Negritos, Malays and Chinese long inhabited the island called Buglas before the 1565 expedition of Miguel Lopez de Legaspi.
Legaspi anchored in Bohol and sent his men in a frigate to reconnoiter the island. A strong current carried the frigate for several days around Buglas. The Spaniards reported seeing many dark-skinned inhabitants, and so they renamed the island Negros. In 1571 Legaspi assigned encomiendas on Negros Island to 13 of his men. The following year, Augustinian friars began Christianization of the island. In 1734 Negros was made a corregimento with capital in Ilog, on the western side. In 1795 the island became an alcaldia with Himamaylan as capital also on the western section. In 1856 Negros became a politico-military province with Don Emilio Saravia y Nuñez as first Gobernador Politico-Militar, and Bacolod, still on the western side, as the capital.
Due to difficulties in administering the far-flung settlements of the island, the Recollect priests petitioned for division of the island. Thirteen years later, in January, Governor General Valeriano Weyler executed a Royal Decree establishing two separate Negros political units, Negros Occidental on the western side, Oriental Negros (and now known as “Oriental Negros”) on the southeastern portion. Oriental Negros was assigned Dumaguete as capital.
In 1897 Pantaleon Villegas of Bacong enlisted with the revolutionary forces of Aguinaldo and gained prominence as the legendary General Leon Kilat who led the attack on the Spanish garrison in Cebu. In commemoration of this historic event, a re-enactment of the Battle of Tres de Abril is celebrated as a major event of in Cebu City. Leon Kilat was treacherously assassinated on April 8, 1898, less than a week after causing a great setback to the Spanish forces.
In the last quarter of 1898, Don Diego de la Viña of Vallehermoso stirred Oriental Negros into action. With a band of insufficiently armed farmhands, he marched towards Dumaguete to liberate the capital, also liberating the northern towns along the way. The de la Viña forces arrived in Dumaguete just as the Spanish forces abandoned it.
In 1901 a civil government was established with Don Demetrio Larena as Governor.
The establishment of schools has contributed largely to the growth of the province. In 1901 Dr. David S Hibbard founded Silliman Institute in Dumaguete. It would become the first Protestant university in the Philippines. In 1904 seven Belgian nuns arrived to open St. Paul’s Academy, which would be the first St. Paul de Chartres institution in the country.
Tabacalera established in 1918 its first sugar central in the country in Bais, the Central Azucarera de Bais, thus stimulating the growth of the province’s sugar industry. Oriental Negros also cultivated grains and abaca, and was a good producer of copra.
On May 26, 1942, the Japanese landed in Dumaguete City. A combined effort of American and Filipino forces defeated the occupying powers on August 6, 1945.
The capital, Dumaguete, received its Charter as a City in 1948, as rehabilitation and restoration work proceeded provincewide. Over the years Oriental Negros has contained its development in a setting of natural beauty that continues to draw visitors for its ecotourism delights. Even as a geothermal plant in Valencia feeds industry and energizes the entire province as well as neighboring Negros Occidental and the islands of Panay and Cebu, Oriental Negros has managed to retain the laid-back charms and rural ambience that distinguishes the province from other developing centers of metropolitan character.
Oriental Negros marked the Centennial of its creation as a Province on January 1, 1990. It has five component cities, 20 municipalities and 557 barangays with a total population posted at 1,126,061by the 2,000 Census of Population. With an area of 5,402.30 square kilometers, it is the largest of the island provinces in Central Visayas. Its 26,000 hectares of forests make up 60% of the region’s total forest cover.
Geographic & Topographic Features:
The province’s topography is characterized by low, but serrated mountain ranges, in which most parts are close to the shoreline. Highest mountain peak in the province is Canlaon volcano in the north at 8,085 feet above sea level. Mt. Talinis, which rises at 5,905 feet above sea level, is the second highest peak.
....A. General Geographic and Geologic Features:
Land Area..........................540,230 has
Cultivated farmlands.........303,268 has
Commercial forest..............66,408 has
Non-commercial forest........92,948 has
Brush land..........................38,02 has.
Marsh/swamp land............. 4,276 has.
....B. Soil and Vegetation cover:
Lowland soils.......................33,830 has
Rolling upland soils............117,580 has
steep upland soils............. .88,300 has
Miscellaneous Land Soils....291,930 has
Population & other Demographic Features:
Population (2,000 Census)...................1.231 M
Population Density......................244.33/sq. Km.
Annual Population growth rate.................1.55%
Literacy rate...........................................80.9%
Type..............................................................I & II
Temperature Normal range...26.1 to 27 degress C
Maximum........................................34.8 degrees C
Minimum.........................................20.9 degrees C
Relative humidity........................................77-80%
Annual average Rainfall....................................78%
Political Subdivision:
The six major cities are Bais, Bayawan, Canlaon, Guihulngan, Tanjay and Dumaguete, the capital. Situated on the plains of the southeastern coast, Dumaguete City is bounded on the north by the municipality of Sibulan, on the west by the Mindanao Sea, Valencia on the southeast and Bacong on the south. There are 3 congressional districts, 20 municipalities and 557 barangays.
Negros Oriental - Whale And Dolphin Haven
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
Discover nature at its freshest in the province that promises the charming surprise of a lush countryside, a fascinating highland adventure, breathtaking caves, magnificent lakes, scenic beaches, world-class marine reserves, alluring dive sites, and even playful dolphins and whales.
An exhilirating journey awaits at the internationally acclaimed dive site of Apo Island, also home to the Balwarte Rocks and Negros Oriental Marine Conservation Park, all of which are consistent crowd drawers. View playful dolphins and pygmy sperm whales out in Tañon Strait at Bais Bay. Commune with birds and other wildlife at the 400-hectare protected mangrove forest that is the Bird Sanctuary and Mangrove Park. And do stop by to admire Canlaon Volcano, one of the tallest peaks in the Visayas.
Negros Oriental offers you the opportunity to commune with nature, undisturbed. The heavens have blessed this province with more than its fair share of nature’s bounty, with a bonus to boot – the warmth and the inherent charm of the Oriental Negrense.
LANGUAGE/DIALECT
Cebuano, Hiligaynon, and Tagalog.
POPULATION
1.231M, according to the 2007 Census.
Political Subdivisions
The six major cities are Bais, Bayawan, Canlaon, Guihulngan, Tanjay, and Dumaguete (the capital). Situated on the plains of the southeastern coast, Dumaguete City is bounded on the north by the municipality of Sibulan, on the west by the Mindanao Sea, Valencia on the southeast, and Bacong on the south. There are 3 congressional districts, 20 municipalities, and 540 barangays.
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