Editing Misamis Occidental (section)

===Spanish colonial era===
The area of now Misamis Occidental was first occupied by [[Subanon people|Subanen]] which was followed by [[Maranao people|Maranao]] and later [[Visayan people|Visayans]] settled in the coastal areas.  During the 1750s was the time that the coastal villages in southern [[Luzon]], [[Visayas]] and [[Mindanao]] suffered attacks from bands of Muslim pirates, who burned houses and crops, and captured people to be sold as slaves in [[Sultanate of Maguindanao|Maguindanao]], [[Sultanate of Sulu|Sulu]], [[Sultanate of Brunei|Borneo]] or the islands now known as [[Indonesia]]. In response, the colonial government in Manila created a [[flotilla]] and appointed a Spanish [[Jesuit missionary]], José Ducos, as its commander.

After several successful battles against the pirates, when some peace had been restored, it was decided to build a stone fort at the mouth of Panguil Bay, at a place called ''Misamis'', and Ducos was put in charge of the construction. The construction began in 1756. It was officially called “[[Fuerte de la Concepcion y del Triunfo|Fuerte de la Concepción y del Triunfo]]”.<ref>BERNAD, M.. Father Ducos and the Muslim Wars, 1752-1759. Philippine Studies: Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints, North America, 16, dec. 1968. Available at: <http://philippinestudies.net/ojs/index.php/ps/article/view/2272/4273>. Date accessed: 10 Feb. 2015.</ref>
<gallery widths="200" heights="150" class="center" caption="Maps of [[Misamis (province)|Misamis]], before its division into two provinces" style="font-size:88%; line-height:130%">
File:Philippine territorial map 1880 MINDANAO.PNG|alt=Mindanao map in 1880 showing Misamis|in 1880
File:Misamis 1899.JPG|alt=Misamis map in 1899|in 1899
File:Misamis province 1918 map.JPG|alt=Misamis map in 1918|in 1918
</gallery>

In 1818, Mindanao was organized into five politico-military districts, one of which was the ''Segundo Distrito de Misamis'', the largest district in Mindanao. This area was composed of today's [[Misamis Oriental]], Misamis Occidental, [[Camiguin]], [[Bukidnon]], [[Lanao (province)|Lanao]], [[Zamboanga del Norte]], and the northern part of [[Cotabato]].

In 1850, the town of Misamis became the capital of the district of Misamis until February 27, 1872, when the Spanish [[Governor-General of the Philippines|Governor General]] [[Carlos María de la Torre y Navacerrada]] issued a [[decree]] declaring Cagayan the permanent capital of Segundo Distrito de Misamis. During this era, the name of the town was ''Cagayan de Misamis''.