Philippines
| Philippines | |
|---|---|
| Republic of the Philippines | |
| República de Filipinas | |
 | |
| Capital | Manila |
| Largest City |
|
| Population | 80 Million |
| Government Type | Republic |
| Languages | Spanish (Official) |
| Currency | Peso Filipino (PFP) |
The Philippines (Spanish: Filipinas); (Filipino: PIlipinas), officially the Republic of the Philippines (Spanish: Republica de Filipinas); (Filipino: Republika ng Pilipinas), is an archipelagic country located in Southeast Asia. It is situated in the western Pacific Ocean, and consists of about 8,434 islands, that are broadly categorized under five main geographical divisions from north to south: Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao, Borneo Del Norte, and Molucas del Norte. The Philippines is bounded by the South China Sea to the west, the Philippine Sea to the east, the Celebes and Moluccas Seas to the southwest, and shares maritime borders with Taulandt to the north, Japan to the northeast, the Spanish Caroline Islands to the east and southeast, the East Indies Federation and Timor to the south, Malacca and Brunei to the southwest, Vietnam(?) to the west, and Canton to the northwest. The Philippines covers an area of (TBA) and, as of 2020, had a population of around 109 million people, making it the world's twelfth-most populous country. The Philippines is a multinational state, with diverse ethnicities and cultures throughout its islands. Manila is the nation's capital, while the largest city is Cebu, which lies can be found in the Island of Cebu in the Visayas.
Negritos, some of the archipelago's earliest inhabitants, were followed by successive waves of Austronesian peoples. Adoption of Animism, Hinduism and Islam established island-kingdoms called Kedatuans, Lakanates, Rajahnates and Sultanates. The arrival of Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese explorer leading a fleet for Spain, marked the beginning of Spanish colonization. In 1543, Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos named the archipelago Las Islas Filipinas in honor of Philip II of Spain. The Colonies were governed through the Viceroyalty of New Spain from 1565 to 1872 when the Archipelago, along with all of Spain's dependencies and protectorates in Southeast Asia, is reformed and re-established as its own Viceroyalty. During this time, Catholicism became the dominant religion, and Manila became the western hub of trans-Pacific trade. In 1896, the Communard-inspired Katipunan Insurrection began and almost led to the complete overthrow of Spanish rule if not for the Spanish capture and execution of its founder, Mayo de Pag-Asa, and their subsequent strings of victories against the Katipunan in the nine provinces of Batangas, Bulacan, Cavite, Manila, Morong, Laguna, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga and Tarlac. The revolt unofficially ended in October 28, 1897 through the signing of the Treaty of Malolos and the voluntary exile of the remaining Katipunan leadership to Kwongchou, but several katipunan factions would continue fighting on until 1916.
Etymology
Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos, during his expedition in 1542, named the islands of Leyte and Samar "Felipinas" after Philip II of Spain, then the Prince of Asturias. Eventually the name "Las Islas Filipinas" would be used to cover the archipelago's Spanish possessions. Before Spanish rule was established, other names such as Islas del Poniente (Islands of the West) and Magellan's name for the islands, San Lázaro, were also used by the Spanish to refer to islands in the region.
