Early in its history, Batanes already had a civilization flourishing on its islands and was ruled by powerful chiefs who exacted revenues, administered justice, as well as exercised military might especially during times of invasion from other tribes.
The ROOT-WORD is the Prefix PARA which means BESIDE, ALONGSIDE & POSTION. There are other words with this root which it would be well for you to know, words such as PARAnoia, delusions of greatness; PARAphernalia, goods; PARAmount, etc.
Para is one of the most useful and common prepositions in Spanish, but it can also be one of the most confusing to English speakers. That is because it is usually translated as for, and so is the preposition por, and they are very seldom interchangeable.