Throwback: Baliwag, Bulacan in 1850

Baliuag, Bulacan, circa 1945, photograph by John Tewell. 

In 1850, Frs. Manuel Buzeta and Felipe Bravo, both Augustinian Missionaries, published a detailed geographical dictionary entitled Diccionario Geográfico, Estadístico, Histórico de las Islas Filipinas. This encyclopedic work gathered together all available information relative to the physical, political, religious and socio-economic geography of the Philippines, its significant islands, provinces, cities, towns, missions, visitas and barrios as of 1850. Entries were presented alphabetically.

Diccionario Geográfico described Baliuag as town in the Province of Bulacan on the island of Luzon. Situated on a shady plain on the banks of the mighty Baliuag river, the town had a pleasant and healthy climate. It was bounded by the towns of San Luis and Candava of the Province of Pampanga to the north; by the towns of San Isidro, Calumpit and Apalit, Pampanga to the west; by the towns of Pandi, Quingua (now Plaridel) and San Isidro (now Pulilan) to the south; by the towns of Angat and San Rafael to the east. 

A Beautiful Town 

According to the Diccionario, Baliuag, Bulacan was founded in 1732. Back then, it had about 3,503 houses distributed along its wide and leveled streets. The town had a jail and a primary school which were maintained by the community. A large number of children attended the school. The town also had a beautifully built parish church under the patronage of Saint Augustine and which was served by an Augustinian priest. The parish was under the Archdiocese of Manila.

The town had a large square, one of the largest in the province. The square was where the weekly market days were held. These market days drew in a considerable crowd and products from the countryside. The square was also the terminus of avenues which lead to different directions towards the neighboring towns. 

Besides the church and the tribunal, there were a number of well-constructed luxurious houses made of stone owned by mestizos. They had magnificent gardens, tree-lined walkways, and orchards planted with fruit trees. They presented very pleasant and picturesque views.

Livelihood

Baliuag, Bulacan had a large farming population but with a limited land resources. Many farmers had to leave and cultivate lands of nearby towns like Candava. Baliuagenyos produced indigo and sugarcane, and extracted sesame oil. Local artisans made hats and cigarettes packs, spun cotton and wove clothes. Locally produced dyes gave excellent color to locally produced fabrics. These fabrics were well known in Manila for its equality and fineness of threads and for richness of colors.

Northeast of the Baliuag was an estate owned by the brothers of San Juan de Dios. Known as Hacienda de Buenavista, these lands were generally flat and fertilized by Baliwag river. It supplied Baliuag with rice, corn, sugarcane, indigo, sesame, all kinds of legumes, farinaceous roots, lots of fruits and several medicinal plants.

Baliuag's commerce extended not only to other towns of Bulacan, but also to those of the Pampanga and Manila. Mails arrived in Baliuag weekly. The town had a population of 21,017 souls and paid 2,137 in taxes.