Summary

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.

Philippine Independence Day, 1946

Spanish Colonization

Ferdinand Magellan

In 1521, Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese explorer on an expedition for Spain, arrived in Cebu, one of many small islands in the Philippines. Within 50 years, the Spanish had total colonial control over the land, and the native Filipinos. Spanish governors replaced native leaders, and Filipinos were treated as second-class citizens.

            
The Spanish saw the Philippines as a valuable asset because of its role in the international spice trade. Though none of the spices grown in the Philippines were useful to the Spanish, they quickly set up an international trading empire there. Silver from Mexico and Peru was sent there to be traded for Chinese goods that were at high demand in Europe, such as silk, tea, and porcelain.

           
 Another goal of the colonization of the Philippines was the spread of Catholicism. Because of the Spanish missionary work, the Philippines is the only country in Asia with a Catholic majority. However, it was the extensive power of the Catholic Church that eventually ended the colonization of the Philippines. In the 1800s. Filipinos accused the Church of abusing its position, and that, combined with general discontent over their poor treatment, eventually lead to the end of the 356-year-long Spanish rule over the Philippines.

The Spanish Arrive in the Philippines

Spanish-American War

As a result of U.S. intervention in a conflict between Spain and Cuba, the Americans and the Spanish began a war in 1898 which would span many waters known as the Spanish-American War. The first battle of the war began as a preemptive strike by the United States to demolish the Spanish Fleet in Manila, a key port city in the Philippines, in order to prevent its arrival in Cuba. The battle ended in a nearly perfect victory for the United States with only one American life lost, bringing acclaim to Commodore George Dewey while causing the Spanish to surrender.  The U.S. collected Puerto Rico and Guam as spoils and gained occupation of Manila until an agreement could be formalized with a treaty (Jaycox).

           

Turning to the Philippines as the final barrier in front of war’s end, interests were heavily divided among involved parties. Filipinos were amidst a struggle for independence against Spain with the Spanish reluctant to concede control, while the U.S. sought a naval base to complement its recent annexation of Hawaii (Jaycox). After the United States decided to press for total ownership of the islands, Spain agreed to a deal as part of the Treaty of Paris in which the U.S. took possession of the Philippines for 20 million dollars.

           

The Filipino people were moved from life under one colonial power to that of a stronger, newer one. With regard to the United States’ first venture into colonialism, though it solidified America’s role as a world power, it met with great criticism. American poet Carl Sandburg wrote of the Spanish-American spat that “It was a small war, edging toward immense consequences”, while British author Rudyard Kipling responded by publishing the poem The White Man’s Burden which popularized the use of its title phrase and simultaneously furthered the drama surrounding the United States’ move (Jaycox). The decision also sparked upset among Americans as debate in the Senate over the acquisition was picked up by citizens in both protest and support of U.S. imperialism. Though a movement toward ratification nearly granted independence to the Philippines in 1899, Filipino insurrection and the subsequent outbreak of the Philippine-American War delayed gratification for another 47 years.

Philippine-American War

Despite the Philippines’ long history as victim to imperialism, the Filipino people have shown through multiple rebellions their ability to unite with strength against foreigners. One could even note the killing of Spanish explorer Ferdinand Magellan as the earliest example of Filipino violence against adversity. The same sentiment which fueled the fight for independence from Spain carried over to face the Americans in 1899 as the fate of the islands was debated between world powers.

Filipino rebel leader Emilio Aguinaldo had been at the head of the struggle against Spain since 1896 before his exile to Hong Kong (Jaycox). His U.S.-arranged return in 1898 caused, at the words of one American soldier, “A little barefooted army… to grow up out of the ground” as Filipinos began to take control of cities across the islands with the support of the Americans who were common opponents of Spain. However, Aguinaldo’s army soon turned against the Americans as potential imperial rulers and declared independence, with Aguinaldo as interim dictator over a complex government. The United States’ refusal to recognize Aguinaldo’s Philippines would prove consequential as its relationship with the Filipinos worsened and Aguinaldo evolved into president of a Filipino republic.

Conflict became war in February of 1899, and it soon became clear that this fight in the Philippines would not prove as ideal for the Americans as the destruction of the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay had been. The U.S. used cruelty against Filipino guerrillas as well as civilians with camps and even torture as it struggled to defeat the insurgents. One general is reported to have ordered “Kill everyone over the age of ten” (Jaycox). The homeland defenders did not fight without resorting to extreme forms of violence either, and many hostilities were exerted onto their own people. This mode of fighting contributed to a death toll of 20,000 Filipino soldiers, 200,000 Filipino civilians, and 4,200 American soldiers (Jaycox).

With Aguinaldo’s capture in 1901, the domination of the United States had passed the point of deniability, and the insurgents were ordered by Aguinaldo to stand down. Still, U.S. victory had come at a high price due to the upset that the rumors of hostility sparked among Americans. Those that had argued against acquisition of the islands now attacked the hypocrisy of the United States, claiming that its imperialist behavior had shamed its values. The backlash was so fierce that the event has been called “America’s first Viet Nam” (Jaycox). Furthermore, the Philippine-American ordeal advances the questionability of the United States’ involvement in the Philippines as a costly and worthless endeavor, though this can be refuted with the claim that colonialism in the Philippines was a necessary step for the United States to become an influential world power.

Rebellions

Huk Rebellion:

             During World War Two, a organization originated which consisted of various communist political groups. They were struggling to liberate the Philippines from Japanese control.  This group was called Hukbalahap, which was derived from the longer name of Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa Hapan (Greenberg). In English this is translated as the ‘People’s anti-Japanese army’.  The Huks began making their way to central Luzon to gain supporters of peasants and to attempt to rebel against the government.  Like the Huks, the tenant farmers were mistreated by the government and were living in constant debt and poor conditions.  Eventually because of this and the persuasion from a socialist, Luis Taruc, eighty percent of tenant farmers began to join the expanding Huk army (Greenberg).  Ultimately, there were 15,000 armed soldiers and supporters on the Huk’s side (Greenberg).  Besides gaining large numbers, the Huks created fighting tools and developed communication networks (Greenberg).  This would help prepare them to rebel against the government in the future.  

             The United States aided the Philippines in recapturing Luzon from the Japanese in 1945 and they were soon granted independence on July 4th 1946. The Huks were involved in elections after Philippine independence but only gained one seat in congress (Greenberg).  The Huks became enraged and demanded that the Philippines become communist.   After the large amount of preparations, the Huks were ready to attack the capital city of the Philippines, Manila.  However, the Filipino government was willing to resist this with having knowledge of the location of the Huk headquarters (Greenberg).  From there, the United States aided the government in sending weapons and additional equipment to stop future Huk outbursts.  Additionally, the presidency of Ramon Magsaysay aided the decrease of Huk supporters as a result of valiant political and economic reforms.  This caused the loss of interest to support the communist movement.  Soon enough, after vigorous military action and reformation of the Filipino government, the Luis Taruc surrendered in 1954 (Greenberg). 

             The Huk Rebellion was one of the most known rebellious acts in the history of the Philippines.  Throughout this event and its preperation, Luis Taruc was portrayed as the leading figure. Although he and the Huks approached with violence and were against the Filipino government, he did unify the lower class individuals in Luzon and gave attention that the government was not providing.  Since the Huks refused to back down on numerous occasions, the Filipino government and the United States had no choice but to use force against them.  This allowed the Filipino government to fight for the independence that they desired and they learned that with struggle comes great pride.  In addition, the support for the government grew tremendously after Ramon Magsaysay’s presence throughout the rebellion.  This helped unify parts of the Philippines and aided to the achievement of their ultimate goal: independence.

Katipunan:




The revolution flag of the Katipunan.

In 1892, the Filipinos, who had an interest in overthrowing the Spanish rule, founded an organization called the Katipunan.  Katipunan is an acronym in one of the languages that is spoken in the Philippines.  “Katipunan” stands for "Highest and Most Respectable Association of the Sons of the People" ("The Katipunan").  This secret society was founded by Andres Bonifacio in Manila who wanted to prepare for a revolution to try to achieve independence of the Philippines from Spain ("The Katipunan").  This organization could have been extremely costly to the members if discovered; they were at risk of being tortured or killed.  The secret society had confidential passwords, formulas, and ceremonies ("The Katipunan").  New members went through a thorough initiation including blood compact (process that involved multiple people extracting blood from the body and consuming each other’s.  This is done as a  tradition to seal the membership).  Soon enough, Katipunan began to widely spread throughout the nation.  Of the night before revolt against Spain in August 1896, there were 30,000 members, both men and women in the organization ("The Katipunan").  The majority of members of the Katipunan were peasants or from a low class.

              A leader like figure who eventually rose up to aid in the revolt was Jose Rizal.   Although not an initiated member of the Katipunan, Jose Rizal was highly admired as a leader by the organization. Upon his return to the Philippines in 1892 form Europe, he established a non-violent reform society ("Jose Rizal").  Rizal inspired the members to battle in 1896 against the Spanish, but were unfortunatley outfought.  He was conisdered as a Philippine nationalist at the time of his existance but was only looking out to reform the Spanish government rather than to fully promote Philippine independence ("Jose Rizal").  He published many novels during his lifetime including two that discuss the evils of Spanish rule in the Philippines.  Eventually, members were discovered and these Filipino revolutionaries were forced to retreat to northern Luzon and Rizal was executed in Manila ("The Katipunan").  Throughout the existence of the Katipunan, it was considered an organization that promoted nationalism throughout the Philippines.


 

World War II

             The main objective of World War Two in the Philippines was to grant the Philippines independence and to free them from the Japanese. In comparison to Japan, the Philippines were weaker and were not as technologically advanced. However, with the aid of the United States, hope for independence became a possible goal.
 

             The Initial Attack- Japanese attacks began on December 8th, approximately 10 hours after the Pearl Harbor attack, on Clark Field near the capital city of Manila (Axelrod).  However, outbreaks officially began on December 10th when there were attacks in Luzon (island of the Philippines where Manila is located).  Over the span of a couple days, there were Japanese attacks present in the North and South of Luzon and in Manila. Astounded by the attacks, American general Douglas MacArthur forced his troops to relocate in the Bataan Peninsula (Axelrod).  However, this did not stop the Japanese from invading.

 

 The Leadership of MacArthur- Douglas MacArthur was the leading general who took responsibility of the Philippines in World War Two (Axelrod).  He originally participated in World War One in France and made good relations with the Filipino leader, Manual Quezon during this time.  Eventually this bond helped the Philippines in World War Two which also contributed to a better reputation for the United States.  However, not all decisions made by MacArthur in World War Two were considered intelligent.  Midway through the attacks of Lamon Bay, MacArthur was ordered by Franklin D. Roosevelt to evacuate to Australia to control the Allied Pacific forces (Axelrod).  When in Australia, he made his famous “I shall return” speech.  With this almost seen as an act of betrayal; he left 11,000 men of the Filipino army completely surrounded by the Japanese (Axelrod).  Also, the conditions were very poor for these soldiers.  However, he did fulfill his promise and returned two years later for an attack in Leyte Gulf on October 20th, 1944 (Axelrod).  It now became an objective for the United States to liberate the Philippines from the Japanese.

 

           The Fall of the Japanese- The end of war is extremely close at the point of the battle of Leyte Gulf.  MacArthur supervised the army of 160,000 men, hundreds of aircrafts, and 700 ships (Axelrod).  This combat was the largest naval battle in history.  Although the outcome was quite probable, the Japanese refused to surrender.  They gathered up more troops but were continually outsmarted by the Americans.  This battle ultimately left 80,000 Japanese killed (Axelrod).  The triumph of the United States gave optimism for the Philippines at last.  To conclude the dispute, the Japanese surrendered in February of 1945 although independence was not formally announced until July 5th  (Axelrod).
              Although the Americans were victorious with gaining independence for the Philippines, there were costly battles that allowed a large amount of damage to both armies and the cities that were attacked. These battles were violent, and all that mattered in the end was superiority. The Japanese and the Americans/Filipinos by the end lost moral consciousness in order to gain dominance. However, determination can be seen from the war on both sides. The American/Filipinos were attacked repeatedly, but continued to fight back until the reward of independence was granted. It took a large amount of willpower and strength to be able to rise up from defeat and to ultimately destroy the Japanese. Resulting from the war in the Pacific, democracy is finally a probable outcome for this nation. In addition, unity was established between the Americans and the Philippines during the war. World War Two in the Philippines wasn’t a battle for the Americans to be involved in, but they decided to reach out to aid them nonetheless. Although they were involved most likely to pursue their personal benefits, the large quantity of struggle to gain independence must’ve come from good mortality and intentions. This recognized bond between the Americans and the Filipinos will aid both nations in the future to overcome other disputes.
  

The Bataan Death March:

        The Bataan Death March began to take place after the fall of Bataan during Japanese colonization in World War Two.  This was following the evacuation of MacArthur to Australia after being ordered to do so by Franklin D. Roosevelt.  About 2,000 defenders of Bataan were fortunate enough to be withdrawn to Corregidor, and island located in Manila Bay (Axelrod).  This left a remainder of 78,000 American and Filipino men.  These men were now under the control of Japanese lieutenant general Homma Masaharu (Axelrod).

        Beginning on April 9th, 1942, the 65 mile march to a Japanese war camp called Camp O’Donnell took place.  Much like the death marches of the Holocaust, the long treads were just as brutal and painful.  As a result of the nation’s geography, the prisoners were marching through many jungles which provided discomfort because of the humidity (Axelrod).  Any man who slowed down or stumbled was immediately shot.  Overall, the march lasted a little over a week; approximately 54,000 survived while 7,000 to 10,000 were killed by the Japanese guards (Axelrod).  Others might’ve somehow found a way to escape out of the jungles
            Although the death march was both a horrific and terrifying experience for the prisoners, the conditions at Camp O’Donnell worsened.  The camp was originally meant to accommodate 10,000 men while 54,000 were forced in (Axelrod).  This as well as the prisoners’ starvation and insanitation contributed to their discomfort and suffering.  Overall, there was a death rate of about 400 men per day; this began to result from introduced diseases such as malaria and dysentery (Axelrod).  Eventually, prisoners were transported to an additional camp where 36,000 more men died (Axelrod).  The remaining prisoners started to be taken under Japanese labor in factories and coal mines.  By the time most arrived at the labor camps, more men died of weakness and malnutrition.  Finally to end the disastrous events, the prisoners were liberated, however only one third survived Japanese custody.  In addition, Homma was executed on April 3rd, 1946 after being convicted of war crimes (Axelrod).
             

Overall, the Bataan Death March showed acts of inhumanity and cruelty of the Japanese over the American and Filipino soldiers.  Rather than treating them as real human beings, they were considered as worthless individuals.  Especially in the past, inequality was prominent in colonized nations where less people understood the meaning of personal values and liberties.  Just the act of killing when soldiers slowed down or starving them to death was extremely barbaric.  Such brutal events destroyed the meaning of peace and the possibility for a content and stable world.  Japanese general Homma Masaharu was an example of someone who promoted these unnecessary and cruel events.  This led the rest of the Japanese soldiers to follow this negative influence and to continually torture other human beings.  This unfortunately was accepted in the past but started to become less popular over the decolonization period.
 

Independence

Contrary to methods used elsewhere in decolonization, the liberation of the Philippines came as a series of gradual reforms granted by the United States. At the end of the Philippine-American war, President William Howard Taft began the process of liberating by passing a range of motions to improve the state of the economy in the Philippines, particularly focusing on the primary issue of poverty. Specifically, he implemented the pensionado program, which introduced new businesses and industry to the Philippines.

Fourteen years later, in 1916, those reforms had become successfully rooted into Philippine society. With the Jones Law passed by the U.S. in the same year, another step towards an independent Philippine republic was taken. Through this law, the United States granted the Philippines a legislature modeled after its own. In the Filipino’s first democratic election, Manuel Quezon was chosen as President. Still under the influence of the United States, the Philippines were making rapid progress towards achieving self-government.

          

The notion of independence gained even more plausibility for Filipinos in 1934, when the Tydings-McDuffie Act was passed. This assured Philippine independence from the U.S. by 1946. The following year, the Philippines established a constitution and created the Commonwealth of the Philippines.

            

Despite the setback caused by the invasion and subsequent three-year occupation by the Japanese in 1941, the United States, led by General MacArthur, successfully recaptured and regained control of the Philippines in 1945. A year later, the United States took swift action to complete its plan of freeing the Philippines, and on July 4, 1946, the Philippines was officially granted full independence.

Philippine Independence is Proclaimed