Answer:
April-May 2016--Position of Tribes – on the Spaniards, the population of the Philippines seems to have been distributed by tribes in much the same manner as at present. Then, as now, the Bisayas occupied the central islands of the archipelago and some of the northern coast of Mindanao. The Bikols, Tagalogs, and Pampangos were in the same parts of Luzon as we find them today. The Ilokanos occupied the coastal plain facing the China Sea, but since the arrival of the Spaniards they have expanded considerably and their settlement are now numerous in Pangasinan, Nueva Vizcaya, and the valley of the Cagayan.
The Number of People – These tribes which to-day number nearly 7,000,000 souls, at the time of Magellan’s discovery aggregated not more than 500,000. An early enumeration of the population made by the Spaniards in 1591, which included practically all of these tribes, gave a population of less than 700,000. (See chapter VIII., The Philippines Three Hundred Years Ago.)
There are other facts too that show us how sparse the population must have been. The Spanish expeditions found many coasts and islands in the Bisayan group without inhabitants. Occasionally a sail or a canoe would be seen, and then these would disappear in some small “estero” or mangrove swamp and the land seem as unpopulated as before. At certain points, like Limasaua, Butuan, and Bohol, the natives were more numerous, and Cebu was a large and thriving community; but the Spaniards had nearly everywhere to search for settled places and cultivated lands.
The sparseness of population is also well indicated by the great scarcity of food. The Spaniards had much difficulty in securing sufficient provisions. A small amount of rice, a pig and a few chickens, were obtainable here and there, but the Filipinos had no large supplies. After the settlement of Manila was made, a large part of the food of the city was drawn from China. They very ease with which the Spaniards marched where they willed and reduced the Filipinos to obedience shows that the latter were weak in numbers. Laguna de Bay and the Camarines were among the most populous portions of the archipelago. All of these and others show that the Filipinos were but a small fraction of their present number.
Explanation:sana maka tulong :<
