History of Bohol

The people of Bohol are said to be the descendants of the last group of inhabitants who settled in the Philippines called pintados or “tattooed ones.” Boholanos already had a culture of their own as evidenced by the artifacts dug at Mansasa, Tagbilaran, and in Dauis and Panglao.

Bohol is derived from the word Bo-ho or Bo-ol. The island was the seat of the first international treaty of peace and unity between the native king Datu Sikatuna, and Spanish conquistador, Miguel López de Legazpi, on March 16, 1565 through a blood compact alliance known today by many Filipinos as the Sandugo.

Statue commemorating the "Blood Compact" in Tagbilaran City

The earliest significant contact of the island with Spain occurred in 1565. In that year on March 25 (March 16 in the Julian Calendar), a Spanish explorer named Miguel López de Legazpi arrived in Bohol to look for spices and gold. After convincing the native chieftains that they were not Portuguese (who raided the islands of Mactan in 1521), he made a peace pact with Datu Sikatuna. This pact was signified with a blood compact between the two men. This event, called the Sandugo ("one blood"), is celebrated in Bohol every year during the Sandugo Festival. The Sandugo or blood compact is also depicted on Bohol's provincial flag and the Bohol provincial seal .

Two significant revolts occurred in Bohol during the Spanish Era. One was the Tamblot Uprising in 1621, which was led by Tamblot, a babaylan or native priest. The other was the famous Dagohoy Rebellion, considered the longest in Philippine history. This rebellion was led by Francisco Dagohoy, also known as Francisco Sendrijas, from 1744 to 1829.

Politically, Bohol was administered as a residencia of Cebu. It became a separate politico-military province on July 22, 1854 together with Siquijor. A census in 1879 found Bohol with a population of 253,103 distributed among 34 municipalities.

Because of the Spanish colonial period, several municipalities in Bohol have names of towns in Spain like Getafe. This municipality is sister city with the Spanish city of the same name. In Getafe, a street is named Isla de Bohol (Island of Bohol), a unique name for a street in Spain.

After the United States defeated Spain in the Spanish-American War, the U.S. bought the entire Philippine islands. However, under the newly proclaimed independent government established by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, which was not recognized by the US, Bohol was governed as a Gobierno de Canton.

During the resulting Philippine-American War, American troops under Major Henry Hale landed in Tagbilaran and took over the island. He hired and outfitted Pedro Samson to build a police force for the island. Instead Samson took his troops and equipment into the interior of Bohol and began an insurgency.

After being massacred in their first battle, Samson turned to guerrilla tactics and influenced the interior of the island while Hale's forces controlled the outer edge and Tagbilaran City. In January, 1901, the fighting had reached a lull. In May, 1901 an American soldier was murdered by the fiancé' of a woman he had assaulted. In retaliation, Capt. Andrew S. Rowan, the soldier's commander, ordered the burning of the town of Jagna. This infuriated the population of Bohol and reignited the insurrection.

At first Rowan was suspended from duty for this decision. But eventually support for burning villages increased in the military command. The burnings continued, usually as a reaction to collaboration. In addition, livestock was raped and prominent civilians tortured. Water cure was a commonly used torture technique. By the end of the fighting, American troops had burned 16-20 villages. Major Edwin F. Glenn, who had personally approved the tortures, was later courts-martialed for the crime.

Samson and his men surrendered on December 23, 1901 after being granted amnesty and taking a loyalty oath. The war largely ended at this time. However, a month later Samson had rearmed and ordered the killing of J. R. Hegg, the provincial supervisor. This inflamed passions and almost restarted the war. But war did not resume and the last American troops left in February, 1902.

On March 10, 1917, the Americans made Bohol a separate province under Act 2711 (which also established most of the other Philippine provinces).

The Japanese Imperial Army landed in Tagbilaran on May 17, 1942. Boholanos struggled unsuccessfully to provide resistance against the Japanese forces. Bohol was later re-conquered by the Boholano Guerrillas and the Filipino and American troops on April 11, 1945.

One thousand one hundred seventy two officers and men of the 3rd Battalion of the 164th Infantry Regiment of the Americal Division under the command of Lt. Col. William H. Considine landed at the Tagbilaran Insular Wharf at 7:00 o'clock in the morning of April 11, 1945.

The convoy taking the Filipino and American liberation forces to Bohol consisted of a flotilla of six landing ships (medium), six landing crafts (infantry), two landing crafts (support), and one landing craft (medium-rocket). Upon arrival, the reinforced battalion combat team advanced rapidly to the east and northeast with the mission of destroying all hostile forces in Bohol. Motor patrols were immediately dispatched by Col. Considine, Task Force Commander, and combed the area to the north and east, approximately halfway across the island, but no enemies were found during the reconnaissance. Finally on April, an enemy group of undetermined strength was located to the north of Ginopolan in Valencia, near the Sierra-Bullones boundary.

By April 17, the Task Force was poised to strike in Ginopolan until the 25th, when it was confirmed that the bulk of the Japanese force had been destroyed and beaten in the ten days of action. Bohol was officially declared liberated on May 25, 1945 by Major General William H. Arnold, Commander of the Americal Division. About this time, most officers and men of the Bohol Area Command had been processed by units of the United States Eighth Army. On May 31, 1945, the Bohol Area Command was officially deactivated upon orders of Lt. General Robert Eichelberger, Commanding General of the Eighth United States Army together with the Philippine Constabulary, the former Philippine Commonwealth Army Forces and the Boholano guerrillas.