View source for Mindoro

{{Short description|Island in the Philippines}}
{{about|the Philippine island|the current provinces|Occidental Mindoro|and|Oriental Mindoro|the former province|Mindoro (province)|other uses|Mindoro (disambiguation)}}
{{More citations needed|date=November 2010}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox islands
| name               = Mindoro
| image              = Mindoro_Island_S2-2020.jpg
| image_caption      = 2020 satellite image of Mindoro
| image_map          = Ph locator map mindoro.png
| map_caption        = Location of Mindoro in the Philippines
| location           = [[South East Asia]]
| coordinates        = {{coord|12|55|49|N|121|5|40|E|type:isle_region:PH|display=inline,title}}
| archipelago        = [[Philippines]]
| waterbody          = {{unbulleted list | [[Calavite Passage]] | [[Mindoro Strait]] | [[Sibuyan Sea]] | [[South China Sea]] | [[Sulu Sea]] | [[Tablas Strait]] | [[Verde Island Passage]] }}
| area_km2           = 10571.8
| area_footnotes     = <ref name = unep>{{cite web |title = Islands of Philippines |url = http://islands.unep.ch/IHE.htm#892 |work = Island Directory |publisher = United Nations Environment Programme |access-date = 22 May 2015}}</ref>
| rank               = 73rd
| highest_mount      = [[Mount Halcon]]
| elevation_m        = 2,616
| coastline_km       = 618.8
| coastline_footnotes = 
| country            = Philippines
| country_admin_divisions_title = [[Provinces of the Philippines|Provinces]]
| country_admin_divisions = {{unbulleted list | [[Occidental Mindoro]] | [[Oriental Mindoro]] }}
| population_footnotes = <ref name = NSO10>{{cite web |url = http://web0.psa.gov.ph/sites/default/files/attachments/hsd/pressrelease/MIMAROPA.pdf |title = Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay: as of May 1, 2010 |work = 2010 Census of Population and Housing |publisher = National Statistics Office |access-date = 22 May 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160311214502/http://web0.psa.gov.ph/sites/default/files/attachments/hsd/pressrelease/MIMAROPA.pdf |archive-date = 11 March 2016 |url-status = dead }}</ref>
| country_largest_city = [[Calapan]]
| country_largest_city_population = 148,558
| population         = 1,430,921
| population_as_of   = 2024
| density_km2        = 117.2
| ethnic_groups      = {{unbulleted list | [[Mangyan]] | [[Tagalog people|Tagalog]]| [[Hiligaynon people|Hiligaynon]] | [[Visayan people|Visayan]] }}
}}

'''Mindoro'''{{pron}} is the seventh largest and eighth-most populous [[List of islands of the Philippines|island]] in the [[Philippines]]. With a total land area of 10,571&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> ( 4,082 sq.mi ), it has a population of 1,430,921, as of the 2024 census. It is located off the southwestern coast of [[Luzon]] and northeast of [[Palawan]]. Mindoro is divided into two [[Provinces of the Philippines|provinces]]: [[Occidental Mindoro]] and [[Oriental Mindoro]]. [[Calapan]] is the only city on the island and largest settlement on the island with a total population of 148,558 inhabitants as of 2024. The  southern coast of  Kristine Mindoro forms the northeastern extremum of the [[Sulu Sea]].<ref>C.Michael Hogan. 2011. [http://www.eoearth.org/article/Sulu_Sea?topic=49523 ''Sulu Sea'']</ref> [[Mount Halcon]] is the highest point on the island, standing at {{convert|8484|ft|m}} above sea level located in [[Oriental Mindoro]]. [[Mount Baco]] is the island's second highest mountain with an elevation of {{convert|8163|ft|m}}, located in the province of [[Occidental Mindoro]].

==Etymology==
The name Mindoro was likely a corruption of the native name ''Minolo.'' Domingo Navarette ('Tratados...', 1676) wrote "The island which the natives call Minolo is named Mindoro by the Spaniards..." (trans. by [[Blair and Robertson]]).<ref name="BRV38">{{cite book |title= The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 Vol. 38|last=Blair|first=Emma |year=1906 |publisher=Arthur H. Clark Company|page=72|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/50111/50111-h/50111-h.htm#xd21e706}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Atlas of the Philippine Islands (1900) (14772309735).jpg|left|thumbnail|1900 map of Mindoro Island]]
In precolonial times, the island had been called ''[[Ma-i]]'' or ''Mait'' by [[Han Chinese]] traders. Indigenous groups are called [[Mangyan]]s. The [[Spanish Empire|Spaniards]] called the place ''Mina de Oro'' ("[[gold mine]]"), from where the island derives the current form of its current name. According to the late historian [[William Henry Scott (historian)|William Henry Scott]], an entry in the official history of the [[Song Dynasty]] for the year 972 mentions [[Ma-i]] as a state which traded with China. Other Chinese records referring to Ma-i or Mindoro appear in the following years.<ref name=scott>{{Cite book
|title=Prehispanic Source Materials for the Study of Philippine History
|author=Scott, William Henry.
|publisher=New Day Publishers
|year=1984
|location=Quezon City
|isbn=971-10-0226-4
|chapter=Societies in Prehispanic Philippines
|page=70}}</ref>

The products that Mindoro traders exchanged with the Chinese included “beeswax, cotton, true pearls, [[tortoiseshell]], medicinal betelnuts and ''yu-ta'' [jute?] cloth” for Chinese porcelain, trade gold, iron pots, lead, copper, colored glass beads and iron needles.<ref name=scott/>

The island was invaded and conquered by the [[Sultanate of Brunei]] and housed Moro settlements<ref>Prof. Cesar A. Majul attests to the existence of Bornean settlements in Manila and construes that some of the rulers found by the Spaniards were themselves Borneans. He in fact cites that as late as 1574, the Borneans and their allies, the Sulus, continued to extract tribute from the natives of Mindoro, thus this practice must have been going on for quite some time. Cf. Muslims in the Philippines, (Quezon
City: University of the Philippines Press, 1973), pp. 72.,78; ·</ref> before the Spanish invaded and Christianized the population. Afterward, the area was depopulated due to wars between the Spaniards and Moros from [[Sultanate of Maguindanao|Mindanao]] who sought to enslave the Hispanized people and re-Islamize the island.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.asj.upd.edu.ph/mediabox/archive/Vol12No.1,Apr1974.pdf|title=Culture Contact and Ethnogenesis in Mindoro up to the End of the Spanish Rule|last=Lopez|first=Violeta B.|date=April 1974|publisher=Asian Studies, Volume XII, Number 1|access-date=3 February 2017}}</ref><ref>Majul, op. cit., p. 108.</ref> Consequently, most of the population fled to nearby [[Batangas]] and the once-rich towns of Mindoro fell into ruin.<ref name=":1" /> In the seventeenth century, [[Giovanni Francesco Gemelli Careri]] visited the island.<ref>{{cite book
|first=Honoré
|last=Mirabeau
|title=Erotika Biblion
|publisher= Chez Tous Les Libraries 
|others=Chevalier de Pierrugues
|year=1867
|url=https://archive.org/stream/erotikabiblion00mirauoft#page92/n11/mode/1up
}}</ref>

By the end of the 1700s, Mindoro had 3,165 native families and four [[Spanish Filipinos|Spanish Filipino families]].<ref name="Estadismo1">[http://www.xeniaeditrice.it/zu%C3%B1igaIocrpdf.pdf ESTADISMO DE LAS ISLAS FILIPINAS TOMO PRIMERO By Joaquín Martínez de Zúñiga (Original Spanish)]</ref>{{rp|539}}<ref name="Estadismo2">[https://ia601608.us.archive.org/10/items/bub_gb_ElhFAAAAYAAJ_2/bub_gb_ElhFAAAAYAAJ.pdf ESTADISMO DE LAS ISLAS FILIPINAS TOMO SEGUNDO By Joaquín Martínez de Zúñiga (Original Spanish)]</ref>{{rp|31,54,113}} In 1898, Mindoro joined in the [[Philippine Revolution]] against Spain due to the influx of rebels settling into the island from [[Cavite]] and [[Bataan]]. Local patriotism died down however during the [[American occupation of the Philippines]] and the [[Japanese occupation of the Philippines|Japanese era]].

The island was the location of the [[Battle of Mindoro]] in [[Pacific War|World War II]].

Nevertheless, upon Philippine independence from the [[United States]] in 1946, the area recovered. From 1920 to 1950, the island was [[Mindoro (province)|a single province]] with [[Calapan]] as the provincial capital. In 1950, it was partitioned into its present-day [[Provinces of the Philippines|provinces]], [[Occidental Mindoro]] and [[Oriental Mindoro]],<ref name="ChanRobles-RA505">{{cite web|title=Republic Act No. 505 – An Act to Create the Provinces of Oriental Mindoro and Occidental Mindoro|url=http://www.chanrobles.com/republicacts/republicactno505.html|website=Chan Robles Virtual Law Library|access-date=9 March 2016|date=13 June 1950}}</ref> following a [[referendum]].
{{Clear|left}}

==Geography==
Mindoro is the seventh (7th) largest island in the Philippines. It is divided into the provinces of Occidental Mindoro and Oriental Mindoro. The [[Mindoro Mountain Range]] is the largest and longest mountain range in the island, with a total length of {{convert|200|km|abbr=on}} north-south and {{convert|58|km|mi|abbr=on}} width east–west. [[Mount Halcon]], at {{convert|8,484|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}}, is the island’s highest point and is located in Oriental Mindoro.

Mindoro is a center of biodiversity in the Philippines, a [[Megadiverse countries|megadiverse country]], and has a large number of species found nowhere else on the archipelago. Mindoro additionally hosts its own ecoregion, the [[Mindoro rain forests]], separate from neighboring Luzon. Mindoro's biodiversity and isolation is a result of the island not being connected to the rest of the Philippines during the [[Pleistocene]]; during this time, most of the Philippine islands were connected to each other during lower sea levels; however, the deeper channels surrounding Mindoro led to it being isolated from the rest of the Philippines during this time.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mindoro rain forests - The Encyclopedia of Earth |url=https://editors.eol.org/eoearth/wiki/Mindoro_rain_forests |access-date=2024-11-11 |website=editors.eol.org}}</ref>

===Topography===
[[Mindoro Mountain Range]] List of highest Peaks by elevation.

* [[Mount Halcon]] {{convert|8,583|ft|m|abbr=on}}
* [[Mount Baco]] {{convert|8,163|ft|m|abbr=on}}
* [[Mount Wood (Occidental Mindoro)|Mount Wood]] {{convert|6,640|ft|m|abbr=on}}
* Mount Sinclair {{convert|6,135|ft|m|abbr=on}}
* [[Mount Patrick, Mindoro|Mount Patrick]] {{convert|5,515|ft|abbr=on}}
* [[Mount Indie]] {{convert|5,472|ft|abbr=on}}
* [[Mount Merril]] {{convert|5,151|ft|abbr=on}}
* [[Mount Calavite]] {{convert|4,990|ft|m|abbr=on}}
* [[Mount Tallulah]] {{convert|4,882|ft|abbr=on}}
* [[Babuy Peak]] {{convert|4,757|ft|abbr=on}}
* [[Mount Iglit]] {{convert|4,698|ft|abbr=on}}
* [[Mount Roosevelt, Mindoro|Mount Roosevelt]] {{convert|4,567|ft|abbr=on}}
* [[Mount Burburungan]] {{convert|4,255|ft|abbr=on}}
* [[Mount Malasimbo]] {{convert|3,957|ft|abbr=on}}
* [[Mount Balatic]] {{convert|3,934|ft|abbr=on}}
* [[Mount Talipanan]] {{convert|3,812|ft|abbr=on}}
* [[Mt. Abra de Ilog]] {{convert|3,533|ft|abbr=on}}
* [[Mount Mearns, Mindoro|Mount Mearns]] {{convert|3,274|ft|abbr=on}}
* [[Mount Alinyaban]] {{convert|3,008|ft|abbr=on}}

===River System===
List of major river in Mindoro by length.

* [[Bucayao River]] {{convert|82|km|abbr=on}}
* [[Lumintao River]] {{convert|80|km|abbr=on}}
* [[Bongabong River]] {{convert|76|km|abbr=on}}
* [[Busuanga River]] {{convert|70|km|abbr=on}} 
* [[Mantangcob River]] {{convert|65.2|km|abbr=on}}
* [[Balingkawing River]] {{convert|56.7|km|abbr=on}}
* [[Amnay River]] {{convert|56|km|abbr=on}}
* [[Mongpong River]] {{convert|48.2|km|abbr=on}}
* [[Mag-asawang Tubig]] {{convert|48.2|km|mi|abbr=on}}
* [[Pagbahan River]] {{convert|48|km|abbr=on}}
* [[Arigoy River]] {{convert|48|km|abbr=on}}
* [[Lantuyan River]] {{convert|44.5|km|abbr=on}}
* [[Pandurucan River]] {{convert|43.5|km|abbr=on}}
* [[Pameyas River]] {{convert|38.8|km|abbr=on}}
* [[Santa Cruz River, Mindoro|Santa Cruz River]] {{convert|34.2|km|abbr=on}}
* [[Anahawin River]] {{convert|31.4|km|abbr=on}}
* [[Abra de Ilog River]] {{convert|27.4|km|abbr=on}}
* [[Naujan River]] {{convert|19.2|km|abbr=on}}
* [[Calapan River]] {{convert|15.2|km|abbr=on}}

==Culture==
===Languages===
The principal language in Mindoro is [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]], often the [[Batangas Tagalog|Batangas dialect]] due to its geographical proximity to [[Batangas]] and Batangueño residents on the island (the reason for making Mindoro part of Southern Tagalog),<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://ncca.gov.ph/about-ncca-3/subcommissions/subcommission-on-cultural-communities-and-traditional-arts-sccta/northern-cultural-communities/lowland-cultural-group-of-the-tagalogs/ |title=Lowland Cultural Group of the Tagalogs |access-date=October 4, 2020 |archive-date=September 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926153333/https://ncca.gov.ph/about-ncca-3/subcommissions/subcommission-on-cultural-communities-and-traditional-arts-sccta/northern-cultural-communities/lowland-cultural-group-of-the-tagalogs/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> with some parts more greatly influenced by the native [[Mangyan language|Mangyan]] and [[Visayan languages]] also spoken on the island. The former is endemic to Mindoro and has dialects, while [[Ilocano language|Ilocano]], [[Bicolano language|Bicolano]], [[Hiligaynon language|Hiligaynon]], [[Karay-a language|Karay-a]], [[Cuyonon language|Cuyonon]] and some foreign languages – e.g., [[Philippine English|English]], [[Philippine Hokkien|Hokkien]] (the predominant [[Chinese language]] of [[Chinese Filipino]]s), to a lesser extent, [[Spanish language in the Philippines|Spanish]].

The following indigenous languages (all of them being part of the Philippine branch of the [[Malayo-Polynesian languages]] family, as well as Ilocano, Bicolano, and the nationally designated Filipino) are spoken in Mindoro:
* [[Northern Mindoro languages]] – 16,000 speakers
** [[Iraya language|Iraya]] – 10,000 speakers
** [[Alangan language|Alangan]] – 2,150 speakers
** [[Tadyawan language|Tadyawan]] – 4,200 speakers
* [[Southern Mindoro languages]] – 30,000 speakers
** [[Buhid language|Buhid]] – 8,000 speakers
** [[Tawbuid language|Tawbuid]] – 8,000 speakers
** [[Hanuno'o language|Hanuno'o]] – 14,000 speakers
* [[Visayan languages]]
** [[Ratagnon language]] – 310 speakers

===Religion===
The predominant religion on the island is [[Christianity]]. The religion of the indigenous [[Mangyan peoples|Mangyan]] population is [[animism]]. Though they are into animism as a principal religion, the [[Catholic Church in the Philippines|Catholic Church]] in some of Mindoro's parts is also active, so are a few independent subdivisions, like [[Iglesia ni Cristo]] and [[Philippine Independent Church]], as well as the [[Baptist Church]].

==Economy==
[[Image:Beach North Mindoro Philippines.jpg|thumb|left|Beach in northern Mindoro]]
The economy of Mindoro is largely based on [[agriculture]]. Products consist of a wide variety of fruits, such as [[citrus]], [[banana]]s, [[lanzones]], [[rambutan]] and [[coconut]]s, [[grains]] ([[rice]] and [[maize|corn]]), [[sugarcane]], [[peanut]]s, fish ([[catfish]], [[milkfish]] and [[tilapia]]), [[livestock]] and [[poultry]]. [[Logging]] and the mining of [[marble]] and [[copper]] also thrived. Only 5% of the original forest remains as a result of extensive logging, prevalent agricultural practices, and population growth.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Heaney |first1=Lawrence |last2=Balete |first2=Danilo |title=Documenting and Conserving Biodiversity in the Philippines |url=https://www.fieldmuseum.org/sites/default/files/itf_fall15.pdf |access-date=21 January 2022 |pages=9 |date=Fall 2015}}</ref>

Tourism is a lucrative business as well, with locations such as [[Apo Reef]] National Park, [[Lubang Island]], [[Puerto Galera]], [[Sabang Beach]] and [[Mount Halcon]]. Puerto Galera's beaches are the island's most-known tourist attraction and are widely visited.

An important aspect of the economy in Mindoro is mining, mostly by outside companies owned by foreign countries. While the foreign countries make most of the money from these mines, the Philippine government still receives some economic and financial benefit from allowing them to mine on their lands. These companies include Pitkin Petroleum, a US-based company which is looking for nickel, oil, and gas in Mindoro,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Welle (www.dw.com) |first=Deutsche |title=Mining expansion threatens indigenous tribes in Philippines {{!}} DW {{!}} 19.01.2011 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/mining-expansion-threatens-indigenous-tribes-in-philippines/a-14767028 |access-date=2022-04-25 |website=DW.COM |language=en-GB}}</ref> Crew Development Corporation, a Canada-based corporation mining nickel and other precious metals,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mining developments suspended in Mindoro region |url=https://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/mining-developments-suspended-mindoro-region |access-date=2022-04-25 |website=www.culturalsurvival.org |date=15 February 2002 |language=en}}</ref> and Intex, a Norwegian-based company operating the Mindoro Nickel Project. This project is supposed to last 15 years and should produce over 100 million tons of ore by the end of the project.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Inquirer |first=Philippine Daily |date=2015-06-12 |title=Mindoro governor leads rally vs mining company |url=https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/697855/mindoro-governor-leads-rally-vs-mining-company |access-date=2022-04-25 |website=INQUIRER.net |language=en}}</ref> Unfortunately, while the mines might be profitable for the national government, they have caused problems to the environment and the indigenous tribes living in Mindoro.

==Environment==
[[File:Devils Mountain, San Jose, Mindoro 1.jpg|thumb|Resource-rich Devil's Mountain]]
Mining in Mindoro poses a significant risk to the island's environment. Local and international mining interests have disregarded the island's ecology to gain access to the rich tungsten veins that exist below the surface.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-04-26 |title=Gov. Umali opposes mining activity in Oriental Mindoro {{!}} Politiko Bicol Region |url=https://bicol.politics.com.ph/2019/04/26/gov-umali-opposes-mining-activity-in-oriental-mindoro/ |access-date=2022-04-28 |language=en-US}}</ref> [[Intex Resources|Intex]], a Norwegian Mining Company attempted to begin prospecting for tungsten deposits, but was halted by a regional environmental protection ordinance.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mining developments suspended in Mindoro region |url=https://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/mining-developments-suspended-mindoro-region |access-date=2022-04-28 |website=www.culturalsurvival.org |date=15 February 2002 |language=en}}</ref> Small scale, legal and illegal, environmentally degrading mining operations still persist throughout the island due to a lack of enforcement by the local police.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cinco |first=Maricar |date=2014-12-30 |title=Small-scale mining alive in Mindoro |url=https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/660545/small-scale-mining-alive-in-mindoro |access-date=2022-05-02 |website=INQUIRER.net |language=en}}</ref>

===Fauna===
'''Mindoro dwarf buffalo''' or '''Tamaraw''' [[Bubalus mindorensis]] is a species of water buffalo endemic to the island and is an endangered species.

'''Mindoro Deer''' ([[Rusa marianna bandaranus]]) is a subspecies of the Philippine Deer in the family of [[Cervidae]]. 

'''Mindoro warty pig''' ([[Sus oliveri]]) is a species of wild pig in the family of [[Suidae]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* C.Michael Hogan. 2011. [http://www.eoearth.org/article/Sulu_Sea?topic=49523 ''Sulu Sea''. Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. P.Saundry & C.J.Cleveland. Washington DC]

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|Mindoro}}
* {{OSM relation|1552289}}
* [http://viajarfilipinas.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/puerto-galera-mapa.jpg "Map of Mindoro"] showing towns and major mountain tops
* [https://angmangyan.com/ Mindoro Tourists and Exploration]

{{Islands of the Philippines}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Mindoro| ]]
[[Category:Islands of Luzon]]
[[Category:Landforms of the Sulu Sea]]
[[Category:Islands of Occidental Mindoro]]
[[Category:Islands of Oriental Mindoro]]