Pangasinan was officially conquered and colonized by D. Martin de Goite in 1571. It has always been known in historical accounts as Pangasinan meaning where salt is made. Governor General Ronquillo de Peņalosa formally created Pangasinan as a province in 1850, making the province one of the earliest political and administrative units in the Philippines.
Etymologically, the term Pangasinan means the "place where salt is made", owing to the rich and fine salt beds which were the prime source of livelihood for the province's coastal towns.
Another name for the region, but not as widely known is Caboloan. The word Bolo in the native language refers to a species of bamboo that was abundant in the interior areas, and favored in the practice of weaving light baskets and winnowing plates called bilao. Historians believe that both names may have been used at the same time. Today, salt is still being produced in abundance, creating not a few fortunes for some enterprising families although much of its use is for industry.
Its territorial jurisdiction at that time included the present province of Zambales and parts of La Union and Tarlac. Lingayen was designated and remains up to the present as the provinical capital. Binalatongan, now San Carlos City was the largest town both in size and population. Dagupan, then a sitio of Lingayen was converted into a regular town in 1590. It was converging place of supporters of the rebellion led by Andres Malong in 1660. The territorial boundaries of Pangasinan was diminished when Agoo up to Bacnotan became towns of La Union in 1850 and again in 1875 when Paniqui and other southern towns were annexed to Tarlac.
Pangasinan is a crescent-shaped province that occupies 5,368.82 square kilometers of verdant farmlands, hills, forests and rivers. To the east, it is bounded by the mighty Cordillera Mountains, the Zambales ranges to the west, the rice plains of Tarlac to the south and the Lingayen Gulf and the China Sea to the north. Because of this strategic geographical positioning, it has always been described as a gateway of sorts. Most travellers going up North often remember Pangasinan as the place where they had last seen some semblance of civilization, comparing it with the sparsely populated regions of the Ilocos and the Cagayan Valley (with the exception of Baguio and the old Spanish towns of Vigan and Laoag).
Pangasinan has 44 municipalities and 4 cities which are in turn sub-divided into 1,355 barangays. The municipalities are: Agno, Alcala, Aguilar, Alaminos, Anda, Asingan, Balungao, Bani, Basista, Bautista, Bayambang, Binalonan, Binmaley, Bolinao, Bugallon, Burgos, Calasiao, Dasol, Infanta, Labrador, Laoac, Lingayen, Mabini, Malasiqui, Manaoag, Mangaldan, Mangatarem, Mapandan, Natividad, Pozorrubio, Rosales, San Fabian, San Jacinto, San Manuel, San Quintin, Sta. Barbara, Sta. Maria, San Nicolas, Sto. Tomas, Sison, Sual, Tayug, Umingan, Urbiztondo and Villasis. The cities are Dagupan, San Carlos, Alaminos and Urdaneta.
The province experiences two pronounced seasons: dry from November to April and wet during the rest of the year. Maximum rainfall is observed in August. Average monthly temperature is 27.91ēC with the highest occuring in May and the lowest in January.
Current census figures place the population at 3,803,890 distributed in the province's 46 towns, three cities and 1,354 barangays.
Much has been written and discussed about the Pangasinense, yet no definite image comes to mind. There is a strong perception that the province is basically of Ilocano stock, but aside from the fact that Iloko is more widely spoken than "Pangasinan", the defining characteristics end there. The Pangasinense is hardly frugal in the true sense of the word, nor is he extravagant either. Special occasions such as fiestas, weddings and baptisms are exceptions wherein extravagance is necessary to "save face", but then most other Filipinos in other regions are similar in that respect. History tells us however that the Pangasinense has always been sensitive to issues concerning his welfare. One of the first local revolts during the Spanish colonization was instigated by a Binalatongan native, (now San Carlos) Andres Malong in 1660.
English and Filipino are widely spoken and the basic tools of instruction in schools. Pangasinense is spoken in the central part of the province while Ilocano is spoken mostly by the people in the western and eastern towns. Bolinao has a dialect of its own.
Agriculture based industries remain to be the source of income of many. Prominent industries are bagoong making, handicrafts and gifts, toys and houseware making.
