It is bounded on the north by the province of Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija on the east, Zambales on the west, and Pampanga in the south.

Early in history, what came to be known as Valenzuela Ranch today was once a thickly-forested area, peopled by roving tribes of nomadic Aetas who are said to be the aboriginal settlers of the Philippines, and for a lengthy period, it was the remaining hinterland of Luzon's Central Plains.

Today, Tarlac is one of the most multi-cultural provinces in the region for having a mixture of four distinct ethnic groups: the Kapampangans, the Pangasinans, the Ilocanos, and the Tagalogs.

Its nucleus were the towns of Concepcion, Capas, Bamban, Mabalacat, Magalang, Porac, Floridablanca, Victoria, and Tarlac which constituted a military comandancia.

Only the rebellion started by Juan de la Cruz Palaris in Pangasinan spread to the northern portion of Tarlac.

On October 23, 1899, Gregorio Aglipay, military vicar general of the revolutionary forces, called the Filipino clergy to a conference in Paniqui.

[further explanation needed] Local troops of the Philippine Commonwealth Army units has sending the clearing military operations in the province of Tarlac and Central Luzon from 1942 to 1945 and aided them by the recognized guerrilla groups including Hukbalahap Communist fighters and attacking Japanese Imperial forces.

[incomprehensible] But in the aftermath, some local guerrilla resistance fighters and Hukbahalap groups are became retreating Imperial Japanese troops around the province and before the liberation from the Allied forces.

[incomprehensible] In early 1945, combined American and Filipino military forces with the recognized Aringay Command guerrillas liberated Camp O'Donnell.

So they decided to extended their fight into a rebellion against the new government, only to be put down through a series of reforms and military victories by Defense Secretary, and later President, Ramon Magsaysay.

Among the most successful of these were the Land Justice March of the political group known as the Filipino Agrarian Reform Movement (FARM), which intended to march from Tarlac to Malacañang in 1969, although President Marcos was forced to give in to their demands early, meeting them while they were still at Camp Servillano Aquino in Tarlac City itself.

[10][8] During his bid to be the first Philippine president to be re-elected for a second term, Ferdinand Marcos launched an unprecedented number of foreign debt-funded public works projects.

This included Senator and Concepcion native Ninoy Aquino, and Bamban Mayor Pedro D. Mendiola who was imprisoned in Camp Crame.

Other Tarlaqueño Marcos critics who had roles in government, such as Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP) executive vice president Horacio Morales, tried to stay so they could pursue change from within, but eventually could not reconcile themselves with the idea of working within the dictatorship.

Former Seminarian Teresito Sison campaigned for the rights of teachers, farmers, and of laborers in Clark Air Base, but torture during two stints in Marcos' detention centers caused a decline in his health until he died in 1980.

[25] Tarlaqueno activists decided to take up arms against the dicgtatorhip, including Eduardo Aquino,[26] Merardo Arce,[27] and Benedicto Pasetes[28] were killed in various encounters with Marcos' forces.

Even then, those who resisted Marcos were targeted for death, such as in the case of oppositionist campaign organizer Jeremias De Jesus political organizer, who was assassinated shortly before the elections [29] The Philippine Army has used Crow Valley in the borders of Barangay Patling and Santa Lucia in Capas, Tarlac as a testing ground for both Philippine forces and allies.

The 17 municipalities and 1 city of the province comprise a total of 511 barangays, with Cristo Rey in Capas as the most populous in 2010, and Malonzo in Bamban as the least.

It is also the windiest province in the region during February and March due to its widely lowland altitude and extreme climate transition.

The province usually experiences a maximum heat index ranging from 40 °C (104 °F) to 50 °C (122 °F) based on the forecasts reported by Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.

Other major crops are corn and coconuts, fruits (bananas, calamansi and mangoes) and vegetables (eggplants, garlic and onions).

Some of the major industries here involve making chicharon (pork skin chips) and iniruban in the municipality of Camiling and Ilang-Ilang products of Anao.

Belenismo sa Tarlac was launched by Isabel Cojuangco-Suntay, sister of former Ambassador Eduardo Cojuangco Jr., to transform the province into the Belén Capital of the Philippines.

Senator Loren Legarda led the awarding of the first Belen-making competition where Tarlac PNP Office Belen, built by at least 24 policemen, won the first prize.

Belenismo in Spanish means the art of making Belén, a representation of the Nativity scene in which the Holy Family (Joseph, Mary and the infant Jesus) is visited by the three wise men who came to the manger through the guidance of a star.

The highest seat of political power of the province is located on a hill in Barangay San Vicente, Tarlac City.

The capitol suffered great damages during the Second World War, but afterwards, in 1946, the United States of America helped rebuild and improve its structure.