Balayan’s position on the basin of a good harbor was one of the reasons it became one of the first known settlements in the
Philippines, with existing records of local indigenous residents exchanging barter goods with
Chinese traders dating back to the mid-14th century. The indigenous inhabitants of Balayan had close ties with the Kingdom of Maynila under the leadership of
Rajah Sulayman and his uncle
Rajah Matanda. There are historical accounts that Rajah Sulayman stayed on this area when he tried to battle the Spaniards around
Intramuros. In 1578, Balayan covered the modern-day municipality and some areas of
Calaca,
Calatagan,
Lian,
Nasugbu and
Tuy. It became the capital of Balayan Province (present-day
Batangas) from 1597 to 1732. It was the most progressive town of the Province and the traditional center of governance. The eruption of the
Taal Volcano destroyed a significant portion of the town, moving the provincial capital to
Bonbon (present-day Taal) in 1732 and the name of the province was renamed after that town. Despite the presence of
Spanish forces protected by the newly built stone fort in nearby Maynilad or
Manila,
Fort Santiago and Intramuros, due to its natural harbor, a number of areas around the archipelago were often become launching grounds of counterattacks from the seafaring
Moro people. These events prompted local Spanish officials to set up a fort to prevent yearly Moro counterattacks. Scholars and historians believed that Tagalog songs:
Kumintang and
Kundiman originated from Balayan. Spanish writer and historian Wenceslao E. Retana recorded the lyrics of a popular Kundiman when he visited Batangas in 1888. The 1818 Spanish census recorded there to be 4,521 native families in Balayan living in harmony with 22 Spanish-Filipino families. In 1934, the barangays of Baha and Talibayog, which were parts of Balayan at the time, were annexed to Calatagan since surveys showed that they are part of the land titled to the original owner of Hacienda Calatagan. This added a big area to the municipality. From 3rd class municipality in 1992, Balayan jumped to 2nd class municipality in 1995, and to 1st class in July 1996, reflecting an improvement of Balayan's financial status. ==Geography==