Philippines Map 1899 - Ethnic Territories

migueldiaz · 17th February 2011, 10:19 AM

dimasalang, thanks for the map!

one can almost imagine the topography here. for instance in luzon (the northern and largest island), where it says 'igorot/ibanag' is the cordillera mountain range; the elongated black strip on the left on the other hand is the zambales mountain range; and where you have the two large black 'negrito' strips with 'pagans' in between is the sierra madre mountain range.

and those three mountain ranges basically define luzon topography. in between will be mostly flatlands to slightly hilly terrain, occasionally dotted by relatively smaller volcanic mountains.

thus to avoid getting colonized, many filipinos then simply retreated deep into the mountain ranges, where it was a logistical nightmare for any invading force to sustain a campaign.

i also don't wonder why the central highlands of samar and leyte have no designation as to who lived there. perhaps it was because those mountain ranges were practically impenetrable (not to mention that the people are very war-like) ...

17th February 2011, 10:19 AM	#4
migueldiaz Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Manila, Phils. Posts: 1,042	dimasalang, thanks for the map! one can almost imagine the topography here. for instance in luzon (the northern and largest island), where it says 'igorot/ibanag' is the cordillera mountain range; the elongated black strip on the left on the other hand is the zambales mountain range; and where you have the two large black 'negrito' strips with 'pagans' in between is the sierra madre mountain range. and those three mountain ranges basically define luzon topography. in between will be mostly flatlands to slightly hilly terrain, occasionally dotted by relatively smaller volcanic mountains. thus to avoid getting colonized, many filipinos then simply retreated deep into the mountain ranges, where it was a logistical nightmare for any invading force to sustain a campaign. i also don't wonder why the central highlands of samar and leyte have no designation as to who lived there. perhaps it was because those mountain ranges were practically impenetrable (not to mention that the people are very war-like) ...