Misamis was a province of the Philippines located in Mindanao. Originally a Spanish-era district, it became a chartered province on May 15, 1901 (Philippine Commission Act 128). The province was dissolved in 1929, when it was divided into two.
History
Misamis takes its name from an old settlement at the mouth of the Panguil Bay once populated by Subanen, now the city of Ozamiz. The name is believed to derive from the Subanen term , a term for a sweet variety of coconut. However, as a result of continued raids by Moros from Lanao, the Subanens retreated into the interior and Visayan and Bukidnon settlers occupied the coast. By 1818, Misamis was organized as a province covering the region from Dapitan in the west, up to Gingoog in the east and as far as Cotabato and Lanao del Sur in the south. Effective control, however, was limited to the coast.
For most of the 17th and 18th centuries, Misamis remained vulnerable to the Moro slave raiders. Forts were constructed, the principal ones being in Misamis (Fuerte de la Concepcion y del Triunfo), Iligan and Cagayan de Misamis. The population of Misamis gradually increased during the 19th century due largely to the influx of settlers from Cebu, Bohol, Siquijor and Negros Oriental and doubled a century later with another influx of settlers from Luzon and other parts of Visayas. By the end of the 1700s, Misamis had 1,278 native families.ESTADISMO DE LAS ISLAS FILIPINAS TOMO PRIMERO By Joaquín Martínez de Zúñiga (Original Spanish)ESTADISMO DE LAS ISLAS FILIPINAS TOMO SEGUNDO By Joaquín Martínez de Zúñiga (Original Spanish) By 1818, there were an additional three pure Spanish-Filipino families and 35 mixed Spanish-Filipino Mestizo families.Diccionario Geográfico, Estadístico, Histórico, de las Islas Filipinas By Fr. Manuel Buzeta and Fr. Felipe Bravo, Volume 2, Published Madrid :(Impr. de J.C. de la Peña) 1850-1851. It was also fortified and colonized by 100 Spanish soldiers.San Agustín, Conquistas, lib. 2 cap 37: 545
Misamis used to be a part of Cebu. In 1818, it became a "corregimiento" made up of four "partidos" or divisions: Partido de Misamis, Partido de Dapitan, Partido de Cagayan and Partido de Catarman. During the latter part of the 19th century, Misamis was one of the six districts of Mindanao and, later, one of the seven districts in Mindanao and Sulu at the close of the Spanish era with Cagayan de Misamis (now Cagayan de Oro) as its capital. When it was still a part of the district of Cebu, there were twelve Spaniards and nine Filipinos who successively served as "governadore" with Mayor Carabello as the first governor in 1874.
In 1917, following the organization of the Department of Mindanao and Sulu, the province of Misamis lost the territory of Iligan to the province of Lanao. In 1929, the Philippine Legislature passed Act No. 3537 to dissolve the province and split it into Occidental Misamis and Oriental Misamis. The change took effect on January 1, 1930.
List of governors Misamis was headed by a governor. Governor Term Note Ref.Major José Caraballo1874–1876 Lt. Col. Leopoldo Roldán1877–1883Lt. Col. Alberto Bacaj1883–1884Lt. Col. Luis Huertas1884–1886Lt. Col. Conde de Turealta1886–1887Served in an acting position.Lt. Col. Federico Tianta1887—1888Major Juan Zanón1888–1890Lt. Col. José de Tógores1890–1893Lt. Col. Juan de Frats1893–1894Capt. Ricardo Carmecerno1895–1896Lt. Col. Jose de Tógores1895–1896Lt. Col. Cristóbal de Aguilar1896–1898Cayetano Pacana1898–1899Served as gobernadorcillo.José Roa y Casas1899–1900Served as provincial president.Manuel Roa Corrales1901–1905Apolinar Velez1906–1909Ricardo Reyes Barrientos1910–1912Jose Reyes Barrientos1912–1916Isidro Rillas1917–1919Juan Valdeconcha Roa1920–1922Segundo Gastón1923–1925Don Gregorio A. Pelaez1926–1929 Last governor of undivided Misamis.Continued as governor of Misamis Oriental until 1931.
See also Misamis Occidental Misamis Oriental Iligan City Legislative districts of Misamis
References