Abra is mountainous province in Northwest Luzon, the largest of the 7,100 islands of the Republic of the Philippines. It is an area not well known in the German speaking parts of the world. One searches in vain the older reference works for the name Abra. Not until 1930 did the "Lexikon fur Theologie und Kirche" carry an article of Abra. And even that article states that reference to this Province of the Republic of the Philippines even at the date were not entirely unequivocal.
From the very beginning it is good to distinguish between the Political Province of Abra and the land area of the same name. The land area called Abra, which is dominated by the Abra River, has borne that name since the first decades after the discovery of the Islands by the Spaniards. The Province of Abra as a political entity, however, dates back only to the year 1846. In that year Abra was detached from the Province of Ilocos Sur. In fact, that row Provinces of Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte had been formed only some 30 years earlier by the division of the Provinces of Ilocos. The detachment of Abra and its establishment as an independent political entity were intended to provide necessary impetus for its more rapid development and progress. That in fact is what happened. However after the occupation of the Philippines by the Americans, Abra was again reduced to the rank of a Sub-Province which it retained until it finally became an independent Province in 1917 during World War I.
The dependence of Abra on Ilocos Sur until 1917 actually marked a standstill in its development. For the officials of Ilocos Sur, Abra lay only at the outer edge of their concern. They showed interest in its only during election time. As a consequence of this official apathy, the work of the Missionaries also had to suffer.
During WW II, Igorot guerillas and American forces fought battles with Japanese soldiers during the final days of the war in 1945.
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