Albay: History
=== Early history ===
Long before the Spaniards arrived, Albay had a thriving civilization. Formerly called Ibat, and then Libog, Albay was once ruled by Gat Ibal, an old chief who also founded the old barangay of Sawangan, now part of the City of Legazpi. Historian William Henry Scott wrote that in the local epic called siday entitled "Bingi of Lawan", an Albay datu by the name of Dumaraog went to Lawan (present-day Laoang, Northern Samar) to ask for the hands of Bingi bringing with him 100 ships. Datu Iberein came from the settlement of Lawan. He was described by Scott as a “Samar datu by the name of Iberein was rowed out to a Spanish vessel anchored in his harbor in 1543 by oarsmen collared in gold; while wearing on his own person earrings and chains.”
In July 1569, Luis Enriquez de Guzman, a member of the expedition led by Maestro de Campo Mateo de Saz and Captain Martin de Goiti, led a group that crossed from Burias and Ticao islands and landed on a coastal settlement called Ibalon in what is now the province of Sorsogon. From this point, another expedition was sent to explore the interior and founded the town of Camalig.
In 1573, Juan de Salcedo penetrated the Bicol Peninsula from the north as far south as Libon, establishing the settlement of Santiago de Libon. Jose Maria Peñaranda, a military engineer, was made “corregidor” of the province on May 14, 1834. He constructed public buildings and built roads and bridges.
The entire Bicol peninsula was organized as one province with two divisions, Camarines in the northwest and Ibalon in the southeast. In 1636, the two partidos were separated, and Ibalon became a separate province with Sorsogon as the capital. In the 17th century, Moro slave raiders from the southern Philippines ravaged the northeastern coastal areas of the province of Albay. By the end of the 1700s, Albay had 12,339 native families and 146 Spanish Filipino families. In the 1800s, the natives numbered 103,955 whereas the mestizos numbered 2,598; this, further broken down to 579 Spanish-Mestizos and 933 Chinese-Mestizos.
By year 1818, a new census which included the islands of Masbate, Catanduanes, and Ticao, under the province of Albay yielded the presence 35,321 native families and 1,334 Spanish-Filipino families, all under Albay's jurisdiction. The distribution of the Spanish-Filipino families are as follows: 4 (Manito), 45 (Bacon, now part of Sorsogon), 52 (Gubat), 28 (Casiguran), 18 (Juban), 149 (Sorsogon), 19 (Bulusan), 16 (Bulan), 55 (Quipia), 77 (Bacacay), 53 (Malilipot), 225 (Tabaco, named after the Native American Tobacco plant), 241 (Malinao), 157 (Tibi), 18 (Lagonoy), and 114 (San Jose, now part of Malilipot). Outside of the Albay mainland in the surrounding islands; Ticao island had 8 Spanish families, Masbate island had 1 Spanish family, and Catanduanes had 150 Spanish families.
Mayon Volcano, in one of its most violent eruptions, destroyed the five towns surrounding its base on February 1, 1814. This eruption forced the town of Cagsawa to relocate to its present site, Legazpi.
A decree was issued by Governor-General Narciso Claveria in 1846 separating Masbate, Ticao, and Burias from Albay to form the comandancia of Masbate. Albay was then divided into four districts: Iraya, Tabaco, Sorsogon, and Catanduanes. …