Template:Infobox Philippine province Bataan is a province of the Philippines occupying the whole of Bataan Peninsula on Luzon. The province is part of the Central Luzon region. The capital of Bataan is Balanga City and is bordered by the provinces of Zambales and Pampanga to the north. The peninsula faces South China Sea to the west and encloses its arm, 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.

Geography

Political

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

City

• Balanga 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 tip can be reached through jet ferry plying the Mariveles to Manila route that has an approximate travel time of 40 minutes.

History

Early history

In 1574, Limahong, a Chinese pirate used Bataan as the launching point for his conquest of Luzon, which was unsuccessful. In 1647, Dutch naval forces landed in country in an attempt to seize the islands from Spain. The forces 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.

Shortly after the Japanese Army invaded the country in December 1941, the combined forces of Filipino and US forces were being gradually overrun and General Douglas MacArthur decided to make Bataan the site of a last stand. (See Battle of the Philippines (1941-42).) On January 7, 1942, Japanese forces started the siege of the peninsula. On April 3 the Japanese began an all-out assault on the American and Filipino troops left on the peninsula. Bataan fell on April 9 and the Bataan Death March began. About 70,000 captured American and Filipino soldiers were forced to march more than a hundred kilometers from Bataan to Tarlac.

Education

Partial List of Higher Educational Institutions in the province of Bataan.^[1]

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)

Resorts

People and culture

Famous People in Bataan

• Tomas Pinpin (Abucay)- the "Prince of Filipino Printers" or the "Patriarch of Filipino Printing." He learned the art of printing about the end of 1608 in the Dominican-owned printing press in Abucay. In Abucay, Father Blancas employed in 1609 young Pinpin as an apprentice at the printing shop and taught him the art of printing. Later, the main elementary school in Abucay was named after him, Tomas Pinpin Memorial Elementary School. His statue can be found in the quadrangle of this elementary school.
• Evangeline Pascual (Orani)- actress and former beauty queen.
• Gary David (Dinalupihan) - current PBA player recent multi-awarded player at the 2006-2007 season of the PBA namely; Most Improved Player, Sportsmanship, All-Defensive Team and First Team Mythical.He is a former PBL Most Improved Player and Most Valuable Player. He was also a member of the RP Team (SEA GAMES) held in Hanoi Vietnam that won gold for the Philippines.

See also

• Provinces of the Philippines
• Geography of the Philippines
• Battle of Bataan
• Bataan Death March
• Bataan Nuclear Power Plant

Notes

External links

• Bataan Official Website
• Bataan Photo Gallery
• Discover Bataan Peninsula
• Community Info
• Bataan Business Directory
• Bataan USA

14°40′N 120°25′E / 14.667°N 120.417°E / 14.667; 120.417