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Antique - History
Historians have it that 10 Bornean datus headed by Datu Puti, along with their followers, left Borneo to escape persecution by the rajah of the House of Sri-Vijaya and landed in the island of Panay, then ruled by the Ati king, Marikudo. After some haggling, they succeeded in buying the island from the Ati chieftain for one gold sadok and a gold necklace for his wife. This enabled one of the datus, Datu Sumakwel, to establish a permanent settlement in what is now Malandog in the municipality of Hamtic - the name was taken after a specie of a large ant called hantic-hantic, which abounds in the place.
Eventually, the settlers occupied the coastal parts of the island while the natives took to the hinterlands. The datus sliced the island into political units, called sakop, namely Hantic (Antique), Aklan, and Irong-Irong (Iloilo). Datu Puti, Bangkaya, and Paiburong headed these sakops but the entire island continued to be called Hantic under the supreme command of Datu Sumakwel.
Antique was later on officially recognized as a separate political and military province with Antique (San Jose) as the capital town. The institution of American authority over the island and the restoration of peace and order in Panay led to the formation of a civil government on April 13, 1901. During the Japanese occupation, Mt. Baloy (elevation 2,080m), which straddles part of Antique, was the headquarters of the 6th Military District under Col. Macario Peralta. The other two peaks of Panay, Mt. Madia-as (elevation 1,117m) and Mt. Nangtud (elevation 1,900m), are found in the province of Antique.
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