Outline
Perhaps no other country in Asia has felt the sustained hand of western influence more than the Philippines. The over 7,000 island nation’s documented history is primarily post colonization, though it has a rich tribal heritage extending back for millennia. The country has struggled to step outside of its colonial shackles. Held by the constricting Spanish grip and good old fashioned American “diplomacy” they fell beneath a western shadow with a short but significant intervention by the Japanese.
The questions that ought to be asked:
Is a 20th century colonized nation capable of an immediately effective democracy? As colonizing hands recede what is a country to be left with? Can it govern itself justly after emerging from centuries of observing unjust examples?
Unsurprisingly, the nation is left behind by its colonizing counterparts. Its corrupted roots laid the foundation for further corruption to flourish. As the global elites scoured the third world for resources, why would the emerging nations elite behave any different? The Philippines has since been burdened by corruption. horrid leadership has stolen directly from the people. They’ve plunged the country into unnecessary indebtedness and failed to leverage the countries agricultural landscape.
The government is faced with the widening forces of Islam and the rest of the world dividing its people and their territories. The country is being pulled in two with Christians on one side and Muslims on the other. In one sense it is a microcosm of the greater world. Representing perhaps the most important social issue to be dealt with in the 21st century. This too has colonial roots. Before Catholic boots set foot in Cebu the Muslim’s too were expanding their territory and migrating to Asia beating Magellan by over a century. As it is with the US and the Middle East these issues are too historic and complicated to dismiss as mere modern extremism. None are fully innocent, Christians or Muslims, alike.
Beneath the shadow of these issues there is light for the nation:
Its people, its tourism, its surpassing of India for global business support services, commercial ties with the US and the foreign cash support that continues to flow in from overseas foreign workers.
The story will unfold in two parts, early history comprising up to the beginning of the 20th century, and modern history comprising events thereafter.
Early History:
Barangays Geography plays a key role in shaping the history and cultural development of both the early and modern Philippines. Small stretches of ocean separate groups of islanders from each other. The groups comprised what are still known as, barangays, small Filipino villages or modern administrative districts. The word derives from balangay, meaning sailboats. The seafarers migrated in groups of families from the surrounding Malay territories, like the larger Borneo, and other regions within Asia like Indonesia. India has already had some earlier interactions as evidence by Sanskrit inscriptions, and its presence woven into the native Tagalog language. There is interaction amongst tribes, but it is not significant, and larger settlements do not form with the exception of Muslim Mindanao in the south. In the Philippines when you are standing at the shoreline the ocean is not so vast. There is always another island in your sights, and in many cases, another barangay, each with slightly different traditions, cuisine, methods, and some with different languages. In those times one would feel a strong loyalty and connection to their group, but at the same time they would have known other groups, not so different from themselves, were scattered all around them. In the small provincial regions of Cebu, Batangas, and Coron we’ve been travelling there is evidently more foreign and domestic interaction. Populations are becoming increasingly dense, and as in the west, their world is shrinking in size. Still, however, the barangay lives on in a modified format. Spanish Arrival These charming family oriented barangays operated well for managing minor farms and fishing operations. However, without any form of a united military front it makes for an ease of colonization. The Spanish became increasingly experienced with the struggles of colonization during a severe conquest of what is now Mexico in the early 16th century decades after Columbus accidently struck the Americas. Spain and Portugal were at the peak of their colonial efforts expanding beyond the Caribbean. The world began shrinking in size and maps slowly more accurate. Separate exploration groups were sent to Asia to expand the reach and sophistication of European trade with the most relevant to our history being Ferdinand Magellan. Magellan Made Martyr Magellan arrived on the island of Cebu in 1521 encountering the local barangays. A Portuguese man working for the Spanish royals he found himself very far from home. Part of the Spanish emphasis beyond trade improvements was the spread of Christianity. In each established region they sought the conversion of the local people to Catholicism becoming heavily favoured by the Pope in Europe in the midst of widespread reformation. These actions by the Spanish in foreign lands were initiated by local European affairs, and had tremendous implications on their position in Europe. Trade was highly competitive, religious orders destabilized, and war constant.
Magellan’s ambitions of conversion allegedly worked on the Cebu leader, Humabon. However, the efforts were much different for the leader of Mactan, Lapu Lapu. One month after his arrival in the region Magellan made a short sail for Mactan meeting his death at the hands of Lapu Lapu and his people.
*In modern times Cebu City on the island of Cebu retains some monuments of Magellan’s arrival and the triumphant Lapu Lapu. These are in the form of Magellan’s cross, and separate monuments to both figures.
Unfortunately for the Filipino’s this would only be the beginning of their Spanish encounters. Further Spanish ships would be sent to formally colonize the islands with Miguel Lopez de Legazpi establishing Manila as the capital of the Spanish East Indies in 1571.
Spanish Colonization
At the conclusion of these conquests, the Spanish were able to incorporate the Philippines into their traditional governmental models basing themselves at Intramuros in Manila. The friars would become the colonies powerful elite. Citizens would be relocated, and trade established to generate income for the crown. The primary economic objective being to obtain and trade spices and other Eastern goods for sale in Europe.
The rule of the islands would be maintained by the Spanish for centuries with minor Dutch and English attacks, including a brief British occupation of Manila in the 1760s. The Chinese were always a threatening force at sea but basing themselves in Manila mitigated this problem.
Overtime, wealth would also grow locally, particularly among the Spanish officials, but also in the hands of a growing elite. The nations rich resources kept the farming and fishing populations busy and provided work for the merchants.
Jose Rizal, Nationalism, & the Propaganda Movements
Inevitably, as world affairs and ideas developed the Filipino people would join the global wave of nationalism that involved the rising voice of the people demanding greater rights and abilities from their government.
The catalysts of this process for the Philippines were those fortunate enough to be sent to European and American schools for their education. By the time the Philippines entered the mid 19th century the revolutions of the American's and the French had long been concluded, and labour laws were being introduced in Europe to protect factory workers. These young scholars would have the opportunity to study documents like the Declaration of Independence or the earlier Magna Carta and begin to formulate perceptions of new possibilities and rights for the Filipino people. Many of these influential high class students and officials began fighting colonialism with a pen and ink in what would come to be known as the Propaganda Movement. The movement sought to provide the Filipino people with information to better understand their position amongst the Spanish authority. In some cases in direct contrast to the messages the people were being fed by their local officials.
Discontent for the overbearing Spanish governance was widespread but not revolutionary. A key figure would emerge within the movement as a national hero and martyr, Jose Rizal. Rizal was a doctor conducting studies in Spain, France, and elsewhere in Europe. He began writing in support of social reform at the same time the Philippines was rising into full revolution under the Katipunan (KKK), a militant revolutionary group formed in the 1890s.
Spanish efforts to squash these intellectual and military efforts intensified. Rizal would initially be exiled and later sentenced to death by firing squad in 1896. The Spanish would soon learn however that they could kill the man but not the mindset of revolution. That same year the Philippines erupted into a full military revolution against the Spanish. In midst of this rebellion the Spanish would allegedly sink an American Navy ship in Havana sparking the Spanish-American war in 1898. The Philippines would declare their independence in Manila before the U.S. Navy arrived to spoil the party and claim the islands as their own. After all of their efforts to escape the powerful Spanish the country found itself under the control of a much stronger force.
Modern History
America Seizes Philippines
After a long Spanish reign the Philippines would transfer ownership sparking a trend that would continue throughout the 20th century. The country would be changed as a result of global circumstances they had little to no influence in creating. The Spanish-American War in North American began over Cuban disputes in the New World and ended with the Filipino’s being controlled by the world’s newest superpower.
Global politics is multi-variable and complex, but a significant initial driver would have to be the U.S. positioning itself for greater influence over the Chinese and Asia as a whole. Control over the Philippines placed America in the center of Asia. It gave them prime strategic military positioning and greater means of protecting their global trade interests. This would become increasingly valuable as the world fell into World War Two and an extended Cold War which saw the American’s intervening in Vietnam and Korea.
The Philippines would remain under U.S. control for the first half of the 20th century until events occurred in Europe and Japan that would destabilize foreign relationships and cause us to descend into the second world war.
The Eastern Front – Japan
Japan moved to assault their Asian neighbours, and forced the U.S’s involvement in World War Two with the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. Similar to the Spanish-American War, the Philippines would once again succumb to global affairs they had little influence in changing. Japanese forces would move to secure the Philippines the day after Pearl Harbor, and battles on Philippine soil would ensue before a U.S. retreat to Australia, though some would be left under Japanese control in prison camps.
“I shall return” - General Douglas MacArthur
Were the general’s legendary words as he fled the Philippines following Japan’s successful invasion. Words the general would keep in the years to come.
The treatment of these American and Filipino prisoners under Japanese control was harsh. Notably, in 1942 the prisoners underwent a forced relocation in Bataan that would come to be known as the “Death March”. Thousands of POWs died on the strenuous hike in the tropical heat after severe physical and mental abuse.
It would take MacArthur some time, but the American’s immediately declared war on Japan, and began planning how to re-secure control of the Philippines. After a three year hold in the region, the battles in the Philippines would climax with the Battle of Manila. Devastating warfare was fought on the streets of Manila. More civilians than soldiers met their deaths and much of the cities infrastructure had been decimated as part of some of the wars worst urban fighting in both fronts. This included government buildings, and even a short battle within the Rizal Memorial Baseball field where the Japanese had established a perimeter.
The U.S. utilized extensive force on the Japanese, conducting air strikes, placing paratroopers onto Corregidor Island, and blasting Intramuros’ thick 14 foot walls, eventually winning back the country. MacArthur would poetically raise the U.S. flag on Corregidor making good on his word, and a baseball game would be played in the Rizal stadium ruins. The U.S. would portray themselves as hero's to the Philippines saving them from Japanese occupation, and liberating them from harsh rule while securing large military bases on the island for the rest of the century.
The Enemies Within For most of its history the Philippines were harmed greatest by the overbearing hands of their powerful rulers. Those that strictly controlled their affairs and restricted their independence. As these forces slowly began to withdraw it left a space, and in this space, opportunity. An opportunity for local leaders to emerge and to decide the direction of the remainder of the 20th century. They would be given the keys to the country and with it the responsibility to structure democratic governmental systems to serve the people. Equally, however, the space left the opportunity for oligarchs and dictators to create benefits for themselves. This is exactly what happened. Instead of leadership emerging to liberate the people they merely replaced their grips with their own. Corruption is deeply routed and widespread as an ingrained part of the political, economic, and even law enforcement environment. During our time here it became abundantly clear how frustrating and limiting this is for the people. We heard stories of police officers starting on the job receiving blank cash envelopes, and when refusing or inquiring into why, transferred to the front lines in the south. We read about trade differences in this billions between Philippines and China, and of the cringing behaviour of the countries elite. Stemming from the time of Filipino independence below are a few of the key characters in the tales of corruption:
Ferdinand & Imelda Marco’s The Marco's held a long running reign of power as husband and wife. A n attorney and decorated World War Two figure that fought alongside the American troops boasting claims later proven false by the U.S. Army. They were dictators that initiated a martial law between 1972 - 1981 citing a widespread Communist threat to the nation. Claims that were undoubtedly overstated, and in the meantime, they slowly extracted personal wealth in the billions of dollars. In 1986 he would finally be removed from power, and was permitted to flee to Hawaii at Reagan's advise. Benigno Jr & Corazon Aquino Benigno Aquino Jr was the primary opposition of the Marco's. He had spent some time in the senate and in prison and exile during the martial law period before being assassinated at Manila's airport which now bears his name in tribute. In a remarkable story, his widowed wife Corazon would run for president in a 1986 snap election and win despite never holding any prior positions in politics. Joseph Estrada A movie star who was elected president in 1998, impeached in 2001, and in 2007 was sentenced to life in prison for stealing $80M from the government. He was later pardoned by future president Arroyo (below), and upon release ran for re-election losing to Benigno Aquino III (son of Benigno Jr and Carzon). After this defeat he proceeded to run for mayor of Manila assuming the office in June 2013, which he currently still holds. Quite a story! Gloria Macapagal - Arroyo Professor and second female president that took office from 2001 - 2010. In 2011 she was arrested and tried for electoral fraud and then in 2012 arrested from the hospital for misuse of state lottery funds. She would eventually be acquitted of all charges, and like Estrada remains in politics as the speaker of the house of representatives. It would be hard to be a Filipino citizen reading the papers or watching the news and hearing of these disgraceful injustices inflicted by their leadership. To hear that one couple has stolen not just millions but billions of dollars from its people is hard to deal with. Or to see others brought to court only to be released and re-enter politics. As a small business owner you would be reluctant to pay your taxes in full. What would be the point if you knew that your larger competitors and government officials were claiming a fraction of their own? Some of the stories of these officials is soap opera worthy, yet unfortunately it is a reality. Even as a modest traveller completely unaffected by it all I cringe and feel a bit of anger. There aren’t many worse vices in life than betraying your own people. To have the audacity to take from the general public what is rightfully theirs when it is your direct responsibility to serve them is an atrocity. How do they feel covered in their expensive garments and flashy vehicles as they drive through Manila facing the suffering they ought to alleviate? They must know that the taxes these people reluctantly pay would better serve their families. Instead they pay for the luxuries of the morally undeserving. Dante places these betrayers in the ninth and final circle of his inferno amongst Cain and Judas (Divine Comedy – Canto XXXII). A shocking revelation for those that are serving a predominantly Catholic population. A New Direction? At current, the Philippines is still fighting to free itself from corruptions burden. In no way have these issues met their conclusion, and I'm not sure they are improving to any significant degree. The countries military contention with its Muslim minority of the south also doesn't help matters. Though, as mentioned in the beginning, the Philippines is continuously being opened up to the world. Their strength of the English language has made them the global leader in business support services like call centers. Its people are a beacon of hope displaying so much kindness and generosity, and cash is still pouring in from family members abroad. When asking people what ought to be done to improve the Philippines alleviating corruption is at the top of the list. When asked how to do that, nobody knows where to begin. Sources: https://www.britannica.com/topic/barangay http://www.philippine-history.org/spanish-expeditions.htm A History of the Philippines from Indios Bravos to Filipinos – Luis H. Francia – The Overlook Press – 2014 Liberation of the Philippines by the U.S. Army – Presented by the United States Army