
The
province of Nueva Vizcaya, which was named after the people living in
the coast of Mar de Vizcaine in Spain, was a part of the vast
“Territorio de Missionanes” ofthe Spanish controlled government of
Cagayan.The territory covered the eastern half of Northern Luzon, from
Nueva Ecija to Aparri, including the Batanes Islands.
On
May 24, 1839, Governor-General Luis Lardizabal, upon the advice of the
alcalde mayor of Cagayan, issued an order making Nueva Vizcaya a
separate politico-military province. The king of Spain through a royal
decree approved the order on April 10, 1841. Gov. Pedro Menchaca was
the first appointed politico-military governor of the new province.
However, the Spanish sovereignty ceased upon the arrival of the
Philippine revolutionary forces in Bayombong on August 1898.
The
province had its first taste of civil government in 1902 when the
Philippine Commission organized it. The present territory of Nueva
Vizcaya was a result of the changes emanating from the formal creation
of the province of Isabela in May 1865, wherein a great portion of its
northern territory was ceded to the newly born province. The
organization of the Ifugao province in 1908 further reduced the area of
Nueva Vizcaya. The survey executed by the Bureau of Lands and the
enactment of the Administrative Code in 1914 and 1917 respectively
retrenched the province’s scope. In addition, the Republic Act No.
6394 in 1971 made Quirino a regular province further reducing the
territory of the province.
Since
its birth as a province, its history could still be reflected from the
culture and customs of the early settlers, i.e.,Ilongots, Igorots,
ifugaos, Isinais and the Gaddangs. The influx of civilization and the
infusion of modern technology to the life stream of the province
induced many settlers from adjacent provinces primarily the Ilocanos,
Tagalogs, Pangasinenses and the Kapampampangans to migrate here.

The original inhabitants of Nueva Vizcaya were wild and semi-wild tribes. The wild tribes were the Igorots, Ifugaos, Ilongots and the Aetas. The semi-wild tribe includes the Gaddangs and the Maalats. The former led a nomadic life and roamed over the Cordillera, Ilongots Regions and Sierra Madre Mountain Ranges. The latter pursued a semi-nomadic existence along the river valleys and plains through hunting, fishing and cultivating of rice and sweet potatoes.
Endowed with rich natural resources, particularly in agriculture, the province attracts other tribes from other regions of the country. Among the migrants who form a big portion of the population are the Ilocanos, Tagalogs, Pangasinenses, Pampangos and others.
|