About Philippines :
The Philippines (Filipino: Pilipinas),
officially the Republic of the Philippines (Republika
ng Pilipinas; RP), is an archipelagic nation located in
Southeast Asia, with Manila as its capital city. The Philippine
archipelago comprises 7,107 islands in the western Pacific
Ocean, bordering countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia,
Palau and the Republic of China, although it is the only
Southeast Asian country to share no land borders with
its neighbors.
The Philippines is the world's 12th most
populous country with a population approaching 87 million
people.[3]
Its national economy is the 47th largest
in the world with a 2006 gross domestic product (GDP)
of over US$117.562 billion.[3] There are more than 11
million overseas Filipinos worldwide, about 11% of the
total population of the Philippines.
The Philippines was formerly a Spanish
then an American colony. The Philippine Revolution was
an attempt to gain independence from Spain, and later
from the U.S. in the Philippine-American War. The Philippines
ultimately gained its independence from the United States
on July 4, 1946 after the Pacific War via the Treaty of
Manila.
Today, the Philippines has many affinities
with the Western world, derived mainly from the cultures
of Spain, Latin America, and the United States. Roman
Catholicism became the predominant religion, although
pre-Hispanic indigenous religious practices and Islam
still exist. The two official languages of the Philippines
are Filipino and English.
Brief History:
The Philippines had trade relations with
China and Japan and strong cultural ties with India through
neighboring present-day Malaysia and Indonesia as early
as the ninth to twelfth centuries.
Spanish rule brought political unification
to an archipelago of previously independent islands and
communities that later became the Philippines, and introduced
elements of western civilization such as the code of law,
printing and the calendar[11]. The Philippines was ruled
as a territory of New Spain from 1565 to 1821, but after
Mexican independence it was administered directly from
Madrid. During that time numerous towns were founded,
infrastructures built, new crops and livestock introduced,
and trade flourished.
The Propaganda Movement, which included
Philippine nationalist José Rizal, then a student
studying in Spain, soon developed on the Spanish mainland.
This was done in order to inform the government of the
injustices of the administration in the Philippines as
well as the abuses of the friars. In the 1880s and the
1890s, the propagandists clamored for political and social
reforms, which included demands for greater representation
in Spain. Unable to gain the reforms, Rizal returned to
the country, and pushed for the reforms locally.
he Spanish-American War began in Cuba
in 1898 and soon reached the Philippines when Commodore
George Dewey defeated the Spanish squadron at Manila Bay.
Aguinaldo declared the independence of the Philippines
on June 12, 1898, and was proclaimed head of state. As
a result of its defeat, Spain was forced to officially
cede the Philippines, together with Cuba (made an independent
country, the US in charge of foreign affairs), Guam and
Puerto Rico to the United States. In 1899 the First Philippine
Republic was proclaimed in Malolos, Bulacan but was later
dissolved by the US forces, leading to the Philippine-American
War between the United States and the Philippine revolutionaries,
which continued the violence of the previous years. The
US proclaimed the war ended when Aguinaldo was captured
by American troops on March 23, 1901, but the struggle
continued until 1913 claiming the lives of over a million
Filipinos[14] [15]. The country's status as a territory
changed when it became the Commonwealth of the Philippines
in 1935, which provided for more self-governance. Plans
for increasing independence over the next decade were
interrupted during World War II when Japan invaded and
occupied the islands. After the Japanese were defeated
in 1945, returned to the Filipino and American forces
in the Liberation of the Philippines from 1944 to 1945,
the Philippines was granted independence from the United
States on July 4, 1946.[2]
Economy:
The Philippines is a newly industrialized
country with an economy anchored on agriculture but with
substantial contributions from manufacturing, mining,
remittances from overseas Filipinos and service industries
such as tourism and, increasingly, business process outsourcing,
to which it is known for having one of most vibrant BPO
industries in Asia.[6][25] The Philippines is listed in
the roster of "Next Eleven" economies.
The Philippines is a founding member
of the Asian Development Bank, playing home to its headquarters.
It is also a member of the World Bank, the IMF, the Asia
Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the World Trade Organization
(WTO), the Colombo Plan, and the G-77, among others.[31]
Culture:
Filipino culture is a fusion of pre-Hispanic
indigenous Austronesian civilizations of the Philippines
mixed with Hispanic and American. It has also been influenced
by Arab, Chinese and Indianized cultures.[6]
The indigenous Austronesian civilizations
of the Philippines are similar with those of its southern
neighbors, Malaysia and Indonesia. As the early Filipinos
carried on trade with other countries of Southeast Asia,
many pre-Hispanic Filipino beliefs have profound influences
from Hinduism and, to a lesser extent, Buddhism
The Hispanic influences in Filipino culture
are largely derived from the culture of Spain and Mexico
as a result of over three centuries of Spanish colonial
rule through Mexico. These Hispanic influences are most
evident in literature, folk music, folk dance, language,
food, art and religion, such as Roman Catholic Church
religious festivals.[6] Filipinos hold major festivities
known as barrio fiestas to commemorate their patron saints
Names of countless streets, towns and
provinces are in Spanish. Spanish architecture also made
a major imprint in the Philippines. This can be seen especially
in the country's churches, government buildings and universities.
Many Hispanic style houses and buildings are being preserved,
like the Spanish colonial town in Vigan City, for protection
and conservation.
The Chinese influences in Filipino culture
are most evident in Filipino cuisine. The prevalence of
noodles, known locally as mami, is a testament to Chinese
cuisine. Many Filipino superstitions are also Chinese
in origin. Other Chinese influences include linguistic
borrowings and the occasional Chinese derived surnames.
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