Philippines

From Roses, Tulips, & Liberty
Philippines
Federal Republic of the Philippines
República Federal de Filipinas
Location of Philippines
Motto"Un país, un alma"
CapitalManila
Largest CityCebu
Government TypeFederal republic
LanguagesSpanish
Chabakano
Tagalo
Cebuano
Others
CurrencyPhilippine peso

The Philippines (Spanish: Las Filipinas, Chabacano: Pilipinas), officially the Federal Republic of the Philippines (Spanish: República Federal de Filipinas, Chabacano: Republika Pedral Pilipina), is an country located in southeast Asia consisting of over 8,400 islands. The Philippines shares a land border with Soenda in Borneo and maritime boundaries with Tauland, Japan, Timor, and China.

Etymology

Philip II of Spain

Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos named the islands of Leyte and Samar Las Felipinas in the 1540s for Crown Prince Philip of Spain. This name would be extended to all of Spain's possessions in the area soon after. In 1926, Spain officially began referring to the islands as The Philippines. The current official name of the nation, the Federal Republic, was established in 1936.

The country was referred to as Panyupayana by Indianized states and the Three Islands (Chinese: 三洲) by east Asians. The Philippines' sobriquet is officially the Pearl of the Orient, which is mentioned in the national anthem.

History

Contemporary with Confucius' lifetime, the Philippines developed its initial indigenous mercantile and tribal cultures. Contact with various Hindu-Buddhist empires, such as the Pallava and Langkasoeka, paved the way for the establishment of sovereign Philippine states influenced by Indian, Islamic, and Malay cultures during the medieval period. Philippine states such as Manilla, Chinese-influenced Kaboloan, Hindu Cebu, and Islamic Ternate flourished during the precolonial period. Balangays formed the basic unit of several states. Commerce and conflict with China, Japan, the Caliphates, India, Java-based empires, and others continued.

Ferdinand Magellan reached the Philippines in 1521 and the first Spanish expedition was successful in 1543. In 1569, a Spanish colony was formally established. Numerous revolts and raids against the Spanish occurred until 1590, when the Tondo empire's aristocracy was dismantled and tax protesters were subdued. Over the next two centuries, twenty major revolts were put down. By 1800, the Jesuits established their dominance and the indigenous Catholic Philippine aristocracy began to flourish. By 1860, the Philippines had acquired the sultanate of Ternate, the island of Papua, and the Sulu sultanate's territories in northern Borneo.

In 1896, the Communard-inspired Katipunan Insurrection began and almost ended colonial rule. However, it failed and revolutionary leader Mayo de Pag-Asa was executed. The Treaty of Malolos in 1897 ended the revolt and led to the voluntary exile of the remaining Katipunan leadership to China. In 1929, the bloodless Republican Revolution began the independence process. The Philippine Constitution was created in 1931, and the nationbecame sovereign in 1936.

Government and Politics

Demographics

Ethnicity

Mestizo identity

Around one-third of Filipinos are mestizo - Christianized people of mixed indigenous, European, American, and east Asian ancestry in any proportions. They primarily populate the Luzon archipelago, Zamboanga, Maluku del Norte, and major urban centres around the nation.

Indigenous ethnicities
The Moros, Badjaus, and Igorots
East Asian immigrants

Language

Spanish
Chabacano and other creoles
Tagalog
Cebuano
Other native languages
Immigrant dialects

Culture

Religion

List of leaders

See also