Luzon

Luzon is the largest and most economically and politically important island in the Philippines and one of the three island groups in the country, with Visayas and Mindanao being the other two. Luzon as an island group includes the island of Luzon itself, plus the Batanes and Babuyan groups of islands to the north, and the main and outlying islands of Catanduanes, Marinduque, Masbate, Romblon, and Mindoro in the south. Luzon was once split among H... more

Luzon is the largest and most economically and politically important island in the Philippines and one of the three island groups in the country, with Visayas and Mindanao being the other two. Luzon as an island group includes the island of Luzon itself, plus the Batanes and Babuyan groups of islands to the north, and the main and outlying islands of Catanduanes, Marinduque, Masbate, Romblon, and Mindoro in the south. Luzon was once split among Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms, Muslim principalities, and ethnoreligious tribes, who had trading connections with Malaysia, India, Japan and China before the Spanish established their rule. The first European explorers recorded it in their charts as Luçonia or Luçon and inhabitants were called Luçoes. Under Spain, Luzon also came to be known as the Nueva Castilla or the New Castile. The eight regions are listed below, discussed individually. Its administrative centers are for formality's sake only, meaning, there is no 'valid' regional administrative... less