History

Pre-Spanish Era

A golden vestment worn by the Hindu Brahmin Caste, found in Butuan Archeological Digs.

Butuan, before its colonization, was known as the Kingdom of Butuan, an Indianized kingdom known for its gold mines and products. The kingdom flourished at the 10th and 11th centuries CE, and had an extensive trade network with the Kingdom of Champa and the Srivijaya Empire. [4][5]

On 1001 CE, the Kingdom had established contact with the Song dynasty of China. The annal ''Song Shih'' recorded the appearance of a Butuan mission at the Chinese Imperial Court, and the Kingdom was described as a small Hindu country with a Buddhist monarchy, which had a regular trade connection with Champa. The mission, under a Rajah named Kiling, asked for equal status in court protocol with the Champa envoy, but ultimately was denied by the Imperial court.[6][7] However, under the reign of Sri Bata Shaja, the diplomatic equality was eventually granted to the Kingdom, and as a result the diplomatic relations of the two nations reached its peak in the Yuan Dynasty.[8]

Evidence of these trading links are in the discovery of 11 Balangay boats in Ambangan, Libertad, which was described as the only concentration of archaeological, ancient, ocean-going boats in Southeast Asia. Other evidences of the post are the discovery of a village in Libertad that specializes in gold, deformed skulls similar to reports in Sulawesi, and the discovery of many artifacts by locals and treasure hunters.

 

Spanish Colonial Period

(More research is to be conducted about this. For now the copy-pasted version of the original will do.)

On March 31, 1521, an Easter Sunday, Magellan ordered a mass to be celebrated which was officiated by Friar Pedro Valderrama, the Andalusion chaplain of the fleet, the only priest then. The other priest, the French Bernard Calmette (Bernardo Calmeta) had been marooned at Patagonia with Juan de Cartagena for being implicated in the mutiny at San Julian. Conducted near the shores of the island, the Holy First Mass marked the birth of Roman Catholicism in the Philippines. Colambu and Siaiu were the first natives of the archipelago, which was not yet named "Philippines" until the expedition of Ruy Lopez de Villalobos in 1543, to attend the mass among other Mazaua inhabitants, together with visitors from Butuan who came with the entourage of Rajah Colambu, King of Butuan.

Controversy has been generated with regard to the holding of the first mass—whether it was held in Limasawa, Leyte in Masao, Butuan City, in the hidden isle made up of barangays Pinamanculan and Bancasi inside Butuan, in the latest discovered site in between agusan sur and surigao sur, the little barangay of Barobo, or elsewhere. It is sure, however, that Ferdinand Magellan did not drop anchor by the mouth of Agusan River in 1521 and hold mass to commemorate the event which was held at Mazaua, an island separate from 1521 Butuan which was in the geographical conception of Europeans who wrote about it was a larger entity than what it is now. Antonio Pigafetta who wrote an eyewitness account of Magellan's voyage described in text and in map a Butuan that stretched from today's Surigao up to the top edge of Zamboanga del Norte.

 

American and Japanese Occupation

(Again, more research needed)

The first municipal election in Butuan took place on March 1902 in accordance with Public Law No. 82[9] which coincided with the American occupation of the place.

During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines in World War II, Butuan was razed to the ground when the guerrilla forces attacked the enemy garrison during the middle of 1943. In 1945, the Philippine Commonwealth troops in Butuan together with the recognized guerrillas attacked the Japanese forces during the Battle of Agusan. On October 20, 1948, still recovering from the war, the entire municipality was ruined by a fire.

 

Modern Day Era

By the late 1940s to the 1970s, Butuan's industry specialized in timber, earning it the nickname, "Timber City of the South". The plentiful trees of the area invited many investors to the city, and inspired Cong. Marcos M. Calo to file a bill converting Butuan into a city. On August 2, 1950, this was passed, and Butuan became a city.[10]

However, by the early 1980s, the logging industry of the city began to decline, although the city was still an economic haven to many investors. The city's main income by that time frame and until this day depended on small and medium business, and large-scale projects by investors. In February 7, 1995, the city was reclassified from a chartered city to a Highly Urbanized city. 16 days later, on February 23, the region of Caraga was created by virtue of Republic Act 7901, with Butuan as its regional center, and the provincial capital of Agusan del Norte. In 2000, Republic Act 8811 formally transferred the capital of Agusan del Norte from Butuan to Cabadbaran, however most provincial offices are still located in the city.

 

Etymology

The name Butuan is believed to have existed long before the Spanish conquistadores arrived in the Philippine archipelago. One possible indication of this is a rhinoceros ivory seal with design carved in ancient Javanese or early kawi script (used around the 10th century AD) which, according to a Dutch scholar, was deciphered as But-wan. Another account suggests the name derives from the word batuan, a mangosteen-related fruit common in Mindanao. Another alternative is that the name derives from Datu Bantuan, possibly a former chieftain of the region.

 

Geography

Topography

Butuan City has a land area of 81,728 hectares  km2, which is roughly 4.1% of the total area of the Caraga region. With an estimated total population of 309,709 census NSO May 10, 2012 it has an average density of 367 persons per km2, higher than the regional average density of 101 persons per km2.

The existing land use of the city consists of the following uses: agriculture areas (397.23 km2), forestland (268 km2), grass/shrub/pasture land (61.14 km2) and other uses (90.242 km2). Of the total forestland, 105 km2 is production forest areas while 167.5 km2 is protection forest areas.

The forestland, as mentioned earlier, comprised both the production and protection forest. The classified forest is further specified as production forest and protection forest. In the production forest industrial tree species are mostly grown in the area. The protection forest on the other hand, is preserved to support and sustain necessary ecological performance. Included in this are the watershed areas in Taguibo, which is the main source of water in the area,

The city is endowed with swamplands near its coastal area. These swamp areas are interconnected with the waterways joined by the Agusan River. Most of the swamplands are actually mangroves that served as habitat to different marine species.

Filling material needs of the city are extracted usually from the riverbank of Taguibo River. Others are sourced out from promontories with special features and for special purpose.

The fishing ground of Butuan is the Butuan Bay of which two coastal barangays are located. It extends some two kilometers to the sea and joins the Bohol Sea. These are barangays Lumbocan and Masao.