Pangasinan was among the earliest political and administrative units in the Philippines. It was officially ___________ 1. ( conquer) and _______ 2.(colonize) by D. Martin de Goiti in 1571. On April 5, 1572, Pangasinan was ____ 3.(make) an encomienda by the Spanish royal crown to receive instruction on the Catholic Faith, which means that Pangasinan was _______ 4.(organize) under one leadership and has identity before the Spanish royal court. Eight years later, in 1580, Pangasinan was organized into a political unit under an alkalde mayor who at that time has authority as head of the province or provincial government with judicial function. This indicates that Pangasinan has become a province. To commemorate the day when Pangasinan ________ 5.(become) an encomienda and the year it became a province, Pangasinan celebrates April 5, 1580 as the official founding day of the Province of Pangasinan. At that time, its territorial jurisdiction included the Province of Zambales and parts of La Union and Tarlac. By the middle of the 19th century however, the northern towns of Agoo to Bacnotan were _________ 6. (separate)from the province and became parts of La Union. The provincial territory was further ___________7. (diminish) in 1875 with the annexation of Paniqui and other towns south of it to Tarlac. Pangasinan, __________ 8. (derive) its name from the word “panagasinan”, which means “where salt is made”, owing to the rich and fine salt beds which were the rich and fine salt beds which were the prior source of livelihood of the province’s coastal towns.
