Mindoro is the seventh largest island in the Philippines by land area with a total of 10,571 km2 ( 4,082 sq.mi ) and with a total population of 1,331,473 as of 2015. It is located off the southwestern coast of Luzon and northeast of Palawan. Mindoro is divided into two provinces Occidental Mindoro and Oriental Mindoro. San Jose
is the largest settlement on the island with a total population of
143,430 inhabitants as of 2015. The southern coast of Mindoro forms the
northeastern extremum of the Sulu Sea.[3] Mount Halcon is the highest point on the island, standing at 8,484 feet (2,586 m) above sea level located in Oriental Mindoro. Mount Baco is the island's second highest mountain with an elevation of 8,163 feet (2,488 m), located in the province of Occidental Mindoro.
In past times, it has been called Ma-i or Mait by Han Chinese traders and by Spaniards, as Mina de Oro (meaning "gold mine") from where the island got its current name. According to the late historian William Henry Scott, an entry in the official history of the Sung Dynasty for the year 972 mentions Ma-i as a state which traded with China. Other Chinese records referring to Ma-i or Mindoro appear in the years that follow.[4]
The products that Mindoro traders exchanged with the Chinese included "beeswax, cotton, true pearls, tortoise shell, medicinal betelnuts and yu-ta [jute?] cloth" for Chinese porcelain, trade gold, iron pots, lead, copper, colored glass beads and iron needles.[4]
The island was briefly invaded by the Sultanate of Brunei and housed Moro settlements[5] before the Spanish invaded and Christianized the population. Afterwards, the area was depopulated due to wars between the Spaniards and the Moros from Mindanao who sought to enslave the hispanized people and to re-islamize the island.[6][7] Consequently, most of the population fled to nearby Batangas and the once rich towns of Mindoro fell to ruin.[6] In the seventeenth century, Giovanni Francesco Gemelli Careri visited the island.[8] In 1898, Mindoro joined in the Philippine Revolution against Spain due to the influx of rebels settling into the island from Cavite and Bataan. Local patriotism died down however during the American occupation of the Philippines and the Japanese era.
The island was the location of the Battle of Mindoro in World War II.
Nevertheless, upon Philippine independence, the area recovered and from 1920 to 1950, the island was a single province with Calapan City as the provincial capital. In 1950, it was partitioned into its two present-day provinces, Occidental Mindoro and Oriental Mindoro,[9] following a referendum that was pushed through by then acting governor Romeo Venturanza.
The economy of Mindoro is largely based on agriculture. Products consist of a wide variety of fruits, such as citrus, bananas, lanzones, rambutan and coconuts, grains (rice and corn), sugarcane, peanuts, fish (catfish, milkfish and tilapia), livestock and poultry. Logging and the mining of marble and copper also thrive.
Tourism is a lucrative business as well, with locations such as Apo Reef National Park, Lubang Island, Puerto Galera, Sabang Beach and Mount Halcon. Puerto Galera's beaches are the island's most known tourist attraction and are widely visited.
The following indigenous languages are spoken in Mindoro:
History
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1900 map of Mindoro Island
The products that Mindoro traders exchanged with the Chinese included "beeswax, cotton, true pearls, tortoise shell, medicinal betelnuts and yu-ta [jute?] cloth" for Chinese porcelain, trade gold, iron pots, lead, copper, colored glass beads and iron needles.[4]
The island was briefly invaded by the Sultanate of Brunei and housed Moro settlements[5] before the Spanish invaded and Christianized the population. Afterwards, the area was depopulated due to wars between the Spaniards and the Moros from Mindanao who sought to enslave the hispanized people and to re-islamize the island.[6][7] Consequently, most of the population fled to nearby Batangas and the once rich towns of Mindoro fell to ruin.[6] In the seventeenth century, Giovanni Francesco Gemelli Careri visited the island.[8] In 1898, Mindoro joined in the Philippine Revolution against Spain due to the influx of rebels settling into the island from Cavite and Bataan. Local patriotism died down however during the American occupation of the Philippines and the Japanese era.
The island was the location of the Battle of Mindoro in World War II.
Nevertheless, upon Philippine independence, the area recovered and from 1920 to 1950, the island was a single province with Calapan City as the provincial capital. In 1950, it was partitioned into its two present-day provinces, Occidental Mindoro and Oriental Mindoro,[9] following a referendum that was pushed through by then acting governor Romeo Venturanza.
Economy
Beach in Northern Mindoro
Tourism is a lucrative business as well, with locations such as Apo Reef National Park, Lubang Island, Puerto Galera, Sabang Beach and Mount Halcon. Puerto Galera's beaches are the island's most known tourist attraction and are widely visited.
Culture
The principal language in Mindoro is Tagalog, although in some parts it has been greatly influenced by the native Mangyan and Visayan languages. Visayan and Mangyan languages, too, are spoken on the island, as are Ilocano, Bicolano, and some foreign languages — e.g., English, Hokkien and to a lesser extent, Spanish.The following indigenous languages are spoken in Mindoro:
- Northern Mindoro languages - 16,000 speakers
- Southern Mindoro languages - 30,000 speakers
- Visayan languages
- Ratagnon language - 2 speakers
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