History of Philippines

Introduction to History of Philippines

After the ninth century, when the Chinese began trading with the Filipinos, the Philippine Islands had extensive contacts with other parts of southeastern Asia. In the 15th century Muslims from the west began trading with peoples on the southern islands and converted many of them to Islam. The first European to visit the islands was Ferdinand Magellan, who explored them in 1521. Although the area was in that part of the world assigned to Portugal in 1493 by Pope Alexander VI's Line of Demarcation, Magellan hoped to bring it under Spanish rule. He was killed while trying to help a local chieftain in a war.

Spanish Rule

Spain, anxious to participate in the East Indian spice trade, claimed the islands and named them after its crown prince (later Philip II). Several attempts to found a colony were thwarted by Portuguese attacks on Spanish ships and settlements, but in 1565 a Spanish expedition under Miguel López de Legazpi arrived from Mexico and established a post on Cebu. After defeating the local Muslim ruler in 1571, Legazpi founded Manila, establishing a trading post there. Manila remained the center of Spanish activity in the islands for more than three centuries.

The Filipinos were not as advanced in their civilization as some of the other peoples of the Far East. Although they used terracing and irrigation in their farming, and much of the population was literate, their political organization did not extend beyond the local level. There was no formal religion except in the south, where many had been converted to Islam. The Spanish called the Filipino Muslims Moros, after the Moors of Spain. Except for the Moros and some of the hill tribes, the Filipinos were easily conquered and converted to Christianity.

A governor general was appointed to govern the islands. Local power was held by the encomenderos, soldiers who had helped conquer the islands and been given huge estates known as encomiendas.

Under the Spanish, trade was established with Europe and with Latin America. Commercial opportunities were so great that the Chinese came in numbers that alarmed both the Spaniards and the Filipinos. During the 17th century, thousands of Chinese were massacred by Filipinos, and the Spanish authorities carried out periodic deportations. Meanwhile, the Dutch, bent on winning the East Indian trade, made a number of unsuccessful attacks on the Philippines.

During the Seven Years' War, Manila was occupied by the British, 1762–64. After the war, Spanish officials were able to resume their rule, but their administration was greatly weakened. Members of religious orders, known as friars, had become the ruling class in the islands and tended to dominate the government. Grown wealthy and autocratic, they tried to keep authority out of the hands of the Filipinos.

War and Revolution

In the latter half of the 19th century a strong nationalist feeling developed in the Philippines. The opening of the Suez Canal and growth of steam transportation increased the country's foreign contacts. Revival of trade created a middle class. Domination of the government by the friars aroused bitter resentment among the Filipinos, and demands for reform became demands for independence. Many Filipino nationalists, of whom the writer José Rizal was the most prominent, were exiled by the Spanish authorities. Rizal had organized an opposition group and the Spanish authorities arrested him and exiled him to Mindanao in 1892. Shortly afterwards, a secret society, the Katipunan, was founded to carry on Rizal's struggle.

In 1896 an armed rebellion started under the leadership of General Emilio Aguinaldo. Although not involved in the rebellion, Rizal was a symbol of Filipino nationalism and was put to death by the Spanish, thus becoming a martyred hero. Aguinaldo appealed to Commodore George Dewey of the U.S. Navy for support in overthrowing Spanish rule. When the Spanish-American War began in 1898, Dewey sailed at once for Manila Bay. He destroyed the Spanish fleet, and three months later Manila was occupied by United States forces. In December the Philippines were ceded to the United States by Spain.

The Filipino revolutionaries, denied immediate independence, turned against the United States, beginning what came to be known as the Philippine Insurrection. Aguinaldo was captured in 1901; the insurrection ended the next year.

United States Control

Civil government was set up in 1901 with William Howard Taft as governor. In 1902 the Philippines were made officially a territory of the United States. A program for providing public education, health services, and transportation facilities went into effect. The Moros and hill tribes were brought under control. In 1934 the U.S. Congress passed an act providing for immediate commonwealth status and independence in 1946.

The commonwealth was established in 1935. with Manuel Quezon the first president. Already Japanese aggression was causing apprehension, and General Douglas MacArthur was engaged to build up the country's defenses. In December, 1941. Japan invaded the islands. The conquest was complete by early 1942. Guerrilla warfare continued throughout Japan's occupation Forces under General MacArthur landed on Leyte in late 1944, and by the following spring had retaken the islands.

Republic of the Philippines

The Republic of the Philippines was inaugurated on July 4, 1046. In 1947 the United States was granted the right to maintain military bases in the islands for 99 years. Meanwhile, the Huk-balahaps, or Huks—wartime guerrillas who had turned Communist—used terrorism against the government. They were brought largely under control in the early 1950's. Throughout the 1960's, however, Communist rebels continued a guerrilla campaign against the government.

In the 1950's and 1960's, programs of land reform and economic development were begun. Some progress was made, but it was hindered by the aristocratic families who had controlled land and commerce for generations. In the early 1970's, the Philippines experienced increased lawlessness and peasant insurgency. To bring about order, President Ferdinand E. Marcos imposed martial law in 1972 and ruled as a dictator.

In 1981, Marcos lifted martial law and won reelection as president. His administration was troubled by corruption, economic recession, and growing political opposition. He also had to contend with insurgencies by Communist-led peasants and by various Muslim separatist groups. In 1983, the assassination of a popular political opponent, Benigno Aquino, Jr., precipitated a spontaneous political uprising—the “People Power Revolution"—against Marcos's rule. To demonstrate his strength, Marcos called a presidential election for 1986; his opponent was Aquino's widow, Corazon Aquino. Marcos, using fraud and intimidation, emerged as the official winner. Three weeks later he was forced from office by a rebellion, and Aquino became president. She promised democratic rule and in 1987 a new constitution was adopted and legislative elections were held.

Meanwhile, in 1986, the Aquino government began peace negotiations with the leading rebel groups among the Communist guerrillas and the Muslim separatists.

Aquino did not run in the presidential election of 1992. It was won by General Fidel Ramos. Later in the year, the Philippine government, responding to popular sentiment, chose to end American military presence in the country, and the United States closed Clark Air Force Base and Subic Bay Naval Base.

Negotiations between the Philippine government and leading rebel groups continued. Ramos made little progress in coming to a settlement with the Communist guerrillas, but in 1994 established a cease-fire between the government and the leading Muslim rebel group, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). In 1996 Ramos and MNLF leaders negotiated a peace agreement.

Joseph Estrada was elected president in 1998. Estrada was impeached in November, 2000, on charges of corruption. He resigned the following year, and was replaced by his vice president, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who remained in office after winning an election in 2004. During Macapagal-Arroyo's presidency, the government occasionally fought with several Muslim rebel factions.