Bataan (/bəˈt챈n/; Tagalog: [bɐtɐˈʔɐˑn]) is a province of the Philippines occupying the whole of the Bataan Peninsula on Luzon. The province is part of the Central Luzon region. The capital of Bataan is Balanga City and it is

bordered by the provinces of Zambales and Pampanga to the north. The peninsula faces the South China Sea

to the west and Subic Bay to the north-west, and encloses Manila Bay to the east.

Political

Bataan is politically subdivided into 11 municipalities and 1 component city.

The Battle of Bataan is famous in history as one of the last stands of American and Filipino soldiers before they were overwhelmed by the Japanese forces in World War II. The Bataan Death March was named for this

province, where the infamous march started. This is also a location of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant located

in the Municipality of Morong.

Physical

The Bataan Peninsula is a rocky extension of the Zambales Mountains, on Luzon in the Philippines. It separates the Manila Bay from the South China Sea. The peninsula features Mount Natib 1,253 m in the north and the

Mariveles Mountains in the south, which includes Mount Samat, the location of the historical marker for the

Bataan Death March.

Mariveles, at the southern tip, can be reached via jet ferry plying the Mariveles-to-Manila route that has an

approximate travel time of 40 minutes.

In 1647, Dutch naval forces landed in country in an attempt to seize the islands from Spain. The Dutch massacred the people of Abucay in Bataan.

The province of Bataan was established in 1754 by Governor-General Pedro Manuel Arandia out of territories belonging to Pampanga and the corregimiento of Mariveles which, at the time, included Maragondon, Cavite across the Manila Bay.