Baliwag, Bulacan, Two Hundred Years Ago

A screenshot page of Aragon's work, Estados de la Población de Filipinas.   

In 1817-1818, Don Yldefonzo de Aragon, a Spanish colonel, traveled around the Philippines to look into and write about the conditions of the Philippine cities, towns and villages.

Among others, he traveled around Bulacan, interviewed local officials and residents and took as much notes as he can. His descriptions of Baliuag, and the rest of Bulacan appeared in his books: Estados de la Población de Filipinas Correspondiente a el Ano de 1818 and Descripción Geográfica y Topográfica de la Ysla de Luzon O Nueva Castilla con las Particulares de las Diez y Seis Provincias O Partidos que Comprehende. Both books were published in 1819.

According to Aragon, in 1818, about four-fifth of Baliuag’s population settled on the right side of the Baliuag River, and the remaining one-fifth lived on the left side. The town generally had plain terrain covered with trees. Relative to its surrounding towns, Baliuag is a little more than a quarter of a legua towards Pampanga, some three leguas to Candava and San Luis, one legua to Candava swamps and two-and-a-half to Apalit. A legua was a historical measure of length equivalent to 5,572.7 meters. Relative to other Bulacan towns, Baliuag is roughly a legua to San Rafael and a quarter of a legua to the Hacienda de Buenavista. Baliuag is one legua to Quingoa (now Plaridel), three-fourth of a legua to Pandi, two leguas to Bigaa via the farm lands.

The inhabitants of Baliuag were mostly farmers. They cultivated indigo, sugar cane, rice and corn. Other economic activities include weaving fabrics, spinning cottons, extracting sesame oil, milling sugar, weaving hats and other menial works.

In Baliuag, like most towns along Quingoa river, indigo is cultivated with success. Bulacan accumulated about 400 to 500 quintals of indigo paste annually, much of which came from Baliuag. That was equivalent to four thousand pots of indigo mud. Indigo was used for the dyeing blankets and other textiles.

In Bongas (now part of Bustos), a barrio of Baliuag, there were many quarries of dry stones of better quality than those of Meycauayan. Some dry stones were, although soft, still superior than those of Guadalupe.

While most of the inhabitants of Baliuag were farmers, the town ironically, lacked land resources for its farming people. As a consequence, Baliuag farmers occupied and farmed the vast fertile lands between Baliuag and Pinac de Candava, which belonged to the Province of Pampanga. This was especially so since there was no clear delineation of boundaries between the two provinces. Aragon also noted that there were lands between Baliuag and Pampanga where the people who do not recognize the law and do not submit to authorities take refuge.

Baliuag farmers cultivated the lands between their hometown and Candava Swamps in Pampanga.