History of Panay
Prior to the contact of the natives with the Spaniards, the town was once called Banban (Fernandes; NHCP Marker). This town was dubbed the Sucily of the Philippines because of the abundance of harvest in the lowlands and in the coastal areas (San Agustin). Given that the town has a long range of coastal areas, the people were once called Yliguenes, or people of the coast (Loarca).
People living in Panay usually paint their bodies with tattoos, and because of this, they were called "Pintados (Alcina). They are usually corpulent, better built, and somewhat taller than Tagalogs, and they usually wear their long hair tied in a knot on the crown of their heads (Alcina). In addition, they appeared to be clean and healthy people (Loarca).
In 1565, with the aim of establishing a colony and spreading Christianity, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi arrived in the Philippines. After landing in Cebu, he quickly forged friendly relations with the local rulers. Legazpi soon realized that Cebu was not an ideal location for his colony. Thus, in 1569, Legazpi sent an expedition led by Martin de Goiti and Juan de Salcedo to explore the island of Panay. Due to conflict with the Portuguese and persistent supply shortages, in 1569, Legazpi transferred to Panay and founded a second settlement on the bank of the Panay River.
To punish the Muslim Moro pirates plundering Panay villages, Legazpi sent his grandson Juan de Salcedo, who had arrived from Mexico to Mindoro, in 1570. Martín de Goiti, dispatched by Legazpi to Luzon, conquered the Kingdom of Maynila. Legazpi followed with a larger fleet comprising both Spanish and majority Visayan forces. An attempt by some local leaders to defeat the Spanish was repelled. Legazpi renamed it Manila and declared it the capital of the Philippines.
In 1581, Fray Bartolome de Allcantara became the first Spanish Curate in the Philippines, and from that time on, Panay served as the instrument of the evagelization and establishment of the following towns: The natives of the town were friendly, enabling the Spaniards to rule the area without having any military forces from 1569–1598 (Fernandez). Unfortunate events happened in 1599 when the Mooos successfully raided the town of Panay, looted the area, burned houses, and captured the natives for slavery (Fernandez). Panay served as the center of the seat of Spanish government in the province until 1716, the year when the seat of government was transferred to Capiz.
Panay also played a very important role in the establishment of the following town: Dumarao (1581), Dumalag (1596), Mambosao (1607), Capiz (1693), Sigma (1744), Panitan (1800), Ivisan (1833), Loctogan (1834), Tapaz, (1835), Dao (1836), Pontevedra (1856), Pilar (1865), Cuartero (1867), Maayon (1883).