South East Asian Trips

The history of the Philippines goes back to the 1200s, when a group of about a thousand people, natives of the island of Borneo, landed on Panay Island, now a part of the Philippines. This landing may have been a major landmark in the history of the Philippines itself, but in the rest of the world it went unnoticed. The new arrivals set about establishing themselves on the islands round about, and by the time the explorer Ferdinand Magellan- the first man to sail around the world- came here, 200 years later, there were a large number of people on the islands. Magellan landed in Homonhon Islet, near Samar, on March 17, 1521, and claimed to have 'discovered' the islands. Successive expeditions of Spanish explorers, traders and soldiers arrived, claimed the islands for their country, and quickly named them the 'Felipinas' after the Spanish monarch, Phillip II.

Although the Spanish ruled the Philippines from the 16th to the 19th centuries- their reign was marked by increasing dissatisfaction and revolt by the natives. The Philippine Revolution of the late nineteenth century resulted in the country's freedom, in 1898, but this was mere eyewash- the Spanish handed over the territories to the USA, who moved in. The Americans remained in the Philippines for the next 48 years, but their rule wasn't smooth, either- the Filipinos waged a war, which carried on till 1905. Eventually, with the end of the war, there was a period of progress and peace- till the Second World War, when Japanese troops moved in and occupied the Philippines. The Filipinos resorted to guerilla warfare, and finally, with the help of the American troops, managed to oust the Japanese. The Philippines' independence from the USA was finally declared on July 4, 1946.

In the half-century since then, the Philippines has seen internal strife (the Moro National Liberation Front carried on a 24-year struggle for autonomy in Mindanao,which ended only in 1996) and a political revolution of sorts, with the ousting of the corrupt Marcos government. Today, the country is trying hard to get ahead, and to catch up with its more well to do neighbours.

The Pre-Spanish Period (pre 1521)

The Negritos are believed to have been the first settlers on the Philippine islands, having come across from what is modern day Borneo and Sumatra about 30,000 years ago. Later centuries saw various influxes of people from the Malay Peninsula. The Malay immigrants first lived in scattered communities called 'barangays', and later integrated with the indigenous people, and in fact, remained the most dominant ethnic group until the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century. The 9th century saw Chinese traders and setters, and a further change in demography with the arrival of Arab traders in the 14th century.

The Spanish Period (1521 - 1898)

The Spanish domination of the Philippines began with Ferdinand Magellan who arrived on the islands in 1521, and tried to establish Spain's sovereignty over the islands. Although Magellan was eventually defeated by local chieftains and killed, in 1943 Roy Lopez de Villalobos established Spain's superiority over the locals, and the Philippines became a Spanish outpost. By 1571 most of the Philippines was under Spanish dominion.

Although the Spanish occupation made a deep impact on Philippine society and government, but they were widely successful in full-scale conversions to Roman Catholicism. This period was marked by a great deal of unrest and saw numerous uprisings against the occupiers. Emilio Aquinaldo in 1896 was the leader of the revolutionaries, and played a large part in supporting the American forces that battled and overcame the Spanish in the Spanish-American War of 1898. Although Aguinaldo declared independence from Spain on June 12, 1898 - the Americans were not going to give up their bounty so easily - they bought the Philippines from the Spanish for US$ 20 million, and the Philippines exchanged one master for another.

The American Period (1898 - 1946)

1899-1902 saw the height of Filipino rebellion against the United States, which eventually gave way to the Americans initiating a partial hand over by making Manuel L Quezon the President of the Philippine Commonwealth in 1935. After a two-year occupation by Japanese forces during World War II and subsequent liberation by the US forces, the Philippines finally achieved independence in 1946.

Post Independence (1946 onwards)

The early post independence years saw the Philippines make efforts at reconstructing their economy with the extensive aid of the United States, extending its ties with its Asian neighbors and making various social reforms.

President Marcos, who was elected president in 1965, stuck a blow against democracy in the Philippines, he instituted a dictatorship that remained firmly in place until 1986. His presidency was marked by a period of suppression of democratic institutions, restricted civil liberties, a rule of martial law, military suppression of any opposition, and a total disregard for human rights. Popular unrest against Marcos's authoritarian regime came to a head when the opposition leader Benigno (Ninoy) Aquino was assassinated in 1983, and set in motion a series of events which culminated in a violence-marred election where Aquino's wife, Cory was elected as the new President of the Philippines. Marcos subsequently had to flee the country.

Although Aquino's government made strides in restoring democratic institutions, a disunited government and military uprisings did not allow much economic or political progress for the country. The subsequent governments of Fidel Ramos, Joseph Estrada and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo have variously faced guerrilla insurrections, terrorism, and charges of corruption.