Basilan

Basilan Island, Philippines

Basilan, island and city, southern Philippines, in the Celebes Sea. Basilan island lies 5 miles (8 km) off the southern tip of the Zamboanga Peninsula of Mindanao, across the Basilan Strait. It is the largest and northernmost island of the Sulu Archipelago. Most of the island consists of rugged or rolling forested uplands, with several volcanic peaks exceeding heights of 2,000 feet (600 metres). Short streams provide a roughly radial pattern of drainage. Since about 1900, lumber mills have operated in the tropical rainforest. The island’s gentle, rolling slopes and its valleys have fertile soils and are largely under plantation agriculture. Rubber, the primary crop, is processed on the plantations and sold to Manila factories.

The inhabitants are Yakans, descendants of early Papuan settlers who were converted to Islam during the 14th century. Their culture includes many non-Muslim beliefs and customs. Unlike the Muslims of Jolo and Zamboanga, they are not beach dwellers and fishermen but live on higher lands and cultivate coconuts, rice, corn (maize), abaca, and coffee. In the 20th century, as more land was cleared by timber extraction, Christian Filipinos, mainly from the Visayas archipelago, migrated to Basilan in considerable numbers. The University of the Philippines (at Diliman, Quezon City) owns a 10,000-acre (4,000-hectare) land grant on the northern coast.

The chief settlement is Isabela (also called Basilan City), and other towns include Lamitan, in the north of the island, and Maluso, in the west. The island was one of the centres of the 1972 Muslim rebellion in southern Mindanao.

Basilan City is the headquarters of the Menzi Agricultural Corporation, which operates harvesting and processing facilities for the surrounding agricultural region. Important local products include rubber latex, palm oil, and coffee. Area 495 square miles (1,282 square km). Pop. (2010) island, 391,179; Isabela mun., 97,857; (2020) island, 426,207; Isabela mun., 130,379.