Bataan is a province of the Philippines occupying the whole of Bataan Peninsula on Luzon. The province is part of the Central Luzon region. The capital of Bataan is Balanga City and is bordered by the provinces of Zambales and Pampanga to the north. The peninsula faces South China Sea to the west and encloses its arm, Manila Bay, to the east.

Bataan is famous in history as one of the last stands of American and Filipino soldiers before they were overwhelmed by the Japanese forces in World War II. The Bataan Death March was named for this province, where the infamous march started.

People and Culture

Economy

Geography

Political

Bataan is subdivided into 11 municipalities and 1 city.

City

• Balanga City

Municipalities

Physical

The Bataan Peninsula is a rocky extension of the Zambales Mountains, on Luzon in the Philippines. It separates the Manila Bay from the South China Sea. The peninsula features Mount Natib (1,253 m) in the north and the Mariveles Mountains in the south, which includes Mount Samat , the location of the historical marker for the Bataan Death March.

History

Early History

The province of Bataan was established in 1754 by Governor-General Pedro Manuel Arandia out of territories belonging to Pampanga and the corregimiento of Mariveles which, at the time, included Maragondon, Cavite across the Manila Bay.

In 1647, Dutch naval forces landed in country in an attempt to seize the islands from Spain. The forces massacred the people of Abucay in Bataan. In the late 1700s, Limahong , a Chinese pirate used Bataan as the launching point for his conquest of Luzon, which was unsuccessful.

World War II

Bataan featured prominently during World War II. Prior to the 1941 Japanese invasion, the US Army stored nearly 1,000,000 US gallons (3,800 m³) of gasoline here.

Shortly after the Japanese Army invaded the country in December 1941, the combined forces of Filipino and US forces were being gradually overrun and General Douglas MacArthur decided to make Bataan the site of a last stand. (See Battle of the Philippines (1941-42). On January 7, 1942, Japanese forces started the siege of the peninsula. On April 3 the Japanese began an all-out assault on the American and Filipino troops left on the peninsula. Bataan fell on April 9 and the Bataan Death March began. About 70,000 captured American and Filipino soldiers were forced to march more than a hundred kilometers from Bataan to Tarlac.

Tourist Attractions

Related Articles

• Provinces of the Philippines
• Geography of the Philippines
• Bataan Death March
• Bataan Nuclear Power Plant

External links