You are on page 1of 5

.

The history of the Philippines is believed to have begun with the arrival of the first humans using rafts or primitive boats, at least 67,000 years ago as the 2007 discovery of Callao Man showed.[1] The first recorded visit from the West is the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan, who sighted the island of Samar Island on March 16, 1521 and landed on Homonhon Island (now part of Guiuan, Eastern Samar province) the next day. Homonhon Island is southeast of Samar Island.[2]Before Magellan arrived, Negrito tribes inhabited the isles, who were subsequently joined and largely supplanted by migrating groups of Austronesians. This population had stratified into hunter-gatherer tribes, warrior societies, petty plutocracies and maritime-oriented harbor principalities which eventually grew into kingdoms, rajahnates, principalities, confederations and sultanates

The invasion of the Filipinos by Spain did not begin in earnest until 1564, when another expedition from New Spain, commanded by Miguel Lpez de Legaspi, arrived. Permanent Spanish settlement was not established until 1565 when an expedition led by Miguel Lpez de Legazpi, the first Governor-General of the Philippines, arrived in Cebu from New Spain. Spanish leadership was soon established over many small independent communities that previously had known no central rule. Six years later, following the defeat of the local Muslim ruler, Legazpi established a capital at Manila, a location that offered the outstanding harbor of Manila Bay, a large population, and closeness to the sufficient food supplies of the central Luzon rice lands. Manila became the center of Spanish civil, military, religious, and commercial activity in the islands.

American settlement in the Philippines (or American Filipino) began during the Spanish period, when Americans came to the islands primarily to conduct business. They owned many businesses in trade and in the sugar industry. Although not harassed by Spanish laws, the American inflow to the Philippines was minimal until the Philippine-American War. Following the colonization of the islands by the United States of America, thousands of Americans have settled, either temporarily or permanently. Most were either members of the U.S. military, or missionaries sent by North American mission groups.[citation needed] After independence in 1946, many Americans chose to remain in the Philippines while maintaining relations with relatives in the United States.

The Japanese occupation of the Philippines occurred between 1942 and 1945, when the Empire of Japan occupied the Commonwealth of the Philippines during World War II.The invasion of the Philippines started on December 8, 1941, ten hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor. As at Pearl Harbor, the American aircraft were severely damaged in the initial Japanese attack. Lacking air cover, the American Asiatic Fleet in the Philippines withdrew to Java on December 12, 1941. General Douglas MacArthur escaped Corregidor on the night of March 11, 1942 for Australia, 4,000 km away. The 76,000 starving and sick American and Filipino defenders on Bataan surrendered on April 9, 1942, and were forced to endure the infamous Bataan Death March on which 7,000-10,000 died or were murdered. The 13,000 survivors on Corregidor surrendered on May 6.Japan occupied the Philippines for over three years, until the surrender of Japan.

It was told that that in the beginning, there was no earth or man. There was only the Sky and the Sea. Both of equal prowess, they exist one above or below the other. The only thing in between them was a small bird.The bird was flying endlessly, until, he got bored and tired. The Sky was above him, but he can't reach it; below him was the Sea, but he can't land on it.So the bird thought deeply. And then he swooshed, and scooped and splashed water from the Sea. He continued with his splashing until water reached the Sky above.The Sky was furious. He didn't want the waters to flood him, and he noticed that the Sea now was also mad.All the Sky thought of was creating rocks and then throwing them. And so he did. The Sky created rocks and he threw them down, which landed on the Sea.The bird was satisfied. He landed on those rocks and then made a nest.The Sky commanded the bird to never disturb him and the Sea again. But then the bird noticed something floating on the water. He ignored it but the bamboo shaft bumped him and hurt him. He got so furious so he pecked and pecked the bamboo until it split into two.From the first half sprung a man, and from the second, a woman. Strength and Beauty. They were our first parents, and from them, the rest of the world began

The word Tagalog derived from tagailog, from tag- meaning "native of" and log meaning "river". Thus, it means "river dweller". Very little is known about the history of the language. However, according to linguists such as Dr. David Zorc and Dr. Robert Blust, the Tagalogs originated, along with their Central Philippine cousins, from Northeastern Mindanao or Eastern Visayas.[5][6] The first written record of Tagalog is in the Laguna Copperplate Inscription, written in 900 A.D, using fragments of the language along with Sanskrit, Malay, and Javanese. Meanwhile, the first known book to be written in Tagalog is the Doctrina Christiana (Christian Doctrine) of 1593. It was written in Spanish and two transcriptions of Tagalog; one in the Baybayin script and the other in Latin script. Throughout the 333 years of Spanish occupation, there were grammars and dictionaries written by Spanish clergymen such as Vocabulario de la Lengua Tagala by Pedro de San Buenaventura (Pila, Laguna, 1613), Vocabulario de la lengua tagala (1835) and Arte de la lengua tagala y manual tagalog para la administracin de los Santos Sacramentos (1850). Poet Francisco Baltazar (17881862) is regarded as the foremost Tagalog writer. His most notable work is the early 19th-century Florante at Laura.

You might also like