(bə-tăn', -tän') pronunciation

A peninsula of western Luzon, Philippines, between Manila Bay and the South China Sea. After an extended siege U.S. and Philippine World War II troops surrendered to the Japanese in April 1942. U.S. forces recaptured the peninsula in February 1945.

Bataan

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Bataan (bătăn', -tän', bätä-än'), peninsula and province (1990 pop. 426,000), W Luzon, the Philippines, between Manila Bay and the South China Sea. Balanga is the provincial capital. A mountainous, thickly jungled region, it has some of the best bamboo forests in the Philippines. There is a pulp and paper mill, a large fertilizer plant, and an oil refinery. Subsistence farming is carried on. Early in World War II (Dec., 1941-Jan., 1942), the U.S.-Filipino army withdrew to Bataan, where it entrenched and, despite the lack of naval and air support, fought a gallant holding action that upset the Japanese timetable for conquest. The army was crippled by starvation and disease when it was finally overwhelmed on Apr. 9, 1942. The U.S. and Filipino troops captured there were subjected to the long, brutal, and infamous "Death March," a 66-mi (106-km) trek to the prison camp near Cabanatuan during which some 11,000 perished. Homage is annually paid these victims on Bataan Day, a national holiday, when large groups of Filipinos solemnly rewalk parts of the death route. The battleground of Bataan is now a national shrine. See also Corregidor.

Bibliography

See S. L. Falk, Bataan: The March of Death (1962); R.Conroy, The Battle of Bataan (1969); H. Sides, Ghost Soldiers (2001); M. and E. M. Norman, Tears in the Darkness (2009).


Bataan
—  Province  —

Flag

Seal
Motto: Forward Bataan
Map of the Philippines with Bataan highlighted
Coordinates: 14°40′N 120°25′E / 14.667°N 120.417°E / 14.667; 120.417Coordinates: 14°40′N 120°25′E / 14.667°N 120.417°E / 14.667; 120.417
Country  Philippines
Region Central Luzon (Region III)
Founded 1754
Capital Balanga City
Government
 • Type Province of the Philippines
 • Governor Enrique T. Garcia, Jr. (National Unity)
 • Vice Governor Efren Dominic E. Pascual, Jr. (Nacionalista)
Area
 • Total 1,372.98 km2 (530.11 sq mi)
Area rank 72nd out of 80
Population (2007)
 • Total 662,153
 • Rank 40th out of 80
 • Density 480/km2 (1,200/sq mi)
 • Density rank 8th out of 80
Divisions
 • Independent cities 0
 • Component cities 1
 • Municipalities 11
 • Barangays 237
 • Districts 1st and 2nd districts of Bataan
Time zone PHT (UTC+8)
ZIP Code 2100
Spoken languages Tagalog, Kapampangan, English
Website Bataan Official Website
Bataan as seen from Manila Bay.

Bataanis a province of the Philippines occupying the whole of the Bataan Peninsula on Luzon. The province is part of the Central Luzon region. The capital of Bataan is Balanga City and it is bordered by the provinces of Zambales and Pampanga to the north. The peninsula faces the South China Sea to the west and Subic Bay to the north-west, and encloses Manila Bay to the east.

The Battle of Bataan is famous in history as one of the last stands of American and Filipino soldiers before they were overwhelmed by the Japanese forces in World War II. The Bataan Death March was named for this province, where the infamous march started. This is also a location of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant located in the Municipality of Morong.

Contents

Geography

Political

Bataan is politically subdivided into 11 municipalities and 1 component city.

City

Municipalities

Physical

The Bataan Peninsula is a rocky extension of the Zambales Mountains, on Luzon in the Philippines. It separates the Manila Bay from the South China Sea. The peninsula features Mount Natib 1,253 m in the north and the Mariveles Mountains in the south, which includes Mount Samat, the location of the historical marker for the Bataan Death March.

Mariveles, at the southern tip, can be reached via jet ferry plying the Mariveles-to-Manila route that has an approximate travel time of 40 minutes.

In 1647, Dutch naval forces landed in country in an attempt to seize the islands from Spain. The Dutch massacred the people of Abucay in Bataan.

The province of Bataan was established in 1754 by Governor-General Pedro Manuel Arandia out of territories belonging to Pampanga and the corregimiento of Mariveles which, at the time, included Maragondon, Cavite across the Manila Bay.

World War II

Bataan featured prominently during World War II. Prior to the 1941 Japanese invasion, the US Army stored nearly 1,000,000 US gallons (3,800 m3) of gasoline here.

March 1942: General view showing houses burning as the result of Japanese bombing raid in Bataan, the Philippine Islands.

Shortly after the Japanese Army invaded the country in December 1941, the combined US and Filipino forces were being gradually overrun and General Douglas MacArthur moved his troops to the Bataan Peninsula in an attempt to hold out until a relief force could be sent from the US. Japanese forces started a siege of the peninsula on January 7, 1942, and launched an all-out assault on April 3, a few months after the Battle of the Points. The majority of the American and Filipino forces surrendered on April 9 and were forced to march more than a 100 kilometres (62 mi) from Bataan to Tarlac, which became known as the Bataan Death March.

In Port Clinton, Ohio, U.S.A., is Bataan School, dedicated after World War 2, in honor of local veterans who survived the Bataan Death March.


Education

Tourist attractions

Historical places

  • First Abucay Catholic Church (The 411-year old Church)
  • Mount Samat - Shrine of Valor (Pilar, Bataan)
  • Zero Kilometre Death March Marker (Mariveles)

Natural-made places of interest

  • Dunsulan Falls
  • Pasukulan Falls (Abucay, Bataan)
  • Sibul Spring (Abucay, Bataan)
  • Balong Anito (Mariveles, Bataan)
  • San Miguel Mountain Peak (Mariveles, Bataan)
  • Mariveles Volcano
  • Tarak Ridge (Mariveles, Bataan)

Beaches and Resorts

People and culture

Famous people in Bataan

See also

Notes

External links



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Mentioned in

Cabanatuan (city of central Luzon)
Going Hollywood: The War Years (1986 Film, TV & Radio Film)
Subway Joe (1969 Album by Joe Bataan)