.
Early history The original inhabitants of the Zamboanga Peninsula were the
Subanen, who settled along the riverbanks in inland areas; and the various
Sama-Bajau and
Yakan ethnic groups who settled in coastal areas.
Tausūg settlers from northeastern Mindanao also migrated to the region in the 13th century. The region was additionally settled by migrants (mostly from the
Visayas islands) after World War II. Together with the original settlers, these pioneers helped develop Zamboanga del Sur into the abundant and culturally diverse province, making it a melting pot of cultures..
American colonial era Historically,
Zamboanga was the capital of the
Moro Province in western
Mindanao, which comprised five districts:
Cotabato,
Davao,
Sulu,
Lanao, and
Zamboanga. In 1940, these districts became individual provinces.
Zamboanga City became the capital of Zamboanga province.
Philippine independence Soon after
World War II, the provincial capital was transferred to
Dipolog.
Molave was created as the provincial capital in 1948.
Foundation On June 6, 1952, through
Republic Act No. 711, Zamboanga del Sur was carved out from the former
Zamboanga province that encompassed the entire
peninsula in southwestern Mindanao. As the 52nd province of the Philippines, it originally consisted of 11 towns with the City of
Zamboanga and the Island of
Basilan, which were later expanded into 42 municipalities with the City of
Pagadian as the capital. This happened in the midst of the postwar period, a time when Mindanao was peaceful and increasingly progressive. Ethnic tensions were minimal, and there was essentially no presence of secessionists groups in Mindanao. Tensions in Mindanao mostly began to rise only as the 1970s approached, as a result of social and economic tensions which affected the whole country.
The Marcos era The late 1960s in Mindanao saw a rise in land dispute conflicts arising from the influx of settlers from Luzon and Visayas, and from the
Marcos administration’s encouragement of militia groups such as the
Ilaga. starting from the largely political
Muslim Independence Movement and
Bangsamoro Liberation Organization, and eventually the
Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), and the
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). often involving the warrantless detention, murder, and physical, sexual, or mental torture of political opponents, student activists, journalists, religious workers, farmers, and others who fought against the Marcos dictatorship. In Zamboanga del Sur, these were often attributed to
military-endorsed Militias, which included the Ilaga and a number of armed cult groups, which were used to enhance the military's numbers as it fought various resisntance movements. The year 1982 was a particularly bloody year for Zamboanga del Sur under the Marcos dictatorship, as two massacres happened in the province that year. On February 12, 1982, members of the
Ilaga killed 12 persons in
Dumingag, Zamboanga del Sur, allegedly to avenge the death of their leader, who they believed had been killed by the
NPA. And on May 25, 1982, three people were killed and eight people were injured when the administration's airplanes dropped bombs on Barangay Dimalinao of
Bayog, Zamboanga del Sur, allegedly as reprisal for the killing of 23 soldiers by supposed rebels two days earlier. Days later, two more men from the community were picked up and killed, and a few months later, the residence of Bayog's
Jesuit parish priest was strafed after he had written letters decrying the torture and harassment of the indigenous
Subanon people from his parish, whom government had tagged as communist supporters.
Contemporary Separation of Zamboanga Sibugay Political developments in February 2001 saw another major change in the territorial jurisdiction of Zamboanga del Sur. Its inhabitants voted to create a new province out of the
third congressional district, named
Zamboanga Sibugay. ==Geography==