Antique (province): History
=== Early history ===
Historians believe that the earliest people who settled on the island of Panay were tribal Negritos or Atis. Oral history, relayed as the "Maragtas", states that ten "datus" or minor tribal Malay chieftains escaped persecution from a city called Odtojan from Borneo due to a tyrant ruler called Makatunaw. The ten datus, led by Datu Puti, sailed northward with their families and communities, landing on Panay after departing Borneo. The authenticity of this narrative is disputed but nonetheless continues to be a part of the local history of the people of Antique.
According to the Maragtas, the Bornean datus upon arrival met with the Ati chieftain Datu Marikudo and his wife Maniwantiwan. They offered the chieftain a salakot (wide-brimmed hat) (believed to be of pure gold by present-day locals) as well as a golden necklace, earrings, bracelets and trinkets they wore when they fled Borneo. The gifts also include pearls and fine clothes as a show of respect to the indigenous people. Datu Marikudo responded to the datus' generosity by giving them the lowlands and moving to the mountains with his Ati tribe as the mountains are sacred to them. The legendary arrival of Bornean boats at the shores of Antique is commemorated annually in the Binirayan festival.
The island of Panay was then divided into three sakups: Hantik, Akean and Irong-Irong. Irong-Irong became Iloilo, Akean became the present-day Aklan and Capiz, and Hantik (also called Hamtik or Hamtic) became Antique. Hantik was named for the large black ants found on the island called "hantik-hantik".
During the Spanish colonial period, the coastal province was vulnerable to attacks by Moro raiders. Under the direction of the Spanish friars, a series of watchtowers, like the 'Old Watchtower' in Libertad and Estaca Hill in Bugasong, were built to guard Antique.
In 1790, Antique was converted into a politico-military province with the town of Antique (now Hamtic) as its first capital. The provincial seat of government was later transferred to Bugasón (old name of Bugasong), and finally to San Jose de Buenavista. By the 1700s, Antique had 9,228 families. However, during the 1800s, Antique grew to be a wealthy and a thickly populated international port town, with the number of families paying tribute ballooning to 23,261 in number, and enhanced by the presence of 50 Spanish Filipino tributes-families, and about 40 Chinese Filipino tributes-families. Specifically, the Spanish-Filipino families are numbered thus, together with their residences: 7 (Dao), 12 (Antique), 19 (San Antonio de Nalupa), 1 (Bugason), 3 (Patnongon), 2 (Sibalom) and 6 (San Jose de Buenavista). These peoples, having remitted a large sum of 153,420 Silver Peso Coins to the Treasury during year 1818. …