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| The Spanish Arrive in the Philippines |
In 1521, Portuguese-born Spanish explorer Ferdinand Magellan arrived in the Philippines. The land that had previously belonged to natives and Asian settlers soon became a key location for Spanish trade and military bases. A 356 year long occupation of the Philippines would follow, during which the Filipinos were subjected to severe oppression while Spain worked toward its imperial goals which primarily included the spread of Catholicism. With the publication of Jose Rizal’s anti-Spanish novel, Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not), in 1886, Filipino desire for independence was invigorated.
With the conclusion of the Spanish-American War, the Philippines was ceded to the United States, though the Filipinos, led by Emilio Aguinaldo, had jumped to declare their independence. A guerilla war ensued which resulted in the gradual movement by the U.S. in favor of Filipino independence. Progress was halted during World War II when the Japanese brought the Philippines under their imperial control. At the war’s end, however, the United States recaptured the islands and granted them full independence.
Since then, the Philippines has westernized, establishing a democratic state with successful industry and bringing itself closer to becoming a first world country and overcoming both a plague of poverty and a long history of exploitation.
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| Philippine Independence Day, 1946 |
