Yumul, Rhea Camille R.

History of Vigan, Ilocos Sur

Ilocos Sur is a province in the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region in Luzon. Vigan City, located on the mouth
of the Mestizo River is the provincial capital. Ilocos Sur is bordered by Ilocos Norte and Abra to the north, Mountain
Province to the east, La Union and Benguet to the south and the South China Sea to the west.
Vigan was an important coastal trading post in pre-colonial times. Long before the Spanish galleons came,
Chinese junks sailed from the South China Sea to Isla de Bigan through the Mestizo River. Sea-faring merchants came to
barter exotic goods from Asian kingdoms in exchange for gold, beeswax and other mountain products from the
Cordilleras. Immigrants, mostly Chinese, settled in Vigan, intermarried with the natives and started the multi-cultural
bloodline of the Bigueños.
In 1572,King Philip II sent Captain Juan de Salcedo with about 80 soldiers to explore the coast of Los Ilocano that
sailed from Manila on May 20, 1572 and arrived in Vigan on June 12, 1572. Thus, after the successful expedition and
exploration of the North, Don Juan de Salcedo founded “Villa Fernandina de Vigan” in honor of King Philip II’s son, Prince
Ferdinand who died at the tender age of four.
As a reward for his services to the King, Salcedo was awarded the old province of Ylocos which then composed 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.
In January 1574, Salcedo returned to the capital of his Encomienda, Vigan, bringing with him some Augustinian
Missionaries to pioneer the evangelization of Ylocos and established a Spanish city, for the purpose of controlling the
neighboring countries. It was believed that when Juan de Salcedo asked a native what the name of the place is, 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. He thereupon 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.
When Don Juan dela Fuente de Yepes became Bishop of Nueva Segovia in 1755, he requested the King of Spain
and the Pope for the transfer of the Diocese from Lallo, Cagayan to Vigan, which was at the height of its progress as
center of religious, commercial and socio-cultural activities.
He summoned three former Alcalde Mayores: Don Maximino Ballero of Vigan, Don Juan Antonio Panelo of
Pangasinan, and Don Francisco Ledem of Cagayan to testify and give their support of the requested transfer of the
Diocese.
The transfer of the Seat of the Diocese of Nueva Segovia from Lallo, Cagayan to Vigan was formally approved
during the Pontificate of Pope Benedict XIV during the reign of Fernando VI, King of Spain by virtue of the Royal Decree
of September 7, 1758.
By this Royal Decree, Villa Fernandina de Bigan which became the new seat of the Diocese was automatically
elevated to the status of a City known as Ciudad Fernandina de Vigan in honor of the then current King of Spain.
In 1803, the natives were working on agricultural land and the mestizos engaged in business with other
provinces including Manila. The mestizos played a very important role in the progress and prosperity of the city of Vigan.
The Chinese in Vigan on the other hand, settled in a place called “Pariancillo” while in Manila they were in
“Parian”. With their talent and knowledge in business as well as their skills and mastery of the art of manufacturing, the
Chinese became rich and powerful in society. They opened business in the heart of Vigan, employed the naturales,
intermarried with the natives and mestizos of Vigan and as time passed by; they rose into the class of the elite. They
triggered a business boom in the community and engaged in domestic and foreign trade. They exported indigo, lime,
maguey, basi, jars, tobacco, woven cloth called abel, and other local products to Europe, China, Borneo and Malaysia. As
a consequence of this business boom, there was a mark change in the lifestyle of the inhabitants.
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 Vigan has its own carcel, casa de gobierno, mercado
publico, Provincial High Court and one of the only four (4) Public Works District in the entire Island of Luzon. More
importantly, it has an Audencia Territorial, an implicit indication that it was a City.