History of the Philippines

Ancient History

Various austronesian groups settled in what is now the Philippine islands by traversing land bridges coming from Taiwan and Borneo by 50,000 BC. Around 3000 BC, Malays, from what is now Indonesia and Malaysia, also entered the area.

Early History

Since, at least, the 3rd century, Pilipinos were in contact with other east asian nations. They were, to varying extents, under the Hindu-Malayan empires of Sumatra, Indochina, and Borneo and then, beginning with the Ming Dynasty, under the Chinese sphere of influence.

Around 1405, Mohammedanism was introduced and for around 100 years the islands south of Luzon, and the southern half of Luzon, were subject to the Mohammedans of Borneo. During this period, the Japanese established a trading post at Aparri, and maintained a loose control over the northern half of Luzon.

As competing invader groups colonized the islands, the natives were pushed back into the mountains and Malayan became the dominant ethnic group. Modern Pilipinos live in a culture that is a blend of Asian, Islamic, and Amer-European cultures.

The Spanish Colonial Period

The Philippines first came to the attention of Europeans when Ferdinand Magellan landed there in 1521, claiming the lands for Spain. Several early attempts at Spanish settlement were defeated by the natives. In 1543 Ruy Lopez de Villalobos named the territory Filipinas after King Philip II of Spain. In 1565 the first permanent Spanish settlement was founded by Miguel López de Legaspi on Cebu, which became the town of San Miguel. In 1570 the native city of Manila was conquered and declared a Spanish city the following year. The Spanish gradually took control of the islands, which became their outpost in Asia.

Spanish colonial rule brought Catholicism. Most of the islands, with the exception of Mindanao, which remained primarily Muslim, were converted. Muslims resisted the attempts of the Spanish to conquer the archipelago and this resulted in a lot of tension and violence which persists to the modern era.

The colonial period also saw the Spanish dominate the economy, focusing on the tobacco, as well as the Galleon Trade between Manila and Acapulco, Mexico. Commerce was tightly controlled by Spanish authorities until 1837 when Manila was made an open port.

To avoid hostile powers, most trade between Spain and the Philippines was via the Pacific Ocean to Mexico, and then across the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean to Spain. The Spanish military had to fight off Chinese pirates (who sometimes came to lay siege to Manila), Dutch forces, Portugeuse forces, and insurgent natives.

In the late 16th century, the Japanese, under Hideyoshi, claimed control of the islands and for a time the Spanish paid tribute to secure their trading routes and protect Jesuit missionaires in Japan.

In 1762, the British seized Manila, but made little effort to extend their control beyond the port city. By 1764 the Treaty of Paris (1763) had returned Manila to Spain.

Developments in and out of the country and the opening up of the Suez Canal in 1869, which helped cut travel time to Spain, brought new ideas to the Philippines. This prompted the rise of the illustrados, or the Filipino upper middle class. Many young Filipinos were thus able to study in Europe.

The Revolution

In the late 19th century there was increasing insurgency against Spain, as natives demanded independence. From the illustrados came a group of students who formed the Propaganda Movement]]. They did not wish separation from Spain, but did demand equality and political rights. They spoke out against the injustices done of the colonial government and especially the Catholic friars. Among the propagandists are José Rizal, Marcelo H. del Pilar, and Graciano López Jaena. Rizal, the most famous of the propagandists, was executed on December 30, 1896.

The injustices, of the Spanish, had led to uprisings since the 1600s. The 1872 uprising, in Cavite, was notable since it had a large effect on the country. The Spanish put this down by executing three Filipino priests—Burgos, Gomez, and Zamora (see Gomburza)—. Historians generally agree that this execution marks the start of the Philippine Revolutionary Period.

In 1892, Andres Bonifacio, founded a revolutionary society called the Katipunan. By 1896, Filipinos they were openly revolting against the Spanish and the revolution was spreading throughout the islands. With American aid, the Filipinos succeeded in taking all Philippine territory, except for Manila. Faced with inevitable defeat, instead of surrendering the country to the Filipinos, the Spanish sold the country to the United States, at the end of the Spanish-American War.

The Filipinos, under Emilio Aguinaldo, declared victory and proclaimed their independence on June 12, 1898. Aguinaldo became the first Philippine President and a congress drafted and approved a constitution. This act was opposed by the United States.

The American Period

At the end of the war, under the terms of the Treaty of Paris, Spain ceded the Philippines to the United States. When it became clear to the natives that American forces intended to occupy and control the country, revolts broke out. At a constitutional convention held against the wishes of American authorities, Aguinaldo was declared President of the Philippines Republic.

The Americans refused to recognize any Philippine right to self government, and on February 4, 1899 Aguinaldo declared war against the United States so long as they opposed independence, this was the Philippine-American War. Aguinaldo was captured in 1901, and the Americans gradually succeeded in taking control of urban and costal areas by the end of 1903. A large American military force was needed to occupy the country, and would be regularly engaged in war, against Filipino rebels, for another decade.

The Commonwealth Era

When Woodrow Wilson became the American President, in 1913, the Philippines were granted free trade status, with the US. In 1916, a Pilipino House of Representatives was permitted and this body gradually began to take control of the internal government.

In 1934, the American Tydings-McDuffie Act granted Philippine independence by 1944. In 1935, an election to fill the newly created office of President of the Commonwealth of the Philippines was won by Manuel L. Quezon and a Filipino government was formed on the basis of the US Constitution. (See: Philippine National Assembly)

Click here to see a picture of the signing of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Philippines.

Tagalog became the official language in 1937, although twice as many people spoke Visayan.

The Japanese Conquest and World War II

The invasion by Japan began in December of 1941. As the Japanese forced advanced, Manila was declared an open city to prevent it from destruction, meanwhile, the government was moved to Corregidor. In March of 1942 USA General Douglas MacArthur and President Quezon fled the country. The cruelty of the Japanese military occupation of the Philippines is legendary. Guerilla units harassed the Japanese when they could, and on Luzon native resistance was strong enough that the Japanese never did get control of a large part of the island. Finally in October of 1944 McArthur had gathered enough additional troops and supplies to begin the retaking of the Philippines, landing with Sergio Osmena who had assumed the Presidency after Quezon's death. The battles entailed long fierce fighting; some of the Japanese continued to fight until the official surrender of the Empire of Japan on September 2, 1945. Over a million Filipinos had been killed in the war, and many towns and cities, including Manila, were left in ruins.

Independent Republic of the Philippines

The Philippines attained independence in 1946, with the Liberal Party's Manuel Roxas becoming the first president of an internationally recognized independent Phillipine nation. In 1948 he was succeeded by Elpidio Quirino. In this period the government fought an insergancy by the Huk.

Ferdinand Marcos was first elected President on the Nacionalista Party in 1965, but declared martial law from 1972-1981. His reign ended in 1986, when a rebellion forced him into exile.

Corazon C. Aquino, became the president and a new constitution was formed in 1987. She was followed by Fidel V. Ramos, Joseph Ejercito Estrada, and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

In 1992, the US closed down its last military bases on the islands. A quarter-century-old guerrilla war with Muslim separatists on the island of Mindanao, which had claimed 120,000 lives, ended with a treaty in 1996.

However, there still remains some pocket rebellions with fragmented rebel groups, particularly some communist groups operating in the mountains of Luzon and the Visayas, and a smattering of Muslim fighters who do not recognize the 1996 peace treaty. Likewise, there has been a rise in the terroristic activities of Islamic-fundamentalist groups collectively fighting under the Abu Sayyaf banner.

See also : Philippines