Hacienda Luisita was once part of the holdings of Compañía General de Tabacos de Filipinas, Sociedad Anónima, better known as Tabacalera.
The land was owned by Spain, by virtue of the country's colonial relationship to the Philippines.
The tobacco company was founded on 26 November 1881 by the Spaniard Antonio López y López from Comillas, Cantabria and Santiago de Cuba, and Don Guillermo Rubio born in Santander, Cantabria.

In 1780, the popularity of cigars in the Philippines prompted Spanish authorities to impose a tobacco monopoly, such that the only ones able to plant, manufacture, and sell cigars were the colonial government.
Tabacalera was a private enterprise Lopez y Lopez founded with the sole intention of taking over the Philippine Tobacco Monopoly from the Spanish colonial government; the monopoly was abolished a year after Lopez y Lopez acquired the estate.
This included the Hacienda Antonio (named after his eldest son), Hacienda San Fernando and Hacienda Isabel (named after his eldest daughter) in Cagayán and Isabela provinces where the La Flor de Isabela cigar was cultivated.
Due to the high profits of sugar and tobacco in the Philippines, Antonio López y López and his son, Claudio López Bru, the second to hold the title, donated some of the profits to the Jesuits to create the Pontifical University of Comillas, a university outside Madrid.
Hacienda Luisita was once part of the holdings of Compañía General de Tabacos de Filipinas, Sociedad Anónima, better known as Tabacalera. The land was owned by Spain, by virtue of the country's colonial relationship to the Philippines. The tobacco company was founded on 26 November 1881 by the Spaniard Antonio López y López from Comillas, Cantabria and Santiago de Cuba, and Don Guillermo Rubio born in Santander, Cantabria.
In 1780, the popularity of cigars in the Philippines prompted Spanish authorities to impose a tobacco monopoly, such that the only ones able to plant, manufacture, and sell cigars were the colonial government. Tabacalera was a private enterprise Lopez y Lopez founded with the sole intention of taking over the Philippine Tobacco Monopoly from the Spanish colonial government; the monopoly was abolished a year after Lopez y Lopez acquired the estate. This included the Hacienda Antonio (named after his eldest son), Hacienda San Fernando and Hacienda Isabel (named after his eldest daughter) in Cagayán and Isabela provinces where the La Flor de Isabela cigar was cultivated. Due to the high profits of sugar and tobacco in the Philippines, Antonio López y López and his son, Claudio López Bru, the second to hold the title, donated some of the profits to the Jesuits to create the Pontifical University of Comillas, a university outside Madrid.
Hacienda Luisita