evidence for this are still paltry. The languages of the Bisaya of Borneo and of the Bisaya of the Philippines do not show any special correlation, apart from the fact that they all belong to the same Austronesian family. Similarly there are claims that it was the name of a folk hero (allegedly "Sri Visaya") or that it originated from the exclamation "Bisai-yah!" ("How beautiful!") by the Sultan of Brunei who was visiting Visayas for the first time. All these claims have been challenged and remain as mere speculations and folk etymologies. Geography Visayas region is located in central Philippines, with a total land area of . It is consist of several islands, including Samar, Negros, Panay, Leyte, Cebu, Bohol, Guimaras, Biliran, Siquijor, Panaon and Bantayan. List of islands by population (2015 census) List of Islands Panay – 4,477,247 Negros – 4,414,131 Cebu – 4,164,535 Leyte – 2,388,518 Samar – 1,751,267 Bohol – 1,211,000 Mactan – 467,824 Guimaras – 174,613 Biliran – 171,612 Bantayan – 136,960 Siquijor – 95,984 Panglao – 79,216 Panaon – 57,703 Pacijan – 55,180 Daram – 39,032 Poro – 36,508 Boracay – 32,267 Ponson – 11,308 Maripipi – 7,159 Limasawa – 6,061 Homonhon – 4,211 Parasan – 3,847 Batbatan – 2,851 Mararison – 750 Maniguin – 719 History After the defeat of the Magellan expedition at the Battle of Mactan by Lapu-Lapu, King Philip II of Spain sent Miguel López de Legazpi in 1543 and 1565 to colonize the islands for Spain. Subsequently, the Visayas region and many kingdoms began converting to Christianity and adopting western culture. By the 18th and 19th centuries, the effects of colonization on various ethnic groups turned sour and revolutions such as those of Francisco Dagohoy began to emerge. Various personalities who fought against the Spanish colonial government arose within the archipelago. Among the notable ones are Graciano Lopez Jaena and Martin Delgado from Iloilo, Aniceto Lacson, León Kilat and Diego de la Viña from Negros, Venancio Jakosalem Fernandez from Cebu, and two personalities from Bohol by the name of Tamblot, who led the Tamblot Uprising in 1621 to 1622 and Francisco Dagohoy, the leader of the Bohol Rebellion that lasted from 1744 to 1829. Negros briefly stood as an independent nation in the Visayas in the form of the Cantonal Republic of Negros, before it was absorbed back to the Philippines because of the American takeover of the archipelago. The