Guimaras is known to have had a unique history. A prevailing legend has it that two of its inhabitants called Guima and Aras, who were lovers, went swimming and never returned. Thus, in their honor, Himal-us was changed to Guimaras by the pre-Spanish Ilonggos.
The beauty of the island attracted the attention of the colonizers. The Spaniards headed by Gonzalo Ronquillo de Peñalosa who established the first Spanish settlement in Arevalo were struck by the beautiful sceneries in the island. They noticed that its verdant mountains abounded with forest timbers, limestone for building purposes, and excellent hunting and fishing grounds.
The Christianization of the people of Guimaras was started almost simultaneously with those of Iloilo. For this purpose, the Spaniards organized pueblocitos (villages) of Nayup, with San Pedro Apostol as patron saint; Nabilhan with San Juan Bautista as patron saint; and Igang whose patron saint was Santa Ana. For a long time, these small villages formed a “visita” of Oton. In the 18th century, it was annexed to the parish of Iloilo. During this period, the island was frequently raided by pirates and the growth of population was slow.
In 1775 Guimaras was organized into a regular parish with Iloilo. The three villages mentioned earlier were formed into a single parish. After the population on the island increased, Guimaras was given its municipal status with the seat of government in Tilad, now known as Buenavista. In 1918 the municipality of Buenavista split into two. Barrio Nagaba became the Municipality of Jordan. A third municipality, Nueva Valencia, was created in 1941. It had previously been an independent municipality under the name Valencia during the Spanish regime.
“Guimaras gained its status as a sub-province of Iloilo through Republic Act 4667, which was enacted by Congress of the Philippines on 18 June 1966. It was proclaimed as a regular and full-fledged province on 22 May 1992 after a plebiscite was conducted to ratify the approval of its conversion pursuant to Section 462 of R.A. 7160.”
Since 1995 the province has been comprised of five municipalities, following the creation of San Lorenzo and Sibunag.
The province was awarded the nickname “The mango capital of The Philippines” for a reason. It is not only known for the sweetest mangoes in The Philippines, but for having the sweetest mangoes in the world, it even actively exports its produce to the markets of America, Australia, Canada, and Singapore. The province is also the home of Manggahan Festival which is celebrated in the month of May.
Source: Province of Guimaras Genealogy