Philippine History
Colonial Period
In 1521, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan arrived in the Philippines, and claimed the islands for Spain. Colonization began when Spanish explorer Miguel López de Legazpi, arrived from Mexico in 1565 and formed the first European settlements in Cebu.
In 1571, they established Manila as the capital of the Spanish East Indies. Spanish rule brought political unification to a group of islands, and communities that later became the Philippines, and introduced elements of western civilisation. The islands were governed as a territory of the Viceroyalty of New Spain from 1565 to 1821, and administered directly from Spain from 1821 to 1898.
During this period, towns, cities, and provinces were founded, and trade flourished. The Manila Galleon which linked Manila to Acapulco carried spices, porcelain and silk to the Americas, and silver from Mexico on the return voyage to the Philippines. Spain fought indigenous rebels, pirates, and invasions from European powers such as Great Britain, the Netherlands and Portugal.
Roman Catholic missionaries converted most of the inhabitants to Christianity, and founded schools, hospitals, and universities. European migration to the Philippines created a new class of Criollo (Spaniard born in the Philippines), and Mestizo (mixed Spaniard, and Malayo-Polynesian). In 1863 the colonial government established free public education in Spanish. The first official census in the Philippines was carried out in 1878. The country’s population as of December 31, 1877 was recorded at 5,567,685 persons.
In the 1700s, the Philippines opened its ports to world trade. The economy increased, and many criollos, and mestizos in the Philippines became wealthy. In the 1800s, the Suez Canal was opened, reducing travel time between Spain, and the Philippines. The influx of Spaniards secularized churches, and government positions traditionally held by the criollos. The ideals of revolution began to spread to the Philippines in the second half of the century. Criollo insurgency resulted in the Novales, and the revolt in Cavite el Viejo in 1872.
The Philippine Revolution began after colonial authorities executed three priests, Mariano Gómez, José Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora (known as Gomburza), who were accused of rebellion. This would inspire a Propaganda movement formed in Spain, which included Filipino patriots José Rizal, Marcelo H. del Pilar and Mariano Ponce, to organized political reforms through the newspaper La Solidaridad (The Solidarity). Unable to achieve complete reforms, Rizal returned to the Philippines and established La Liga Filipina (The Philippine League). After publishing works such as Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, he was arrested by colonial authorities and was deported to Dapitan.
Andrés Bonifacio established the Katipunan in 1892 that sought independence from Spain. After the Cry of Pugadlawin, Bonifacio founded the Republic of Katagalugan. Emilio Aguinaldo, a member of the Katipunan, challenged his position as the leader of the revolution, splitting into two factions, the Magdiwang and the Magdalo. Aguinaldo took control of the leadership from Bonifacio, while other members of the Katipunan was executed by its members.
Rizal was executed on December 30, 1896 on charged of rebellion. The revolution began in El Viejo, Cavite, leading to the establishment of the Republic of Biak-na-Bato. A ceasefire was agreed as the Treaty of Biak-na-Bato, which led to the revolutionary leaders to depart for Hong Kong, in exile. Governor General Fernando Primo de Rivera proclaimed the revolution over in May 17, 1897.
