Ilocos Norte: History
=== Early history ===
Long before the arrival of the Spaniards, there existed an extensive region consisting of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Abra and La Union. Merchants from Japan and China often visited the area to trade gold for beads, ceramics, and silk. The Austronesian inhabitants of the region called their place samtoy, from sao mi toy, which literally meant "our language".
In 1571, the Spanish conquistadors had Manila under their control and they began looking for new sites to conquer. Miguel Lopez de Legazpi's grandson Juan de Salcedo volunteered to lead one of these expeditions. Together with 8 armed boats and 45 men, the 22-year-old voyager headed north. On June 13, 1572, Salcedo and his men landed in present-day Vigan then proceeded to Laoag, Currimao, and Badoc. As they sailed along the coast, they were surprised to see numerous sheltered coves (looc) where the locals lived in harmony. They named the region Ylocos and its people Ylocanos.
As the Christianization of the region grew, so did the landscape of the area. Vast tracts of land were utilized for churches and bell towers in line with the Spanish mission of bajo las campanas. It was not uncommon to see garrisons around the town plaza and under the church bells. Indigenous peoples living in the Ilocos Region, such as the Yapayao and Isneg, were slowly pushed into living in the sparsely populated but resource-rich mountains, which would expose them to conflicts with developers in later eras, such as during Martial Law under Ferdinand Marcos.
Spanish colonization of the region was not completely successful. Owing to the abusive practices of many Augustinian friars, a number of Ilocanos revolted. Noteworthy of these were the Dingras Uprising (1589) and the Pedro Almasan Revolt (San Nicolas, 1660). In 1762, Diego Silang led a series of battles aimed at freeing the Ilocano. When he died from friendly fire, his widow Gabriela continued his cause. Later on, she, too, was captured and executed.
In 1807 the sugar cane (basi) brewers of Piddig rose up in arms to protest the government's monopoly of the wine industry. In 1898, the church excommunicated Gregorio Aglipay for refusing to cut ties with the revolutionary forces of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo. Unperturbed, Aglipay nevertheless established the Iglesia Filipina Independiente.
In an effort to gain political control and because of the increasing population of the region, a Royal Decree splitting Ilocos into two provinces - Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur - was signed on February 2, 1818. Soon thereafter, La Union and Abra became independent provinces. The municipality of Bangui was noted to have 5 Spanish-Filipino families.
After the fall of Corregidor and the subsequent occupation of the Philippines by the Empire of Japan, a number of small guerrilla groups formed in the area of Ilocos Norte. While some resorted to banditry, Governor Roque Ablan Sr. and Philippine Army Lt. Feliciano Madamba were able to put together a guerrilla unit to engage the Japanese forces and to rally the other guerrilla groups into a common force. The leaders were assigned specific sectors using a system for distributing news and orders. …