Leyte

Leyte (/ˈleɪti, ˈleɪteɪ/ LAY-tee, LAY-tay, Tagalog: [ˈleite]) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of the 2020 census.

Since the accessibility of land has been depleted, Leyte has provided countless number of migrants to Mindanao. Most inhabitants are farmers. Fishing is a supplementary activity. Rice and corn (maize) are the main food crops; cash crops include coconuts, abaca, tobacco, bananas, and sugarcane. There are some manganese deposits, and sandstone and limestone are quarried in the northwest.

Politically, the island is divided into two provinces: (Northern) Leyte and Southern Leyte. Territorially, Southern Leyte includes the island of Panaon to its south. To the north of Leyte is the island province of Biliran, a former sub-province of Leyte.

The major cities of Leyte are Tacloban, on the eastern shore at the northwest corner of Leyte Gulf, and Ormoc, on the west coast.

Leyte today is notable for the geothermal electric power plants near Ormoc.

The island was known to 16th-century Spanish explorers as Tandaya. Its population grew rapidly after 1900, especially in the Leyte and Ormoc valleys. The island was once the location of Mairete, a historic community which was ruled by Datu Ete. Before being colonized by Spain, the island was once home to indigenous animist Warays to the east and other indigenous animist Visayan groups to the west. In the early 17th Century Father Ignacio Alcina, recorded a local epic that a certain Datung Sumanga of Leyte courted the princess, Bugbung Humasanum of Bohol by raiding Imperial China, and upon their marriage, they were the precursors of a kingdom there.

Leyte was once labeled as Ceylon in early Spanish maps of the Philippines and in the 1700s, was home to 38 Spanish Filipino families and 7,678 native families.

Leyte is most famous for its role in the reconquest of the Philippines in World War II. The province was utilized by the Japanese as a hub for sexual slavery. Some sex slave sites included Tacloban and Burauen, where the Japanese kidnapped girls, teenagers, and young adults and forced them into becoming sex slaves under the brutal "comfort women" system. On 20 October 1944, General Douglas MacArthur waded ashore on Leyte, saying, "I have returned", but the Japanese continued to resist strongly in the Battle of Leyte. The convergence of naval forces resulted in the four-day Battle of Leyte Gulf, the largest naval battle in history. During World War II the island was part of a large US Navy base Leyte-Samar Naval Base.