BRIDGING THE GAP
On the foundation of the province of Antique
All indications point to the fact that Antique already had many thriving communities or settlements, especially along the coast, prior to the coming of the Spaniards. Thus, even before a substantial section of Antique had been politically pacified, the Spanish missionaries were already busy in their proselytizing efforts in the area. As early as 1581, for example, an Augustinian mission was already established in Hamtik. Another indication that there were already many inhabitants in Antique in early times is that it was also subjected to Moro raids. Whenever there were many people, Moro attacks generally occurred.
For political and military convenience, and to facilitate the conversion of the natives to Catholicism, the whole island of Panay was divided into two jurisdictions or administrative units by the Spaniards in the 1660s. These two were Panay and Ogtong, the latter included Antique. Again, this is an indication of Antique's demographic and strategic importance to the Spanish colonizers.
In 1780, Antique was made by the Spanish colonial government as a politico-military province, with the town of Hamtik as its capital (Maza 1987). The establishment of a politico-military form of administration was a common set-up during the early Spanish rule. A politico-military government was usually organized in provinces not fully pacified yet by the Spanish conquistadores. In other words, there was still the presence of a considerable number of Spanish troops and the head of the province was usually a Spanish military officer because his presence was needed for the complete subjugation of the local inhabitants. As such, the status of Antique as a province was for pacification purposes and was temporary in nature.
Finally, in 1796, Antique became officially a separate province, and Hamtik was chosen as its capital (Maza 1987, affirmed by Piccio 2003). Subsequently, it was accorded a civil government, and a Spanish alcalde-mayor or governor started governing the province. In 1802, by virtue of a royal decree, the capital of the province was transferred to San Jose de Buenavista, where it has remained up to this day (Maza 1987, Delgado and Marfil 2001, Tiringbanay 1989).
Up to the revolutionary period in the second half of the 1890s, Antique remained a province with its own officials headed by the Spanish alcalde-mayor. When the Philippine Revolution broke out in Antique, the alcalde mayor was Castro Verde. Upon the withdrawal of the Spaniards, Gen. Leandro Fullon assumed the position and held it until the outbreak of the Filipino-American War. With the succeeding establishment of the American colonial administration, Fullon was re-appointed as governor of the province. The re-appointment of Fullon as executive head was, no doubt, a recognition by the Americans of the status of Antique as a separate province in the context of the Philippine state.
So, looking at the chronology of events in the preceding sections and based on the sources cited, it can be deduced that the year of the founding of Antique as a duly recognized province was 1796.