A Thoroughly Agrarian Society

 A Thoroughly Agrarian Society

 

Introduction

 

By 1898, Bayambang was a pueblo with 8,505 inhabitants, according to the "Anuario del Comercio de la Industria de la Magistratura y de la Administracion" (1898). The town must have been a thoroughly agrarian society in most respects by then, for local farmers reportedly produced rice, corn, sweet potato, banana, sugar, tobacco, coffee, cocoa, coconut oil, indigo dye, and mung beans in commercial amounts. (Notably, there was no mention of onion and mangoes yet.)

 

At a time when the Capitan Municipal was Mauricio de Guzman, the Juez de Paz was Ramon de Castro, the cura parroco was Padre Feliciano Fernandez Martin, and public education (instruccion publica) was handled by Profesor Juan Sison and Profesora Francisca Navarrete, there were already rice milling machines, warehouses, and traders, as well as groceries and shops. The one in charge of the rice mills (maquinas para mondar arroz) was a certain Mr. Bray of Smith Bell & Co. which was a British investor in rice buying and exportation, and the grocery (comestibles) proprietor was one Manuel Espinosa.

 

Clearly, rice was the number one prime commodity, judging from the type of trade and industry that was the most conspicuous at the time.

 

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In an undated writeup, Municipal Secretary, Atty. Luciano S. Vila, once reported the following:

 

“Products and Industries”

 

“Bayambang, which supports a population of about 37,000, was once a commercial center. The Agno River, which cuts its way through this town, promotes commerce not only between the people of Bayambang and Lingayen, but also with its neighboring towns that make use of this navigable river. Since time immemorial, Bayambang has been trading with people of northern Pangasinan the most common goods like salt, bagoong (salted fish), nipa wine, vinegar and also nipa shingles. These are loaded in big bancas manned by about six men.”

 

“Land transportation is facilitated by means of the railroad and provincial roads (macadamized road). The railroad and the provincial roads make possible the travel of people not only in this municipality but also the whole province from the north to south, as from Dagupan to Manila via Camiling (through the provincial road). The provincial road is the easiest means of travel from the north to south. The Pantranco and other buses going to Manila from Dagupan pass through this provincial road. The road facilitates the transportation of the town’s products to Dagupan and other southern provinces.”

 

“One will note that the greater part of Bayambang is hilly. The principal occupations are farming and fishing. These two industries yield the greatest income for the municipality. The important products are rice and corn. Rice is planted once a year, i.e., during the rainy season, unlike in the Tagalog regions where rice is planted twice a year.”

 

“Besides farming, Bayambang is well known for its fishing grounds. The Mangabol Lake, which is the biggest of Bayambang lakes, encourages people to engage in fishing. The lake yields the biggest profit for the municipality. The municipality is classified as first class. Bayambang appropriates ₱10,000.00 every year for the maintenance of the Pangasinan Normal School. Other municipalities cannot meet such amount. This is one of the reasons why the Normal School is located in this town.”

 

Reference: Anuario del Comercio de la Industria de la Magistratura y de la Administracion; Directorio de las 400.000 Señas de España, Ultramar, Estados Hispano-Americanos y Portugal Con Anuncios y Referencias al Comercio e Industria Nacional y Estranjera. Madrid: Bailley-Bailliere y Hijos, 1898. (Acknowledgment: Jeffrey James Ligero); Bayambang Annual Town Fiesta souvenir program