Philippine History

THE SETTING
(CHAPTER 1)

The Philippines is an archipelago consisting of more than 7,000 islands and islets stretching almost a thousand miles from north to south. * Land Surface – is 114,830 square statute miles and is criss-crossed with mountains and drained by small river systems.
Mountain System
Three large ranges in the mountain system of Luzon * Caraballo del Sur – forms the nucleus of the system, has its highest peak at the intersection of the boundaries of Abra, Ilocos Norte, and Cagayan. * Caraballos Occidentales divide into the Cordillera Norte and Cordillera Central and traverse the region west of the Cagayan River. * Sierra Madre also known as the Pacific coast range begins at Baler, Quezon, and crosses Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, and Cagayan. * This is the longest continuous range in the Philippines. * Zambales range starts at Cape Bolinao and follows the China Sea coast to the Bataan Peninsula. * The Tagaytay range passes through Cavite and Batangas and, with Mt. Makiling, forms the mountain system of the southern Tagalog region. * The Mindoro mountain range begins at Mt. Halcon and is divided into three ranges : * The northwest ending at Calavite Point * A landmark of ships passing between Manila Bay and Mindoro Strait * The east, which originates from Lake Naujan; and the west, which follows the Mindoro Strait. * Negros in the Visayas is divided into two by a range running from northwest to southeast, with Kanlaon Volcano as the notable peak.
Mindanao four distinct ranges * Surigao Range - which follows the contours of the Pacific coast * Butuan Range – which extends to the south and forms the watershed of the Agusan River on the east and the Pulangui River on the west. * Central – Western – ranges of which Mt. Apo is the highest; and the western range which begins west of Iligan Bay and ends on the shore of Basilan Strait.

River Systems
The Philippines has extensive but small river systems which are mostly delineated by the mountain ranges. * Luzon fluvial system is represented by : * Rio Grande de Cagayan and its tributaries – which drain the Cagayan Valley * Agno Grande – which drains Benguet and the valleys of Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, and tarlac * Abra River system – which receives its tributaries from the Cordillera and drains Lepanto, Bontoc, and Abra. * Rio Grande de Pampanga and its tributaries - which drain the fertile valleys of Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, and Bulacan.
Mindanao has the largest river system in the Philippines. The Rio Grande de Mindanao drains the central basin of Mindanao and receives waters of two lakes. Agusan, which is second to the Rio Grande, drains the basin of Surigao.
Volcanoes and Earthquakes
Volcanoes dot the thre geographic regions of the country and have been for centuries one of the natural causes of destruction of life and property.
Most famous Volcanoes from north to south * Iraya – in Batanes Island * Taal – in Batangas. The smallest in the world and situated in the middle of Taal Lake, erupted no less than thirty- three times. * Banahaw – in Quezon * Mayon – in Albay * Hibok – Hibok - in camiguin * Makaturing – in Lanao * Apo – in Davao * Mayon – the most active volcano. It has erupted more than thirty times since 1615.
1937- Manila experience severe earthquake, when many buildings in the commercial district were partly destroyed.
August 2, 1968 – was so violent earthquake that an apartment building collapsed, killing hundreds of people.
June 3, 1863- The most destructive earthquakes occurred in Philippine history, when the Manila Cathedral and hundreds of government structures and residential houses collapsed and many people were killed, including the the famous Filipino priest, Dr. Pedro Pablo Pelaez.
April 1, 1955- Another Destructive earthquake when the Visayas and Mindanao were rocked by a series of quakes ranging from Intensity III to Intensity VIII.
August 17, 1976- The most destructive earthquake occurred in the Philippines was the one that struck Mindanao. Its intensity was VIII. This earthquake triggered a tidal wave that rendered 90,000 persons homeless, 3,000 dead, and more than 3,000 missing or presumed to be dead.
Coastline
The Philippines has an irregular coastline that extends to about 10, 850 statute miles, twice as long as that of continental United States. * Manila Bay – which has an area of a little more than 700 square miles and a circumference of 120 miles, is one of the finest natural harbors in the world.
Products and Natural Resources
The Philippines is rich in natural resources that are as yet largely undeveloped. * Rice – The staple crop of the country, it is produced largely in the Central Plains of Luzon. * Rice production was made during the first four years of President Ferdinand Marco’s administration when the so- called “miracle rice “ was developed.
Other Products raised for Export * Copra Gums Rubber * Abaca Resins Sugar * Lumber, minerals and metals have been exported in large quantities to swell Philippine exports to an average of about ₱ 800,000,000.
Mining- is a basic industry, produces more than 700 million pesos worth of minerals.
Metallic Minerals: Copper, gold, silver, iron, lead, zinc, manganese, and chromium are exploited for their commercial value.
Non- metallic Minerals – Salt, coal, clay, asbestos, sulphur, gravel, limestone, and gypsum are so far not yet exploited for large- scale export.
Philippine Forests - which cover some 40,000 square miles. Produce timber for local consumption and export.

The People
The Filipino belongs to a mixture of races, although basically he is Malay. Doubtless, the Filipino at the coming of the Spaniards was brown- skinned like his Malay forebears. This light skinned and high- nosed Filipino multiplied with the coming of the Americans. The inter- marriage between the Filipino and the foreigner particularly the white, led to a class known as the mestizo class, also humorously called the “ mestizoisie ”.
Between the mestizo and the “ native “, there has been a barrier of feeling that borders on hostility. The “native “ naturally resented this attitude and in turn infused the term mestizo with unsavoury connotations, e.g., pretentious, boastful, arrogant. In the mind of the “native “, the mestizo was insolent: his posture of superiority to the native arose from his awareness of his Spanish origins.
Common Traits
The common traits are probably basically Malay and characterize the Filipinos as a people. * Hospitality – all peoples in the world over are hospitable in their own way, but Filipino hospitality is something that is almost a fault. Even you are a complete stranger Filipino’s offer the best for you. * Close family ties – The family has been the unit of society and everything revolves around it. The Filipino family consists of the grandparents, the parents, and the children. * Father – head of the family, but while he rules, the mother governs. * Mother- she is the educator, the financial officer, the accountant, the censor, the laundry woman, and the cook. * Grandparents- over and above the “ruler” and “ governor”; whose opinions and decisions on all important matters are sought. * Respect for the elders- is one Filipino trait that has remained in the book of unwritten laws. The Filipino parent exercises almost absolute powers over the children. The particle po may look innocent to you, but that little word shows respect for another. * Filipino is naturally fatalistic – No amount of expostulation on the virtues of science or logic can dislodge him from his idea of fatalism. This fatalism is best symbolized in the phrase “ Bahala na,” a phrase that defies translation but which may be rendered loosely as “ come what may. “ Such fatalism has bred in the Filipino a sense of resignation. It is thus that he faces disaster or tragedy with resignation. * Loyalty- to a friend or to a benefactor is one trait that is very strong in the Filipino. Do him a little favour and he remembers you to the end of his days. For the Filipino, a friendship is sacred and implies mutual help under any circumstances. * Filipino is sensitive - He is. He would not tolerate anyone berating his countryman. He is easily piqued when a foreigner, for instance, makes a sweeping generalization that is not flattering to the Filipinos, no matter how true the observation may be. * Indolent- Rizal explained this tendency as the result of the tropical climate which makes even the westerner indolent in these parts of paradise. But aside from the warm climate, indolence may be partly explained by the abundance with which Nature has endowed the country—a fact which makes the Filipino exert less effort in the belief that he does not have to work hard to make both ends meet. * Lack of initiative- This trait is explained by a natural fear of competition, for a Filipino society is cooperative, not competitive. The experiences of college and university professors reveal the sad fact that the average Filipino student has to be hammered and whipped into line in order to make him work hard. * Curious- Curiosity is tainted with sympathy. Their certainly is nothing malicious in his inquiries about one’s health, about one’s children, about one’s salary, and so forth. * Individualistic- Helpful and cooperative, respectful and generous even to a fault. * Jealousy- He does not look with favour on a woman who flirts with several men. To him the sweetheart’s or the wife’s eyes are meant only for him and for another. The Filipino, therefore, requires complete faith and loyalty of his wife or sweetheart. * Regionalistic- He does not think in terms of national boundaries but in regional oneness. This feeling is an extension of the closeness of family ties. Invariably, the Filipino believes that the person known to him, no matter how bad, is better than the one unknown to him, no matter how bad, is better than the one unknown to him no matter how good. * Pakikisama- Simple as the term may appear to the merely learned, this Filipino trait has not been fully understood, especially in its connotations. In its original connotation, pakikisama may be translated loosely as the intensive signification of camaraderie or spirit of comradeship, the main elements of which are unselfishness and good faith. * Regional Traits- That the milieu or environment exerts an influence in molding the character of a people is proved in the Philippines where different regions exhibit different and, oftentimes, opposite traits. These trait, which may be termed regional, have been the upshot of economic and social factors. Thus, in poor isolated regions the inhabitants are frugal and industrious; while in more opulent areas are the people are known for their careless abandon and love of the finer things of life.
Here, then, are the complex traits of each of the major geographic regions of the Philippines. They are traits that make it difficult to define what a Filipino is.

BEFORE THE CONQUEST
(CHAPTER II)
The tradition of Philippine history writing, which the Spanish chroniclers originated and which American and Filipino writers followed later, had the Spaniards, more specifically Ferdinand Magellan, discover the Philippines. The archipelago later called the Philippines was unknown to all. Archaeological records and narratives written by Chinese officials, including those written by Muslim scholars, point to the early relations of the Philippines with neighbouring countries.
Peopling of the Philippines
Up to the early 1970’s, it had been assumed that the Philippines was a part of mainland China. It was theorized that during the Pleistocene or Ice Age, the waters surrounding what is now the Philippines fell about 156 feet below the present levels. In February, 1976, however, this theory of the “land bridges” to Asia was disputed by Dr. Fritjof Voss, a German scientist who studied the geology of the Philippines. According to him the Philippines was never a part of the mainland of Asia. As a proof Dr. Voss points to the fact that when scientific studies were done in 1964-67.
The widely accepted theory that the Negritos were the aborigines of the Philippines is now severely criticized in anthropologically literature quarters.
Filipino anthropologist * F. Landa Jocano of the University of the Philippines, disputes Professor H. Otley Beyer’s assumption that the Malay’s migrated to the Philippines and now constitute the largest portion of the population. It was also Beyer who theorized that the present Filipinos had a Malayan culture. * Jocano believes that fossil evidences of ancient men show that they came not only to the Philippines but to New Guinea, Java, Borneo, and Australia, and that there is no way of telling whether or not they were Negritos.
1962- The discovery of Tabon cave in Palawan, a skull cap and a portion of a jaw, presumed to be those of a human being, shows conclusively that man came earlier to the Philippines than to the Malay Peninsula where, according to the old theory, the Filipinos came from.
Introduction of Islam
The spread of Islam to old Malaysia was brought about by the activities of the Arab traders, missionaries, and teachers who introduced their religious beliefs among the Malays.
Arabian scholar Sudum – laid the foundation of Islam in Malaysia; who arrived in the Malay Peninsula about the middle of the 14th century.
-He succeeded in establishing in Malacca a rather tenuous foothold for Islam. About 1390, he proceeded to Sulu and preached the doctrines of Mohammed.
- in 1390- Rajah Baginda, one of the pretty rulers of Menangkabaw, Sumatra, arrived in Sulu and promptly converted some of the natives to Islam.
- Abu Bakr- followed his religious activities in 1450.
In Mindanao, Serif Kabungsuan, who had meanwhile arrived from Johore with his men, immediately began laying the foundations of Islam. He converted many tribes to his religion and, having married into an influential family, made himself the first sultan of Mindanao.
Relations with the Orang Dampuans
Between 900 and 1200 A.D., another group of immigrants came to the Philippines from southern Annam. Known as Orang Dampuans or Men from Champa, they established trading posts in Sulu, resulting in a flourishing trade between Sulu and Southern Annam. The Orang Dampuans were not politically minded and had no intention of dominating the people of Sulu, who were called Buranus.
Relations with Banjarmasin