Philippine Histroy

Excavation in archeological sites proved that during the prehistoric times, Philippines native Negritos came in contact with Malays and Indonesians who left their ancestral home in Southeast Asia by crossing the seas in their sailboats and settling in the Philippine archipelago. Inter-racial marriages took place and out of these emerged the Filipino people.

The population of the Philippines was small when the Spanish arrived in 1521. Starting in the eighth or ninth century, trade between Chinese and the Philippines had already been established. Many Filipino traditions, religious concepts and terms, legends, and artistic elements are of Hindu and Indian origin. Writing found on certain pieces of Philippine pottery bear writing similar to Indian Pali or Sanskrit. It is believed that these elements are a product of trade relationships with Southeast Asian islanders who had direct contact with India.

Arab influences was also felt in the Philippines. In the fifteenth century, Islam spread to the southern part of the Philippine archipelago, the pre-colonial Philippines has no uniform character, however, the diverse ethnic and cultural mix contributes to the Filipino’s unique characteristics.

The Philippines, scientists believed, was once a part of mainland China. According to scientists, during the Ice Age, waters surrounding the Philippines dropped to about 156 feet below the present levels, exposing large bodies of land. These became land bridges connecting the Philippines to the Asian mainland. In February 1976, Dr. Fritjof Voss, a German scientist who studied the geology of the Philippines, questioned the validity of this theory of land bridges. He maintained that the Philippines was never a part of mainland Asia. He claimed it arose from the bottom of the sea and, as the thin Pacific crust moved below it, continued to rise. It continues to rise today. The country lies along great earth faults that extend to deep undersea trenches. The resulting violent...