The Republic of the Philippines is a nation of Southeast Asia. The country consists of some 7,100 islands in the western Pacific Ocean. The Philippines was strongly influenced by centuries of rule by Spain and a half-century of rule by the United States. The country's culture mixes Western and Southeast Asian beliefs and customs. The capital is Manila, on the island of Luzon. GeographyThe islands of the Philippines form the shape of a triangle. The country is entirely surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, with the South China Sea to the west and north, the Philippine Sea to the east, and the Celebes Sea to the south. The Philippines lies about 500 miles (800 kilometers) off the coast of mainland Southeast Asia. The country's nearest neighbors are Taiwan to the north, Indonesia to the south and southeast, and Malaysia to the southeast. The great majority of the country's islands are tiny and have no people living on them. There are 11 main islands. The two largest islands are Luzon in the north and Mindanao in the south. The Visayan islands are in the center. Luzon and Mindanao together take up about 70 percent of the country's land area and contain more than 70 percent of the population. The total land area of the Philippines is about 115,860 square miles (300,076 square kilometers). Most of the Philippine islands have rugged mountains and narrow coastal plains. The most prominent mountain range is the Cordillera Central, on Luzon. Mount Apo, on Mindanao, is the nation's highest peak. It reaches about 9,692 feet (2,954 meters) above sea level. The islands have numerous rivers, which tend to run northward. - The volcano Mount Mayon overlooks fields of rice in the Bicol Peninsula of southern Luzon, …
The islands are located on the edge of an area of the Pacific Ocean known as the ring of fire for its earthquakes and volcanic activity. Earthquakes are common in the Philippines. In addition, the country has about 50 volcanoes. More than ten of these volcanoes are known to be active. Mount Pinatubo, in central Luzon, erupted in 1991 for the first time in about 600 years. The eruption caused great damage. The Philippines are located near the equator. As a result, the country has hot and humid weather year-round. Most of the islands have distinct rainy and dry seasons. The country is hit by numerous typhoons, or violent tropical storms similar to hurricanes. In 1995 a powerful typhoon killed more than 700 people in the Philippines. Plants and animalsOriginally, the Philippines were almost completely forested. However, many of the forests have been cut down for lumber or burned away to make room for farms or cities. Grasslands have sprung up in many of these areas. The forests that remain contain a wide variety of trees and other plants. The islands have some 50 varieties of tall hardwood trees, including the lauan (or Philippine mahogany). The wood from these trees provides a good source of income for the country. Mangrove swamps are found near the coasts. In addition, the Philippines has thousands of species of flowering plants and ferns, including more than 800 different varieties of orchids. Countless species of mammals and reptiles live in the forests, including monkeys, deer, water buffalo, civet cats, bats, wild pigs, and poisonous cobras. The country has more than 500 kinds of birds. The tropical forests provide a good home for insects, which are abundant. People and cultureThe people of the Philippines are called Filipinos. Ethnically, nearly all of the people are Malay. The Malay are people originally from the Malay Peninsula of Southeast Asia. Some of the Malay also have Spanish or American origins (which reflects the country's years of rule by Spain and then the United States). There are also small numbers of Chinese and mixed Malay-Chinese. The original people of the islands were a non-Malay group known as the Negritos. They now make up only a very small percentage of the population. The population is further divided into a number of different groups based on language. Some 70 different languages are native to the Philippines. These languages are all closely related. The largest groups speak Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, and Ilongo. The most widely spoken language is Pilipino, which is based on Tagalog. English is the most common second language. Both Pilipino and English are official languages. The Spaniards brought Roman Catholicism to the islands in the 16th century. As a result, most Filipinos today are Roman Catholic. The Philippines is the only predominantly Christian nation in Asia. The country also has groups of Protestants, Muslims, and members of the Philippine Independent Church (Aglipayan). Many people in the Philippines have moved from rural areas to cities. At the beginning of the 20th century, about 80 percent of the people lived in rural areas. However, at the beginning of the 21st century, only about 40 percent did. This has made some of the cities overcrowded, especially Manila. The largest cities in the Philippines are Quezon City, Manila, and Caloocan, all on the island of Luzon. The largest city on Mindanao is Davao. EconomyFarming, manufacturing, and services make up the largest portions of the Philippine economy. Nearly 40 percent of the population works in agriculture. The main crops grown for food within the country are rice and corn. Coconuts, sugarcane, bananas, and pineapples are the largest crops grown for export. Many Filipinos who live in rural areas also raise pigs, chickens, and goats for food. Fishing is an important source of food and income. The country's major industries process foods and produce cloth and clothing, chemicals, electronics, automobile parts, and wood products. HistorySettlementThe Philippines was one of the last major land areas in Southeast Asia to be settled. It is generally believed that the ancestors of the Negritos arrived some 50,000 years ago. The Malay began arriving about 2,000 years ago from what are now Indonesia and Malaysia. The Malay formed many small, separate communities. Chinese traders visited the islands from about AD 1000. Muslim traders from Indonesia began visiting the southern Philippines in about the 14th century AD. Many people on Mindanao and the Sulu islands adopted Islam. Spanish controlThe explorer Ferdinand Magellan landed in the Philippines in 1521. Magellan claimed the land for Spain. More Spanish ships arrived in 1565, along with Spanish settlers. The Philippine islands were a colony of Spain for more than 300 years. Spanish rule changed life on the islands in many ways. Most of the people of the Philippines adopted Roman Catholicism and Western customs. However, the Muslims on some of the southern islands were never fully conquered by Spain. Manila became a major port on the route for ships trading Chinese silk and Mexican silver. The Spanish established large farms on the islands that grew sugar, tobacco, and abaca (hemp), which is used to make rope. In the late 1800s Filipino groups began to demand independence. Spanish troops crushed the uprisings. Meanwhile, Spain began fighting the United States in the Spanish-American War of 1898. Spain lost the war. As part of the peace treaty, the United States bought the Philippine islands from Spain for 20 million dollars. United States controlThe Filipinos began fighting for independence again, this time against the United States. More than 1 million Filipinos died in the fighting. The United States captured the Filipino leader, Emilio Aguinaldo, in 1901, and the fighting ended the following year. The United States then agreed that the Philippines should eventually become independent. The United States played an active role in shaping the government, economy, and culture of the islands until the mid-1940s. The United States established many schools and introduced English. In 1935 the self-governing Commonwealth of the Philippines was established to prepare the country for independence. This effort was delayed by World War II. The Japanese invaded in 1941 and occupied the islands through 1944. IndependenceThe Philippines achieved full independence in 1946. The period since independence has been marked by repeated political and economic crises. Ferdinand Marcos was elected president in 1965. Beginning in 1972, he governed as a dictator, often using the military to enforce his rule. Marcos sent his political opponents to jail. In addition, he and his wife stole billions of dollars from the Philippine economy. Marcos' political rival Benigno Aquino was murdered in 1983. Many people believed that the government was responsible for the killing. More and more Filipinos began to oppose Marcos' rule. Finally Aquino's widow, Corazon Aquino, defeated Marcos in the presidential election of 1986. She became the country's first woman president. Aquino reestablished democracy in the Philippines. However, corruption, economic problems, and uprisings have continued to plague the Philippines. The economy suffered a setback in the late 1990s, as a financial crisis hit much of Asia. In late 2000 President Joseph Estrada was accused of taking millions of dollars in bribes. He was removed from office in 2001, and his vice president, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, took over the presidency. Population (2001 estimate), 78,609,000. |