Quezon
Quezon, officially the Province of Quezon and historically known as Tayabas and Kalilayan, is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region on Luzon. Lucena, a highly urbanized city governed separately from the province, serves as the provincial capital and its most populous city. The name of the province came from Manuel L. Quezon, the president of the Philippines from 1935 to 1944 and a native of Baler, which was formerly a part of the province. The province was known as Kalilayan upon its creation in 1591, renamed as Tayabas by the 18th century, before settling on its current name in 1946. To distinguish the province from Quezon City, it is also known as Quezon Province, a variation of the province's official name.
One of the largest provinces in the country, Quezon is situated on the southeastern portion of Luzon, with the majority of its territory lying on an isthmus that connects the Bicol Peninsula to the rest of Luzon. It also includes the Polillo Islands in the eastern part of the province. It is bordered by the provinces of Aurora and Bulacan to the north, Rizal, Laguna, and Batangas to the west, and Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur to the southeast. It also shares maritime borders with Marinduque and Masbate.
History
Early history
Archaeological excavations in the province attest to its rich precolonial past. Archaeological materials including burial jars, human bones, shell middens and pot shreds have been discovered at different sites on Bondoc Peninsula, including the towns of San Narciso, San Andres, Mulanay and Catanauan. The most recent excavations were conducted in Catanauan by the Catanauan Archeological and Heritage Project.According to the preliminary report released by the Catanauan Archaeological and Heritage Project, several excavations were conducted in the 1930s. One of the excavations was conducted in San Narciso where archaeologists found burial jars. The site, inspected by Ricardo Galang, resulted in the discovery of burial jars near the coast. Galang also went to San Andres, where excavations yielded 14th and 15th century ceramics as well as shell bracelets and beads. According to the journal as well, at a site named Tala, archaeologists discovered a glazed Chinese jar containing bone fragments from the early Ming dynasty. Looking at other archaeological sites located in adjacent areas like Marinduque and Masbate, it can be inferred that these excavations date back to the metal period of the archipelago.
In 2012, at Mount Kamhantik in the town of Mulanay, 15 limestone coffins were discovered. Carbon dating on a human tooth found it to be at least 1,000 years old. According to archaeologists, the village is proof that the ancient inhabitants of the area practiced a more sophisticated way of life. Metal tools are believed to have been used to carve the coffins, and this is the first of its kind discovered in the archipelago. The remains are said to date back to the 10th to 14th century.
Spanish colonial era
Originally, what now forms Quezon was divided among the provinces of Batangas, Laguna, and Nueva Ecija. However, at different points in time, the boundaries of Quezon changed and included parts of Aurora, Marinduque, and Camarines Norte. At the early period of Spanish colonization, the province of Aurora was called El Principe, Infanta was called Binangonan de Lampon, and southern Quezon was called Kalilayan. The first European to explore the area was Juan de Salcedo in 1571–1572, during his expedition from Laguna to Camarines provinces.In 1574, Father Diego de Oropesa founded the town of Bumaka, now known as the municipality of Gumaca.
In 1591, through Governor General Gómez Pérez Dasmariñas, the province was created and was called Kaliraya or Kalilayan, after the capital town which later became Unisan.
In 1595, the Diocese of Cáceres was established by Pope Clement VIII as a suffragan of Manila. The diocese covered the entire Bicolandia region plus the towns in Kalilayan, and the Contracosta towns. At that time, the towns on the eastern seaboard were pertained to as the Contracosta and included towns from Mauban, Binangonan de Lampon, to El Principe.
The destruction of Kalilayan in 1604 by a big fleet of Moro pirates caused the inhabitants to transfer to Palsabangon. Depredation and plunder by the Moros from Jolo and Brunei were rampant during the 1600s. Slavery is one reason for the proliferation of these raids. A padron for Calilaya was ordered after Tayabas suffered severely from Moro raids. It is said that 187 people were either captured or killed while 400 people fled. Fear from these raids is the primary reason as to the permanent movement of settlements along the coast further inland as well as a general decline in population. Frequent invasions by the moros disrupted food production in the province, affecting the nutrition of its inhabitants. Maternal malnutrition was even cited as one of the primary causes of infant mortality at that time. By 1701, the previously densely settled coastal areas of the province, were described as consisting of rancherias whose inhabitants depended on wild products.
In 1705, the Military Comandancia of Nueva Ecija was created and was governed by Governor General Fausto Cruzat y Góngora. It included huge swathes of Central Luzon, the Contracosta towns as well as the Kalilayan area and Polillo Islands. But Nueva Ecija was still part of La Pampanga province at that time. Since Contracosta & Kalilayan were part of La Laguna province at that time before including them in Nueva Ecija, they became jointly ruled by La Pampanga & La Laguna provinces.
In 1749, the capital was transferred to the town of Tayabas, from which the province got its new name.
In a report by a Spanish priest named Fr. Bartolome Galan in 1823, he describes the economy of the province. According to his report, Tayabas had poor soil and the terrain is hilly which meant that conditions were not that suitable for agriculture compared to other places. The people grew upland rice, wheat, beans and vegetables. Surplus rice was sold in San Pablo and Majayjay on Mondays, the market day of those towns. Cattle breeding was rampant in towns like Tayabas, Pagbilao, Tiaong, and Sariaya. Also, unlike other provinces, haciendas were not so many in Tayabas. Instead, residents owned most of their own land.
The people of Tayabas, as in other areas, are actively trading with Manila. Santa Cruz, La Laguna, was the entrepot for all goods going to the capital. The people from Lucban made products of buri and pandan leaves like hats, sleeping mata and the like which they traded. They, along with the people of Mauban also went to Polillo, at that time part of Nueva Ecija, to buy sea slugs, shells and beeswax. Being a rich agricultural area, the town of Tayabas traded rice, coconuts, and panocha with nearby towns of Majayjay, Lucban, Sariaya, Pagbilao, Mauban, Gumaca, and Atimonan. In turn, they traded fish from Pagbilao, rice from Sariaya, and high quality abaca products from Mauban and Atimonan. Lucban, as well as Tayabas, benefitted greatly from the high commercial activity of Chinese and Chinese mestizos in the pueblos.
Gumaca, being a town with little arable land depended heavily on the sea. They collected sea slugs, and tortoise shells from Alabat and traded with the mountain people there for beeswax in exchange for clothing. They even sometimes ventured to Burias Island in Ragay Gulf in search of these goods. These products were then sent to Tayabas for shipment to Manila. Gumaca also traded items from nearby pueblos like vinegar and clothing for gold and abaca from Naga in the Bicol region.
In 1818, Nueva Ecija annexed the towns of Palanan from Isabela, as well as Baler, Casiguran, Infanta and Polillo Islands from Tayabas, and Cagayan, Nueva Vizcaya, present-day Quirino, and part of present-day Rizal.
In 1853, the new military district of Tayabas was carved from Nueva Ecija and included present-day southern Quezon as well as present-day Aurora. In 1858, Binangonan de Lampon and the Polillo Islands were separated from Nueva Ecija to form part of Infanta. According to the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, the two Franciscan friars named Fray Juan de Plasencia and Fray Diego de Oropesa were the ones responsible for bringing Christianity to the area. The Franciscans are also credited with spreading Christianity to towns and parishes across the province including Mauban, Sariaya and Gumaca.
Between 1855 and 1885, El Principe was established as its own Military Comandancia with its capital in Baler.
Tayabas Uprising
It was also around this time that the Confradia de San Jose was active in the province, caused by growing inequality between the poor and the upper classes. This organization was directed mostly at the poor and neither admitted Spaniards nor mestizos.After years under the Spanish regime, the colonized people grew discontented with the Spaniards over the centuries. The most important event in the history of the province was the Confradia Revolt in 1841, which was led by the famous Lucbanin, Apolinario de la Cruz, popularly known as Hermano Pule.
Years after the Cofradia Revolt, on January 20, 1843, the Tayabas Regiment, led by Sergeant Irineo Samaniego, rose in revolt against Spain, conquering Fort Santiago and other areas of Intramuros. This is the only native force in Philippine history to successfully capture Fort Santiago and Manila. For the first time, the word "Independence" was shouted by the Tayabas Regiment, encouraging their countrymen to revolt against Spain. The next day, however, the gates of Fort Santiago were opened by loyalist soldiers. After a bloody battle, the mutineers were defeated by loyalist troops, resulting in the execution of Samaniego and 81 of his followers the same day.
The province, under General Miguel Malvar, was also among the earliest to join the Philippine Revolution. The Revolutionary Government took control over the province on August 15, 1898.