Bohol During the Spanish Era
By Engineer Jes TirolPart 5. Tagbilaran in 1855: Environment and Inhabitants
ProemIn the "Varias Provincias - Bohol: 1855-1896 GDS-3876" at the National Archives, I found a questionnaire from the Comision Central De Estadistica De Filipinas (Central Statistics Commission of the Philippines) for the year 1855. The three sets of questions were answered by Don Leon Rosauro Torralba on September 15, 1855. He was the Gobernadorcillo (Mayor) of Tagbilaran in 1855. (Note: The other available record is for the town of Panglao).
Bohol became a province on March 3, 1854. Tagbilaran became the Capital Town of Bohol on March 2, 1855. Since the data is very important in visualizing Tagbilaran in 1855, I have decided to present in full the questions and answers.
Set I: Environment and Inhabitants of Tagbilaran
Question 1: Is the terrain clayey, calcareous (limestone), stony, sandy, etc.? Answer: All is stony.
Question 2: Is there a salt mine of any kind? Answer: There is one.
Question 3: What is the disposition of the terrain considering the water sources and caverns? Answer: The soil is generally black and reddish in some places.
Question 4: What is the general spread of trees, shrubs, plants, grains, etc.? Answer: There are no vegetables. Trees are rare except for some molave (tugas). There are many coco trees, few rice and some quantity of edible root crops called ube quinampay (aromatic pink yam) and camote (sweet potato).
Question 5: What are the common animals; be they four-footed, flying, fishes, insects, and reptiles? Answer: Carabao, cows, some mountain doves, and various fishes which are also found in other towns of the island.
Question 6: What are peculiar situations in the place? Answer: There is none.
Question 7: What is the physical constitution of the inhabitants, their state and stature; ordinary, thin, or stout? Answer: They are healthy, generally well formed and regular in stature and stout.
Question 8: What is the color of their skin and hair that is distinctive to the natives, mestizos, and pagan tribes? Answer: They have one color - clear brown. They have black and straight hair as said of the natives. The mestizos are generally white.
Question 9: What is their daily diet for every kind, the quantity and the hours? Answer: The people eat four (4) times per day. Those in the hills are generally accustomed to eat supper.
Question 10: What kind of drinks do they take when they eat? The water, where do they get it? Answer: They use no drinks. Some people obtained their water from conserving rainwater. The others obtained water from wells found a half-hour distant from the town center. (Note: This was at Lungkajab near the Birhen Sang Barangay Church in Cogon District. The pool is gone and water-well is already dry. - JBT).
Question 11: Those who have the prosperity to be drunk, what is the amount of alcoholic spirit that a person consumes? Answer: Generally they consume three-fourth daily but they are only very few. (Note: There was no specification what was the three-fourth. - JBT).
Question 12: What are the occupations of the inhabitants both male and female? Answer: The males go fishing, farming, and others as traveling traders. The women are generally occupied with cotton products like making lompotes (cotton cloth), socks, and sew pineapple clothes and others do marketing activities.
Question 13: In what proportion are engaged in agriculture, commerce, manufacturing, industries, and crafts? Answer: The majority cultivates the land. Few are into commerce and others go fishing and general odd-jobs.
Question 14: What number of proprietors do you calculate in every class and what are the workers? Answer: There are only four (4) businessmen with a little capital.
Question 15: How many can we find dedicated to navigation for coastal trading or far seas? Answer: More than one hundred men.
Question 16: What are the usual or accidental diseases? Answer: The usual diseases are bubos (this encompass all kinds of skin diseases- JBT), and cuyap (fainting), which is a sickness common to women in the country. The accidental sickness is fever caused by vaccination.
Question 17: Are their character lively or passive, ingenious or stupid, silent or talkative? Answer: They are of a character that is peaceful and silent.
Question 18: What is the total mass of the population? Answer: About 7,000 souls and about 300 of them are mestizos.
Question 19: How many lives in the poblacion (town center) as well as those in the edges or roads, rivers, and forests? Answer: Some 400 taxpayers live in the town center. The others are scattered throughout the territory. (Note: There were more residents at Taloto District than at the poblacion due to the availability of water at Cang-agbo well, HMS well, the nearby Tubod well and Ubujan spring. - JBT).
Question 20: How many roads are there? Where is it going; both roads and footpaths? What is its length in leagues or hours? Answer: There are two roads. One is going to Baclayon and the other going to Pamiguitan (now: Cortes - JBT). There are two footpaths. One is going to Baclayon (This is now the Dampas District to Canggining road. - JBT) and the other to Balilihan (This is now the Tagbilaran-Corella-Balilihan road. - JBT).
Question 21: What is its (the road) general situation during dry and rainy times? Answer: They are passable during all weather conditions.
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