The first inhabitants of the region were Negritos and (woodcutters) under
Don Julián Astigarraga (Capitán Vasco, 1854-1901) of
Aparri. Some fishermen from
Minanga came and settled in
Palawig. In 1891,
Felipe Agarpao organized a (society) called
Inanama with some settlers. The purpose of the organization was to acquire and occupy land in the area. That same year, Briccio Campañano of
Lapog, Ilocos Sur and others from
Ilocos came to Palawig to apply for homesteads in the sitio of
Marede. These settlers organized another called
Dagupan. In 1900, the woodcutters from Aparri arrived by boat. The clearing of forests began shortly after. From 1919 to 1935, several groups of settlers from the Ilocos Region came to claim territory aboard (light boats). The once-forested areas were only accessible via rivers and the sea. Before reaching settlements in the northern and eastern portions of the region, they had to navigate along the
Palawig River. The name Palawig was coined from the local term , meaning “river mouth”. In 1935, the of Inanama and Dagupan were united into the polity of
Da Inanama. Headed by Navarro, they began working for the
secession of Palawig as a municipality independent of
Gonzaga. Their application was held in abeyance because their population did not meet the minimum required by law. The proposal was later suspended in 1941 due to the
Second World War . After the war, Palawig and other neighboring
barrios were eventually separated from Gonzaga, and the town was created by
President Elpidio Quirino via Executive Order No. 289 on 21 October 1949. Contrary to the usual assumption, the town is not named for
Saint Anne, mother of the
Blessed Virgin Mary, but is an
acronym of the surnames of the then-three provincial officials: Governor Nicasio Arranz and Provincial Board members Federico Navarro and Roberto Avena. The association with Saint Anne was a
back-formation in keeping with the tradition of religious, Hispanic
toponyms. ==Geography==