Agoo
Agoo, officially the Municipality of Agoo, is a coastal municipality in the province of La Union, Philippines. According to the, it has a population of people.
Etymology
The name "Agoo" is believed to have originated from a native tree locally known as "aroo" in Ilocano and "agoho" in Tagalog, commonly referred to as the whistling pine. This pine-like evergreen species is known for its slender, needle-like foliage and the distinctive whistling sound produced by the wind passing through its branches. Historically, the tree grew abundantly along the riverbanks and the forested western coastline of Agoo, playing a significant role in the town's natural landscape. Its prevalence in the region is thought to have influenced the naming of the town.History
Agoo's administration and recorded history reach further back than most Philippine municipalities, with the town being established within the same decade that the Spanish colonizers arrived on the Island of Luzon. The history of the settlement now known as Agoo dates back even further, with both documentary and artifactual evidence supporting the assertion that it was a major port of call for foreign traders before the town was formally founded by the Spaniards.Early history
In its early history, Agoo served as a trading port in the northern region of Pre-Hispanic Pangasinan. It was already a coastal maritime trading center for Northwestern Luzon due to its naturally shaped coastline, which provided an excellent harbor for foreign vessels entering Lingayen Gulf. Gold mined from the Cordillera Mountain Range, coming down from the Aringay-Tonglo-Balatok gold trail, was traded in Agoo as well as its neighboring settlement, Aringay.Evidence of trade between Agoo and China has been excavated in the form of porcelain and pottery pieces unearthed at the site of the Catholic church during its renovation, which are now kept in the Museo de Iloko.
Japanese fishermen eventually established their first settlement in the Philippines in Agoo, passing on their fishing skills and technologies to the local populace.
By the time the Spanish arrived to colonize Luzon, they noted that Agoo was already inhabited by people of the "same race as those of Pangasinan". The town was then originally made part of Pangasinan until the Spanish authorities decided to create a new province, La Union, by culling towns from Pangasinan and Ilocos Sur.
Spanish Colonial Era
Sighting by Juan de Salcedo
In 1572, Juan de Salcedo, fresh from his conquest of Southern Luzon, was ordered by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi to explore Northern Luzon and "pacify the people in it".In June 1572, he was traversing the Angalakan River, when he saw and attacked three Japanese ships. When they fled, Salcedo followed them until they landed at a Japanese settlement. After paying tributes, the Japanese were allowed to remain. These Japanese would leave when the port of Agoo was later closed, but not without first teaching the natives their methods of fish culture, rice cultivation, deerskin tanning, duck breeding, and weapons manufacturing.
Establishment by the Franciscans
A permanent settlement was established in Agoo in 1578 when two Franciscan Missionaries, Fray Juan Bautista Lucarelli of Italy and Fray Sebastian de Baeza of Spain, constructed a thatch and bamboo church in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi. Agoo encompassed a vast land area that spanned the modern-day towns of Rosario, Santo Tomas, Tubao, Pugo, Aringay, Caba, Bauang, and the place called "Atuley" or present-day San Juan. Agoo became the center of the campaign of pacification and conquest, not only of the surrounding towns that would later become La Union but of the mountain tribes in the Cordilleras as well.The two missionaries formally proclaimed Agoo as a civic unit. naming it after the river along whose banks it was built. At the time, the riverbank was forested with pine-like trees locally called "aroo" or "agoho".
El Puerto de Japon
During the early years of the Spanish colonial period, Agoo continued to be an important point of trade with Japan. Miguel De Loarca referred to Agoo as "El Puerto de Japon" - the Japanese Port.Rosario Mendoza-Cortes, in her book "Pangasinan 1572-1800" notes that Agoo was the region's primary port of call for Japanese and Chinese traders - with the only other contender for the honor being Sual, Pangasinan. This was because there was a Japanese colony there. After all, traders at Agoo would have access to a greater number of people, and it was nearer to China and Japan. The main product traded from the area was the deer pelt, which was shipped to Japan.
Agoo's role as a port deteriorated when the Spanish closed the Philippines to foreign trade. When foreign trade was allowed again, the shape of the gulf had changed and it was thus Sual that became the dominant port.
Development by the Augustinians
Most of the town's early development can be attributed to the efforts of the Augustinian Order. They took over from the Franciscans and administered the town off and on throughout the Spanish occupation until the secular priests took over in 1898.They changed the town's patron saint to Santa Monica. They established a school where reading, writing, industrial works, and catechism were taught. They relocated the town center, laid out the streets and public buildings, and established roads leading to the nearby towns.
To facilitate the construction of churches, public buildings, and bridges, they taught the people brick and lime making, brick-laying, and stone-quarrying. They introduced the "moro-moro", the singing of "pasyon", new farm implement, and new plants.
Father Aquilino Garcia constructed a church, and by the end of the 15th century, the image of Nuestra Señora de Caridad was installed in it. This church was destroyed in 1796 and a new one was built when the original settlement was moved to what has ever since been the town center. The church was then claimed to be the largest and grandest in northern Luzon during that time. Ruins are scattered throughout the town's center and some are visible at this point.
Battle of Agoo (1661)
In 1661, Andres Malong of Pangasinan failed to recover La Union from the Spaniards after the Battle of Agoo.1849 Integration into La Union
On October 29, 1849, Governor General Claveria issued a promovido to fuse the Pangasinan-Ilocos-Cordillera areas into La Union. On March 2, 1850, Governor General Antonio Maria Blanco signed the Superior Decreto of La Union , with Captain Toribio Ruiz de la Escalera as the first Gobernador Military y Politico. Isabella II of Spain decreed the province's creation on April 18, 1854.The new province comprised the north-western towns of Pangasinan and the towns of Ilocos Sur south of the Amburayan river. Agoo was the oldest town to be integrated and was listed as having a population of 6,936 people.
Philippine Revolution
During the Philippine Revolution, numerous residents of Agoo actively took part in the fight for independence from Spanish rule. Led by General Manuel Tinio y Bondoc, a close ally of Emilio Aguinaldo, the local population engaged in battles against Spanish forces in Northern Luzon.American colonial era
Philippine independence from Spain was short-lived, as the Philippine-American War soon followed. In 1899, the town of Agoo became a focal point of resistance against American troops. Guerrilla Unit No. 5, commanded by Captain Fontanilla, operated across Agoo and nearby areas such as Aringay, Tubao, Santo Tomas, and Rosario. These guerrilla forces employed tactics such as ambushes, sabotage, and coordinated attacks on American supply lines to disrupt enemy operations. Their resilience and knowledge of the terrain made them formidable opponents.On November 20, 1899, American forces reached La Union. The guerrilla forces mounted a well-planned defense, causing heavy casualties among the U.S. troops. This battle demonstrated the determination of local forces to resist foreign domination, despite the overwhelming resources of the American military. However, the loss of key leaders and the superior firepower of the Americans eventually led to the decline of organized resistance in the region.
By 1901, La Union, including Agoo came under full American control. The U.S. military government implemented strategies to suppress any remaining resistance, including strict curfews, intelligence-gathering operations, and the establishment of garrisons.
During the 1910s, the American colonial administration began introducing several public services that would reshape the region. A public education system was established, with American teachers known as Thomasites arriving to teach English and promote American cultural values. This system significantly influenced the educational framework of La Union, providing new opportunities for learning but also introducing colonial ideologies. Public hospitals were also built, improving access to healthcare for residents, while infrastructure development, such as roads and bridges, facilitated economic growth.
Additionally, the introduction of a local governance system allowed Filipinos to participate in elections, marking the first steps toward self-governance. These developments brought notable changes to Agoo's social, educational, and political environment, shaping the town's transition into the modern era under American occupation.
World War II
Agoo, along with the towns of Caba, La Union and Bauang, La Union were the first places the Japanese invasion force sought to control during the main effort to capture Luzon at the beginning of World War 2 - now known as the Japanese Invasion of Lingayen Gulf. Capturing the three towns which were connected by a high quality road, but protected on one side by the ocean and the other by the sea, meant that the Japanese forces were easily able to establish a secure beachhead. Once they had done so, they launched attacks against defense forces at San Fernando, La Union and Rosario, La Union, and from there they deployed southwards across the plains of Pangasinan and Tarlac to take Fort Stotsenburg in Pampanga, then Bulacan, and finally Manila.In the early morning of 22 December 1941, Agoo was one of three beachheads taken by the invasion force of General Masaharu Homma during the Japanese Invasion of Lingayen Gulf.
The Japanese' 47th Infantry Regiment under the command of Col Isamu Yanagi, accompanied by the 4th Tank Regiment and supported by a flotilla of the Imperial Japanese Navy led by Vice Admiral Kenzaburo Hara was supposed to land on the beaches of Agoo beginning 5:00 A.M. on December 22, 1941, having left Takao on Taiwan the evening of December 18.
The Japanese 47th Infantry and 4th Tank Regiment were confronted by heavy weather, however, and were thus delayed and dispersed. They landed at about 7:30 A.M. on a four-mile stretch of beach all the way from Agoo to just north of Damortis.
Agoo is thus recorded in WWII annals as one of the Japanese staging points for the Battle of Rosario.