Travel Smart Inc

Description

History. Philippine history, many argue, did not begin with the coming of the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan in 1521. Rather, it began in the 13th century when 10 datus from Borneo, each with a hundred of his kinsmen, landed in what is now known as Panay Island in the Visayas. Yet it was Magellan and succeeding expeditions from Spain who put the Philippine archipelago on the map of the world. The intrepid Magellan was dubbed the discoverer of the Philippines after he landed in Homonhon Islet, near Samar, on March 17, 1521. He was later killed in Mactan Island of Cebu in clash with native warriors led by a chieftain named Lapu-lapu. The Philippines was a prize catch for Spain which, at that time, was locked in a fierce struggle for world colonization with Portugal. The archipelago, named Felipinas for Spain's Philip II, was composed of 7,107 islands and islets spanning 1854 kilometers from north to south. The Philippines, also a window to the New World, stretched from China to the north and the Indonesian archipelago to the south . The northernmost tip of the country, Y'ami of the Batanes Island group, is 241 kilometers south of Taiwan while the southernmost tip, Sibutu of the Tawi-tawi group of islands, is just 14.4 kilometers north of Borneo. The Philippines in fact is at a most strategic location making it a natural hub for commerce. Manila and Cebu are premiere centers of trade in the region. To the east is the vast Pacific Ocean and beyond it, the new World. To the west are the kingdoms of Indochina including Cambodia and Thailand while southwest is Malaysia. There are three major geographical groups in the country: Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The northern portion of the archipelago is composed of the largest island, Luzon. The Visayan region is made up of about 6,000 islands including Panay, Leyte, Samar, Cebu and Bohol. Mindanao is the second largest island and encompasses about 400 smaller islands. Spanish colonizer succeeded in introducing Christianity in Luzon and Visayas but were unsuccessful in Mindanao, where Moslem staved off Spanish efforts. Spanish rule lasted from the 16th century to the 19th century but was marked with a series of revolts. When three Filipino priest were executed for nationalist activities, a group of reformist formed the Propaganda Movement that would later pave the way for the Philippine Revolution. A young doctor-writer named Jose Rizal was arrested and later executed by Spanish officials for his scathing criticisms of Spanish rule in the Philippines through two novel. Rizal, who was just 30 when he was executed, would later be recognized by historian as Asia's first nationalist. His contemporaries include Gandhi and Dr. Sun Yat-sen. The Philippine Revolution was launched after Rizal's death and was led first by Andres Bonifacio and then later by Emilio Aguinaldo. Philippine independence was proclaimed on June 12, 1898 on the balcony of Aguinaldo's home in Cavite. But as Spanish rule ended, so would American domination start. Unknown to Aguinaldo and the Filipinos, Spain ceded the archipelago to the US for $20 million.

Products & services

Similar companies nearby