Samar ( ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern
Visayas
The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands ( Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; tl, Kabisayaan ), are one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao. Located in the central part of the archipelago, ...
, which are in the central
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
. The island is divided into three
provinces:
Samar (formerly Western Samar),
Northern Samar, and
Eastern Samar. These three provinces, along with the provinces on the nearby islands of
Leyte
Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census.
Since the accessibility of land has be ...
and
Biliran, are part of the
Eastern Visayas
Eastern Visayas ( war, Sinirangan Kabisay-an; ceb, Sidlakang Kabisay-an; tl, Silangang Kabisayaan or ''Silangang Visayas'') is an administrative region in the Philippines, designated as Region VIII. It consists of three main islands, Samar, ...
region.
About a third of the island of Samar is protected as a natural park, known as the
Samar Island Natural Park.
On June 19, 1965, through Republic Act No. 4221, Samar was divided into three provinces:
Northern Samar,
(Western) Samar and
Eastern Samar. The capitals of these provinces are, respectively,
Catarman,
Catbalogan City, and
Borongan City. In commemoration of the establishment of these provinces, June 19 is celebrated as an annual holiday and many have the day off from work.
Geography
Samar is the third-largest island in the Philippines by area, after the islands of
Luzon
Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...
and
Mindanao
Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...
.
Mount Huraw is Samar’s highest point, with an elevation of .
Samar is the easternmost island in the Visayas. It lies to the northeast of
Leyte
Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census.
Since the accessibility of land has be ...
, separated from it only by the
San Juanico Strait
San Juanico Strait ( war, Sulang han San Juanico) is a narrow strait in the Eastern Visayan region in the Philippines. It separates the islands of Samar and Leyte and connects the Carigara Bay ( Samar Sea) with the San Pedro Bay (Leyte Gulf). ...
, which at its narrowest point is only about across; the strait is spanned by the
San Juanico Bridge. And it lies to the southeast of the
Bicol Peninsula on
Luzon
Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...
, separated from it only by the
San Bernardino Strait.
To the south is the
Leyte Gulf
Leyte Gulf is a gulf in the Eastern Visayan region in the Philippines. The bay is part of the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, and is bounded by two islands; Samar in the north and Leyte in the west. On the south of the bay is Mindana ...
, which in October 1944 became the
site of one of the most consequential naval battles of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. And to the north and east of Samar lies the
Philippine Sea, part of the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...
.
History
Spanish contact
Samar was the first island of the Philippines sighted by the Spanish expedition led by
Ferdinand Magellan. He sighted it on 16 March 1521, having sailed there from the
Mariana Islands. Realizing he had arrived at an
archipelago
An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands.
Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arch ...
, he charted the islands, and called them ''San Lazaro'' (
Saint Lazarus in English) because they were sighted on
Lazarus Saturday. The Spaniards later called the island Filipinas, while the Portuguese called it Lequios. Although Samar was the first island of the Philippines sighted by Magellan, he did not land there. He continued south, weighed anchor at
Suluan
Suluan is an island barangay in the Philippines, in the municipality of Guiuan, Eastern Samar. It lies east of Leyte Gulf and west of Emden Deep. The inhabitants of the island were the first Filipinos to trade and interact with Ferdinand Magell ...
Island, and then finally, on 17 March 1521, he landed on
Homonhon Island.
Years later, other Spanish expeditions arrived. The historian William Henry Scott wrote that a "Samar datu by the name of Iberein was rowed out to a Spanish vessel anchored in his harbor in 1543 by oarsmen collared in gold; while wearing on his own person earrings and chains." Scott recounted a local saga, which the inhabitants called ''siday'', about Bingi of Lawan, a prosperous Lakanate in Samar, and he also recorded that Datu Hadi Iberein came from the Lakanate of Lawan.
Philippine-American War
The final campaign of the
Philippine–American War (1899-1902) took place in Samar and is one of the best known, and most notorious, of the entire war. A combination of factors resulted in particularly violent clashes.
On September 28, 1901,
Eugenio Daza
Don Eugenio Daza y Salazar (November 15, 1870 – December 16, 1954) is a Filipino '' principale'' (nobleman) recognized by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) as the first ''maestro'' (teacher) in the Samar province. He was ...
, Area Commander of Southeastern Samar and Valeriano Abanador, the town's police chief, launched an attack on U.S. Army Company C
9th Infantry Regiment who were occupying
Balangiga. The Filipino Forces brought one of the only Filipino victories of the war and the worst American defeat in decades.
In 1989, "Balangiga Encounter Day" was established as a provincial holiday in Eastern Samar to celebrate the Balangiga Encounter victory.
The Balangiga Encounter resulted in the brutal
March across Samar.
''"I want no prisoners. I wish you to kill and burn; the more you kill and burn, the better it will please me ... The interior of Samar must be made a howling wilderness ..."'' — Gen. Jacob H. Smith
General Jacob Hurd Smith (January 29, 1840 – March 1, 1918) was a U.S. Army officer notorious for ordering indiscriminate retaliation on the island of Samar in response to what is called the Balangiga massacre during the Philippine–Amer ...
Thousands of Filipinos were slaughtered by
American Marines.
In his history of the war,
Brian McAllister Linn asserts "Samar cast a pall on the army's achievement and, for generations, has been associated in the public mind as typifying the Philippine War."
World War II
The waters off the east side of the island also hosted the
Battle off Samar on October 25, 1944, wherein a small, unarmored force of
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
escorts fought off the center force of the
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...
, including the
Japanese battleship ''Yamato''. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
the island was part of a large US Navy base
Leyte-Samar Naval Base
Leyte-Samar Naval Base was a large United States Navy base in the Philippines on the Islands of Leyte and Samar. The Base was built during World War II to support the many naval ships fighting and patrolling in the South West Pacific theatr ...
.
Demographics
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Samar (Island)
Islands of Samar (province)
Islands of Northern Samar
Islands of Eastern Samar