Early history Pre-Hispanic settlement in the area can be dated to prehistoric times, as evidenced in the names of towns such as Pila, Laguna, whose name can be traced to the straight mounds of dirt that form the boundaries of the rice paddy, or
Pilapil. The written history of the province of Laguna, (Lagoon in
Spanish) and that of the
Southern Tagalog region, dates to 900 AD. The
Laguna Copperplate Inscription is the oldest known written document found in the Philippines. It notes that its subject was released from a debt to the Lord of
Pailah Jayadewa. A prominent figure during the time of pre-Hispanic contact is
Gat Pangil, a powerful native ruler in the area. The towns of
Bay,
Pangil and
Pakil were reputed to have once been a part of his domain, although accounts vary about his identity.
Spanish colonial period ,
Biñan The province of Laguna, which was formerly called
La Laguna and
La Provincia de la Laguna de Bay, was named after
Laguna de Bay, the body of water that forms its northern boundary. Laguna de Bay, in turn, was named after the town of
Bay, the first provincial capital. Captain
Juan de Salcedo with a band of one hundred Spanish-Mexican soldiers conquered the province and its surrounding regions for Spain in 1571. The province of La Laguna comprised the modern province of Laguna, as well as parts of what are now known as
Rizal and
Quezon provinces. In 1577, Spanish
Franciscan missionaries arrived in
Manila, and in 1578 they started evangelizing Laguna,
Morong (now
Rizal),
Tayabas (now
Quezon) and the
Bicol Peninsula as part of the colonizing effort.
Juan de Plasencia and Diego de Oropesa were the earliest Franciscans sent to these places. From 1580, the towns of
Bay, Caliraya,
Majayjay,
Nagcarlan,
Liliw,
Pila,
Santa Cruz,
Lumban,
Pangil and
Siniloan were founded. During the time of
Governor-General Gómez Pérez Dasmariñas, the province of La Laguna was divided into the following
encomiendas: • Maribago – Currently the area of Balibago in
Santa Rosa • Tabuco – Currently the areas surrounding
San Pedro,
Biñan,
Santa Rosa,
Cabuyao, and
Calamba • Taitay – Currently
Taytay, Rizal • Bay – The area surrounding
Bay, Laguna, and
Los Baños, Laguna • Pila – The area that is now
Pila,
Victoria,
Pililla, and
Jalajala, Rizal • Mahaihai – Currently the area around
Majayjay,
Magdalena, and
Luisiana • Lumbang – The largest encomienda, containing what is now known as
Lumban,
Santa Cruz,
Paete,
Pakil,
Cavinti, and
Pagsanjan • Tayaval – Tayabas, now known as
Quezon province • Panguil – Now
Pangil • Sinaloa – The area surrounding
Siniloan,
Famy and
Mabitac • Morong – Currently the areas surrounding
Morong, including the town of
Santa Maria, formerly known as Caboan • Nayun – Nayum, currently
Tiaong, Quezon By 1591, there were approximately 48,400 people living in the province. Laguna was the site of multiple engagements during the
Sangley Rebellion, made up of Chinese-Filipino mestizos. Captain Don Luys de Velasco, aided by Spanish and Filipino forces, was successful in pursuing the rebels. Eventually the Chinese were able to kill Luys de Velasco and ten of his men, before securing themselves in San Pablo while waiting for reinforcement from the mainland. On October 20, 1603, Governor-General
Pedro Bravo de Acuña then sent Captain Cristoval de Axqueta Menchaca to pursue and crush the rebellion and was successful after twenty days of fighting. Around this time the hot springs of
Los Baños and
San Pablo were known to the Spanish, and a hospital was built in the area. By 1622, the hospital was notable enough to be mentioned by the Archbishop of Manila at the time,
Miguel García Serrano in his letter to
King Philip IV. In 1639, a second rebellion involving the Chinese occurred, and the rebels fortified themselves in the highlands of
Cavinti and
Lumban before surrendering in
Pagsanjan a year later. , San Pablo City In 1670, a
delimitation of borders were made between
Lucban, Majayjay and
Cavite. The most populous town at that time,
Bay, was capital of the province until 1688, when the seat of the provincial government was moved to Pagsanján. Pagsanján would be the provincial seat until 1858 when it was moved once again to Santa Cruz. In 1754, the province of Laguna and
Tayabas were divided, with the Malinao River separating the towns of Majayjay and
Lucban. Fighting extended to Laguna during the
British occupation of Manila between the years of 1762–64. A detachment of British troops under Captain Thomas Backhouse entered the province in search of the silver cargo of the galleon
Filipina while Francisco de San Juan led a band of volunteers that fought them in several engagements in and around the then provincial capital of Pagsanjan. Backhouse plundered the town and burned its newly reconstructed church but San Juan succeeded in escaping with the precious hoard to Pampanga where the treasure greatly bolstered the defense effort of Governor-General
Simón de Anda y Salazar. For his actions, San Juan was made a brigade commander and
alcalde mayor of Tayabas (now
Quezon) province. By the end of the 1700s, Laguna was a major province of 14,392 native families and 336
Spanish Filipino Mestizo families. There were also 2,000 Chinese-Filipino farmers/families. By 1818, the census recorded that fresh new numbers of Spanish-Filipino families resided in the following areas of Laguna: 2 at
Angono, 3 at
Baras, 2 at
San Pedro Tunasan, 8 at
Biñan, 4 at
Calamba, 3 at
Piyla, 2 at
Calauang, 3 at
Mavitao, and 7 at
Pagsanjan. A major event in Laguna occurred in 1840, when religious intolerance led the people of Majayjay, Nagcarlan,
Bay, and
Biñan to join the revolt of
Hermano Pule (Apolinario de la Cruz) of
Lucban, Tayabas. The defeat in Sambat meant the end of large-scale organized revolt in Laguna, the
Malungingnging chapter of the Katipunan failing to replicate the relative success of the revolution in Cavite. The revolutionaries resorted to hit-and-run and guerrilla tactics against the Spanish, lasting until the
Pact of Biak-na-Bato on December 14 to 15, 1897.
Pio del Pilar and
Paciano Rizal led revolutionary troops to victory in the
Battle of Calamba in May 1898, and the surrender of the last Spanish garrison in Laguna in Santa Cruz, on August 31 of the same year. Laguna actively supported the
First Philippine Republic proclaimed at
Malolos on January 23, 1899. Its two delegates to the
Malolos Congress were Don Higino Benítez and Don Graciano Cordero, both natives of Pagsanján. During this time, roads were built, schools were established, and in 1917, the
Manila Railroad Company extended its line to Laguna as far as Pagsanjan. In 1903, the town of
Muntinlupa became part of La Laguna and was annexed to the town of Biñan, but was later returned to the province of
Rizal in 1905. Resistance against the American occupation continued in Laguna.
Teodoro Asedillo organized peasants in
Longos,
Cavinti,
Paete, and
Sampaloc in
Tayabas province under the
Katipunan ng mga Anak-Pawis sa Pilipinas, a labor federation opposed to American colonization. Asedillo became a local legend in the area as a
Robin Hood figure. A manhunt on Asedillo began in November 1935, eventually leading to his capture and execution. On May 2, 1935, members of the
Sakdalista party in
Cabuyao and nearby towns took over the municipal hall and church as part of a general uprising with the main goal of achieving immediate independence from the United States. Led by
Salud Algabre, approximately 300 Sakdalistas occupied the town hall and church of Cabuyao. The uprising was quelled the next day after members of the Philippine Constabulary led by Governor Cailles clamped down on the Sakdalistas. 50 Sakdalistas were killed with 22 suffering injuries. The establishment of the military general headquarters and military camp bases of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and the
Philippine Constabulary is a military unit organization was founded on January 3, 1942, to June 30, 1946, in the province of Laguna, and aided of the local military regular units of the Philippine Commonwealth Army 4th and 42nd Infantry Division and the Philippine Constabulary 4th Constabulary Regiment. Started the engagements of the Anti-Japanese Military Operations in Southern Luzon,
Mindoro and
Palawan from 1942 to 1945 against the
Japanese Imperial forces. Beginning in 1945, attacks by the Filipino soldiers of the 4th, 42nd, 43rd, 45th, 46th and 47th Infantry Division of the Philippine Commonwealth Army, 4th Constabulary Regiment of the Philippine Constabulary and the recognized guerrillas against Japanese forces in Laguna increased in anticipation of the Liberation of the Philippines by joint Filipino & American forces.
The postwar era Establishment of the International Rice Research Institute The International Rice Research Institute was established in 1960, during the presidency of
Carlos P. Garcia, and a site in
Los Baños was selected to be its headquarters. By 1962 during the presidency of
Diosdado Macapagal, IRRI had begun research to develop the new high yield
"Miracle Rice" (IR8) variety. Enhanced by the extensive use of chemical fertilizers, IR8 would serve as the foundation for the brief success of the Philippine Government's
Masagana 99 agricultural program during the 1970s, although the program would fail in the 1980s mostly because of the
Marcos administration's credit scheme did not work.
During the Marcos dictatorship era The social unrest which arose when
Ferdinand Marcos' debt-driven campaign spending led to the
1969 Philippine balance of payments crisis spread beyond the capital and also triggered protests by students in Laguna, especially
UP Los Baños. When
martial law was declared in September 1972, Marcos cracked down on any form of criticism or activism, leading to the arrest of many of Laguna citizens. Among those who experienced
arrest and torture during martial law were Dr.
Aloysius Baes, while among those who became desaparecidos were
Tish Ladlad,
Cristina Catalla,
Gerardo "Gerry" Faustino,
Rizalina Ilagan,
Ramon Jasul, Professor
Jessica Sales, and Philippine Council for Agricultural Research and Resource Development artist-illustrator Manuel Ontong. Among those confirmed to have been martyred for their beliefs were
Modesto "Bong" Sison, and
Manuel Bautista.
Camp Vicente Lim in the
Canlubang district of
Calamba was among the many sites where prisons were put up to contain detainees who dared to criticize the Marcos administration. Laguna has been the victim of perennial flooding along the south and eastern coasts of
Laguna de Bay due to the 1977 cancellation of the Parañaque spillway project. The spillway had been the second part of a plan to reduce flooding on the lakeshore towns of Metro Manila in the 1970s, but the various economic crises of the 1970s led to a lack of budget, which meant that only the
Manggahan Floodway in
Rizal province was built. The Floodway drew waters away from the Metro Manila lakeshore towns, but dumped them on to the lake. The cancellation of the Parañaque spillway meant that there was no way for the water levels of the lake to be reduced in turn. Within the first year of Manggahan Floodway's completion in 1986, Laguna was hit by an unusual large flood which lasted for 2 months and resulted in high mortality and morbidity rates due to
gastroenteritis and other water-borne diseases. ==Geography==