History
The indigenous people of Calasiao are descended from the Austronesian-speaking people who settled in the Malay archipelago at least 5,000 years ago. Calasiao was settled by a Pangasinan speaking people whose language belongs to the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian languages family.
In 1571, the Spanish conquest of Pangasinan began. The Spanish conquistadors were accompanied by Roman Catholic missionaries who introduced Roman Catholicism to the indigenous peoples of Pangasinan.
In the 16th century, when the Dominican friars who were settling at Gabon were driven out because of the continuing unrest in the town. To gain control, they decided to convince the chiefs of the settlements of Nalsian, Dinalaoan, and Calasiao to fuse together and form the new town of Calasiao. This decision led to the relegation of Gabon into a mere barrio of the new Calasiao.
Around 1592, the small settlement of Calasiao was united with the other neighboring small settlements of Nalsian and Dinalaoan to form the new town of Calasiao. The much larger settlement of Gabon and other settlements also became part of the new town of Calasiao. Augustinian and Dominican missionaries converted most of the indigenous people of Calasiao to Roman Catholicism. In 1596, the Roman Catholic convent in Calasiao was built and named San Pablo de Calasiao. In 1621, the convent was renamed San Pedro y San Pablo de Calasiao. The convent is located in the town center or poblacion.
The formation of the new Calasiao however was not immediately welcomed by its native inhabitants. Hence in 1660, when the call for the Malong Rebellion came, the citizens picked up their weapons and joined in the fight against the Spanish rule. The citizens were also one of the first people to answer the call for rebellion of Juan dela Cruz Palaris of Binalatongan (now San Carlos City), which succeeded in driving the Spanish rulers and friars out of the boundaries. The town of Calasiao became part of the Pangasinan encomendia of Labaya, designated as belonging to the King of Spain, Juan Ximenez del Pino, and a son of Alonso Hernandez de Sandoval for whom tributes were collected.
Today, Calasiao is rapidly expanding town. It may soon become a city or join with Dagupan City and San Carlos City to be a metropolis. Yet many people from Calasiao have emigrated to the United States and other countries to seek better opportunities.
Read more about this topic: Calasiao, Pangasinan
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