Batangas

Batangas

Understand Batangas had long been inhabited by the Tagalog before the Spaniards arrived. Today, it has become one of the richest provinces of the Philippines, and has benefited from tourism and foreign investment. It is the fourth richest province and the ninth most populous in the Philippines. Its beaches and resorts are the main draw, but there are also many historical sites, cultural attractions and religious sites. Being not far from Manila, Batangas gets a lot of visitors. What is now Batangas started as two pre-Hispanic kingdoms, Kumintang and the sultanate of Balayan. The Spaniards first arrived in the 16th century, and recreated the two as the provinces of Balayan and Bonbon, which were eventually merged into Batangas. The original capital was in Taal (then Bonbon), but was moved to what is now Batangas City after the deadly 1755 Taal Volcano eruption. The name "Batangas" derives from the Tagalog word batangan, a reference to the logs used to create rafts used to cross the Kumintang River. Batangas has a tropical wet and dry climate, but…

Source: Wikivoyage · CC BY-SA 4.0.