17,418 people. Located ea ...

, showing structures typical to most town centres: the plaza, town hall,

gazebo A gazebo is a pavilion structure, sometimes octagonal or turret-shaped, often built in a park, garden or spacious public area. Some are used on occasions as bandstands. Etymology The etymology given by Oxford Dictionaries is "Mid 18th c ...

, and arena File:05411jfBonifacio Park Church Palaris San Carlos Pangasinanfvf 10.JPG, '' Bonifacio Park'' at Palaris (Poblacion),

San Carlos, Pangasinan San Carlos, officially the City of San Carlos ( pag, Siyudad na San Carlos; ilo, Siudad ti San Carlos; fil, Lungsod ng San Carlos), is a 3rd class component city in the province of Pangasinan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has ...

File:Plaza at Guiuan, Eastern Samar.JPG, Plaza at

Guiuan, Eastern Samar Guiuan ( �giˌwan; war, Bungto han Guiuan, fil, Bayan ng Guiuan), officially the Municipality of Guiuan, is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Eastern Samar, Philippines. It constitutes the southeastern extremity of Samar Island and ...

with the church in the background File:ZAMBOANGA CITY Asia's Latin City City Hall and Plaza Rizal (Ayunamiento y Plaza Rizal).jpg, ''Plaza Rizal'' at

Zamboanga City Zamboanga City, officially the City of Zamboanga (Chavacano and es, Ciudad de Zamboanga, Tausūg: ''Dāira sin Sambuangan'', fil, Lungsod ng Zamboanga, ceb, Dakbayan sa Zamboanga), is a city in the Zamboanga Peninsula region of the Philipp ...

showing houses with Spanish Colonial architecture

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poblacion Barangays of the Philippines Spanish words and phrases

History

Features

See also

References