The City of Talisay used to be an Agustinian estate in 1648 but only became a municipality in 1849 with Silverio Fernandez as its first gobernadorcillo and Pedro Labuca as capitan. Some accounts trace the origin of its name from Magtalisay trees abounding in areas while others claim origin of the name from a town in Spain. In both the American and Japanese occupations, Talisay served as haven of colonial forces. During World War II, the city served as the center of guerilla intelligence operations for the Philippine residence movement in Cebu.