Mindoro

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Mindoro

Map of Mindoro
Mindoro (Philippines)
Geography
Location	South East Asia
Archipelago	Philippine islands
Major islands	Luzon, Mindanao, Mindoro, Palawan
Area	10,572 km2 (4,081.9 sq mi)
Area rank	74th
Highest elevation	2,582 m (8,471 ft)
Highest point	Halcon
Country
Philippines
Province	Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro
Largest city	Calapan (pop. 105,910)
Demographics
Population	1,062,000 (as of 2000)
Density	100.5 /km2 (260.3 /sq mi)
Ethnic groups	Mangyan, Tagalog

Mindoro (Tagalog pronunciation: [mɪnˈdoɾo]) is the seventh-largest island in the Philippines. It is located off the coast of Luzon, and northeast of Palawan. The southern coast of Mindoro forms the northeastern extremum of the Sulu Sea.^[1]

History

In past times, it has been called Ma-i or Mait by ancient Chinese traders and, by Spaniards, as Mina de Oro (meaning "gold mine") from where the island got its current name. The island was once a single province from 1920 to 1950 when it was divided into its two present-day provinces, Occidental Mindoro and Oriental Mindoro.

According to the late historian William Henry Scott,^[2] an entry in the official history of the Sung Dynasty for the year 972 mentions Ma-i as a trading partner of China. Other Chinese records referring to Ma-i or Mindoro appear in the years that follow.

Prehispanic Source Materials enumerates the products that Mindoro traders exchanged with the Chinese as "beeswax, cotton, true pearls, tortoise shell, medicinal betelnuts and yu-ta [jute?] cloth" for Chinese porcelain, trade gold, iron pots, lead, colored glass beads and iron needles.

Economy

Beach in Northern Mindoro

The economy of Mindoro is largely based on agriculture. Products consist of a wide variety of fruits, such as citrus, bananas, lanzones, rambutan, and coconuts, such cereals as rice and maize, sugar cane, peanuts, fish (catfish, milkfish, tilapia), livestock, and poultry. Logging and the mining of marble and copper also thrive.

Tourism is a lucrative business as well, with locations such as Apo Reef National Park, Lubang Island, Puerto Galera, Sabang Beach, and Mount Halcon. Puerto Galera's beaches are the island's most known tourist attraction and are widely visited.

Culture

The principal language in Mindoro is Tagalog, although in some parts it has been greatly influenced by the native Visayan and Mangyan languages. Mainstream Filipino and Taglish are, indeed, present in and around such areas as Puerto Galera, Pinamalayan, and Calapan City. Visayan and Mangyan languages, too, are spoken on the island, as are Ilokano and some foreign languages — e.g., English, Fukien, and, to a much lesser extent, Spanish.

The common religions on the island fall under Christianity. The religion of the indigenous Mangyan population is animism. Though they are into animism as a religion, the Catholic Church in some of Mindoro's parts is also active.

Other information

Mindoro is also home to the Tamaraw or Mindoro dwarf buffalo (Bubalus mindorensis), which is endemic to the island. The Tamaraw is a bovine related to the water buffalo and is an endangered species.

During World War II, Mindoro Island was where Bill Frederick of the U.S. 17th Army Air Corps piloted a B-25; he and his crew fought a Japanese naval force preparing to attack the joint U.S. and Philippine Commonwealth armed forces there. On the night of December 26, 1944, flying through intense anti-aircraft fire, Frederick's aircraft, the Sticky Kitty, was credited with sinking a lead Japanese Cruiser. The warplane, one of only eight aircraft available to defend the island's garrison and installation, flew repeated sorties during the night, resulting in a successful defense of the island.^[3]

The local Filipino troops and officers under the 4th, 5th, 41st, 42nd, 43rd, 45th, 46th, and 47th Infantry Divisions of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and 4th Infantry Regiment of the Philippine Constabulary were helping the military conduct special operations in the island province of Mindoro from December 1944 to August 1945. They also helped local Mindoro guerrilla fighters and the U.S. and Australian troops defeat the Japanese Imperial forces during the Battle of Mindoro (December 13-16, 1944) and during 1945 until World War II ended.

The Second Battle of Mindoro (January to August 1945) during the Second World War also involved the Philippine Commonwealth and Allied military forces, the local Filipino soldiers of the 4th, 5th, 41st, 42nd, 43rd, 45th, 46th and 47th Infantry Division of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and 4th Infantry Regiment of the Philippine Constabulary, as well as the local guerrilla resistance fighters and the U.S. and Australian troops. Capturing the islands of Mindoro included the province of Occidental Mindoro and Oriental Mindoro in the defeat of the Japanese Imperial forces. The casualties of the second battle of Mindoro in 1945 included 34,000+ Filipino troops and local recognized guerrillas killed and wounded in action, 27,000+ American and Australian troops killed and wounded in action, and over 253,000+ Japanese troops killed, wounded and captured in action.

Bibliography

• C.Michael Hogan. 2011. Sulu Sea. Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. P.Saundry & C.J.Cleveland. Washington DC

References

External links

• "Map of Mindoro" showing towns and major mountain tops
• Mindorenyos - Connecting Mindoro People
• Online Community for Mindorenyos

Videos

• Born to be Wild: Mindoro, 19 June 2008

Coordinates: 12°55′49″N 121°05′41″E / 12.93028°N 121.09472°E / 12.93028; 121.09472