Leyte
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
an island of the fluids s, either p Visaya group in the Philippines; be- ( Plin m., H. N. x does not tween Samar, Dinagat and Mindanao on the S. E., Bohol on the S. W. and Mashete may sion, but cla be found. on the N. W.; area, 2,722 square miles; pop. about 360,000; capital, Tacloban lar Di stone, a on the Bay of San Pedro and San Pablo. fering ( Gen. ag thereona It is about 100 miles long and 47 miles 1. XXXV: 14 wide in its broadest part. The interior BAU, a of the island is mountainous, containing a Baltic c; 146 mil number of extinct volcanoes. There are mines that eases a fine of gold, silver, lead and suldraw 17 t phur. The large valleys are cultivated ice except for by the natives, the chief agricultural proyear Its expo duct being hemp. Sugar, chocolate, coffee, seed and linse and corn are also raised, ed, and some spirits, live stock. Wax, honey, shells, birds' 1872 Libar has nests, sponges, and pearls are exported in other nections ons with small quantities. Civil government cities. It was established in 1901, which was found to be dral shipbuildin generally acceptable by the people cation. Th but in 1905-1906 there were local disturbances. Besides Hing, brew the capital, the chief Libau resort ais much ports are Carrigari on the E. coast and One of Ormoc, Baybay, Ilongos, Ma-asim, and an gan (1886) Malitbog on the W. coast. the world. Pop
What Has Changed in the Last Century
When Collier's described Leyte in 1921 as a hemp-growing island of about 360,000 people under a civil government set up in 1901, it had no way of knowing the island would become one of the most famous names of the Second World War. On 20 October 1944 American forces landed at Leyte Gulf, and the naval battle fought there that month is generally reckoned the largest in history; the island's liberation began the recapture of the Philippines. Today Leyte is divided into two provinces with a combined population of well over two million, linked to Samar by the San Juanico Bridge (1973), and the volcanoes Collier's called extinct feed the Tongonan geothermal field, a major source of Philippine electricity. Tacloban, the small capital "on the Bay of San Pedro and San Pablo", was largely destroyed by Typhoon Haiyan in November 2013, which killed more than 6,000 people nationally.
Written for this edition, 2026.