The most important event in the history of Cagayan Valley took place in 1572 when Spanish Conquistador Don Juan de Salcedo traced the northern coast and landed at the mouth of the Pamplona River. Before his visit, early Cagayanos reveled in civilization of their own.

The Spanish occupation in Cagayan was recorded to have started in 1581 when Gobernador Gonzalo Ronquillo de Peñaloza sent Juan Pablo Carreon to the north to drive away a Japanese fleet under the command of Taifusa. Carreon succeeded in his mission and proceeded upriver to look for future pueblo sites and thus making a name for himself in the process. read more>>