Negros island satellite image captured by Sentinel-2 in 2016
Negros (English: /ˈneɪɡroʊs, ˈnɛɡ-/,[5]UK: /ˈneɪɡrɒs/)[6] is the fourth largest and third most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of 13,309 km2 (5,139 sq mi).[7] The coastal zone of the southern part of Negros is identified as a site of highest marine biodiversity importance in the Coral Triangle.[8]
Negros is one of the many islands of the Visayas, in the central part of the country. The predominant inhabitants of the island region are mainly called Negrenses (locally Negrosanons). As of 2020 census, the total population of Negros is 4,656,945 people.[9]
Negros was originally called Buglas, an old Hiligaynon word thought to mean "cut off", as it is believed that the island was separated from a larger landmass. It was also known as Mamaylan and Panilougon among the Cebuano-speaking Visayans.[15] Among its earliest inhabitants were the aboriginal Ata, one of several aboriginalNegritoethnic groups dispersed throughout Southeast Asia that possesses a unique culture. The westernmost portions of the island soon fell under the nominal rule of the Kedatuan of Madja-as from the neighboring islands of Panay and Guimaras, while the easternmost areas were influenced by the Rajahnate of Cebu from neighboring Cebu Island.
Upon arriving on the island in April 1565, the Spanishcolonizers called the land Negros, after the dark-skinned natives they observed. Two of the earliest native settlements, Binalbagan and Ilog, became towns in 1573 and 1584, respectively, while other settlements of the period included Hinigaran, Bago, Marayo (now Pontevedra), Mamalan (now Himamaylan), and Candaguit (now a sitio of San Enrique).
After appointing encomenderos for the island, Miguel López de Legazpi placed Negros under the jurisdiction of the governor of Oton in Panay. In 1734, however, the island became a military district with Ilog as its first capital. The seat of government was later transferred to Himamaylan until Bacolod became the capital in 1849. In 1865, Negros and its outlying minor islands along with Siquijor was converted into a politico-military province. By the end of the 1700s, Negros Island had 5,741 native families.[16]: 539 [17]: 31, 54, 113
Negros Revolution and formation of Republic of Negros[edit]
From November 3 – 6, 1898, the Negrense peoples rose in revolt against the local Spanish colonial government headed by politico-military governor Colonel Isidro de Castro. The Spaniards decided to surrender upon seeing armed troops marching in a pincer movement towards Bacolod. The revolutionaries, led by General Juan Araneta from Bago and General Aniceto Lacson from Talisay, bore fake arms consisting of rifles carved out of palm fronds and cannons of rolled bamboo mats painted black. By the afternoon of November 6, Col. de Castro signed the Act of Capitulation, thus ending centuries of Spanish colonial rule in Negros Occidental.
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