benguet

Benguet is a landlocked province of the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Its capital is La Trinidad and borders Pangasinan, La Union, Ilocos Sur, Mountain Province, Ifugao, and Nueva Vizcaya.

Most of the tribes in Benguet have their own languages or dialects. The Ibaloi tribe speak Ibaloy, which is similar to Pangasinan. The Kankana-ey tribe also have their own language, which is related to the Bontoc language. Many inhabitants also speak Ilokano, Tagalog, and English for trade and commerce.

Agriculture, mining, and tourism are the major industries in Benguet. Because of its temperate climate and high altitude, Benguet is an ideal place for producing vegetables. Benguet is often called the Salad Bowl of the Philippines.

Mining, the major industry in Benguet is one of the country's leading gold producers. Other mineral deposits are silver, copper, pyrite, and limestone. Silversmithing is a large industry in Benguet, and many entrepreneurs sell silver works at lower prices in Baguio City, compared to Manila. In 2006 alone revenues from mining reached a stunning four billion pesos, and yet this figure comes from just mining firms operating in the province. Nevertheless, the province's mining vigor has never translated into better quality of life of the Benguet people, simply because a bulk of the mining firm's taxes are not paid directly to the province but to the City of Makati, a set-up that makes Makati the prime mining tax beneficiary.

The mountainous area now covered by Benguet is home to several native tribes which are collectively known as the Igorot. Two of these, the Ibaloi and the Kankana-ey, are dominant tribes of the area. Many of these tribes are believed by Filipino anthropologists to be of Malay descent. Before the arrival of the Spanish colonizers these tribes had a flourishing trade with the lowlanders such as the Ilocanos and the Pangasinenses.

When the Spanish arrived, they attempted to colonize the highlands, having heard of the rich gold mines in the mountains. In 1572, Juan de Salcedo led a small expedition into southern Benguet, but the natives forced them to retreat. The first major expedition into the mountains occurred in 1620, when Spanish explorers went into the La Trinidad Valley and briefly controlled some Igorot gold mines, which were later abandoned after a few years.

In the 1800s, the Spanish colonizers made more serious attempts at conquering the highlands. The first expeditions were done under the leadership of Col. Guillermo Galvey and it succeeded in establishing presence in the La Trinidad Valley, which he named after his wife.

This area became a district of the new province of La Union in 1846. Eight years later, in 1854, Benguet became a separate comandancia politico-militar. Parts of the present province were established as component territories of other comandancias such as Lepanto, and Amburayan.

When the Americans took control of the Philippines, they established local civil governments in many parts of the country. In Benguet, the civil government was established on Nevember 23, 1900. H.P. Whitmarsh, a Canadian journalist, was appointed as the first governor of Benguet.

In the 1930s, mining companies were started to mine the gold deposits in the area. This brought jobs and many lowlanders migrated to Benguet.

During World War II, Igorot guerrillas and the combined Filipino and American forces fought battles with Japanese soldiers during the final days of the war.

On July 15, 1987, the Cordillera Administrative Region was established and Benguet was made one of it's provinces