[New from the Press] Abaca Frontier: The Socioeconomic and Cultural Transformation of Davao, 1898–1941

Ateneo University Press announces the release of Abaca Frontier by Patricia Irene Dacudao

Multidisciplinary work, Abaca Frontier: The Socioeconomic and Cultural Transformation of Davao, 1898–1941, by historian Patricia Irene Dacudao is now available at the Ateneo University Press.

Abaca Frontier tells the story of how abaca, a crop processed for cordage, transformed the region of Davao and its inhabitants. Written by historian Patricia Irene Dacudao, this book presents a fresh perspective on the local history of Davao, incorporating global forces—commerce, culture, and the colonial developmental project—into its narrative.

The book delves into the diverse historical voices of Bagobo traders, Spanish missionaries, American housewives, Filipino settlers, Japanese laborers, and more. These individuals found themselves in the Davao region in the twentieth century for different reasons, yet all shared a vision of its promise. Abaca Frontier shows how their frontier imaginaries mobilized multicultural collaboration and cohabitation in strikingly peaceful ways—a story that stands apart from the narratives of conflict and dispossession that are familiar to scholars of plantation industries and of Mindanao.  

Abaca Frontier is a must-read for anyone interested in Philippine studies, transoceanic US history, and global forces that shaped local history. It is a welcome addition to the canon of historical literature, presenting a narrative that has been overlooked for far too long.
“Multidisciplinary in approach, sources, and methods, Abaca Frontier is a marvelous book about the settlement history of Davao City and its commodity-based frontier situated on the margin of the great island of Mindanao,” praises historian, scholar, and The Sulu Zone author James Francis Warren.

Historian and Making Mindanao author Patricio N. Abinales also praises Abaca Frontier. He shares, “Anyone who has stayed in Davao for a considerable amount of time will notice this idiosyncratic character among its residents—on the one hand, the never-ending complaint of being at the losing end in their relationship with imperial Manila, and, on the other hand, a swagger that says theirs is a cosmopolitan world that belies the image of Davao as a backward frontier zone. If you want to trace the origins of this Janus-faced posture, Patricia Irene Dacudao’s excellent study of colonial Davao is where you will want to start.”

Abaca Frontier: The Socioeconomic and Cultural Transformation of Davao, 1898–1941 by Patricia Irene Dacudao is published by Ateneo de Manila University Press.

Category: History
Language: English
Price: P795.00
Get your copy in paperback: website | Lazada and Shopee stores
Its ebook edition will be available in May 2023

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About the Author

Patricia Irene Dacudao is assistant professor at the Department of History, Ateneo de Manila University, where she received her MA in History. A recipient of the International Postgraduate Research Scholarship, the Australian Postgraduate Award, and the Murdoch International Top Up, Dacudao has a PhD from Murdoch University. Her current research interests include frontier and commodity histories.