HISTORY

A. Pre-Spanish history

 According to what can be inferred from somewhat later accounts, the Filipinos of the 15th century
must have engaged primarily in shifting cultivation, hunting, and fishing. Sedentary cultivation was
the exception. Only in the mountains of northern Luzon, where elaborate rice terraces were built some
2,000 years ago, were livelihood and social organization linked to a fixed territory.

 Within the barangay the status system, though not rigid, appears to have consisted of three broad
classes: the datu and his family and the nobility, freeholders, and “dependents.” This third category
consisted of three levels—sharecroppers, debt peons, and war captives—the last two levels being
termed “slaves” by Spanish observers.

 Early Filipinos followed various local religions, a mixture of monotheism and polytheism in which the
latter dominated. The propitiation of spirits required numerous rituals, but there was no obvious
religious hierarchy. In religion, as in social structure and economic activity, there was considerable
variation between—and even within—islands.

 This pattern began to change in the 15th century, however, when Islam was introduced
to Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago through Brunei on the island of Borneo. Along with changes in
religious beliefs and practices came new political and social institutions. By the mid-16th century two
sultanates had been established, bringing under their sway a number of barangays.

B. The Spanish period

 Spanish colonial motives were not, however, strictly commercial. The Spanish at first viewed the
Philippines as a stepping-stone to the riches of the East Indies (Spice Islands), but, even after the
Portuguese and Dutch had foreclosed that possibility, the Spanish still maintained their presence in
the archipelago.

 In the late 17th and 18th centuries the archbishop, the cultural goal of the Spanish clergy was nothing
less than the full Christianization and Hispanization of the Filipino. In the first decades of missionary
work, local religions were vigorously suppressed; old practices were not tolerated. But as the
Christian laity grew in number and the zeal of the clergy waned, it became increasingly difficult to
prevent the preservation of ancient beliefs and customs under Roman Catholic garb. Thus, even in the
area of religion, pre-Spanish Filipino culture was not entirely destroyed.

 Economic and political institutions were also altered under Spanish impact but perhaps less
thoroughly than in the religious realm.The priests tried to move all the people into pueblos, or
villages, surrounding the great stone churches. But the dispersed demographic patterns of the
old barangays largely persisted. Nevertheless, the datu’s once hereditary position became subject to
Spanish appointment.
C. The 19th century
 The last galleon arrived in Manila in 1815, and by the mid-1830s Manila was open to foreign
merchants almost without restriction. The demand for Philippine sugar and abaca (hemp) grew apace,
and the volume of exports to Europe expanded even further after the completion of the Suez Canal in
1869. The growth of commercial agriculture resulted in the appearance of a new class. Alongside the
landholdings of the church and the rice estates of the pre-Spanish nobility there arose haciendas of
coffee, hemp, and sugar, often the property of enterprising Chinese-Filipino mestizos.

 Not until 1863 was there public education in the Philippines, and even then the church controlled the
curriculum. Less than one-fifth of those who went to school could read and write Spanish, and far
fewer could speak it properly. The limited higher education in the colony was entirely under clerical
direction, but by the 1880s many sons of the wealthy were sent to Europe to study.
There, nationalism and a passion for reform blossomed in the liberal atmosphere.

 Shocked by the arrest of Rizal in 1892, these activists quickly formed the Katipunan under the
leadership of Andres Bonifacio, a self-educated warehouseman. The Katipunan was dedicated to the
expulsion of the Spanish from the islands, and preparations were made for armed revolt. Filipino
rebels had been numerous in the history of Spanish rule, but now for the first time they were inspired
by nationalist ambitions and possessed the education needed to make success a real possibility.

D. The Philippine Revolution

 A war had broken out between Spain and the United States (the Spanish-American War). After the
U.S. naval victory in the Battle of Manila Bay in May 1898, Aguinaldo reorganized his forces and
soon liberated several towns south of Manila. Independence was declared on June 12 (now
celebrated as Independence Day). In September a constitutional congress met in Malolos, north of
Manila, which drew up a fundamental law derived from European and Latin American precedents. A
government was formed on the basis of that constitution in January 1899, with Aguinaldo as
president of the new country, popularly known as the “Malolos Republic”.

 U.S. commissioners to the peace negotiations in Paris had been instructed to demand from Spain the
cession of the Philippines to the United States; such cession was confirmed with the signing of
the Treaty of Paris on December 10, 1898.

 The Filipino revolutionary movement had two goals, national and social. The first goal,
independence, though realized briefly, was frustrated by the American decision to continue
administering the islands. The goal of fundamental social change, manifest in the nationalization of
friar lands by the Malolos Republic, was ultimately frustrated by the power and resilience of
entrenched institutions. In any case, the proclamation of a republic in 1898 had marked the Filipinos
as the first Asian people to try to throw off European colonial rule.

E. The period of U.S. influence

 American preparation of the Philippines for democratic self-government suffered from
an inherent contradiction, perhaps not recognized at the time. Transferring governmental
responsibility to those capable of undertaking it was not consistent with building a social and
economic base for political democracy. Self-government meant, of necessity, assumption of power
 by those Filipinos who were already in positions of leadership in society. But those men came for the
most part from the landed elite; preservation of their political and economic position was
incompatible with equalizing opportunity. Even the expansion of an educated middle class did not
necessarily result in a transformation of the pattern of power. Most middle-class aspirants for
political leadership adjusted to the values and the practices of the existing power elite.

 A constitutional convention was quickly elected and a constitution (which bore a strong resemblance
to its U.S. model) framed and approved by plebiscite and by Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt. The last
governor-general, Frank Murphy, became the first high commissioner, with more of a diplomatic
than a governing role. The commonwealth was inaugurated on November 15, 1935.

 The commonwealth period was intended to be devoted to preparation for economic and political
independence and perfection of democratic institutions. But even before the tragic events of World
War II, the transition did not run smoothly.

F. World War II

 The Japanese attack of the Philippines on December 8, 1941, came at a time when the U.S. military
buildup had hardly begun. Their advance was rapid; before Christmas, Manila was declared an “open
city. An Executive Commission made up of more than 30 members of the old Filipino political elite had
been cooperating with Japanese military authorities in Manila since January.

 The Executive Commission lasted until September 1943, when it was superseded by an “independent
Philippine Republic.” The president, chosen by the Japanese, was José Laurel, former
associate justice of the commonwealth Supreme Court and the only Filipino to hold an honorary degree
from Tokyo Imperial University. More than half of the commonwealth Senate and more than one-third
of the House served at one time in the Japanese-sponsored regime.

 Even before the fall of Bataan Peninsula to the Japanese in April 1942, guerrilla units were forming
throughout the Philippines. Most were led by middle-class officers and were enthusiastically pro-United
States; in central Luzon, however, a major force was the Hukbalahap, which, under communist
leadership, capitalized on earlier agrarian unrest.

G. The Early Republic

 The Philippines had gained independence in the “ashes of victory.” Intense fighting, especially
around Manila in the last days of the Japanese retreat (February–March 1945), had nearly destroyed the
capital. The economy generally was in disarray. Rehabilitation aid was obviously needed, and President
Roxas was willing to accept some onerous conditions placed implicitly and explicitly by the U.S.
Congress. The Bell Act in the United States extended free trade with the Philippines for 8 years, to be
followed by 20 years of gradually increasing tariffs. The United States demanded and received a 99-
year lease on a number of Philippine military and naval bases in which U.S. authorities had virtual
territorial rights. And finally, as a specific requirement for release of U.S. war-damage payments, the
Philippines had to amend its constitution to give U.S. citizens equal rights with Filipinos in the
exploitation of natural resources—the so-called Parity Amendment.
  At independence the military ties with the United States were as strong as the economic ones. Filipino
troops fought against communist forces in Korea, and noncombatant engineers augmented U.S. forces
in the Vietnam War. Crucial to U.S. military action in Vietnam were bases in the Philippines.
The Military Bases Agreement was the greatest single cause of friction in relations between the United
States and the Philippines. Beginning in 1965.
 The nature and effectiveness of Filipino political institutions since independence has been a special
concern of the former colonial power that helped establish them. For Filipinos, those institutions have
determined the ability or inability to maintain domestic social order. Clumsy repression of dissent and
the fraudulent election of the country’s second president, Elpidio Quirino, in 1949 set the stage for an
intensification of the communist-led Hukbalahap Rebellion, which had begun in 1946. The rebellion
also reflected a growing sense of social injustice among tenant farmers, especially in central Luzon.

H. The Marcos and early post-Marcos era

 In November 1965, Ferdinand E. Marcos was elected to the presidency. His administration faced grave
economic problems that were exacerbated by corruption, tax evasion, and smuggling.

 In 1969 Marcos became the first elected president of the Philippines to win reelection. His campaign
platform included the renegotiation of major treaties with the United States and trade with communist
countries. These promises reflected a change in the self-concept of the country during the 1960s. The
idea of the Philippines as an Asian outpost of Christianity was increasingly supplanted by a desire to
develop an Asian cultural identity. Artists, musicians, and writers began to look to pre-Spanish themes
for inspiration. More important was the trend toward seeking cultural identity through the national
language, Pilipino. English, however, remained the language of business, of most government
documents, and of the greater part of higher education. Demands that the government meet the social
and economic needs of its citizenry continued.

 A short-lived sign that the Filipino political system was again attempting to respond constructively to
those needs was the choosing in 1970 of a widely representative Constitutional Convention in one of
the most honest and peaceful elections in Philippine history. Large student demonstrations urged the
convention to undertake a fundamental restructuring of political power.

 Marcos, who was approaching the end of his constitutionally delimited eight years in office, had
narrower goals: he pressed for the adoption of a parliamentary style of government, which would allow
him to remain in power. He feared that the new constitution would not come into force before he lost
the advantages of incumbency. At the same time, foreign investors, predominantly American, felt
increased pressure from economic nationalists in the legislature.

History of Philippine Literature

Pre-Colonial Period
 The evolution of Philippine literature depended on the influences of colonization and the spirit of the
age. But before the change was done, indigenous Philippine literature was based on the given traditions
 and customs of a particular area of the country. Of course, Philippines is an archipelago country,
consisting several islands, (7,107 islands to be exact). And each of those islands has their specifications
of cultures and traditions, bearing different set of native literature. To name a few Bisaya, Waray,
Maranaw are among them.

 There were two literary forms during the pre-colonial period: written and oral literature. It’s really
awesome how native people thought of having an interactive learning system for children considering
the innocence they have in terms of civilization. Bugtong or riddle, is an effective way to inculcate the
ability of logical thinking of a child. Since its main target is to improve the vision of the child, of how he
observes his surroundings and to make his mind work to find the right answer, salawikain or proverbs
they have the sound that makes you reflect its hidden meaning through the good lines, and it provides
good values, tanaga and epic are only some of the interesting written literature in the historic time.

The Spanish Colonial Period

 16th Century was the start of the deprivation of the indigenous Philippine literature. Spanish colonial
government finally got in the scene. They were able to manipulate literature by monopolizing it under
the religious orders. Literature evolves mainlyon the themes of Spanish/ European culture and of
course, the Roman Catholic religion.
 As a proof of the influence of Spanish colonization, the first book ever printed in the Philippines is a
Christian Doctrine or Doctrina Christiana in 1593 by the Dominican press.
 Although they allowed Bienvido’s Lumbera’s “May Bagyo Ma’t May Rilim” be published, its Christian
content was set in the colonial context therefore, depriving the native context of the Filipinos during the
time. Spaniards were also trying to sugar coat their intention of using the Filipino writers in Spanish to
widen their colony by somewhat giving the Filipinos an indication that they were also remembered.

 One of the literary form, pasyon, although it was also influenced by the Spanish context’s of
Christianity, at least they embodied several Filipino sentiments and values (the feeling of Filipino
mother towards a suffering son).
 However, the once obedient Filipino writers in Spanish became conscious for the search for freedom.
The modern pasyon already discussed the themes of protest and liberation the epic poem became
interested in the social topic,
 Filipino writers are often deviating from the standards of what the society dictates. Marcelo H. del Pilar
was one. In his Pasyon Dapat Ipag-alab ng Puso, his rebellious writing style was identified. He wanted
Filipinos to ban themselves from the convent and banish Pascual Poblete’s Patnubay sa Binyagan. He
even associated Filipinos’ struggle for independence with Jesus’ life.
 Jose Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo made a very powerful contributions among the
Filipinos the introduction of rejecting Spanish rule. He also influenced the succeeding writers.
 The narrative poems awit and corridor talked about world of royals, warriors and lovers (the basic
concept in Florante at Laura). They were once oral literature but later were printed in novena-sized
booklets. It was also the basis of the drama, komedya. Francisco Baltazar’s Florante at Laura embodied
 the concept of colonization and oppression which gave voice to their revolutionary action
towards freedom.
 Because of the Spanish colonization, it can be said that it gave way to the idea of opening the
nationalistic nature of the Filipinos through literature under the Spaniards (e.g. forced labor and
the execution of GOMBURZA priests).

The American Colonial Period

 Philippine literature in Spanish was starting to lose its track on the first decade. And the Filipino writers’
eyes were all focused to the American colonizers. It may sound cliché but one can always agree that “pen
is mightier than sword.” Protesting against deprivation or oppression using literature is always seen as
noble. And those anti-American plays written by Filipino writers were wise actions. Truly, using one of
the most influential aspect in the society, media, is an easy way to start a revolution.
 The poem of Fernando Ma. Guerrero (Crisalidas) and many others discussed revolution and sentiments for
patriotism and reform prove that Philippine literature was used to claim freedom from the colonizers.
 And although Filipinos revolted against English colonizer still, we shall be thankful that their American
insular government provided system so that Filipino learners might grasped a wide knowledge about the
English language. Through the languages, the secondary learner writers were able to relate their
experiences through writing. Philippine literature in English was more universal.
 Even if Philippine literature was in English, the preservation of the content for Filipino experiences were
achieved. Making it a “Filipino” still.
 Short story writers in English like Manuel Arguilla in his “A Son is Born,” was one of the foundations of
the Philippine literature, not in Tagalog or in Spanish, but during this time, in English. Poetry in English
were also founded. Sarsuwela was overpowered by English drama,.
 The evolution of Literature in the Philippines was affected by the country’s history. literature was used for
religious purposes literature was used to revolt against Colonizers.