Cortes (Cortes)
Cortes, officially the Municipality of Cortes (Munisipalidad sa Cortes; ), is a 5th class municipality in the province of Bohol, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 18,344 people.
The town fiesta is held every 16 January in honor of the holy child Jesus, the Santo Niño.
The history of Cortes dates back to pre-Hispanic times – there already was a form of government way before the coming of the Spaniards. The town was known as "Malabago" after its chief, who was a contemporary of King Lomod, otherwise known as Tamblot – the first Boholano to raise arms against the Spanish conquistadors.
The Malabago settlement was situated in the upland territory of the present day Cortes near the Abatan River while that of Tamblot was at barangay Viga in the lowlands of Antequera which stretches to the riverside valleys opposite that of Malabago beyond the present day Abatan Bridge. The people of Malabago have a culture of their own and recorded their day-to-day activities in their own writing using unique characters which they carved out on a piece of bamboo using a knife called panggi or supok. Malabago then was a farming community that cultivated the land and made rice paddies in the north and east lowlands.
Tamblot's reign started in early 1600 AD and the uprising in 1621 was triggered when a Spanish priest want to take back a silver church bell (Lingganayng Ugis) which he gave to Tamblot in order to put it up in a church he built at Malabago. Tamblot resented such a move; refused to give the bell back and so started the feud between him and the Spaniards. Supporting Tamblot during the uprising, the Malabago settlement was destroyed by the Spaniards in 1621.
The settlement was transferred to Bahian which was also destroyed by the Spaniards. Again the people settled at Ylaya at the upper part of the river. Not accessible by boats, the people had to berth near the mouth of the river which they eventually called as "Dayhangan", meaning "berthing place".
The people chose to live near the mouth of the river and along the swamps. Their main livelihood was to catch fish, so the new settlement was called "Pamingwitan" ('a place where one can catch fish using a fishing rod'). In 1793 or 94, an independent parish was established.
"Pamingwitan" was renamed "Cortes". The town was probably established in 1862 during the construction of the Catholic church with the settlements of Malabago, Pamingwitan and Dayhangan jointed into one and called "Pueblo de Cortes". Toponymy suggests:
The parish was dedicated to the Santo Niño. The inhabitants of the town were baptized and given instructions in the Catholic faith. Although the church was built in 1880, the bell tower's upper register was completed only in the 20th century. A boys' school building was constructed in 1895.
The town of Cortes played a prominent role during World War II. The inhabitants of the town formed a bolo battalion to fight the Japanese Invaders. Yet in 1942, the town was overwhelmed by the Japanese; houses were burned down and the school building was occupied and used as a garrison. Cortes was liberated from the Japanese a few days after the arrival of the Americans in Tagbilaran on 11 April 1945. In less than a month, the whole province of Bohol was officially declared liberated on 25 May 1945, by Major General William H. Arnold, Commander of the Americal Division.
The town fiesta is held every 16 January in honor of the holy child Jesus, the Santo Niño.
The history of Cortes dates back to pre-Hispanic times – there already was a form of government way before the coming of the Spaniards. The town was known as "Malabago" after its chief, who was a contemporary of King Lomod, otherwise known as Tamblot – the first Boholano to raise arms against the Spanish conquistadors.
The Malabago settlement was situated in the upland territory of the present day Cortes near the Abatan River while that of Tamblot was at barangay Viga in the lowlands of Antequera which stretches to the riverside valleys opposite that of Malabago beyond the present day Abatan Bridge. The people of Malabago have a culture of their own and recorded their day-to-day activities in their own writing using unique characters which they carved out on a piece of bamboo using a knife called panggi or supok. Malabago then was a farming community that cultivated the land and made rice paddies in the north and east lowlands.
Tamblot's reign started in early 1600 AD and the uprising in 1621 was triggered when a Spanish priest want to take back a silver church bell (Lingganayng Ugis) which he gave to Tamblot in order to put it up in a church he built at Malabago. Tamblot resented such a move; refused to give the bell back and so started the feud between him and the Spaniards. Supporting Tamblot during the uprising, the Malabago settlement was destroyed by the Spaniards in 1621.
The settlement was transferred to Bahian which was also destroyed by the Spaniards. Again the people settled at Ylaya at the upper part of the river. Not accessible by boats, the people had to berth near the mouth of the river which they eventually called as "Dayhangan", meaning "berthing place".
The people chose to live near the mouth of the river and along the swamps. Their main livelihood was to catch fish, so the new settlement was called "Pamingwitan" ('a place where one can catch fish using a fishing rod'). In 1793 or 94, an independent parish was established.
"Pamingwitan" was renamed "Cortes". The town was probably established in 1862 during the construction of the Catholic church with the settlements of Malabago, Pamingwitan and Dayhangan jointed into one and called "Pueblo de Cortes". Toponymy suggests:
The parish was dedicated to the Santo Niño. The inhabitants of the town were baptized and given instructions in the Catholic faith. Although the church was built in 1880, the bell tower's upper register was completed only in the 20th century. A boys' school building was constructed in 1895.
The town of Cortes played a prominent role during World War II. The inhabitants of the town formed a bolo battalion to fight the Japanese Invaders. Yet in 1942, the town was overwhelmed by the Japanese; houses were burned down and the school building was occupied and used as a garrison. Cortes was liberated from the Japanese a few days after the arrival of the Americans in Tagbilaran on 11 April 1945. In less than a month, the whole province of Bohol was officially declared liberated on 25 May 1945, by Major General William H. Arnold, Commander of the Americal Division.
Map - Cortes (Cortes)
Map
Country - Philippines
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| Flag of the Philippines | |
Negritos, some of the archipelago's earliest inhabitants, were followed by successive waves of Austronesian peoples. Adoption of animism, Hinduism and Islam established island-kingdoms called Kedatuan, Rajahnates, and Sultanates. The arrival of Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese explorer leading a fleet for Spain, marked the beginning of Spanish colonization. In 1543, Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos named the archipelago Las Islas Filipinas in honor of Philip II of Spain. Spanish settlement through Mexico, beginning in 1565, led to the Philippines becoming ruled by the Spanish Empire for more than 300 years. During this time, Catholicism became the dominant religion, and Manila became the western hub of trans-Pacific trade. In 1896, the Philippine Revolution began, which then became entwined with the 1898 Spanish–American War. Spain ceded the territory to the United States, while Filipino revolutionaries declared the First Philippine Republic. The ensuing Philippine–American War ended with the United States establishing control over the territory, which they maintained until the Japanese invasion of the islands during World War II. Following liberation, the Philippines became independent in 1946. Since then, the unitary sovereign state has often had a tumultuous experience with democracy, which included the overthrow of a decades-long dictatorship by a nonviolent revolution.
Currency / Language
| ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| PHP | Philippine peso | ₱ | 2 |
| ISO | Language |
|---|---|
| EN | English language |
| TL | Tagalog language |