Amburayan was an administrative division of 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 ...

, existing as a politico-military ''comandancia'' from 1890 to 1902, and a sub-province from 1902 to 1920. Its territory encompassed most of the

Amburayan River The Amburayan River is a river in the northeastern portion of island of Luzon in the Philippines. It originates from the Cordillera mountains and traverses the provinces of Benguet, La Union, and Ilocos Sur. With a total length of where it empti ...

watershed, initially predominantly inhabited by the Kankana-ey. The sub-province ceased to exist when its territory was divided between

Ilocos Sur Ilocos Sur, officially the Province of Ilocos Sur ( ilo, Probinsia ti Ilocos Sur; tl, Lalawigan ng Ilocos Sur), is a province in the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region in Luzon. Located on the mouth of the Mestizo River is the capital ...

La Union La Union (), officially the Province of La Union ( ilo, Probinsia ti La Union; Kankanaey'': Probinsyan di La Union;'' Ibaloi'': Probinsya ne La Union;'' pag, Luyag/Probinsia na La Union; Tagalog'': Lalawigan ng La Union),'' is a province in th ...

, and

Mountain Province Mountain Province is a landlocked province of the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Its capital is Bontoc. Mountain Province was formerly referred to as ''Mountain'' in some foreign references. The name is usually short ...

(sub-province of

Benguet Benguet (), officially the Province of Benguet ('';'' ; pag, Luyag/Probinsia na Benguet; ilo, Probinsia ti Benguet; ), is a landlocked Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the southern tip of the Cordillera Admi ...

) in 1920.

History

Amburayan was established on April 10, 1890 as a politico-military ''comandancia'' by the Spanish colonial government, with the commandant stationed at Alilem. Aside from consolidating government control over the scattered Kankana-ey groups in the

watershed, the establishment of the ''comandancia'' was also intended to spur development in this hinterland area between

and

, which was populated by upland peoples who were dependent on the Christian towns of the coast. By 1900 Amburayan had an estimated population of 30,000 "pagans" and 150 Christians, living in 34 "towns" and 76 "hamlets." The majority Kankana-ey inhabitants were classified as "Igorot," while a minority that lived in the northern

Sigay Sigay, officially the Municipality of Sigay ( ilo, Ili ti Sigay; fil, Bayan ng Sigay), is a 5th class municipality in the province of Ilocos Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 2,552 people. History Natives of ...

district were classified as

Tinguian The Itneg (exonym "Tinguian" or "Tingguian") are an Austronesian ethnic group from the upland province of Abra in northwestern Luzon, in the Philippines. Overview The Itneg live in the mountainous area of Abra in northwestern Luzon who descen ...

. On May 28, 1902 through Act No. 410 of the

Philippine Commission The Philippine Commission was the name of two bodies, both appointed by the president of the United States, to assist with governing the Philippines. The first Philippine Commission, also known as the Schurman Commission, was appointed by Preside ...

, the ''comandancia'' of Amburayan became one of the three sub-provinces of the newly created province of

Lepanto-Bontoc Lepanto-Bontoc was a province of the Philippines, existing from 1902 to 1908. The province encompassed much of the central section of the Cordillera mountains in Luzon. Its capital was Cervantes, in the sub-province of Lepanto. Administrative D ...

. The designated seat of the lieutenant-governor of the sub-province was Alilem. Amburayan was first enlarged on October 12, 1905 when the eastern hilly areas of

which lay north of the Cabassitan River were annexed to the sub-province by virtue of Act No. 1403. Three

townships A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, C ...

were later organized within this newly annexed territory: San Gabriel (1906), Sudipen (1906) and Santol (1908). The sub-province was once again enlarged when

Tagudin Tagudin, officially the Municipality of Tagudin ( ilo, Ili ti Tagudin; tgl, Bayan ng Tagudin), is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Ilocos Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 41,538 people. Etymology ...

, the key trading town at the mouth of the

, was detached from

and made the capital of the sub-province on May 15, 1907 by virtue of Act No. 1646 of the Philippine Commission. When the

Philippine Legislature The Philippine Legislature was the legislature of the Philippines from 1907 to 1935, during the American colonial period, and predecessor of the current Congress of the Philippines. It was bicameral and the legislative branch of the Insular G ...

abolished Lepanto-Bontoc on August 18, 1908 through Act No. 1876, Amburayan became a sub-province within the newly created

. By 1916 the sub-province consisted of the municipality of

and the townships of Alilem, Bakun, San Gabriel, Santol,

, Sudipen,

Sugpon Sugpon, officially the Municipality of Sugpon ( ilo, Ili ti Sugpon; fil, Bayan ng Sugpon), is a 5th class municipality in the province of Ilocos Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 4,930 people. Geography Ba ...

, and Suyo. With its territory having become more heavily Christianized the territory of Amburayan was greatly reduced the following year with the enactment of Act No. 2711, or the Revised Administrative Code of the Philippine Islands. The law placed under the jurisdiction of

the municipality of

and the municipal districts of Alilem,

, and Suyo. In addition the municipal districts of San Gabriel, Santol, and Sudipen were once again made part of

. With only the municipal district of Bakun remaining within Amburayan, the sub-province was made to share one lieutenant-governor (stationed at

Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-emin ...

) with neighboring Lepanto, becoming informally known as the sub-province of Lepanto-Amburayan. What remained of the sub-province of Amburayan was finally abolished by the Philippine Legislature on February 4, 1920 through Act No. 2877, when the boundary between the

and the provinces of

and

was finally settled. The law confirmed the annexation of Amburayan's territory by Ilocos Sur and La Union, and also transferred the municipal district of Bakun (corresponding to the western half of the current municipality of the same name) to the neighboring sub-province of

Former territory

At its greatest extent, Amburayan consisted of portions of the present-day provinces of: *

(western portion of the municipality of Bakun) *

(municipalities of Alilem,

, Suyo, and

) *

(municipalities of San Gabriel, Santol, and Sudipen)

References

{{reflist Former sub-provinces of the Philippines History of Mountain Province History of Ilocos Sur History of La Union History of Benguet States and territories established in 1890 States and territories disestablished in 1920 1890 establishments in the Philippines 1920 disestablishments in the Philippines