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Liron Cohen Philippines after 1500

           Sometime around the 14th century, traders from Borneo and Malay made their way to the southern Philippine islands. The Arab traders introduced Islam to the southern Islands, the faith later spread to the larger islands such as Luzon. Subsequently after the spread of Islam reached the Philippines, in 1521, the first Spaniards began arriving to expand their colonial control. An expedition lead by Ferdinand Magellan was the headwind of the Spanish conquest of the Philippine islands, followed by expeditions headed by Lopez de Villalobos, who in 1542, named the islands after king Philip. Archeological evidence in the form of the wreckage of the San Diego ship, and the artifacts left behind suggest that the Spaniards arriving in the Philippines were there for conquest. San Diego’s Astrolabe was a part of the San Diego’s shipwreck, found along with many other artifacts including cannons and guns off the coast of Nasugbu, dates back to December 14, 1600. The heavy load of artillery brought over by the Spanish correlates strongly with the time of the Spanish colonization of the Philippines.

In 1564 the first moves towards colonizing were taken by Miguel Lopez de Legaspi; the Philippines, never knowing a centralized government were easily taken over one island at a time. The Spanish city of Manila was established in the Philippines in 1571, effectively establishing Spanish roots in the Philippines. The Spanish colonizers began cutting out all threats to their grip on power, starting with the increasing Chinese population in 1603, massacring thousands of Chinese people. Archeological evidence of the presence of the Chinese in the Philippines was present in the form of the Oton Death Mask. The death mask, dated between the 14th and the 15th century A.D. was discovered by Alfredo Evangelista and F. Landa Jocan in the city of San Antonio, Oton. This archeological find suggests that the Southern Chinese traders brought this practice over to the Philippines. This mask was used to protect the dead from evil spirits. Another piece of archeological evidence that suggests Chinese presence in the Philippines is the Flying Elephant of Leona Shoal. The Flying Elephant was a blue and white china dish dating to the 15th century A.D. from the Ming Dynasty in China. Not only was their cultural diffusion between the Chinese and Philippines, through diffusion of religious practices, but also material culture. The first Philippine revolution, in 1896, was due to differing religious views, mistreatment of the indigenous people, and the economic system that colonization usually imposes on the colonized people. In 1898, what seemed to be a turning point for the Philippine population, via a proxy war funded by the United States, against Spain lead to disappointment. Following the Spanish-American war, in 1898, control over the Philippines was handed over to the United States, which led to another revolution in the Philippines. The revolution against the United States was eventually put down in 1901, which lead to the reliance of American goods by the Philippines. Between 1913 and 1932 political efforts in the United States were made in favor of an independent Philippines. In 1932, the Hare-Hawes Cutting Act was passed by congress, this act established a sovereign and democratic Commonwealth in the Philippines, which went into effect in 1945. The formation of the Philippine Commonwealth resulted in the election of their first president, Quezon in 1935. In 1941 WWII hit the Philippines with the Japanese invasion, which ultimately resulted in the Philippine-US forces being defeated in 1942. In 1943 Japan attempted to setup a puppet government of the Philippine Republic, headed by Jose P. Laurel, but it eventually failed due to the lack of favor by the Philippine people. In 1944 the former Vice President, and current president at the time Sergio Osmena, headed to the Philippines to recapture it with the aid of United States forces, recapturing the country by 1945. Many Japanese artifacts are still being found until this day in the Philippines, including five Japanese warships from the battle of Surigao Strait in 1944. By 1946, after WWII, Manuel Roxas became the first president of the Republic of the Philippines. The reconstruction of the Philippines after WWII was a mammoth task, not only because of the devastating effects of the war on the land, but the remaining internal opposition to the new political regime. Efforts were taken to control the Communist lead terrorists in Luzon in 1954, expand settlements outside of Luzon, and to implement economic changes to the post colonialist economic system in place. In 1957, after the death of President Ramon Magsaysay, Vice President Carlos P. Garcia was appointed to be the new president.After many political battles, the Philippines is still a politically unstable region. With the constant political upheavals and foreign invasions, colonization, and wars, the Philippines continues to be an archaeological treasure-trove, and an example of what artifacts and practices are transferred from country to country.

Sources: Borlaza, Gregorio C., and Carolina G. Hernandez. “Philippines.” Encyclopædia Britannica,Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 23 Feb. 2018,

Kyodo, Staff Report. “Wrecks of Japanese and U.S. Warships - Including First American Vessel to Fire Shot in WWII - Found off Philippines.” The Japan Times, 8 Dec. 2017,

Fish, 5. (2011). The Manila-Acapulco Galleons: The Treasure Ships of the Pacific: with an Annotated List of the Transpacific Galleons, 1565-1815. 1st ed. AuthorHouse.

National Museum Collections, (2014). National Cultural Treasures of Philippine Archaeology. (online) Available at

                                                                                                                                                                 “VCM.” VIRTUAL COLLECTION OF ASIAN MASTERPIECES, 1997.