BRIEF HISTORY OF TARLAC PROVINCE

             Prior to its provincialship in the last quarter of the 19^th century, the territory that now belongs to Tarlac was formally belonging to the provinces of Pampanga (upper of the northern Pampanga) and Pangasinan (southern Pangasinan).

             During its initial decade as a regular province, additional pueblos (townships) were created, including Pura, Mayantoc, San Manuel, Murcia, La Paz, Moriones and San Clemente.

           Tarlac was among the first to rise up in arms against the Spaniards.  A few months after General Emilio Aguinaldo abadoned Malolos, Bulacan during the subsequent Philippine-American War, the town of Tarlac became the seat of the Aguinaldo government from June 21 – November 10, 1899 with the Tarlac Cathedral as the site of the Philippine Revolutionary Congress.  When the Americans took the Tarlac capital on November 10, 1899, this signaled the collapse of the Aguinaldo government.  The American Period in Tarlac officially started in 1901 with establishment of a civil government.  The first decade of the new century brought about the reversion of some towns to barrio status, particularly O’Donnel, Murcia and Moriones, which never regained their former status as municipalities.  In 1920, the town of Ramos was created, making the number of towns to 17.  It was only in 1988 when the number was increased, with the creation of the municipality of San Jose in western Tarlac.

             The province figured prominently also during the Second World War with the infamous Death march which started from Bataan and ended in Capas.  On January 20, 1945, the feast day of St. Sebastian, Tarlac was finally liberated from the Japanese hold.

             Tarlac’s history will not be complete without mentioning its foremost asset – its people.  Its location of being the link between Manila and the northern provinces has made Tarlac an important trading center since the earliest times.  This strategic locale caused the province to become the hub and destination of the migrations of various people, especially during the 18^th – 19^th centuries.  For this, Tarlac is also known as the “Melting Pot Province” for it is home to different cultures and ethno-linguistic groups.  Kapampangan, Ilocanos, Pangasinenses, Tagalogs, Visayans and Aetas live together in harmony and in peace.  Indeed, this amalgam of tongues and cultural polyglotism  has given Tarlac its uniqueness, its vibrancy.

             This is what Tarlac is all about.

        The province of Tarlac is situated in the heartland of Luzon, in an area also known as the Central Plain and which comprises the provinces of Region III in the Philippines.  The provinces of Pangasinan bound Tarlac on the north, Nueva Ecija on the east, Zambales on the west and Pampanga in the south.  It covers a total land area of 305,345 hectares.  It has 17 towns and one city, the largest of which is Tarlac City, which is also the provincial capital.

             Early in the dawn of history, what came to be known, as Tarlac today was once a thickly forested area, peopled by roving tribes of nomadic Aetas said to be the aboriginal settlers of the Philippines.  The name TARLAC was derived from a talahib-like weed called “Malatarlac” by these Aetas.

             Tarlac was first mentioned in written history as a praesidio or military port that points to the need of defending communities from the frequent lowland raids by the Negritos and balugas.  Its embryonic history is also closely intertwined with those of Pampanga and Pangasinan, which played maternal roles in its creation.  In the late 1960s, settlers from the lower Pampanga and Pangasinan towns bought lands from the Aetas who preferred the wilds of Zambales mountains.  At this early stage, enough settlers warranted the establishment of mission centers of various religious congregations that eventually became the site of the pioneering pueblos or townships during the Spanish colonial period.