Fuerza de San José

Considered by locals a symbol of greatness and resistance, it played a fundamental role in the defense of Banton in the first decades of Spanish rule of the region, and witnessed numerous battles.When the superior of the order, Juan de San Antonio, learned of the serious situation, he presented the Spanish military command with fortification plans of the islands and sent for friar Agustín de San Pedro, nicknamed El Padre Capitán (Father Captain), who had gained fame for his war exploits against the Moors and Muslim raiders in Mindanao,[9] and asked him to take charge of the Romblon mission.Upon arrival, San Pedro assumed leadership of the local Augustinians and immediately began construction of several defences, including two fortified churches on both islands, built in the 1640s.[11] That same year, the provincial encomienda system, administered from Arevalo, was dismantled, establishing the political-military province of Romblon, to which the island of Banton would also belong.On their way, the pirates tried to steer clear of the coasts of Banton and Romblon to avoid a confrontation with Agustín San Pedro, whom they called "the combatant priest."