History of the Ilocano

This group of people were first found in the provinces of Luzon, which is found in the Philippines, by the Spanish and they called themselves the Ilocanos.  They were first discovered in 1572 by Salcedo and his Spanish army when they came across the coasts of Luzon.

Starting during the Spanish regime the Spanish Conquistadores were conquering groups of people until they met the Ilocanos and weren't very successful in conquering them.  The Ilocanos were the first ethnic group to revolt against the Spanish.  In January of 1661 the Ilocanos named their leader, Don Pedro Almazan, king but was then executed once the kingdom was diminishing.  Their most notable uprise against the Spanish was lead by Diego and Gabriela Silang and was then later finished by his wife.  This occurred in the late 1700's when Britain and France were fighting in the Seven Years' War. The Spanish were fortunately assisting the French and Diego Silang saw this as an opportunity to attack the Spanish and force them to fight two wars.

                                           
                                                   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilocano_people

In this picture you can see that a majority of the Ilocanos that live in the Philippines live up north.

The Ilocano people today can be found mostly in the Central Plain of Luzon and the Cagayan Valley.  Closer to the 20th century they started to move to greener and better pastures and other cities.  Also they became the first ethnic group to migrate to the United States in which they can be found in Hawaii, California, Washington, and Alaska.