Encyclopedia > Bohol
Bohol
To the west of Bohol is Cebu, to the northeast is Leyte and to the south, across the Bohol Sea is Mindanao.
Bohol is a popular tourist destination with its beaches and resorts. The Chocolate Hills[?], numerous mounds of limestone formations, is the most popular attraction. Bohol is also where Carlos P. Garcia[?], the country's fourth president[?], came from. The Philippine Tarsier[?], considered by some to be the smallest primates is indigenous to the island.
2000 census—1,137,268 (18th largest).
Density—276 per km² (25th highest).
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Population. According to the 2000 census, there are a total of 1,137,268 Boholanos or Bol-anon, as the residents of Bohol call themselves. The same census also states that Bohol has 209,588 households with an average household size of 5.41 persons, significantly higher than the national average of 4.99. The annual growth rate is 2.92%, higher than the national growth rate of 2.36%. This means that Bohol's population will double in 24 years.
Life expectancy at birth for the Boholano is estimated at 68.19 for the males and 72.93 for the females for the period 2000–2005. This is lower than that of Cebu but higher compared to Negros Oriental and Siquijor.
Languages. The main language spoken in Bohol is Boholano, a dialect of Cebuano[?]. English as well as Tagalog is also spoken by many of the residents.
Religion. Like the whole country, majority of the population are Roman Catholic while adherents of other Christian sects like the Protestants and Iglesia ni Cristo[?] account for a significant part of the remainder.
Political
Bohol is subdivided into 47 municipalities and 1 city.
Cities
Municipalities
Physical
Location. Bohol is an island province in the Visayas. It lies southeast from Cebu across Cebu Strait (in some references called Bohol Strait) and southwest from Leyte, separated by the Camotes Sea[?] and Canigao Channel. Bohol is also located north of Mindanao with Bohol Sea between them.
Features. With a land area of 4117.3 km² and a coastline 261 km long, Bohol is the tenth largest island of the Philippines. The main island is surrounded by about 70 smaller islands, the largest of which are Panglao Island[?] facing Tagbilaran City[?] in the southwest and Lapining Island[?] in the northeast.
The terrain of Bohol is basically rolling and hilly and about half the island is covered in limestone. Near the outer areas of the island are low mountain ranges. The interior is a large plateau with irregular landforms.
Near Carmen[?] can be found the major tourist draw of the province, the Chocolate Hills[?]. The more than 1,200 uniformly cone-shaped limestone hills were named that way because in the summer, the grass growing on the hills turn brown, making the landscape look like it had chocolate mounds all over. The Chocolate Hills is found on the provincial seal of Bohol.
Climate. Unlike Luzon and the northern part of Visayas, Bohol is mostly unaffected by the numerous typhoons that hit the country. The weather is mostly mild all year round. When typhoons do hit the island, they usually cross quickly and are no longer powerful, their energy dissipated by the mountains in Leyte and Samar[?].
From November to April, the northeast monsoon (amihan[?]) prevails. Except for a rare shower, this is the mildest time of the year. Daytime temperatures average 28°C, cooling down at night to around 25°C. The summer season from May to July brings higher temperatures and very humid days. From August to October is the southwest monsoon (habagat[?]). The weather during this season is not very predictable, with weeks of calm weather alternating with rainy days.
Early History
The people of Bohol are said to be the descendants of the last group of inhabitants who settled in the Philippines called pintados or “tattooed ones.” Boholanos had already a culture of their own as evidence by the artifacts dug at Mansasa, Tagbilaran, and in Dauis and Panglao.
The name Bohol is supposedly derived from Bo-ol, a small town in the vicinity of Tagbilaran City[?], and now a barangay.
Spanish Era
The earliest significant contact of the island with Spain occurred in 1565. In that year on March 25 (March 16 in the Julian Calendar), a Spanish explorer named Miguel López de Legaspi, after convincing the local chieftains that they were not Portuguese people, who two years ago raided the island, made a peace pact with Datu Sikatuna[?]. This pact was signified with a blood compact between the two men. This event, called the Sandugo[?] (one blood), is celebrated in Bohol every year during the Sandugo Festival[?]. The Sandugo is also depicted on Bohol's provincial seal.
Two significant revolts occurred in Bohol during the Spanish Era. One was the Tamblot Uprising[?] in 1621, which was led by Tamblot[?], a babaylan[?] or native priest. The other was the famous Dagohoy Rebellion[?], considered as the longest rebellion in Philippine history. This rebellion was led by Francisco Dagohoy[?], also known as Francisco Sendrijas, from 1744 to 1829.
Politically, Bohol was administrated as a residencia of Cebu. It became a separate politico-military province on July 22, 1854 together with Siquijor. A census in 1879 found Bohol with a population of 253,103 distributed among 34 municipalities.
American Period
After the United States defeated Spain in the Spanish-American War, the U.S. bought the entire Philippine islands. However, under the newly proclaimed independent government established by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, which was not recognized by the US, Bohol was governed as a Gobierno de Canton.
During the resulting Philippine-American War, American troops under Maj. Henry Hale[?] landed in Tagbilaran[?] and took over the island. The residents of the island tried to put up an organized resistance starting in September 1900. American troops retaliated by burning 20 of Bohol's 35 municipal towns and killing hundreds of people and livestock. Bohol surrendered to the Americans on December 23, 1900. A peace treaty was signed in the convent of Dimiao[?], and peace was restored.
On March 10, 1917, the Americans made Bohol a separate province under Act 2711 (which also established most of the other Philippine provinces).
Japanese Occupation
The Japanese Imperial Army[?] landed in Tagbilaran on May 17, 1942. Boholanos struggled unsuccessfully to provide resistance against the Japanese forces. Bohol was later liberated by American troops on April 11, 1945.
- Official Website of the Provincial Government of Bohol
- Open Directory Project: Bohol
- Bohol, Philippines (tourist information site)
- Bohol-Island.com Web Portal
- Be-IN: Bohol e-Information Network
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