Batangas Province, Philippines Genealogy

Asia Philippines  Batangas Province

Guide to  ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

History
The province had been trading with the Chinese since Yuan Dynasty until first phase of Ming Dynasty in the 13th and 15th century. Inhabitants of the province were also trading with Japan and India.

The Tagalogs, especially the Batangueños, had a very high level of civilization.

The early Batangueños were non-aggressive people. Partly because most of the tribes in the immediate environs are related to them by blood. However, when there is no choice but to defend your life, Batangans would use the bakyang (bows and arrows), the bangkaw (spears) and the suwan (bolo).

Another proof of civilization from the Batangans was the presence of religion. Though it was highly superstitious, such as the use of amulet (talisman), it showed that these people believed in the presence of higher beings and other things unseen. Thus, there is a strong connection between the Batangans and nature.

In 1570, Spanish generals Martin de Goiti and Juan de Salcedo explored the coast of Batangas on their way to Manila and came upon a Malay settlement at the mouth of Pansipit River. In 1572, the town of Taal was founded and its convent and stone church were constructed later.

In 1581, the Spanish government abolished the Bonbon Province and created a new province which came to be known as Balayan Province. Batangas remains to be one of the most 'Christianised' and even the most 'Catholic' Province in the Philippines.

The struggles of the Batangueños did not end when the Spaniards left the Philippines. Batangas was also in the watch-list of the Americans when they occupied the Islands.

When the Americans forbade the Philippine flag from being flown anywhere in the country, Batangas was one of the places where the revolutionaries chose to propagate their propaganda. Many, especially the revolutionary artists chose Batangas as the place to perform their plays.

The attack in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the Japanese switched their planes to attacking the Philippines, launching major air raids throughout the country. The bombings resulted into the destruction of the Batangas Airport located in Batangas City, of which nothing remains today. Batangas was also a scene of heavy fighting between the Philippine Army Air Corps and the Japanese A6M Zero Fighter Planes.

When Gen. Douglas MacArthur ordered the overall retreat of the American-Filipino Forces to Bataan in 1942, the province was ultimately abandoned and later came under direct Japanese occupation. During this time, the Imperial Japanese Army committed many crimes against civilians including the massacre of 328 people in Bauan.

The liberation begun on January 31, 1945 when elements of the 11th Airborne Division under the US Eighth Army went ashore of the beaches of Nasugbu, Batangas.

Cemeteries

 * Lipa City Cemetery


 * Taal Cemetery


 * Holy Family Cemetery


 * Lodlod Cemetery


 * Eternal Gardens Memorial Park Corp


 * Ibaan Municipal Cemetery


 * Find A Grave

Family History Library

 * FHL Batangas Province Results


 * Philippines Civil Registration (Archives Division) (FamilySearch Historical Records)


 * Philippines Genealogy


 * Philippines Genealogy Family Search


 * Family History Library Research Outlines

Philppine Statistics

 * Philippine Statistics

Researching Filipino Ancestors

 * BYU Education Research Phillippines


 * Philippines, Civil Registration (Archives Division), 1902-1945


 * Filipino Ancestors


 * Obits Philippines freepages


 * Families of the Philippines


 * Surnames, etc


 * Resources for genealogy in the Philippines


 * PHILIPPINES-L Archives


 * Philippines » Birth, Marriage, Death


 * Philippines


 * Bona's Philippine Genealogy Site


 * Philippine Army and Guerrilla Records

Vital Statistics

 * Vital Statistics Special Release