Batanes Archipelago

The waters around the Batanes Archipelago belong to the northern reaches of the Philippine sea routes, where passages toward Luzon and Taiwan frame the islands. Historically, the Spanish province of Cagayan was much larger than the present province on Luzon's northeastern tip. Its jurisdiction covered the whole Cagayan Valley, including present-day Isabela, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya and Batanes, together with parts of Kalinga, Apayao and Aurora. Nueva Segovia served as the early capital and as the seat of the diocese bearing that name. in that era the province also includes the Babuyan Islands, while its name still denotes the broader Cagayan Valley region. One explanation connects Cagayan with old regional variants meaning river, recalling the Cagayan River's importance. For the archipelago waters, this history explains how a northern island group was governed through a mainland valley whose river gave the province its identity. Cagayan's early history reaches back thousands of years, and the river that inspired its name remained a route through the valley. For the northern waters, the valley supplied the administrative centre and mainland connections while the archipelago provided island communities and sea routes.