Luzon

The largest and most populous island in the Philippines, rich in history and cultural heritage.

Luzon is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines, located in the northern portion of the Philippine archipelago. It is the economic and political center of the nation, hosting the capital city Manila and the most populous city, Quezon City. As of 2024, Luzon has a population of 64.3 million, making it the 4th most populous island in the world and the 15th largest by land area.

Quick Facts

Game: Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault (2004)
Developer: EA Pacific

Lore & Background

The name Luzon is thought to derive from 'lusong,' a Tagalog word for a large wooden mortar used in dehusking rice. In old Latin, Italian, and Portuguese maps, the island is often called Luçonia or Luconia. The demonym 'Luções' (also Luzones in Spanish) was used by Portuguese sailors in Malaysia during the early 1500s, referring to the Kapampangan and Tagalog people who lived in Manila Bay, then called Lusong. Homo luzonensis fossils, found in Callao Cave on Luzon, represent a newly identified extinct archaic human species from at least 50,000 to 67,000 years ago. Before 1000 CE, the Tagalog, Kapampangan, and Pangasinan peoples established several major coastal polities, notably Maynila, Tondo, and Namayan. The oldest known Philippine document, the Laguna Copperplate Inscription, dates to 900 CE and names places in and around Manila Bay. Luzon was also the site of a Buddhist polity known as Ma-i or Maidh, described in Chinese and Bruneian records in the 10th century. In the 12th century, trade in large native Ruson-tsukuri clay jars with Japan flourished. In 1405, the Yongle Emperor appointed a Chinese governor of Luzon, Ko Ch'a-lao, during Zheng He's voyages. Later, some parts of Luzon were Islamized when the former Majapahit province of Poni broke free and set up the Kingdom of Maynila as its puppet-state. The Portuguese were the first European explorers to record it in their charts as Luçonia or Luçon, calling the inhabitants Luções. Many people from Luzon were employed within Portuguese Malacca, and Luções warriors aided both the Burmese king and the Siamese king in the 16th century.