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The
outpost of the Philippines in the middle of a turbulent sea,
Batanes province comprises the northernmost isles of the
Philippines. The island of Y'ami is only 224 kilometers from
Taiwan. The Balintang Channel, where the Pacific Ocean and China
Sea meet, separates the islands from the rest of Luzon. The
three major islands of Itbayat, Sabtang and Batan, are the only
inhabited islands of the small archipelago. About half of its
area is hilly and mountainous.
Typhoons on a northwesterly path regularly sweep through the
islands from July to October although rainfall is heaviest from
August to November. Batanes, as a whole, enjoys a pleasantly
cooler climate because of its greater distance from the equator.
From December until February, temperatures may dip as low as 7
degrees Celsius.
The Ivatans lived in relatively well-populated settlements at
the time western travelers visited the islands. William Dampier,
an English buccaneer, visited Batanes in 1687 and found the
people organized into communities built around protected
settlements called idjangs, which were usually defensive
positions on top of steep hills.
The Dominican friars attempted to Christianize the Ivatans as
early as 1686 but the efforts were abandoned with the death of
two resident missionaries. In 1718, missionaries made another
attempt to bring the people of Batanes under the Cross. Missions
directed from the island of Calayan in the Babuyan Group were
sent to Batanes to urge the residents to resettle in the
Babuyanes.
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