Imperialism+in+the+Philippines

Philippines Home Page - Brief Background on Spanish-American War - President McKinley's Decision and effect- Independence Years - Works Consulted

=__//Imperialism in the Philippines//__=


 * Geography:** The Philippine Islands spans over 7,000 islands off the southeast coast of Asia. These Islands are an [|archipelago], which means they are a large group or chain of islands.

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/engineers_v1_1947/philippine_islands_1941.jpg

**Early History:** Most of the original inhabitants arrived from Asia, along with Indonesian and Malayan settlers starting at 25, 000 B.C. Soon enough, major trade was conducted among the neighboring countries India, Indonesia, China, and Japan.

In 1521, a Portuguese explorer, [|Ferdinand Magellan], arrived at the Philippines. A couple decades later, the archipelago was named in honor of Prince Philip by a Spanish exploration party for their future prince. The Spaniards remained in control of the islands for the next three hundred years.

Spain had both The Philippines and Cuba under their control during the years before the Spanish-American War ever started. As of 1492, the Spanish empire also consisted of the land south of Virginia in the United States to Tierra del Fuego in South America, as well as west toward California and Alaska. However by 1825, most of their empire was lost, except for Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippine Islands, as well as other islands in Micronesia.

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/engineers_v1_1947/philippine_islands_1941.jpg


 * After the Spanish-American War:** The Philippines were ceded to the U.S. through the Treaty of Paris while the residents were announcing their independence, greatly encouraged by Emilio Aguinaldo. Soon afterward they started a war against the U.S. that resulted in Aguinaldo getting captured in 1901. However, both the U.S. and the Philippines resolved the issue with a Peace Proclamation on July 4, 1902.

Through the [|Tydings-McDuffie Act], the Philippines had transformed into a self-governing commonwealth. A President was also elected, [|Manuel Quezon], who was expected to help the country through it's newly gained indpendence years. Those dreams were dashed however when World War II started. Both American and Filipino forces fought back but the United States surrendered to the Japanese, leaving the islands under Japan's rule.

The Americans continued to fight with the Filipinos in order to gain their islands back and eventually Japan surrendered. As a result, one million Filipinos were killed during this war and the Philippine Islands suffered as well. Still, no matter how much destruction occurred, the issue of independence was still on the Filipinos minds. On July 4, 1946, the Philippines was soon known as the Republic of the Philippines, though in 1962, the official Independence Day was changed to June 12 in memorial for when [|General Aguinaldo] declared their independence from Spain in 1898.