Hi

st
oryoft
hePhi
l
ippi
nes

Thehi storyoft hePhi li

ppi
nesi sbeli
evedtohavebegunwi tht hearri
valofthef i
rsthumans
usingr aftsorboat s[1][2]
[3]atleast709,000y
ear sagoass uggestedbyt hediscov eryof
Pl
ei st
oc enes t
onet oolsandbut c
heredanimalremainsassociatedwithhomi ninact i
vit
y.[
4]
Homol uzonens i
s,as peci
esofar chai
chumans,waspr esentont heisl
andofLuz onatl east
67,000y earsago.[5][6]Theear li
estknownmoder nhumanwasf r
om TabonCav ei nPal awan
datingabout47, 000y ear
s.[
7]Negr it
ogroupsweret hefi
rsti
nhabitantstosettl
ei nt he
prehistoricPhil
ippines.Afterthat,gr
oupsofAus t
ronesi
anslatermigratedtot heislands.

Scholarsgener al
lybeli
evet hatt hesesoci
algroupsev entuall
ydev elopedintov ari
oussett
lements
orpol i
ti
eswi thvaryi
ngdegr eesofec onomicspec ial
izati
on,soc i
alstrat
ifi
cat
ion,andpol i
ti
cal
organization.
[8]Someoft hes es et
tl
ements(mos tl
ythos elocatedonmaj orriverdel
tas)
achieveds uchas cal
eofs oc ialcomplexi
tythats omes cholar
sbel i
ev etheyshouldbec onsider
ed
earl
ys tates.
[9]Thisincl
udest hepredecess
orsofmoder n-daypopul ati
onc enterssuchas
May nil
a,Tondo,Pangas inan,Cebu,Panay ,Bohol ,Butuan,Cot abato,Lanao,andSul u[2]aswel l
assomepol i
ti
es,suc
hasMa- i
,whos epossi
bleloc at
ioni ssti
l
lthes ubjectofdebat eamong
scholars.
[10]

Thes epol iti

eswer eeit
herinf
luencedbyt heHi ndu- Buddhist[
11]I ndianreli
gion,language,
culture,lit
er at
ureandphi l
osophyf r
om Indiathr oughmanyc ampai gnsfrom Indiai nc
ludingt he
Sout h-Eas tAs i
ac ampaignofRaj endraChol aI,[12]Islam fr
om Ar abiaorwer eSi nif
iedtri
but ary
statesalliedt oChi na.Thesesmal lmari
ti
mes tatesflouris
hedf rom the1s tmillennium.[13][14]
Thes ek i
ngdomst radedwithwhatar enowc alledChi na,India,Japan,Thail
and,Vi etnam,and
Indones ia.[15]Ther emai
nderoft hesett
lement swer eindependentbar angay salli
edwi thoneof
thel argers tates.Thesesmallstatesal
ternatedf rom beingpar toforbei nginf l
uenc edbyl arger
As i
anempi resli
k etheMingDy nast
y,Maj apahitandBr uneiorr ebell
ingandwagi ngwaragai nst
them.

Thef i
rstrecordedv i
s i
tbyEur opeansi sthearrivalofFer di
nandMagel l
an.Hes ightedSamar
Is
landonMar ch16,1521andl andedt henex tdayonHomonhonI sland,nowpar tofGuiuan,
EasternSamar .
[16][17]Spanishc olonial
ism beganwi tht hearrivalofMi guelLópezdeLegaz pi'
s
expediti
ononFebr uar y13,1565,f r
om Mex i
co.Hees tabli
shedt hefir
s tper
manents ett
lementi n
Cebu.[18]Muc hoft hear c
hipelagoc ameunderSpani shrule,creati
ngt hefir
stuni f
iedpolit
ical
str
uc t
urek nownast hePhi l
i
ppines.Spani shcolonialrulesawt hei ntr
oduc t
ionofChr i
st
iani
ty,t he
codeofl aw,andt heol des
tmoder nuni ver
sit
yinAs ia.ThePhi l
ippineswasr uledundert he
Mex ic
o-bas edViceroyaltyofNewSpai n.Af t
erthis,thec ol
onywasdi rectl
ygov ernedbySpai n.
Spanishrul
eendedi n1898wi t
hSpai n'sdefeatint heSpani sh–AmericanWar .ThePhi li
ppines
thenbecameat err
it
or yoftheUni tedSt at
es.U. Sforcessuppr ess
edaPhi l
ippineRev oluti
onl ed
byEmi l
ioAguinaldo.TheUni tedSt at
eses tabli
shedt heIns ul
arGov ernmentt or ul
et he
Phil
ippi
nes.In1907,theel ect
edPhi li
ppineAs sembl ywass etupwi t
hpopul arelec
tions.TheU. S.
promisedindependenc eintheJ onesAc t.
[19]ThePhi l
ippineCommonweal thwases tabl
ishedin
1935,asa10- yearinteri
ms teppr i
ort ofullindependenc e.Howev er,in1942dur i
ngWor ldWar
II
,Japanoc c
upiedthePhi l
ippines.TheU. S.mi l
it
aryov erpower edtheJ apanesein1945.The
TreatyofManilain1946es t
abl i
shedt heindependentPhi li
ppineRepubl i
c.