Catanduanes: History
=== Early history ===
Rulers (datus) from Borneo settled on the island of Panay. Their descendants then migrated throughout the archipelago and became the first settlers in Catanduanes.
The island was raided more than once by the Moros, who lived on the island of Mindanao. As a result of these destructive raids, many records of the past were destroyed or lost.
In 1573, Juan de Salcedo arrived in Catanduanes while hunting for pirates. During this period Salcedo would conquer the natives of the region. Three years later, a galleon expedition from Acapulco was shipwrecked near the island, and the survivors were either killed or enslaved. This event is commemorated at the Batalay Church in Bato, a few kilometers outside the capital town of Virac.
The evangelization of the island started twenty years later, when the Spanish soldiers, after subjugating the Bicol mainland, returned with Franciscan missionaries. The missionaries, armed with the cross and backed by the sword of the conquistadors, evangelized the entire population, beginning with southern tribes, and meeting little resistance.
From 1600 to 1857, the colonizers established nine local centers of government through the establishment of parishes: Caramoran (1601); Pandán (1650); Viga (1661); Panganiban (1663); Virac (1775); Bató (1830); and San Andrés (1853). The 1818 census showed that there were 7,411 native families in Catanduanes and they were guided by 150 Spanish-Filipino families. Of which the Spanish-Filipino families were distributed among these towns: Virac (91), Calolbon (3), Eiga (3), and Payo (17).
During the period of American rule, Bagamanoc, which had been a thriving municipality during the Spanish period, was reduced to a mere barrio of Viga and later of Panganiban.
During the American Regime, some locals refused to recognize the sovereignty of the United States, and most of them fled to the mountains. The American occupation did not last long. By 1934, the Americans had withdrawn from control of the island.
During World War II, the sub-province of Catanduanes was governed by a permanent delegate commissioner from the province of Albay, appointed by the central government in Manila.
Catanduanes was not spared from Japanese invasion. In December 1941 the Japanese Imperial Forces arrived, quickly overwhelming defences and establishing garrisons across the region. The Province of Catanduanes Government Website claims that the people of Catanduanes suffered relatively less oppression during the occupation due to the vigorous interventions of Japanese pseudo traders. …