The name Luzon is thought to derive from ᜎᜓᜐᜓᜅ᜔ lusong, a Tagalog word referring to a particular kind of large wooden mortar used in dehusking rice.

This traditional hand-pounding chore, although very laborious and resulted in a lot of broken rice, required two to three skilled men and women to work harmoniously and was actually a form of socializing among young folks in the villages.

Before 1000 CE, the Tagalog, Kapampangan, and Pangasinan peoples of south and central Luzon had established several major coastal polities, notably Maynila, Tondo and Namayan.

There was also a Buddhist polity known as Ma-i or Maidh, described in Chinese and Bruneian records in the 10th century, although its location is still unknown and scholars are divided on whether it is in modern-day Bay, Laguna or Bulalacao, Mindoro.

[34] The invasion of Brunei spread Chinese royal descent like Ong Sum Ping's kin and Arab dynasties too into the Philippines like the clan of Sultan Sharif Ali.

For example, the spice magnate Regimo de Raja, based in Malacca, was highly influential and was appointed as Temenggong (Sea Lord)—a governor and chief general responsible for overseeing of maritime trade—by the Portuguese.

As Temenggong, de Raja was also the head of an armada which traded and protected commerce in the Indian Ocean, the Strait of Malacca, the South China Sea,[37] and the medieval maritime principalities of the Philippines.

The "surname" of "de Raja" or "diraja" could indicate that Regimo and Curia, and their families, were of noble or royal descent as the term is an abbreviation of Sanskrit adiraja.

[43] Luções military and trade activity reached as far as Sri Lanka in South Asia where Lungshanoid pottery made in Luzon were discovered in burials.

[45][46] The Spanish arrival in the 16th century saw the incorporation of the Luções people and the breaking up of their kingdoms and the establishment of the Las Islas Filipinas with its capital Cebu, which was moved to Manila following the defeat of the local Rajah Sulayman in 1570.

The silver was used to purchase Asian commercial goods like Chinese silk, Indian gems and Indonesian spices, which were then exported back to the Americas.

In 1774, authorities from Bulacan, Tondo, Laguna Bay, and other areas surrounding Manila reported with consternation that discharged soldiers and deserters (from Mexico, Spain and Peru) were providing Indios military training for the weapons that had been disseminated all over the territory during the British war.

[60] There was also continuous immigration of Tamils and Bengalis into the rural areas of Luzon: Spanish administrators, native nobles, and Chinese businessmen imported them as slave labor during this period.

[62]: 537 People from the Philippines, primarily from Luzon, were recruited by France (then in alliance with Spain), first to defend Indo-Chinese converts to Christianity being persecuted by their native governments.

[63] A great number of infrastructure projects were undertaken during the 19th century that put the Philippine economy and standard of living ahead of most of its Asian neighbors and even many European countries at that time.

[64] After many years of Spanish occupation and resistance to reform, the Andres Novales uprising occurred and it was inspired by the Latin American Wars of Independence.

Novales' uprising was primarily supported by Mexicans living in the Philippines[65] as well as immigrant Latinos from the now independent nations of Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Costa Rica.

[66] Although the uprising failed it inspired the Cavite Mutiny, the suppression of which, lead to the martyrdoms of Priests, Gomburza and the subsequent execution of the reformist and hero, Jose Rizal.

However, the lingering poverty and inequality caused by the long dictatorship of US-supported dictator, Ferdinand Marcos, gave rise to the Philippine diaspora and many people from Luzon have migrated elsewhere and had established large overseas communities; mainly in the United States, Hong Kong, Singapore and Saudi Arabia.

The following administrations are subsequently managing the political and economic recovery of the Philippines with the particular aim of spreading development outside of Luzon and into the more isolated provinces of the Visayas and Mindanao.

The northwestern portion of the island, which encompasses most of the Ilocos Region, is characterized by a flat terrain extending east from the coastline toward the Cordillera Central mountains.

The range provides the upland headwaters of the Agno River, which stretches from the slopes of Mount Data, and meanders along the southern Cordillera mountains before reaching the plains of Pangasinan.

The plain, approximately 11,000 square kilometres (4,200 sq mi) in size, is the country's largest producer of rice, and is irrigated by two major rivers; the Cagayan to the north, and the Pampanga to the south.

The western coasts of Central Luzon are typically flat extending east from the coastline to the Zambales Mountains, the site of Mount Pinatubo, made famous because of its enormous 1991 eruption.

The Sierra Madre mountain range continues to stretch across the western section of Central Luzon, snaking southwards into the Bicol Peninsula.

The southeastern portion of Luzon is dominated by the Bicol Peninsula, a mountainous and narrow region extending approximately 150 kilometres (93 mi) southeast from the Tayabas Isthmus in Quezon province to the San Bernardino Strait along the coasts of Sorsogon.

The North-Southeastern trending braided left-lateral strike-slip Philippine Fault System traverses Luzon, from Quezon province and Bicol to the northwestern part of the island.

Visayans, such as Masbateños, Romblomanons, Waray Sorsogonons, Cuyunons, mainly populate in the southern Bicol peninsula and island provinces of Masbate, Romblon, and Palawan.

Other ethnic groups lesser in population include the Aetas of Zambales and Bataan, the Ibanags of Cagayan and Isabela, the Gaddang of Nueva Vizcaya, the Igorot of the Cordilleras, and the Mangyans of Mindoro.

Industry is concentrated in and around the urban areas of Metro Manila while agriculture predominates in the other regions of the island producing crops such as rice, bananas, mangoes, coconuts, pineapple, and coffee.