Bataan, then known as Vatan, was part of the vast Capampangan Empire that included what now are the provinces of Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, and some portions of Bulacan, Zambales and Pangasinan. Bataan was established in 1754 by Governor General Pedro Manuel Arandia.

Before this, the region was divided into two parts: the Corregimiento of Mariveles and the Province of Pampanga. The towns of Mariveles, Bagac, Morong and Maragondon, Cavite comprised the Corregimiento of Mariveles that was under the jurisdiction of the Recollect Order of the Roman Catholic Church.