Philippines, The - fĭlˈəpēnzˌ, officially Republic of the Philippines, republic (1995 est. pop. 73,265,000), 115,830 sq mi (300,000 sq km), SW Pacific, in the Malay Archipelago off the SE Asia mainland. It comprises over 7,000 islands and rocks, of which only c.400 are permanently inhabited. The 11 largest islands—
Luzon,
Mindanao,
Samar,
Negros,
Palawan,
Panay,
Mindoro,
Leyte,
Cebu,
Bohol, and
Masbate—contain about 95% of the total land area. The northernmost point of land, the islet of Y'Ami in the Batan Islands, is separated from Taiwan by the Bashi Channel (c.50 mi/80 km wide).
Manila, on Luzon, is the capital, the largest city, and the heart of the country.
Land The Philippines extend 1,152 mi (1,855 km) from north to south, between Taiwan and Borneo, and 688 mi (1,108 km) from east to west, and are bounded by the Philippine Sea on the east, the Celebes Sea on the south, and the South China Sea on the west. They comprise three natural divisions—the northern, which includes Luzon and attendant islands; the central, occupied by the Visayan Islands and Palawan and Mindoro; and the southern, containing Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago. The Philippines are chiefly of volcanic origin. Most of the larger islands are traversed by mountain ranges, with Mt. Apo (9,690 ft/2,954 m), on Mindanao, the highest peak. Narrow coastal plains, wide valleys, volcanoes, dense forests, and mineral and hot springs further characterize the larger islands. Earthquakes are common. Of the navigable rivers, Cagayan, on Luzon, is the largest; there are also large lakes on Luzon and Mindanao. The Philippines are entirely within the tropical zone. Manila, with a mean daily temperature of 79.5 degrees Fahrenheit (26. 4 degrees Celsius), is typical of the climate of the lowland areas—hot, humid, and enervating. The highlands, however, have a bracing climate; e.g.,
Baguio, the summer capital, on Luzon, has a mean annual temperature of 64 degrees Fahrenheit (17.8 degrees Celsius). Administratively, the republic is divided into 72 provinces and 61 chartered cities. In addition to Manila, other important centers are
Quezon City, also on Luzon; Cebu, on Cebu Island;
Iloilo, on Panay;
Davao and
Zamboanga, on Mindanao; and Jolo, on Jolo Island in the Sulu Archipelago. People The great majority of the people of the Philippines belong to the Malay group and are known as Filipinos. Other groups include the Negritos (negroid pygmies) and the Dumagats (similar to the Papuans of New Guinea), and there is a small Chinese minority. The Filipinos live mostly in the lowlands and constitute one of the largest Christian groups in Asia. Roman Catholicism is professed by over 80% of the population; 5% are Aglipayans, members of the Philippine Independent Church, a nationalistic offshoot of Catholicism (see
Aglipay, Gregorio); 5% are Muslims (concentrated on Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago; see
Moros); and 4% are Protestants. Some 70 native languages are spoken in the Philippines. The official national language is Pilipino, a form of Tagalog. A considerable number of Filipinos speak English, the nation's second language. Economy With their tropical climate, heavy rainfall, and naturally fertile volcanic soil, the Philippines are predominantly agricultural. Rice, corn, and coconuts take up about 80% of all cropland. Sugarcane, sweet potatoes, manioc, bananas, hemp, tobacco, and coffee are also important crops. Carabao (water buffalo), pigs, chickens, goats, and ducks are widely raised, and there is dairy farming. Fishing is a common occupation; the Sulu Archipelago is noted for its pearls and mother-of-pearl shell. The islands have one of the world's greatest stands of commercial timber. There are also mineral resources such as nickel, zinc, copper, cobalt, gold, silver, iron ore, and chromite. Nonmetallic minerals include rock asphalt, gypsum, asbestos, sulfur, and coal. Limestone, adobe, and marble are quarried, and petroleum is mined. Manufacturing is concentrated in metropolitan Manila, near the nation's prime port, but there has been considerable industrial growth on Cebu, Negros, and Mindanao in recent years. Textiles, pharmaceuticals, and chemicals are manufactured, and the assembly of electronics and automobiles is important. Other industries include food processing and petroleum refining. The former U.S. military base at Subic Bay was redeveloped in the 1990s as a free-trade zone. Chief exports are electronics and telecommunications equipment, lumber and plywood, machinery, garments, coconut products, copper, and sugar. The main imports are raw materials, production equipment, and intermediate goods for processing. The chief trading partners are the United States and Japan. Government The Philippines is governed under the constitution of 1987. The president, who is both chief of state and head of the government, is elected by popular vote for a six-year term. The bicameral legislature consists of a 24-seat senate and a 204-seat house of representatives, both of whose members are popularly elected. There is an independent judiciary headed by a supreme court. History Early History The Negritos are believed to have migrated to the Philippines some 30,000 years ago from Borneo, Sumatra, and Malaya. The Malayans followed in successive waves. These people belonged to a primitive epoch of Malayan culture, which has apparently survived to this day among certain groups such as the Igorots. The Malayan tribes that came later had more highly developed material cultures. In the 14th cent. Arab traders from Malay and Borneo introduced Islam into the southern islands and extended their influence as far north as Luzon. The first Europeans to visit (1521) the Philippines were those in the Spanish expedition around the world led by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. Other Spanish expeditions followed, including one from New Spain (Mexico) under López de Villalobos, who in 1542 named the islands for the infante Philip, later Philip II. Spanish Control The conquest of the Filipinos by Spain did not begin in earnest until 1564, when another expedition from New Spain, commanded by Miguel López de
Legaspi, arrived. Spanish leadership was soon established over many small independent communities that previously had known no central rule. By 1571, when López de Legaspi established the Spanish city of Manila on the site of a Moro town he had conquered the year before, the Spanish foothold in the Philippines was secure, despite the opposition of the Portuguese, who were eager to maintain their monopoly on the trade of East Asia. Manila repulsed the attack of the Chinese pirate Limahong in 1574. For centuries before the Spanish arrived the Chinese had traded with the Filipinos, but evidently none had settled permanently in the islands until after the conquest. Chinese trade and labor were of great importance in the early development of the Spanish colony, but the Chinese came to be feared and hated because of their increasing numbers, and in 1603 the Spanish murdered thousands of them (later, there were lesser massacres of the Chinese). The Spanish governor, made a viceroy in 1589, ruled with the advice of the powerful royal audiencia. There were frequent uprisings by the Filipinos, who resented the
encomienda system. By the end of the 16th cent. Manila had become a leading commercial center of East Asia, carrying on a flourishing trade with China, India, and the East Indies. The Philippines supplied some wealth (including gold) to Spain, and the richly laden galleons plying between the islands and New Spain were often attacked by English freebooters. There was also trouble from other quarters, and the period from 1600 to 1663 was marked by continual wars with the Dutch, who were laying the foundations of their rich empire in the East Indies, and with Moro pirates. One of the most difficult problems the Spanish faced was the subjugation of the Moros. Intermittent campaigns were conducted against them but without conclusive results until the middle of the 19th cent. As the power of the Spanish Empire waned, the Jesuit orders became more influential in the Philippines and acquired great amounts of property. Revolution, War, and U.S. Control It was the opposition to the power of the clergy that in large measure brought about the rising sentiment for independence. Spanish injustices, bigotry, and economic oppressions fed the movement, which was greatly inspired by the brilliant writings of José
Rizal. In 1896 revolution began in the province of Cavite, and after the execution of Rizal that December, it spread throughout the major islands. The Filipino leader, Emilio
Aguinaldo, achieved considerable success before a peace was patched up with Spain. The peace was short-lived, however, for neither side honored its agreements, and a new revolution was brewing when the Spanish-American War broke out in 1898. After the U.S. naval victory in Manila Bay on May 1, 1898, Commodore George Dewey supplied Aguinaldo with arms and urged him to rally the Filipinos against the Spanish. By the time U.S. land forces had arrived, the Filipinos had taken the entire island of Luzon, except for the old walled city of Manila, which they were besieging. The Filipinos had also declared their independence and established a republic under the first democratic constitution ever known in Asia. Their dreams of independence were crushed when the Philippines were transferred from Spain to the United States in the Treaty of Paris (1898), which closed the Spanish-American War. In Feb., 1899, Aguinaldo led a new revolt, this time against U.S. rule. Defeated on the battlefield, the Filipinos turned to guerrilla warfare, and their subjugation became a mammoth project for the United States—one that cost far more money and took far more lives than the Spanish-American War. The insurrection was effectively |
