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Western Samar - History
The Jesuit missionaries founded Samar in 1596. They introduced the Roman Catholic faith to the people. When the Jesuits left Samar in 1768, the Spanish Franciscans took over.
The former names given to Samar were Zamal, Ibabao, Achan, and Tandaya. Legend stated that when when the Spaniards first set foot in Homonhon, they met a wounded native from whom they asked the name of place. The wounded man did not understand Spanish. He thought they were asking what happened to him and he replied “samad,” meaning wound, in the local dialect. So the navigators adopted the name of the island with a slight alteration of the last letter, from Samad to Samar.
During the early days of Spanish occupation in the Philippines, Samar was under the jurisdiction of Cebu. Later it was declared a separate province, until 1735 when Samar and Leyte were united into one province, with Carigara, in Leyte, as the capital. The union, however, did not prove satisfactory. So in 1968 Samar emerged once more as an independent political unit, with Catbalogan as its capital.
On January 1900, the Americans captured the town of Catbalogan. A city government was established on June 17, 1902.
Samar was converted into a first class “A” province. Calbayog City became a chartered city on July 16, 1949 by virtue of Republic Act No. 328.
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