Isla De Bigan

History of Vigan City

 Historical wonders and tourist spots in the
Philippines are too numerous to mention. Aside from this
remarkable sociological trait of the Philippines, she is
well-endowed with provinces which are not only enigmatically
beautiful and splendid, but also culturally enriched. On the
Northern side of the Philippines, the province of Vigan is
something that millions of local and foreign tourists must
see.
Vigan is said to be a fifth class city in the
province of Ilocos Sur. It is a marvelous place which has
been included in the roster of heavenly and alluring sites,
with endearing and worth knowing historical significance.

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How Bigan History Began...

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 In 1572, King Philip II sent
Captain Juan de Salcedo, grandson of
the Adelantado Miguel Lopez de
Legaspi, with about 80 soldiers to
explore the coast of Los Ilocos. After
the successful expedition an
exploration, Captain Salcedo was
awarded by the King for his services
and gave him the old province of
Ylocos which then compose of the
Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Abra, La
Union and some parts of the Mountain
Province as his Encomienda, and was
accorded the title as Justicia Mayor
de esta Provincia de Ylocos.
He then planned to establish
a Spanish City, for the purpose of
controlling the neighboring countries.

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 The successful voyage and fruitful discovery
of the North made it possible for Don Juan de
Salcedo to find the place which was beautifully
alluded to as “Villa Fernandina de Vigan” or “Town of
Ferdinand”. Since then, the latter was used as the
name of the province to humbly and gloriously honor
“Prince Ferdinand, the deceased first- born child of
King Philipp II, of Spain. Over the years, as the
city evolves and progresses, the former Villa
Fernandina is now widely known as Vigan all around
the Philippines.

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 It was also believed that the name Vigan was
acquired when Juan de Salcedo asked a native what the
name of the place is, (as Salcedo spoke in Spanish),
the native could not understand a word he was saying.
Salcedo however, was pointing on the ground and the
native thought that he was actually asking for the
name of the vegetation planted on the ground. The
native there upon said “bigaa apo, bigaa apo”,
referring to a tuber plant from the “gabi” or taro
family. From then on, the Spaniards named the place
Bigan.

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Bigan Economy...

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 In terms of economy, Vigan was a former
coastal trading post prior to the colonization of
Spain in the Philippines. With this kind of an
economic environment, Chinese traders were
painstakingly travelling from the vastness of South
China Sea to Isla de Bigan long before the Spanish
galleons came. Chinese junks sailed through the
Meztizo River. Sea-faring merchants came to barter
exotic goods from Asian kingdoms in exchange for
gold, beeswax and other mountain products from the
Cordilleras.
But during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries,
the Spanish galleon trade made Vigan the most
important and prosperous city, north of Manila.

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 Vigan can be easily found in the Northern part
of Luzon. Vigan possesses 2,511 hectares of land and
almost 60% of its total land area is utilized for
agriculture purposes. Hence, the remaining portions are
mainly used for residential, commercial and industrial
endeavors. Immigrants, mostly Chinese, settled in
Vigan, intermarried with the natives and started the
multi-cultural bloodline of the Biguenos long time ago.
The Chinese taipans who monopolized commerce and trade
in the region built the huge brick-and-plaster houses
in Vigan.

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Bigan Architechture...

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 The two storey structures are built of brick
and wood, with a steeply pitched roof reminiscent of
traditional Chinese architechture. The upper storey
are enclosed by window panels of kapis shells framed
in wood which can be slid back for better
ventilation. The Chinese merchants and traders
conducted their businesses on the ground floors of
their houses, with the living quarters above. In
addition to the domestic and commercial
architechture, Vigan possesses a number of
significant public buildings, which also shows multi-
cultural influences.

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Bigan Literature...

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 The historical development of Vigan would be
incomplete without mentioning other Ilocano
personalities who helped shape the destiny of not only
the region but the entire country. A native of nearby
Bantay, Pedro Bukaneg, the Father of Ilocano
Literature and reputedly the author of the Ilocano
epic, Biag ni Lam-ang, helped translate the Doctrina
Cristiana into Ilocano in the early 1600’s making the
way for the evangelization of the Ilocano-speaking
Northern Luzon easier.
And the man who is considered the greatest son
of our province, the late President Elpidio Quirino,
who lifted the country from the physical and moral
bankruptcy that the last world war had inflicted on
our country and countrymen.

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Bigan As a City...

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 To justify to the category of Vigan as a city
are the documents from “Instituto de Historia Programa
de Modernization del Archivo Nacional de Filipinas” that
describes that the Vigan has its own carcel de gobierno,
Mercado public, Provincial High Court and one of the
only four (4) Public District in the entire island of
Luzon. More importantly, it has an Audencia Territorial,
an implicit indication that it was a City.
Today, the city government of Vigan is the
repository of a certified true copy of the Royal Decree
issued by King Fernando VI. It states among others, that
as long as the cathedral stands and the seat of the
diocese is in Vigan, it will always remain as a city.

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 All elements necessary to express the values
of the place are included within the property. This
ensures the representation of its significance as a
well planned and well preserved Hispanic colonial
town. Vigan possesses the best of the best cultural
heritage and conventional traditions even before WWII
up until now...
However,

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 World War II

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DID YOU EVER WONDERED

H O W
WAS THAT POSSIBLE?

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 Before the world war II, Japanese reaches the
Philippines and some settled in Vigan. One of them is
Japanese General Maj. Sakae Narioka, who fell in love
with a local woman named Belen Castillo. The Japanese
General won the heart of Belen and they got married
and had a child named Emiko Narioka. Couple of years
then after signing the treaty of Paris which transfers
the fate of the Philippines from Spanish to Americans,
the battle set in the Northern Philippines.
While the battle is fast approaching north and
further, the Japanese General had sensed news that the
Americans are soon to arrive in Vigan.

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 To spare his wife and child, he commanded the
Japanese settlers and soldiers to depart going to
north to avoid the destruction that might happen
between them and the Americans. He left his wife and
son in one of the church in Vigan under the care of a
Dominican priest.
All signs of Japanese inhabitant were burnt in
Vigan right after the General and his troops left the
place. American flags were soon hung on each and every
side of the window of the houses signing the Americans
that Vigan has fully turned to their side. Because of
this, the attempt to bomb the place did not happened.

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P U R E L V E

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 Because of that love so pure, a mother, and a boy
was saved, people was saved, a town was saved, and a
history was preserved.
Vigan City was able to stand proudly with its
fruitful history that will always be remembered.
Love is never been a destruction, but a powerful
option to choose the best choice.

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 In the year 2001, Vigan
became the first component city
of the province of Ilocos Sur
known as The City of Vigan. It
celebrated the 250th year on the
Transfer of the Seat of the
Diocese of Nueva Segovia from
Lallo, Cagayan to Vigan City. And
when 2012 came, Vigan was awarded
as UNESCO’s Best Practice in
World Heritage Management on the
40th Anniversary of the world
Heritage Convention in Kyoto,
Japan. Two years after, the City
was named as one of the New Seven
Wonders-Cities of the World and
was officially introduced as a
New Seven Wonders City.

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El Fin
GROUP I

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