It is the de facto capital of the province of Agusan del Norte where it is geographically situated but has an administratively independent government.

The city used to be known during that time as the best in gold and boat manufacturing in the entire Philippine archipelago, having traded with places as far as Champa, Ming, Srivijaya, Majapahit, and the Bengali coasts.

Butuan, during the pre-colonial times, was a precolonial city-state ruled by a rajah, an Indianized kingdom known for its metallurgic industry and sophisticated naval technology.

Butuan flourished at the 10th and 11th centuries CE, and had an extensive trade network with the Champa civilization and the Srivijaya Empire.

The History of Song recorded the appearance of a Butuan mission at the Chinese imperial court, and the rajahnate was described as a small Hindu country with a Buddhist monarchy, which had a regular trade connection with Champa.

Another priest, the French Bernard Calmette (Bernardo Calmeta) had been marooned at Patagonia with Juan de Cartagena for being implicated in the mutiny at Puerto San Julián.

Conducted near the shores of the island, the Holy First Mass marked the birth of Roman Catholicism in the Philippines.

[citation needed] Controversy has been generated regarding the holding of the first mass—whether it was held in Limasawa, Leyte or in Masao, Butuan, in the hidden isle made up of barangays Pinamanculan and Bancasi inside Butuan—in the latest discovered site in the small barangay of Barobo, situated near between Agusan del Sur and Surigao del Sur, or elsewhere.

It is sure, however, that Ferdinand Magellan did not drop anchor by the mouth of Agusan River in 1521 and hold mass to commemorate the event which was held at Mazaua, an island separate from Butuan which, in the geographical conception of Europeans who wrote about it, was a larger entity than what it is now.

Antonio Pigafetta who wrote an eyewitness account of Magellan's voyage described in text and in map a Butuan that stretched from today's Surigao up to the top edge of Zamboanga del Norte.

[citation needed] The first municipal election in Butuan took place in March 1902 in accordance with Public Law No.

[citation needed] During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines in World War II, the Japanese enslaved local girls, teenagers, and young adults into becoming "comfort women", who they routinely gang-raped and murdered in "comfort stations" that they established in the city in 1942.

[25] Later in 1945, the Philippine Commonwealth troops in Butuan together with the recognized guerrillas attacked the Japanese forces during the Battle of Agusan.

The plentiful trees of the area invited many investors and migrants from Luzon and Visayas to the city, and inspired then Congressman Marcos M. Calo to file a bill elevating Butuan for cityhood.

The city's main income by that time frame and until this day depended on small and medium business, and large-scale projects by investors.

In 2000, Republic Act 8811 formally transferred the capital of Agusan del Norte from Butuan to Cabadbaran; however most provincial offices are still located in the city.

Butuan is 29 kilometres (18 mi) away from the city of Cabadbaran, the provincial capital of Agusan del Norte, to the north.

[41] It is a strategic trading hub in Northern Mindanao with major roads connecting it to other main cities on the island such as Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Malaybalay, Surigao, and soon, Tandag.

As further proof of its dynamic economy, Butuan's local income reached P330,510,000 in 2013 besting other major cities in the country.

The city's major agricultural produce are rice, bananas, coconuts, poultry, shrimp, and milkfish.

Butuan has also proven to be a haven for renewable energy with investments in solar and hydroelectric power generation pouring in the city.

[45][46] Smart Communications, Globe Telecom, PLDT and Bayantel serve the telecommunications needs of the city.

He exercises the general supervision and control over all programs, projects, services, and activities of the city government.

[49] He is then accompanied by the law making body of the city which is called, The Sangguniang Panlungsod headed by the elected Vice Mayor as the presiding officer, together with ten elected Sangguniang Panlungsod Members and the President of the Liga ng mga Barangay as an ex-officio member.

Butuan National Airport can also accommodate 5 to 10 flights a day including large number of aircraft via Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines operated by PAL Express.

Another mode of transportation is the small-type jeepneys or multicab vehicles with a seating capacity of at least 15 passengers via fixed routes going to big barangays such as Bancasi, Libertad, Ampayon, Los Angeles and De Oro.

They also follow fixed routes to outlying barangays, neighboring towns, municipals, cities and provinces.

Long-distance routes also include cities of Manila, Ormoc, Legazpi, Tacloban, Calbayog, Surigao, Tandag, Bislig (Mangagoy), Davao City, Tagum, Cagayan de Oro, Carmen, Balingoan, Gingoog and Malaybalay (not operational).