Magallanes, Sorsogon

 Magallanes, officially the Municipality of Magallanes, is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Sorsogon, Philippines. 

History

In 1569, the Jimenez-Orta expedition landed at Barangay Ginangra near the village of Gibal-ong, the site where the first mass in the island of Luzon was said, the site of the first Christian settlement. Magallanes started as settlement called Parina, a name derived from the hardwood tree reputed to be so durable as to last for centuries that was known to abound in the place long before it became a barrio of Pueblo de Casiguran under the old province of Albay.

This settlement was not spared from sporadic sorties launched by punitive bands from the south, that in 1854 one group of that band ravage Ginangra and took as hostage one family from the village. As a counter-measure, the Spanish Comandancia of Parina constructed a watchtowers in such strategic places as Telegrapo and Bagatao which were equipped with cannons and manned around the clock. Cannon also were mounted in Cañonera the present site of Binisitahan del Norte at the mouth of Incarizan River.

On July 16, 1860 the name Parina was changed to Magallanes in honor of the Portuguese who discovered the Philippines island in 1521 Ferdinand Magellan. Magallanes was officially declared a pueblo with Don Manuel de Castro as its first appointed governadorcillo. In 1864 the Parish of our Lady of Mt. Carmel was canonically established with Rev. Fr. Higino de Castro as its first pastor. It was during this year that the first census was conducted resulting to a total count of 1400 inhabitants. Moreover, the town was split into six cabeseras each of which was entrusted to the administrative supervision of a cebeja de barangay.

Pursuant to the decree of the Spanish Crown, new official with new corresponding titles were elected. Don Juan de Castro was chosen as the first Capitan Municipal in 1894. In 1901 the municipality elected its first set of official under the American. Don Inocencio M. Mella was elected Presidente Municipal under the Malolos Constitution.

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