Luzon refers to the largest and most economically and politically important island in the Philippines and one of the three island groups in the country, with
Visayas and
Mindanao being the other two.
Luzon as an island group includes the island of
Luzon itself, plus the Batanes and Babuyan groups of islands to the north, and the main and outlying islands of
Catanduanes,
Marinduque,
Masbate, Romblon, and
Mindoro in the south. The island group of
Palawan, which used to be a province belonging to an administrative region of
Luzon, has been transferred to Region VI in the
Visayas in 2005 (
Palawan is still part of Southern
Luzon).
Luzon was once known in Chinese history as the "Lesser Song Empire" or
Luzon Empire. Her rulers were recognized as kings and not merely cheiftains. The first European explorers recorded it in their charts as Luçonia or Luçon and inhabitants were called Luçoes. Under Spain,
Luzon also came to be known as the Nueva Castilla or the New Castile. [wikipedia]
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