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PROVINCIAL PROFILE OF BASILAN
FAST FACTS
Capital : Isabela
Area : 1,327 sq. km.
Population : 243,091
Cities : none
No. of Towns : 7
Click Here To View The
List Of Towns.
LOCATION
Basilan is an island province across the tip of the Zamboanga
Peninsula in
western Mindanao. The bodies of water surrounding it are Basilan
Strait on
the north, Moro Gulf on the east, Sulu Sea on the west, and
Mindanao Sea on
the south.
THE LAND
The province consists of the volcanic, hilly main island and 61
smaller islands
surrounding it. The climate varies from fairly even all
year-round in the north
to dry from November to April in the south.
A BRIEF HISTORY
Basilan means "iron trail." It was once called Tagima
after a pre-Hispanic
datu. The island's early settlers were the Orang Dampuans, who
were the
ancestors of the Yakan. The legendary Sultan Kudarat maintained a
stronghold in Lamitan town until the Spaniards crushed it in
1637. Jesuit
missionaries arrived a few years later. The Dutch attacked
Basilan in 1747 but
were repulsed by the natives. The French attempted to occupy the
province in
1844, but they, too, failed.
Soon thereafter, the Spaniards built a stone fort named after
Queen Isabela II.
When Zamboanga became a chartered city in 1936, it included
Basilan. On
July 1, 1948, Basilan itself became a separate city through
Republic Act. No.
288. The city was converted into a province on December 27,1973
under
Presidential Decree No.356.
THE PEOPLE
Basilan is the homeland of the Yakan, a peace-loving people known
for their
colorful clothes hand-woven with intricate geometric designs, as
well as for
their elaborate weddings and festivals. Upland, they grow rice,
corn, coconuts,
and rootcrops. Approximately 55 percent of the people speak
Chavacano. The
rest speak either the tribal dialects of Yakan, Tausug, and
Samal, or Cebuano
and Tagalog.
COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Basilan is an agricultural province with a few industries. It is
the country's
leading producer of rubber, with plantations such as B.F.
Goodrich's in
Latuan, east of Isabela and Menzi's, on the road to Maluso town.
Other major
crops grown on a commercial scale are coconut, coffee, black
pepper and
Africanpalm oil. The province however, is dependent on other
provinces for
its basi food requirements of rice, vegetables, and meat. The
surrounding
waters, particularly in the Pilas group of islands, are rich in
fish and other
marine resources. Tuna, mackerel, and sardines are the dominant
fish species.
Agar-agar, a variety of seaweed, is cultivated along the coasts.
Information gathered from:
League of
Provinces
by:Roberto C. Arellano
This page last revised:February 07, 1999
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