Mankayan

Mankayan, officially the '', is a of the Philippines in and the northernmost town of the province of in the of the Philippines. The population was at the.The municipality is known as a mining town, being the location of several mines, including the Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company.EtymologyThe name "Mankayan" is derived from Nancayan, the Hispanic term of the native name of the place, Nangkayang (which means "high up in the mountain").HistoryPre-colonial periodNangkayang was once a heavily-forested area. The natives of the surrounding settlements of Panat and Bag-ongan mined gold through the labon system, after its reported discovery in a river. Copper was later discovered by the end of the 16th century in Kamangga-an (location of present-day Lepanto).Spanish periodBy the 1800s, the Spanish colonial government sent expeditions to survey the mines. On February 3, 1850, an expedition led by engineer Don Antonio Hernandez confirmed the presence of copper in Mankayan.In 1852, Lepanto was established by the Spanish as a comandancia politico-militar, composed of several rancherias which included Mankayan.A mining company was established by Señor Tomas Balbas y Castro in 1856, called the Sociedad Minero-Metalurgica Cantabro Filipino de Mancayan. The company ceased operations in 1875.American periodUnder the American rule, Mankayan remained under the jurisdiction of Lepanto, and later Lepanto-Bontoc until the latter's dissolution. Mankayan was later annexed to the sub-province of Benguet as a municipal district in 1913.