In past times, it was called Ma-i or Mait by ancient Chinese traders and, by Spaniards, as Mina de Oro (meaning "gold mine") from where the island got its current name. Before then, since 1921, the entire island was one province. According to the late historian William Henry Scott,[1] an entry in the official history of the Sung Dynasty for the year 972 mentions Ma-i as a trading partner of China.
Other Chinese records referring to Ma-i or Mindoro appear in the years that follow. Prehispanic Source Materials enumerates the products that Mindoro traders exchanged with the Chinese as "beeswax, cotton, true pearls, tortoise shell, medicinal betelnuts and yu-ta [jute?] cloth" for Chinese porcelain, trade gold, iron pots, lead, colored glass beads and iron needles.
