The Spanish arrived in the 16th century and established Christian missions and governmental institutions to control the native population and convert them to the Roman Catholicism. Ilocanos in the northern parts remained an area filled with deep resentments against Spain. These resentments bubbled to the surface at various points in the Ilocos provinces' history as insurrections. when the Spanish conquered the Ilocanos in 1572,  they described the Ilicanos as being more barbarous than the Tagalogs. During the Spanish Colonial Era, the Ilocanos were one of the first ethnic groups to revolt against the Spaniards. The first Ilocano revolt occurred during 1661, when the Ilocanos proclaimed Pedro Almazan as their king. he was executed by the Spaniards. Diego Silang and his wife Gabriela Silang declared the independence of Ilocos from 1762-1764 during the British occupation of Manila. This republic was dissolved in 1763 through the execution of Silang and his Ilocano associates. During the American Colonial Period and up to the Independence Years, leaders encouraged the Ilocanos to resettle in Mindanao. In 1965, Ferdinand Marcos was the second Ilocano to be elected president of the Philippines and under his presidency, thousands of Ilocanos benefited from his land reforms. The Ilicano people are hardworking and frugal, and they engage primarily in farming and fishing. The Ilocano culture represents very simple, sometimes spartan day-to-day living, focusing mostly on work and productivity, Ilocanos also exemplify a great degree of respect and humility in their everyday dealings.