[6] Igorot peoples living in mountainous areas posed a challenge to Spanish monopolization of gold deposits.

Prior to Spanish conquest, the Igorot miners and traders enjoyed a relationship with lowland peoples in Ilocos and Pangasinan; a trade network which continued as late as 1745.

[5] In November 1601, Governor Francisco Tello de Guzman wished to pacify the eastern region of the Pampanga (now parts of Nueva Ecija) through bloodless means before resorting to a military intervention.

While trying to persuade a village in Pantabangan, he was lassoed from behind and tied to a tree trunk, before he was killed due to either strangulation or being shot by arrows.

In 1662, Governor-General Diego de Salcedo admitted that the mountains of Ilocos and Pangasinan were inhabited by the Igorots, who were the "owners of the gold mines and enemies of the Christians."

In 1779, a Spanish official noted that leaving "Igorot crimes" unpunished was "a shameful thing for our nation ... and a mockery and cause for laughter among other foreigners."

Governor Fernando Primo de Rivera, a century later, also noted that it was "humiliating for Spain" for Igorot peoples to "not only live in pre-Christian backwardness, but commit crimes even to the extent of collecting tribute from Christian towns themselves without receiving any punishment for their boldness.

"[5] Igorot independence was substantially challenged when the Spanish colonial government sent Colonel Guillermo Galvey through Benguet, Lepanto, Bontoc, and Ifugao in 1829-1839.