Philippine Islands example essay topic

Southeast Asia is the location of a small country called the Philippines. Formally, Republic of the Philippines, the archipelago consists of roughly 7,100 islands that are located in the southwest Pacific Ocean just Southeast of China. Natives of the country are called Filipinos. The term formerly originated when lowland Christian Spaniards, called in dios, began referring to themselves as "Filipinos" (Dolan 76). The ethnic background of a modern day Filipino is as complex as a typical American's; it is a combination of numerous cultures. So the term "Filipino" means little more than does the term "American" (Bullen 36).

The first known settlers on the islands were the Negritos, the aboriginal Filipinos, who arrived about 30,000 years ago (Guillermo 2). Since then, many different types of people have continuously inhabited the islands such as Chinese, Malaysian, Indonesian, Japanese, Spanish, as well as American for over 25,000 years (Levinson 153). Therefore, through centuries of interracial mating, the modern Filipino has become a unique blend of various cultures, resulting in a diverse population. The Land: Pre-History of the Philippine Archipelago Around 65 million years ago, scientists believe that the Philippines and the island of Borneo were one landmass that was thrown up by volcanic eruptions in the ocean bed (Bullen 36). The eruptions were one of many processes of Plate Tectonics, which refers to changes in the configuration of Earth's crust as a result of internal forces (Christopherson 323). In time, the islands detached from each other, becoming unoccupied territory for inviting settlers.

However, during that time, the human species was still in the process of evolution, so the land was settled by tenants other than human. According to Jared Diamond, the origin of human history began in central Africa about 7 million years ago. Humans were confined in the continent for the next 5 million years (36). Homo erectus was the first human ancestor to spread beyond the continent of Africa toward the Southeast Asian region about 1 million years ago.

After detaching from the landmass, the archipelago became its own isolated and independent country (Diamond 37). The Land: Facts on the Philippines Officially called Republic of the Philippines, this small island country in Southeast Asia is an archipelago consisting of some 7,100 islands and islets lying about 500 miles off the coast. The total land area of the Philippines is 115,800 square miles. It lies in the southwest Pacific Ocean bounded by the Philippine Sea to the east, the Celebes Sea to the south, and the South China Sea to the west and north. During the Spanish rule, the archipelago was named Islas Filipinos, or Philippine Islands, in honor of Philip II of Spain. Filipino is the term for the citizens of the country and originated when lowland Christians referred to themselves as "Filipinos" (Dolan 76).

Because of the separation of the isolated islands, Philippines has many different sub-languages, depending on certain regions. Almost each island has its own language, but the main language used is Tagalog, a large ethno linguistic group indigenous to central and southern Luzon, particularly around Manila, which is the nation's capital (Britannica). The Land: The Main Sectioned Island Regions Of the 7,100 islands, eleven have an area of more than 2,600 square miles each and contain the bulk of the population (Dolan 53). The eleven islands are divided into three primary regions. The largest island, located in the north, is Luzon, which has a land area of 40,420 square miles and contains major cities such as Manila, the national capital, Quezon City, and Baguio. Luzon is also home of the well known Mount Pinatubo.

Mindanao is the second largest island, with an area of 36,537 square miles and lies in the south. Mount Apo and cities like Davao, Isabela, and Butut an can be found in Mindanao. The third region is a group of nine islands located in the center between Luzon and Mindanao called the Visayas or the Visayan group. The nine islands are Mindoro, Bohol, Cebu, Leyte, Masbate, Negros, Panay, Samar, and Palawan in the west (Guillermo 10). Although the islands have been continuously inhabited for over 25,000 years, the Negrito, Proto-Malay and Malay peoples were the principal inhabitants of the Philippine archipelago (Dolan 16). First and Early Migrations of Humans onto the Land: Migrations by Land Known as the aboriginal Filipinos, the Philippine Negritos were the original settlers on the land.

The Negritos, in reference to their darker skin, are short, kinky-haired, Mongoloid people and are believed to be descendants of the Asian pygmies. A local tribe called the Aeta were the first humans who lived in the Philippines. Anthropologists believe they arrived from the Southeast Asian mainland by way of land bridges, that no longer exist, through the Malay peninsula about 30,000 years ago, during the last glacial period. Traditionally they were hunter-gatherers, but with the arrival of the Malays 20,000 years later, the Negritos entered into a pattern of trade relations that persists to this day. The Aeta, or sometimes referred to as Beluga, is only one of four remaining Negrito tribes (Aeta, Atis, Its, and Tasaday) in the Philippines left today (Gross holtz). The best known of the Negritos are the "world famous" Tasaday, the last Stone Age people.

In June 1971, Philippine government officials announced the shocking discovery of a new group of Filipinos, the Tasaday, in the rain forests of Mindanao Island. The discovery was made by Manuel Eliz alde, a local hunter, while he was hunting for wild boar in the rain forest. Researchers presumed that the tribe lived in isolation for hundreds of years resulting in their prehistoric lifestyle. The Tasadays lived in caves, ate wild fruits and vegetables, hunted wild animals as their main source of food, and wore leaves and vines for clothing, utilizing the jungle's resources. There are only twenty-eight Tasadays left and they still reside in the caves of the luscious rain forests of Mindanao today, (Bullen 23).

Since the arrival of the Spanish in the early 16th century, the Negritos have been pushed toward assimilation and extinction, decreasing the total population of Negritos. In a 1990 Census, statistics show that there are only about 15,000 Negritos remaining, organized into some 25 groups on the islands of Luzon, Palawan, Panay, Negros, Cebu, and of course Mindanao (Levinson 123). First and Early Migrations of Humans onto the Land: Migrations by Water After the disappearance of the land bridges at the end of the glacial period, the Proto-Malays and the Malays were the next immigrants of the Philippines (Levinson 130). They arrived via barangay's, which is a Malay term for a large sailboat (Guillermo 37), from the Malay Peninsula, mainly from Malaysia and Indonesia. Therefore, most Filipinos are primarily Malaysian and Indonesian descent (Levinson 131).

Today, various ethnic tribes still choose to live isolated from modern civilization, preserving their culture and abiding by their traditional laws. They still live in the mountainous regions of the country or in the vast and luscious rain forests. Each tribe consists of 15 to 40 people in the immediate group ranging from infants to elders. Manga yan is the collective name given to Mindoro's indigenous Proto-Malayan people. The Mangayans can also be found on the islands of Panay and Luzon.

The more recent Malays are somewhat common and are widely spread across the nation. Tribes such as the Ig roto live in the jungles of Baguio, Batangas, and Tarlac on the main island of Luzon. The Bontoc tribes are on the islands of Samar, Leyte, Masbate, and a few in the forests of Negros. The Tinguians can be found mainly in the island of Palawan, but some are known to have migrated to Mindanao.

These are just some of the many ethnic tribes that inhabit the Philippine islands (Levinson 135). Colonial Intrusions David Levinson states that "Southeast Asia has served as a north-south funnel for peoples and cultures for thousands of years, resulting in a hodgepodge of linguistic and ethnic groups" (119). Southeast Asia is an intersection of migrating traffic. Physically, most Southeast Asian peoples belong to either the Asiatic or the Australian geographic race, with significant variations within each group. Australian groups include the Semang of Malaysia, the Andamanese, and some Cambodian groups. Intermediate Asiatics include the Thais, Malay, Lao, Vietnamese, Cambodians, Filipinos, and Indonesians.

Many different types of cultures have influenced the Philippines. As newcomers arrived, the earlier settlers moved inland and formed small communities. Each group developed its own culture, but the Chinese, Spanish, American, and Japanese have the most influence on the population's culture as well as its ethnic mixture (Levinson 122). Colonial Intrusions: Chinese The Chinese first arrived into the islands about 1000 AD as traders. They traded tools, foods (mainly rice), and many different resources with the Philippine locals. Eventually, the Chinese migrated to places like Puerto Princesa on Palawan, Zamboanga on Mindanao, and Negros.

In time, interracial marriages occurred between the Chinese and the locals producing hybrid offspring known as Chinese Mestizos. Mestizo is the offspring of Filipino and non-Filipino marriages (Levinson 123). The Chinese had few cultural influences on Filipinos such as hunting techniques, food gathering techniques, building procedures, and certain types of writing systems. Nevertheless, in comparison with other parts of the region, the influence of China on the Philippines was of little importance. The peoples of the Philippine archipelago, unlike most of the other peoples of Southeast Asia, never adopted Buddhism (Britannica). Colonial Intrusions: Spanish In Philippine history, the early Spanish period is from 1521 to 1762.

According to Robert Dolan, the first recorded sighting of the Philippines by Europeans was on March 16, 1521, during Ferdinand Magellan's circumnavigation of the globe. Magellan was a Portuguese navigator who landed on Cebu, claimed the land for Charles I of Spain. He was killed one month later on the island of Mact an, near Cebu island, when he tried to impose Christianity and Spanish supremacy on the local chief, Lapu-Lapu. Lapu-Lapu was eventually killed, nevertheless, for his successful defiance of the Spanish, Lapu-Lapu is known all over the country as a national folk hero (230).

During the following decades, Spain sent several expeditions to the archipelago. Permanent Spanish settlement was finally established in 1565 when Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, the first royal governor, arrived in Cebu from New Spain, what is now called Mexico. In the following years, the islands were given their present name in honor of Philip II of Spain, who reigned from 1556 to 1598 (Levinson 128). Because Philippines was under the rule of Spain for 333 years, the Spanish inflicted the most influence on Filipinos. Religion played a significant role in Spain's relations with and attitudes toward the indigenous population; a little over ninety percent of the current total population are Roman Catholic.

Certain beliefs in their religion have become traditions to most Filipinos today. Language had also highly influenced Filipino people; numerous words in modern Tagalog have a striking resemblance to Spanish. In addition, interracial marriage also occurred during these times. Spanish-Filipino, also known as Spanish Mestizo, is an offspring of the two joint races, and can be distinguished by their fairer complexion, taller stature, and aquiline nose structure. That is why Filipinos are thought to have been descended from the Spanish (Dora i 333). Colonial Intrusions: American The Philippines was under the United States tutelage for 48 years, which also resulted in many cultural influences as well as interracial mating.

1898 was the year of the Spanish-American war to claim rights to the Philippines. Ultimately, Spain was defeated by the United States resulting in the American guardianship from 1898 to 1945. During those years many Americans settled in the Philippines, the majorities of them are from the military, and lived in numerous navy and air force bases. By this time, interracial marriage was common especially with the Americans, for the reason of eager Filipinos, mostly women that want to relocate to the States (Levinson 153). Colonial Intrusions: Japanese The Japanese infliction on the Philippine culture transpired during the harsh years of World War II from 1941 to 1945.

The event that is commonly remembered by Filipinos occurred on December 8, 1941 when Japan launched a surprise attack on the Philippines, just ten hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Of the four, the Japanese intrusion was the most memorable. During the war, Japanese soldiers would invade innocent Filipino homes. Mainly homes in the mountainous areas and farms along the grassy planes. Eventually, these invasions would lead to innocent Filipino deaths of all ages. The Japanese would also sexually abuse the women even children during their violent raids.

After the war, a small number of the female victims survived. Today, there is less than five percent of the population are Japanese mixed (Dolan 540). In conclusion, Filipinos are an assemblage of heterogeneous people, a diverse culture with each individual differing from one another, lacking purity. Every other Filipino has ancestors from blended regions of the world, mainly the densely populated and complex vicinity of Southeast Asia. In essence, most Filipinos today have the slightest clue of their ethnic background; these people are part of a confused race, ignorant of their heritage, raped of their true identity.