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The Province of Batanes (Ivatan: ''Probinsya nu Batanes''; ; ) is an archipelago province in the region of Cagayan Valley, Philippines. It is the northernmost province of the Philippines and is also the smallest province, both in terms of population and land area. The provincial capital is Basco on Batan Island. The island group is located about north of Luzon and about south of Taiwan, separated from the Babuyan Islands of Cagayan Province, Luzon, by the Balintang Channel and from Taiwan by the Bashi Channel. ==History== The ancestors of today's Ivatans descended from Austronesians who migrated to the islands 4000 years ago during the Neolithic period. They lived in fortified mountain areas called ''idjangs'' and drank sugar-cane wine, or ''palek''. They also used gold as currency and produced a thriving agriculture-based industry. They were also seafarers and boat-builders. In 1687, a crew of English freebooters headed by William Dampier came with a Dutch crew and named the islands in honour of their country's nobility. Itbayat was named "Orange Isle" after William of Orange, and Batan was named "Grafton Isle" after Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton. Sabtang Isle was named "Monmouth Isle" after James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth. Capt. Dampier stayed for less than three months, and did not claim the islands for the British crown. In 1783, the Spanish claimed Batanes as part of the Philippines under the auspices of Governor-General José Basco y Vargas. The Bashi Channel had come to be increasingly used by English East India Company ships and the Spanish authorities brought the islands under their direct administration to prevent them falling under British control.〔Howard T. Fry, "The Eastern Passage and Its Impact on Spanish Policy in the Philippines, 1758-1790", ''Philippine Studies,'' vol.33, First Quarter, 1985, pp.3-21, p.18.〕 However, the Ivatan remained on their idjangs, or mountain fortresses. In 1790, Governor Guerrero ( ''The Governor-general of the Philippines at this point in time is Félix Berenguer de Marquina, unless Guerrero refers to a governor of Batanes.'') decreed that Ivatans were to leave their ''idjang'' and to live in the lowlands, thereby giving them more people to tax. Basco and Ivana were the first towns. Mahatao was then administered by Basco, while Uyugan and Sabtang, by Ivana. Itbayat was not organized until the 1850s, its coast being a ridge. Ivatans were then ordered to dress like the other Filipinos, and it didn't take them long to adapt. Soon, Ilocanos were being put in the islands, so as to control the native population there. Limestone technology used by the Spanish were also being spread to the islands, so that their bridges became strong and fortified. Some of these bridges still remain at both Ivana and Mahatao. By 1890, many Ivatans were in Manila, and became ''ilustrados'', who then brought home with them the revolutionary ideas of the Katipunan. These Ivatans, who were then discontented with Spanish rule, killed the ruling General Fortea and declared the end of Spanish rule. Toward the end of the Spanish regime, Batanes was made a part of Cagayan. In 1909, however, the American authorities organized it into an independent province. During the American colonial period, public schools were constructed and more Ivatan became more aware of their place in the Philippines. In 1920, the first wireless telegraph was installed, followed by an airfield in 1930. Roads were constructed and the Batanes High School was instituted. Because of their strategic location, the islands was one of the first points occupied by the invading Japanese imperial forces at the outbreak of the Pacific War. In the morning of December 8, 1941, the Batan Task Force from Taiwan landed on the Batan Islands, which became the first American territory occupied by the Japanese. The purpose of the invasion was to secure the existing small airfield outside Basco, which was accomplished without resistance. Japanese fighters from Basco took part in the raid on Clark Air Base the following day. However, over the next several days, the success of the Japanese bombing of Clark Field rendered a base at Basco redundant, and on 10 December, the naval combat force was withdrawn to participate in the invasion of Camiguin.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-P-PI/USA-P-PI-6.html )〕 One of the first School Superintendents on Batan was Victor de Padua, an Ilocano, who in 1942-45 during the Japanese occupation was made Provincial Governor. Early in 1945 the island was liberated by the Philippine Commonwealth forces of the 1st and 12th Infantry Division of the Philippine Commonwealth Army. On July 23, 2007, a magnitude-5.2 quake rocked Batanes, but no damage or casualty was immediately reported. The United States Geological Service said the quake was recorded at about 10:58 a.m., with the epicenter at 40 km south of Basco town in Batanes, about 250 km northeast of Laoag, Ilocos Norte; or 560 km south of Taipei, Taiwan.〔( GMA NEWS.TV, Intensity 5.2 jolts Batanes )〕 On June 1, 2008, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck the seabed off the coast of Batanes, but neither injuries nor damage was reported.〔(6.4-magnitude earthquake rocks Philippines, Taiwan )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Batanes」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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