Nabua
History
The municipality of Nabua traces its name to the soft fleshy embryo of the coconut referred to as ‘Boa’ in the Bicol Rinconada dialect. In 1571, it was said that Fray Alonzo Gimenez, an Augustinian Friar, came upon the settlement called Lupa by the natives. He saw the natives in the act of removing the ‘boa’, described as ‘Nag-boboa’ in the native dialect. The Augustinian priest though pronounced the act in his Spanish accent as ‘Na-boboa’ which he ascribed as the name of the place. ‘Na-boboa’ was later on shortened and became Nabua.
The town, however, was officially founded in 1578, when the Franciscan exploration headed by Fray Pablo de Jesus and Fray Bartolome Ruiz constructed a wooden church in Antacodos. Together with other settlements in the area, Lupa, Sabang, and Binoyoan, the missionaries grouped these settlements to form the ‘pueblo’ of Nabua.
In the old days, Nabua’s terrain was characterized by marshy lowland plains. When strong rains come, the area was easily flooded. This forced some of the settlers to seek out other fertile land in the higher grounds. The migration of Nabuenos to the surrounding environs paved the way for the permanent settlement of nearby lands which in turn grew, and expanded in development. Today, the towns which trace their lineage to Nabua are: Balatan, Bato, and some barangays of Baao, and Bula, and the city of Iriga.
In the 1700’s to early 1800’s, Nabua had several territorial disputes with the town of Baao which resulted to bloody confrontations forcing the provincial government based then in Naga to mediate.
In 1757, Moros reportedly raided the town but were eventually repellled by combined Spanish and Nabueno forces. This was a time when the islands of Luzon and Visayas were subjected to raids by Chinese and Muslim pirates.
The American period from 1900 to 1939 was a time of growth and development for the town. The biggest contribution of the Americans to the town was introducing the vale of education, and civil administration. Crop production and commerce blossomed.
World War II in 1940-45 marred the town’s march to progress. In 1946, the first town elections were held. The years that followed after the war was a time of rebuilding and rehabilitation.
In 1951, the town of Balatan (Siramag), was carved out of Nabua’s land mass. Thus, the municipality may proudly claim that most of the district of Rinconada is its offspring.