Basey, Samar

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**Municipality of Basey**

Location
Map of Samar showing the location of Basey.
Government
Region	Eastern Visayas (Region VIII)
Province	Samar
District	2nd district of Samar
Barangays	51
Income Class:	3rd class; partially urban
Founded	1591
Mayor	Vicente C. Labuac, Jr.
Official Website	elgu.ncc.gov.ph
Physical characteristics
Area	532.7 km²
Population Total (2000) Density	43,809 82.2/km²
Coordinates	11° 16' 58.8" N, 125° 4' 1.2" E

Basey is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Samar, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 43,809 people in 9,013 households.

The town's name is pronounced "bAsay", not "basEY. This mispronunciation was propagated by American soldiers in the early days of the American colonial period. There is no "ey" sound in Waray. Basay is from the Waray word "mabaysay," meaning beautiful. Basay is said to be the Leyte's capital during the American period. It is the current record holder of the world's longest mat ("banig"), which is presented in the Guinness Book of World Records.

The town's name was originally founded by Alejandro Basey who traveled with William Dampier. Dampier landed in Malaysia and there Alejandro and others on board with Dampier refused to continue. Alejandro fell in love with one of the Malay women who happened to be a daughter of a tribal chief and they stole away by boat settling in Samar.