The Spaniards called it Isla del Fuego, the "Island of Fire",
referring to the eerie glow the island gave off as galleons
passed in the night. The eerie glow came from the great
swarms of fireflies harbored in the numerous molave treesor
"tugas" as one of its earliest name "Katugasan" suggested.
Siquijor island was discovered by Esteban Rodriguez of the
Legaspi Expedition in 1565. The first parish, also named
Siquijor, was established in 1783 under the administration
of secular clergymen. The first Augustinian Recollect priest,
Father Vicente Garcia, arrived in Siquijor in 1794. In the years that followed, the parishes of Larena
(initially called Cano-an), Lazi (formerly called Tigbawan), San Juan (Makalipay), and Maria
(Cangmeniac) were founded by priests of the same order. With the exception of the Enrique Villanueve,
all of the five municipalities were established as parishes by 1877.
There followed a period of American influence and during
World War II, up to the liberation in 1944, was occupied by
Japanese Imperial Forces.