Origin of the Philippines

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Origin of the Philippines

The Origin of the Philippines is said to have started with the arrival of the original humans via land bridges around 30 thousand years ago. The initial recorded visit from the West was the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan when he landed at Homonhon Island, SE of Samar in 1521.

Prior to Magellan's arrival, there were numerous Negrito tribes who wandered the isles but years later were supplanted by the Austronesians. These tribes then split into: Warrior-societies, hunter-gatherer tribes, petty plutocracies and nautical oriented harbour principalities that eventually grew into separate kingdoms, principalities, Rajahnates, confederations and sultanates. States such as the Indianized Rajahnate of Batman and Cebu, the empire of Tondo, the august kingdoms of Maysapan and Maynila, the Confederation of Madyaas, the sinified Country of Mai, as well as the Muslim Sultanates of Sulu and Maguindanao. These lesser states thrived from as early as the tenth century AD, despite these kingdoms reaching intricate political and social orders, as well as enjoying business with areas we now call China, Japan, India, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia, none embraced the entire archipelago which was to develop into the amalgamated Philippines of the 20thcentury. The remainder of the settlements were autonomous Barangays aligned with one of the bigger nations.

Spanish colonization

Spanish colonization and settlement started with the arrival of Miguel López de Legazpi's expedition in 1565 and set up the original enduring settlement of San Miguel on the island of Cebu, and additional settlements continued northward as far as the bay of Manila on the island of Luzon in 1571. In Manila, they set up a brand new town and hence started an age of Spanish colonization which lasted for more than 3centuries.

Spanish rule

Spanish rule unsuccessfully tried to accomplish the political unification of the entire archipelago of previously autonomous kingdoms and communities. Unification of the Philippines was not delivered until the 20th century. The Spanish established the European version of printing and the Gregorian calendar, as well as smallpox, leprosy, venereal disease, deforestation, wars of aggression with firearms, tribute, alienation of land, heavy taxes, forced migration, Spanish trade monopolies, and many other related things.

The Spanish East Indies was ruled as a territory of the Viceroyalty of New Spain and handled from Mexico City from 1565 to 1821, and handled directly from Madrid from 1821 until the close of the Spanish-American War in 1898, aside from for the fleeting British occupation of the Philippines from 1762 to 1764. During the Spanish period, a lot of towns were founded, infrastructures constructed, different crops and livestock established. The Chinese, British, Portuguese, Dutch, Japanese, and native traders, complained that the Spanish limited trade by attempting to enforce a Spanish monopoly. Spanish missionaries tried to change the population to Christianity and were in general triumphant in the northern and central lowlands. They founded schools, a university, and several hospitals, principally in Manila and the main Spanish fort settlements. Universal education and medical assistance were never Spanish plans in the Philippines.

The Philippine Revolution

The Philippine Revolution against Spain started in April 1896, ending 2 years later with a proclamation of independence and the formation of the First Philippine Republic. However, the Treaty of Paris, at the close of the Spanish-American War, moved control of the Philippines to the United States of America. This agreement was not accepted by the Philippine Government which, on June 2, 1899, proclaimed a Declaration of War against the United States of America. The Philippine-American War which ensued resulted in large casualties. Philippine president Emilio Aguinaldo was captured in 1901 and the United States government declared the war officially finished during 1902. The Philippine leaders acknowledged that the Americans had won, but fighting continued and only started to lessen in 1913. United States colonial rule of the Philippines began in 1905 with extremely restricted local rule. Partial self-government was given in 1935, preparatory to a planned comprehensive independence from the United States in 1946. Preparation for a totally autonomous state was interrupted by the Japanese occupation of the islands in the course of WWII.

Modern Philippines

With a promising economy in the '50s and '60s, the Philippines during the late '60s and early '70s saw an increase of student activism and civil disquiet hostile to the corrupt dictatorship of President Ferdinand Marcos who declared martial law in 1972. Because of close ties connecting the United States and President Marcos, the U.S. Government continued to help Marcos even though his government was well-known for large corruption and large human rights abuse. The peaceful and bloodless People Power Revolution of 1986 brought about the ousting of Marcos and a return to democracy for the population. The period since then, however, has been marked by political instability and hindered financial productivity.

Origin of the Philippines