The province of Tarlac is situated in the heart of Luzon, in an area also known as the Central Plain and within Region is in the Philippines. As a landlocked province, Tarlac is bounded by Pangasinan on the north, Nueva Ecija on the East, Zambales on the west and Pampanga on the south. It covers a total land area of 305,306 hectares. It has 18 towns, the largest of which is Tarlac City, also the provincial capital.
In the dawn of history, what came to be known as Tarlac today was once a thickly-forested area, peopled by roving tribes of nomadic Aetas and believed to be aborigines of the Philippines. The name "Tarlac" was derived from a talahib-like weed called "Matarlak" by the Aetas.
Tarlac was first mentioned in written history as a praesidio or military port designated with the task of defending communities from the frequent lowland raids by the Negritos and Balugas. Tarlac's embryonic history is also closely intertwined with those of Pampanga and Pangasinan, which played important roles in its creation. In the late 1600s, settlers from the lower Pampanga and Pangasinan towns bought lands from the Aetas who preferred the wilds of the Zambales mountains. At this early, enough settlers warranted the establishment of mission centers of various religious congregations that eventually became the site of the pioneering pueblos or townships during the Spanish colonial period.
Tarlac was the last province in Central Luzon to be created by the Spanish colonial government. Tarlac was inaugurated as an alcaldia (regular province) on May 28, 1873 with Don Juan Guillen as its first politico-military governor. Prior to its provincial ship in the last quarter of the 19th century, the territory which now belongs to Tarlac formally belonged to the provinces of Pampanga (Upper or Northern Pampanga) and Pangasinan (Southern) Pangasinan).
The first step towards its erection into a province was made in 1858, with the creation of a portion of western Pampanga into a military commandancy known as Comandancia-Militar de Tarlac and which included the following towns: Bangbang, Capas, Concepcion, O'Donnell, Tarlac, Victoria, Floridablanca, Mabalacat, Maglang and Porac (the last 4 towns reverted later to their mother province, Pampanga, when Tarlac became a regular province in 1873.) This comandancia was the nucleus of what later became the province of Tarlac and of which four of towns from southern Pangasinan (Camiling, Gerona, Moncada, and Paniqui) were also integrated.
During its initial decade as a regular province, additional pueblos (townships) were created, including Pura, Mayantoc, San Manuel, Murcia, La Paz, Moriones, and San Clemente.
Tarlac was among the first to rise up in arms against the Spaniards, being one of the "eight rays of the sun in the Philippine flag" the "terranos de guerra". Officially the revolution in Tarlac started on January 24, 1897, the so-called "Cry of Tagumpay" and initiated by General Later, during the subsequent Philippine-American War, the town of Tarlac became the seat of the Aguinaldo government from June 21 to Nov. 10, 1899. This was a few months after Malolos, Bulacan was abandoned by General Emilio Aguinaldo as the seat of the Philippine Republic. Synchronically, the Tarlac Cathedral was also the site of the Philippine Revolutionary Congress, after its transfer from the Barasoain Church in Malolos.
When the Tarlac capital was taken by the Americans on Nov. 10, 1899, this signaled the collapse of the Aguinaldo government. The American Period in Tarlac officially started in 1901, with the establishment of a civil government. The first decade of the new century brought about the reversion of some towns to barrio status. In 1920, the town of Ramos was created, making the number of towns 17. It was only in 1988 when the number was increased, with the creation of the Municipality of San Jose in western Tarlac.
The province figured prominently also during the Second World War. Mere mention of Capas and O'Donnell will evoke memories of World War II, the Fall of Bataan, and the Death March where tens of thousands of dred, starved and sick prisoners of war were made to walk through the rough and dusty roads under the sweltering heat of the sun. Tarlac was liberated from the Japanese on the feast of St. Sebastian, January 20, 1945.
Tarlac's history will not be complete without mentioning its foremost asset ? its people. Its being equidistant between Manila and the northern provinces has made Tarlac an important trading center since the earliest times. This strategic locale caused the province to become the hub and destination of various people, especially during the 18th and 19th centuries. For this, Tarlac is also known as the "Melting Pot Province" for it is home to different cultures and ethno-linguistic groups. Kapampangans, Ilocanos, Pangasinenses, Tagalogs, Visayans and Aetas live together in harmony and peace. Indeed, this amalgam of tongues and cultural polyglotism has given Tarlac its uniqueness, its vibrancy.