An Informative And Educative Brief History Of Palawan

Palawan is the largest province in the Philippines in terms of total area of jurisdiction and the capital of this province is Puerto Princesa. This province is located between Sulu Sea and South China Sea. It is named after Palawan Island which is the largest island in the province. However, there are various theories about the origin of the name with some people saying the province got its name from a Chinese word which means the land of beautiful harbors.

The history of this province can be traced back twenty two thousands years ago. This is confirmed by fossils of a Tabon man and his tools which were found in the municipality of Quezon. These fossils were tested by anthropologists who confirmed that there used to be human life in the province about twenty two thousand years back. As civilization continued Chinese people used to come to this province to trade.

This attracted even Malay traders some of whom came and settled in Palawan. The prospect of good trade on the province attracted even Japanese, Hindu and Arab traders. Eventually the traders and the natives started intermarrying which eventually led to a distinct breed of Palawenos. Islamic religion was also introduced to the people of this area especially by the Arab traders.

Eventually the Palawan was colonized by the Spanish and then by Americans who both introduced their ways of life to the residents. Amongst the things that were introduced include agriculture and schools which benefited both the locals and the colonial masters. During the Second World War Japanese captured prisoners of war most of whom were Americans. To prevent them from running away the prisoners were put in covered trenches and burnt using gasoline. This massacre was greatly condemned and because of its magnitude where even films have been made about it.

The province was eventually rescued from the Japanese loyalist by a task force which comprised of Filipino and American soldiers between February 28 and April 1945. Due to the many colonial masters and people who have settled in Palawan over the years, the province has a total of eighty seven ethnic groups who all live in peace.