Northern Philippines

Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as well as Quezon City, the country's most populous city. With a population of 64 million , it contains 52.5% of the country's total population and is the 4th most populous island in the world. It is the 15th largest island in the world by land area.

''Luzon'' may also refer to one of the three primary island groups in the country. In this usage, it includes the Luzon Mainland, the Batanes and Babuyan groups of islands to the north, Polillo Islands to the east, and the outlying islands of Catanduanes, Marinduque and Mindoro, among others, to the south. The islands of Masbate, Palawan and Romblon are also included, although these three are sometimes grouped with another of the island groups, the Visayas.

Etymology

The name ''Luzon'' is thought to derive from ''lusong'', a Tagalog word referring to a particular kind of large wooden mortar used in dehusking rice. A 2008 research paper by Eulito Bautista and Evelyn Javier provides an image of a lusong, explaining:

In old Latin, Italian, and Portuguese maps, the island is often called ''Luçonia'' or ''Luconia''.

''Luções,'' (also '' Luzones'' in Spanish) was a demonym used by Portuguese sailors in Malaysia during the early 1500s, referring to the Kapampangan and Tagalog people who lived in Manila Bay, which was then called ''Lusong'' (Kapampangan: ''Lusung'', ), from which Luzon was also derived. The term was also used for Tagalog settlers in Southern Tagalog region, where they created intensive contact with the Kapampangans. Eventually, the term "''Luzones''" would refer to the settlers of Luzon island, and later on, would be exclusive to the peoples of Central Luzon.

History

Before European colonization

Before 1000 CE, the Tagalog, Kapampangan, and Pangasinan peoples of south and central Luzon had established several major coastal polities, notably Maynila, Tondo and Namayan. The oldest known Philippine document, written in 900, is the Laguna Copperplate Inscription, which names places in and around Manila Bay and also mentions Medan, a place in Indonesia. These coastal Philippine kingdoms were thalassocracies, based on trade with neighboring Asian political entities, and structured by leases between chiefs or lords (''Datu'') and paramount lords (''Lakan'') or Rajahs, by whom tributes were extracted and taxes were levied.

There was also a Buddhist polity known as Ma-i or Maidh, described in Chinese and Bruneian records in the 10th century, although its location is still unknown and scholars are divided on whether it is in modern-day Bay, Laguna or Bulalacao, Mindoro.

According to sources at the time, the trade in large native ''Ruson-tsukuri'' (literally ''Luzon-made'', Japanese: 呂宋 製) clay jars used for storing green tea and rice wine with Japan flourished in the 12th century, and local Tagalog, Kapampangan and Pangasinan potters had marked each jar with Baybayin letters denoting the particular urn used and the kiln the jars were manufactured in. Certain kilns were renowned over others; prices depended on the reputation of the kiln. Of this flourishing trade, the ''Burnay'' jars of Ilocos are the only large clay jar manufactured in Luzon today with origins from this time.

In the early 1300s the Chinese annals, ''Nanhai zhi'', reported that Hindu Brunei invaded or administered Sarawak and Sabah as well as the Philippine kingdoms of Butuan, Sulu, and in Luzon: Ma-i (Mindoro) and Malilu 麻裏蘆 (present-day Manila); Shahuchong 沙胡重 (present-day Siocon or Zamboanga), Yachen 啞陳 Oton (Part of the Madja-as Kedatuan), and 文杜陵 Wenduling (present-day Mindanao), which would regain their independence at a later date.

In 1405, the Yongle Emperor appointed a Chinese governor of Luzon, Ko Ch'a-lao, during Zheng He's voyages. China also had vassals among the leaders in the archipelago. China attained ascendancy in trade with the area in Yongle's reign.Afterwards, some parts of Luzon were Islamized when the former Majapahit province of Poni broke free, converted to Islam, and imported Sharif Ali, a prince from Mecca who became the Sultan of Brunei, a nation that then expanded its realms from Borneo to the Philippines and set up the Kingdom of Maynila as its puppet-state. The invasion of Brunei spread Chinese royal descent like Ong Sum Ping's kin and Arab dynasties too into the Philippines like the clan of Sultan Sharif Ali. However, other Luzon kingdoms resisted Islam, like Pangasinan. It had remained a tributary state of China and was a largely Sinified kingdom, which maintained trade with Japan. The Polity of Cainta also existed as a fortified city-state, armed with walls and cannons.

Interactions with the Portuguese

The Portuguese were the first European explorers who recorded it in their charts as ''Luçonia'' or ''Luçon'', calling the inhabitants ''Luções''. Edmund Roberts, who visited Luzon in the early 19th century, wrote that Luzon was "discovered" in 1521.

Many people from Luzon were employed within Portuguese Malacca. For example, the spice magnate Regimo de Raja, based in Malacca, was highly influential and was appointed as ''Temenggong'' (Sea Lord)—a governor and chief general responsible for overseeing of maritime trade—by the Portuguese. As ''Temenggong'', de Raja was also the head of an armada which traded and protected commerce in the Indian Ocean, the Strait of Malacca, the South China Sea, and the medieval maritime principalities of the Philippines. His father and wife carried on his maritime trading business after his death. Another important Malacca trader was Curia de Raja who also hailed from Luzon. The "surname" of "de Raja" or "diraja" could indicate that Regimo and Curia, and their families, were of noble or royal descent as the term is an abbreviation of Sanskrit ''adiraja''.

Fernão Mendes Pinto noted that a number of Luções in the Islamic fleets went to battle with the Portuguese in the Philippines during the 16th century. The Sultan of Aceh gave one of them (Sapetu Diraja) the task of holding Aru (northeast Sumatra) in 1540. Pinto also says one was named leader of the Malays remaining in the Moluccas Islands after the Portuguese conquest in 1511. Antonio Pigafetta notes that one of them was in command of the Brunei fleet in 1521. However, the Luções did not only fight on the side of the Muslims. Pinto says they were also apparently among the natives of the Philippines who fought the Muslims in 1538.

On Mainland Southeast Asia, Lusung/Luções warriors aided the Burmese king in his invasion of Siam in 1547. At the same time, Lusong warriors fought alongside the Siamese king and faced the same elephant army of the Burmese king in the defence of the Siamese capital at Ayutthaya. Luções military and trade activity reached as far as Sri Lanka in South Asia where Lungshanoid pottery made in Luzon were discovered in burials.

Scholars have thus suggested that they could be mercenaries valued by all sides.

Spanish Colonial Era

In 1569, a Spanish expedition dispatched by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi led by Luis Enriquez de Guzman and Augustinian friar Alonso Jimenez first set foot in Albay. They arrived on the coastal settlement called Ibalon in present-day Magallanes, Sorsogon after exploring the islands of Masbate, Ticao and Burias and proceeded inland as far as present-day Camalig, Albay. The Spanish arrival in the 16th century saw the incorporation of the Luções people and the breaking up of their kingdoms and the establishment of the ''Las Islas Filipinas'' with its capital Cebu, which was moved to Manila following the defeat of the local Rajah Sulayman in 1570. Martín de Goiti, having been dispatched by Legazpi to Luzon, conquered Maynila. Legazpi followed with a larger fleet comprising both Spanish and a majority Visayan force, taking a month to bring these forces to bear due to slow speed of local ships. This large force caused the surrender of neighboring Tondo. An attempt by some local leaders, known as the Tondo Conspiracy, to defeat the Spanish was repelled. Legazpi renamed Maynila ''Nueva Castilla'', and declared it the capital of the Philippines, and thus of the rest of the Spanish East Indies, which also encompassed Spanish territories in Asia and the Pacific. Legazpi became the country's first governor-general. Under Spain, Luzon also came to be known as the ''Nueva Castilla'' or the New Castile. The population of Luzon at the time of the first Spanish missions is estimated as between 1 and 1.5 million, overall density being low. Moros from western Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago also raided the coastal Christian areas of Luzon and the Visayas. Settlers had to fight off the Chinese pirates (who lay siege to Manila, the most famous of which was Limahong in 1573).after the successful expedition and the exploration of the North, Juan de Salcedo founded "Villa Fernandina de Vigan" in honor of King Philip II's son, Prince Ferdinand, who died at the age of four. From Vigan, Salcedo rounded the tip of Luzón and proceeded to pacify Camarines, Albay, and Catanduanes. As a reward for his services to the King of Spain, Salcedo was awarded the old province of Ilocos, which consisted of the modern provinces of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Abra, La Union and part of Mountain Province as his hacienda (estate), and was accorded the title of ''Justicia Mayor de esta Provincia de Ylocos'' (Province Mayor of Ilocos).

In Spanish times, Luzon became the focal point for trade between the Americas and Asia. The Manila Galleons constructed in the Bicol region brought silver mined from Peru and Mexico to Manila. The silver was used to purchase Asian commercial goods like Chinese silk, Indian gems and Indonesian spices, which were then exported back to the Americas. The Chinese valued Luzon so much, in that when talking about Spain and the

Spanish-Americas, they preferred to call it as "Dao Lusong" (Greater Luzon) while the original Luzon was referred to as "Xiao (Small) Lusong" to refer to not only Luzon but the whole Philippines.

Luzon also became a focal point for global migration. The walled city of Intramuros was initially founded by 1200 Spanish families. The nearby district of Binondo became the center of business and transformed into the world's oldest Chinatown. There was also a smaller district reserved for Japanese migrants in Dilao. Cavite City also served as the main port for Luzon and many Mexican soldiers and sailors were stationed in the naval garrisons there. When the Spanish evacuated from Ternate, Indonesia; they settled the Papuan refugees in Ternate, Cavite which was named after their evacuated homeland. After the short British Occupation of Manila, the Indian Sepoy soldiers that mutinied against their British commanders and joined the Spanish, then settled in Cainta, Rizal.

Newcomers who were impoverished Mexicans and peninsulares were accused of undermining the submission of the natives. In 1774, authorities from Bulacan, Tondo, Laguna Bay, and other areas surrounding Manila reported with consternation that discharged soldiers and deserters (from Mexico, Spain and Peru) were providing Indios military training for the weapons that had been disseminated all over the territory during the British war. There was also continuous immigration of Tamils and Bengalis into the rural areas of Luzon: Spanish administrators, native nobles, and Chinese businessmen imported them as slave labor during this period.

In the 1600s, Fr. Joaqin Martinez de Zuñiga, conducted a census of the Archdiocese of Manila which held most of Luzon under its spiritual care, and it had the following number of tributes, with each tribute representing a family of 6-7, and he reported 90,243 native Filipino tributes; 10,512 Chinese (Sangley) and mixed Chinese Filipino mestizo tributes; and 10,517 mixed Spanish Filipino mestizo tributes. Pure Spaniards are not counted as they are exempt from tribute. Out of these, Fr. Joaqin Martinez de Zuñiga estimated a total population count exceeding half a million souls.

People from the Philippines, primarily from Luzon, were recruited by France (then in alliance with Spain), first to defend Indo-Chinese converts to Christianity being persecuted by their native governments. Eventually, Filipino mercenaries helped the French conquer Vietnam and Laos and to re-establish Cambodia as a French Protectorate. This process culminated in the establishment of French Cochinchina, centered in Saigon.

A great number of infrastructure projects were undertaken during the 19th century that put the Philippine economy and standard of living ahead of most of its Asian neighbors and even many European countries at that time. Among them were a railway system for Luzon, a tramcar network for Manila, and Asia's first steel suspension bridge Puente Claveria, later called Puente Colgante.

After Spanish colonization

After many years of Spanish occupation and resistance to reform, the Andres Novales uprising occurred and it was inspired by the Latin American Wars of Independence. Novales' uprising was primarily supported by Mexicans living in the Philippines as well as immigrant Latinos from the now independent nations of Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Costa Rica. Although the uprising failed it inspired the Cavite Mutiny, the suppression of which, lead to the martyrdoms of Priests, Gomburza and the subsequent execution of the reformist and hero, Jose Rizal. Reeling against this, the Philippine Revolution against Spain erupted in Cavite and spread all throughout Luzon and the Philippines. Consequently, the First Philippine Republic was established in Malolos, Bulacan. In the meantime, Spain sold the Philippines to the United States and the First Philippine Republic resisted the United States in the Philippine–American War which the Republic's forces lost due to its diplomatic isolation (no foreign nation recognized the First Republic) as well as due to the numerical superiority of the United States Armed Forces, American military. The Americans then set up the cool mountain city of Baguio as a summer retreat for its officials. The Americans also rebuilt the capital, Manila, and established American military bases in Olongapo and Angeles City, Angeles cities mainly Clark Airbase and Subic Naval Base.

During the Pacific War, the Philippines were considered to be of great strategic importance because their capture by Japan would pose a significant threat to the U.S. As a result, 135,000 troops and 227 aircraft were stationed in the Philippines by October 1941. Luzon was captured by Imperial Japanese Army, Imperial Japanese forces in 1942 during their Philippines campaign (1941–1942), campaign to capture the Philippines. General (United States), General Douglas MacArthur—who was in charge of the defense of the Philippines at the time—was ordered to Australia, and the remaining U.S. forces retreated to the Bataan Peninsula.

A few months after this, MacArthur expressed his belief that an attempt to recapture the Philippines was necessary. The U.S. Pacific Commander Admiral Chester Nimitz and Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Ernest King both opposed this idea, arguing that it must wait until victory was certain. MacArthur had to wait two years for his wish; it was 1944 before a Philippines Campaign (1944–45), campaign to recapture the Philippines was launched. The island of Leyte was the first objective of the campaign, which was Battle of Leyte, captured by the end of December 1944. This was followed by the Battle of Mindoro, attack on Mindoro and later, Luzon.

The end of the World War necessitated decolonization due to rising nationalist movements across the world's many colonies. Subsequently, the Philippines gained independence from the United States. Luzon then arose to become the most developed island in the Philippines. However, the lingering poverty and inequality caused by the long dictatorship of US-supported dictator, Ferdinand Marcos, gave rise to the Philippine diaspora and many people from Luzon have migrated elsewhere and had established large overseas communities; mainly in the United States, Hong Kong, Singapore and Saudi Arabia. Eventually, the People Power Revolution led by Corazon Aquino and Jaime Sin, Cardinal Jaime Sin, removed Marcos and his cronies from power and they fled to Hawaii where the US granted them asylum. The following administrations are subsequently managing the political and economic recovery of the Philippines with the particular aim of spreading development outside of Luzon and into the more isolated provinces of the Visayas and Mindanao. During the administration of Ferdinand Marcos' son, Bongbong Marcos, Luzon became a destination of American and Japanese investments, it being the location of the Luzon Economic Corridor.

Geography

Luzon island alone has an area of , making it the List of islands by area, world's 15th largest island. It is bordered on the west by the South China Sea (''Luzon Sea'' in Philippine territorial waters), on the east by the Philippine Sea, and on the north by the Luzon Strait containing the Babuyan Channel and Balintang Channel. The mainland is roughly rectangular in shape and has the long Bicol Peninsula protruding to the southeast.

Luzon is roughly divided into four sections; Northern Luzon, Central Luzon, Southern Luzon, and Southeastern Luzon.

Physical

Northern Luzon

The northwestern portion of the island, which encompasses most of the Ilocos Region, is characterized by a flat terrain extending east from the coastline toward the Cordillera Central, Luzon, Cordillera Central mountains.

The Cordillera mountain range, which feature the island's north-central section, is covered in a mixture of Luzon tropical pine forests, tropical pine forests and Luzon rainforest, montane rainforests, and is the site of the island's highest mountain, Mount Pulag, rising at 2,922 metres. The range provides the upland headwaters of the Agno River, which stretches from the slopes of Mount Data, and meanders along the southern Cordillera mountains before reaching the plains of Pangasinan.

The northeastern section of Luzon is generally mountainous, with the Sierra Madre (Philippines), Sierra Madre, the longest mountain range in the country, abruptly rising a few miles from the coastline. Located in between the Sierra Madre and the Cordillera Central mountain ranges is the large Cagayan Valley. This region, which is known for being the second largest producer of rice and the country's top corn-producer, serves as the Drainage basin, basin for the Cagayan River, the longest in the Philippines.

Along the southern limits of the Cordillera Central lies the lesser-known Caraballo Mountains. These mountains form a link between the Cordillera Central and the Sierra Madre mountain ranges, separating the Cagayan Valley from the Central Luzon plains.

= Image gallery

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View of the north coast of Luzon - ZooKeys-266-001-g002.jpg, North coast of Luzon along the Cagayan-Ilocos Norte boundary
Mount Pulag, Kabayan, Philippines (Unsplash).jpg, Summit of Mount Pulag, Luzon's highest mountain
FvfSanJuanLaUnion8559 10.JPG, West coast of Luzon at San Juan, La Union, San Juan overlooking the South China Sea
View of the Sierra Madre from the west - ZooKeys-266-001-g004.jpg, The Cagayan Valley at Cabagan, Isabela, Cabagan with the Sierra Madre (Philippines), Sierra Madre mountains in the background
Quirino 1.jpg, Canoes along upstream Cagayan River at Quirino province

Central Luzon

The central section of Luzon is characterized by a flat terrain, known as the Central Luzon plain, the largest in the island in terms of land area. The plain, approximately in size, is the country's largest producer of rice, and is irrigated by two major rivers; the Cagayan River, Cagayan to the north, and the Pampanga River, Pampanga to the south. In the middle of the plain rises the solitary Mount Arayat.

The western coasts of Central Luzon are typically flat extending east from the coastline to the Zambales Mountains, the site of Mount Pinatubo, made famous because of its enormous 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo, 1991 eruption. These mountains extend to the sea in the north, forming Lingayen Gulf, and to the south, forming the Bataan Peninsula. The peninsula encloses Manila Bay, a natural harbor considered to be one of the best natural ports in East Asia, due to its size and strategic geographical location.

The Sierra Madre (Philippines), Sierra Madre mountain range continues to stretch across the western section of Central Luzon, snaking southwards into the Bicol Peninsula.

Southern Luzon

Southern Luzon is dominated by Laguna de Bay (Old Spanish, "''Lake of Bay, Laguna, Bay town''"), the largest lake in the country. The lake is drained into Manila Bay by the Pasig River, one of the most important rivers in the country due to its historical significance and because it runs through the center of Metro Manila.

Located southwest of Laguna de Bay is Taal Lake, a Volcanic crater lake, crater lake containing the Taal Volcano, the smallest in the country. The environs of the lake form the highland, upland Tagaytay Ridge, which was once part of a massive prehistoric volcano that covered the southern portion of the province of Cavite and the whole of Batangas province.

South of Laguna Lake are two Topographic prominence, solitary mountains, Mount Makiling in Laguna (province), Laguna and Batangas provinces, and Mount Banahaw, the highest in the region of Calabarzon.

Southeastern Luzon

The southeastern portion of Luzon is dominated by the Bicol Peninsula, a mountainous and narrow region extending approximately southeast from the Tayabas Isthmus in Quezon (province), Quezon province to the San Bernardino Strait along the coasts of Sorsogon (province), Sorsogon. The area is home to several volcanoes, the most famous of which is the high symmetrically shaped Mayon Volcano in Albay province. The Sierra Madre (Philippines), Sierra Madre range has its southern limits at Quezon province. Topographic prominence, Ultra-prominent mountains dot the landscape, which include Mount Isarog and Mount Iriga in Camarines Sur, and Mount Bulusan in Sorsogon.

The peninsula's coastline features several smaller peninsulas, List of gulfs, gulfs and bays, which include Lamon Bay, San Miguel Bay, Lagonoy Gulf, Ragay Gulf, and Sorsogon Bay.

Outlying islands

Several outlying islands near mainland Luzon are considered part of the Island groups of the Philippines, Luzon island group.
The largest include Palawan (island), Palawan, Mindoro, Masbate, Catanduanes, Marinduque, Romblon Island, Romblon and Polillo Island, Polillo.

Administrative divisions

The island is covered by 8 Regions of the Philippines, administrative regions, 30 Provinces of the Philippines, provinces and, , 68 Cities of the Philippines, cities (8 regions, 38 provinces and 71 cities if Island groups of the Philippines, associated islands are included).

Table note(s):

Tectonics

Luzon is part of the Philippine Mobile Belt, a fast deforming plate boundary zone (Gervasio, 1967) hemmed in between two opposing subduction zones, the west-dipping Philippine Trench-East Luzon Trench subduction zone, and the east-dipping north–south trending Manila Trench-Negros (island), Negros Trench-Cotabato Trench. The Philippine Sea Plate subducts under eastern Luzon along the East Luzon Trench and the Philippine Trench, while the South China Sea basin, part of the Eurasian Plate, subducts under western Luzon along the Manila Trench.

The North-Southeastern trending braided left-lateral strike-slip Philippine Fault System traverses Luzon, from Quezon City, Quezon province and Bicol Region, Bicol to the northwestern part of the island. This fault system takes up part of the motion due to the subducting plates and produces large earthquakes. Southwest of Luzon is a collision zone where the Palawan micro-block collides with SW Luzon, producing a highly seismic zone near Mindoro island. Southwest Luzon is characterized by a highly volcanic zone, called the Macolod Corridor, a region of crustal thinning and spreading.

Using geologic and structural data, seven principal blocks were identified in Luzon in 1989: the Sierra Madre Oriental, Angat, Zambales, Central Cordillera of Luzon, Bicol, and Catanduanes Island blocks. Using seismic and geodetic data, Luzon was modeled by Galgana et al. (2007) as a series of six micro blocks or micro plates (separated by subduction zones and intra-arc faults), all translating and rotating in different directions, with maximum velocities ~100 mm/yr NW with respect to Sundaland/Eurasia.

Demographics

As of the 2015 census, the population of Luzon Island is 57,470,097 people, making it the List of islands by population, 4th most populated island in the world.

Cities

Metro Manila is the most populous of the List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines, 3 defined metropolitan areas in the Philippines and the List of metropolitan areas by population, 11th most populous in the world. , census data showed it had a population of 11,553,427, comprising 13% of the national population. Including suburbs in the adjacent provinces (Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna (province), Laguna, and Rizal (province), Rizal) of Greater Manila Area, Greater Manila, the population is around 21 million.Demographia. (July 2010)
''Demographia World Urban Areas (World Agglomerations) Population & Projections''
(Edition 6.1). Retrieved March 29, 2011.

Ethnic groups

Seven major Filipinos, Philippine Ethnolinguistics, ethnolinguistic groups predominate Luzon. Ilocano people, Ilocanos and Pangasinan people, Pangasinenses dominate northern Luzon, particularly in the Ilocos Region to parts of the Cagayan Valley, while Kapampangan people, Kapampangans, Tagalog people, Tagalogs, Ilocanos, Pangasinans and Sambal people, Sambals populate Central Luzon. Tagalogs dominate the Metro Manila, National Capital Region, Calabarzon and the island provinces of Marinduque, Mindoro and extending to parts of Palawan and northern Bicol Peninsula, while Bicolano people, Bicolanos populate the Bicol Region, Bicol peninsula. Visayans, such as Masbateño people, Masbateños, Romblomanon people, Romblomanons, Waray people, Waray Southern Sorsogon language, Sorsogonons, Cuyunon people, Cuyunons, mainly populate in the southern Bicol Region, Bicol peninsula and island provinces of Masbate, Romblon, and Palawan.

Other ethnic groups lesser in population include the Aetas of Zambales and Bataan, the Ibanag people, Ibanags of Cagayan province, Cagayan and Isabela province, Isabela, the Gaddang people, Gaddang of Nueva Vizcaya, the Igorot of the Cordillera Central (Luzon), Cordilleras, the bugkalot people, Bugkalots of Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, Nueva Ecija and aurora (province), Aurora, umiray Dumaget language, Umiray and Tagabulós of Aurora and Quezon, Hatang Kayi language, Remontado of Quezon, and the Mangyan, Mangyans of Mindoro.

Due to historical centuries-old migrations, populations of ethnic Chinese Filipinos, Spanish Filipinos, Japanese in the Philippines, Japanese Filipinos, Indian Filipinos, and Muslim Moro people, Moros from Mindanao have also been present in urban areas. Historical Filipino mestizo, mixed mestizo populations, particularly Sangley, Chinese mestizos (''mestizo de Sangley'') and Spanish Filipino, Spanish mestizos, and more recent mixed mesitzos of Filipinos of American descent, Americans, Filipinos of Japanese descent, Japanese, Koreans in the Philippines, Koreans, Filipinos of Indian descent, Indians (mostly Punjabi people, Punjabis), and Arabs are also occasionally present. The historical Sangley, Sangley Chinese and their Chinese Filipino, pure and Sangley, mixed-mestizo descendants are spread all across Luzon of several generations across the centuries. According to old Spanish censuses, around 1/3rd of the population of Luzon are Filipino Mestizos, mestizo admixed with either or both Han Chinese, Southern Han Chinese Filipino, Chinese (mostly from Metro Manila, Manila to Pampanga) and/or Hispanic (Spanish Filipino, Spanish or Mexicans in the Philippines, Latino) descent (Mostly in Cavite and Manila). Most Americans have settled in Central Luzon's highly urbanized cities of Angeles City, Angeles and Olongapo due to the former presence of the U.S. air and naval bases (Clark Air Base, Clark & U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay, Subic) there, while a majority of the Koreans and Japanese have mainly settled in the major cities and towns like Koreatown in Angeles City and Baguio and Subic, Zambales, Subic.

Languages

Almost all of the languages of Luzon belong to the Philippine languages, Philippine group of the Malayo-Polynesian languages, Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian languages, Austronesian language family. Major regional languages include: Tagalog, Ilocano language, Ilocano, Central Bikol, Kapampangan language, Kapampangan, and Pangasinan language, Pangasinan.

Philippine English, English is spoken by many inhabitants. The use of Spanish as an official language declined following the American occupation of the Philippines. Almost inexistent among the general populace, Spanish is still used by the elderly of some families of great tradition (Rizal, Liboro...) and by upper and middle-class residents of Spanish blood.

Religion

Like most of the Philippines, the major religion in Luzon is Christianity in the Philippines, Christianity, with Roman Catholicism in the Philippines, Roman Catholicism being the major Christian denomination, denomination. Other major sects includes Jehovah's Witnesses, Protestantism in the Philippines, Protestantism, the Philippine Independent Church (Aglipayans), the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), and the Iglesia ni Cristo. Indigenous traditions and rituals, though rare, are also present.

There are also sizable communities of Sikhism by country, Sikhs, Hinduism in the Philippines, Hindus, Buddhism in the Philippines, Buddhists and Islam in the Philippines, Muslims in Metro Manila and in other, especially, urban areas due to the immigration of Indian Filipino, Indians, Japanese settlement in the Philippines, Japanese, Koreans in the Philippines, Koreans, Filipino Chinese, Chinese, Moro people, Moros and Muslims from other countries to the island.

Economy

The economy of the island is centered in Metro Manila with Makati serving as the main economic and financial hub. Major companies such as Ayala Corporation, Ayala, Jollibee Foods Corporation, SM Investments, SM Group, and Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company, Metrobank are based in the business hubs of Makati Central Business District, Ortigas Center, and Bonifacio Global City. Industry is concentrated in and around the urban areas of Metro Manila while agriculture predominates in the other regions of the island producing crops such as rice, bananas, mangoes, coconuts, pineapple, and coffee. Other sectors include livestock raising, tourism, mining, and fishing.

See also

* Regions of the Philippines
* Provinces of the Philippines
* Battle of Luzon
* Visayas
* Mindanao

Notes

References

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{{Authority control

Luzon,
Island groups of the Philippines
Islands of the Philippines
Islands of Luzon