Writer's Note: I wrote this during my first year of college as the final paper for a world history class. The full title of my sumbission was "Resistance and Resilience: Filling in the Gaps of Filipino History That Our Textbooks are Missing." I had to stop at ten pages. History as we know it is written by the winners. This is a sentiment that many know and accept, because it usually proves to be true. However, the fact that historical accounts are generally told from the perspectives of those with greater power and prestige should not dismiss the validity or importance of other voices. There are so many lesser-shared narratives from the others, the “losers”, that reflect so much more than losing. These stories often demonstrate a vigor and durability that deserve an equal chance to be heard. In order to achieve a robust and genuine view of history, students must understand and analyze multiple points of view, which demands an open consideration of what the “losers” have to say. In the Pacific Ocean, there is a specific country in southeastern Asia that, in history textbooks from middle school to college, may receive a few brief acknowledgements for its existence at best. The Republic of the Philippines has a story much more intricate than its multiple despots may acknowledge. The story of this nation is regularly told only in relation to its experiences of colonization by other states rather than the rich history and complex culture that it contains in its own right. Discouragingly, the people of the Philippines are not unlikely to be depicted as submissive or weak--another race to be lumped under the all-encompassing label of Asian. However, despite the hurtful narratives and negative framing pushed onto them by the “winners” of history, Pinoys have proved to be strong, adaptable, capable, and resilient people through it all. The Philippines has a long history of being subject to the rule of foreign powers. Non-native interactions began with Muslim Malays, who brought Islam to the region and introduced the language of Old Malay to the native Tagalog speakers. Then, Spaniards came and colonized the islands, changing the official language and writing system--from Tagalog and Babayin respectively--to Spanish as well as indoctrinating the natives into the Catholic religion (Morrow, 2010). This would leave the natives changed forever. After the Spanish-American War, the Philippines were ceded to the United States of America, and after the Second World War, the country was seized by the Japanese. Historically, rulers treat their subjects kindly until the subjects begin to revolt. Early Europeans referred to Pacific Islanders as “noble savages” who were also descendants of Adam and Eve. However, the Europeans’ hunger for power and domination grew, and they began using violent and oppressive means against the indigenous people. As this happened, the natives began to resist the colonists’ imperiousness. The Europeans, in order to justify their personal agenda of conquest and subjugation, then began to call the natives “uncivilized savages” that were in need of correction and saving. In 1571, the Spaniards captured Manila. The city was made into the colonial capital, and trade with the Chinese was established (Tignor, Adelman, Aron, Kotkin, Marchand, Prakash, and Tsin, 2008). Countries that were once colonies are often affected by a narrative that has been fabricated by their former colonizers--by one of the so-called “winners” of the colonial era. The narrative likely says that the country’s history officially started when the colonizers “found” them. However, the Philippines had a functioning society and various local cultures that were thriving on their own before the Spanish discovered their existence. Mark Wiley, a martial arts master and scholar who has published research about the culture and history of the Philippines, describes The Legend of Ten Datus, which explains one theory of how the nation may have developed during its pre-colonial era: read it here. Malaysian migrants continued to move to the islands, and they brought their Islamic culture and values. Muslim ideaologies began to influence the region as early as the thirteenth century. Oral tradition says that a Malaysian nobleman named Sharif Kabungsuwan landed on Sulu during his travels at sea, and he taught the people he encountered about his religion. From there, Islam spread over the areas of Sulu and Minanao and, shortly thereafter, Sultans were chosen to execute the laws prescribed by Malay princes. Around the year 1450, a trader called Sharif ul-Abubakr married the daughter of a Rajah, united the islands of the Sulu Archipelago, established Islam as the official religion, and then named himself Sultan. As Islam became more popuar and wide-spread in the southern areas, natives witnessed changing social structures and increasing economic opportunities: the social order shifted to a hierarchy with datus presiding over each village, and the Muslim Malay immigrants introduced new opportunities for trade and wealth (Wiley, 1997). Muslim rule overall would be described as tolerant and respectful of the natives’ ways of life (Tignor, Adelman, Aron, Kotkin, Marchand, Prakash, and Tsin, 2008). The spiritual and accepting characteristics of the Muslim religion likely appealed to the natives, as the religious beliefs dispersed throughout the islands. Islam gradually reached the northern region, but it had barely been introduced when the Spanish arrived in the spring of 1521. Ferdinand Magellan, a Portugese navigator working for Spain, is credited with being the first European to stumble upon the archipelago with his fleet of ships. While the crew did initiate the Spanish colonization of the islands, the initial attempts were cut short by the loss of their leader. Magellan was ultimately killed by a tribe resisting his tyrannical rampage. Alex Tizon, former professor of journalism at the University of Oregon and winner of the Pulitzer Prize, retells the events of the day Magellan died: read it here. The Spanish continued their colonial conquest of the islands. The archipelago was officially named the Philippines in honor of Prince Philip, and Spain claimed the country as a territory for three-hundred fifty years--over three centuries. Under Spanish control, the Filipinos witnessed a radical transformation of society as they knew it. The Spaniards implemented a new racial caste system, a social hierarchy based on skin color, and forced the Filipinos to convert to the Spanish religion of Catholicism. This was the first account of the Filipino people having a colonial experience, thus resulting in the original formation of a “colonized” identity. For example, the letter ‘F’ does not exist in any of the Pinoy languages. People living in the Philippines were first called Filipinos by the Spanish. Ironically, in the colonial era, only the insulares, the Spaniards born in the Philippines, were referred to as Filipinos. When the Americans took over, they adopted the term previously used by the Spanish and applied it to the islanders as a whole. This is why the inhabitants of the Philippines are called Filipinos to this day (Capistrano and Kareen, 2019). Some may see this as the first account of Pinoys “losing.” While the indigenous people did undergo the loss of certain parts of their identity and heritage under the Spanish Empire, this was also the first of many occasions that the people and culture as a whole proved to be enduring and unbreakable. When the Spanish conquered Mexico, “racial mixing” with the native populations there led to the creation of a race-based societal structure. There were two words by which mixed children could be categorized; mestizos were children of a Spaniard and an Indian, and mulattoes were the children of a Spaniard and an African (Tignor, Adelman, Aron, Kotkin, Marchand, Prakash, and Tsin, 2008). Mixed children fell somewhere in the middle of the hierarchy because they were partially of Spanish descent, which was idealized at the time due to the Spanish having colonial authority over the region. The best race to be at the time was a peninsulare, a native European who was living in a colony. The second best in the hierarchy was a creole, an individual of European descent who was born in one of the colonies. Unfortunately for the natives, indios fell at the bottom of the hierarchy (Capistrano and Kareen, 2019). The first Filipinos who encountered Christianity were two brothers named Rajah Colambu, ruler of Limasawa, and Rajah Siagu, ruler of Butuan. Upon meeting Magellan, both rajahs supposedly kissed the Christian cross and prayed with the crew, which satisfied the Spaniards. The first recorded conversion took place on Sunday, April 14, 1521. On that day, the king and queen of Cebu along with their subjects “embraced the Catholic faith during mass.” Magellan’s priests were reported to have baptized up to eight-hundred Cebuanos that day. Within twenty-five years after that initial conversion, approximately a quarter-million Filipinos were converted to Christianity. At that point in time, that number was about half of the entire Filipino population (Ta-Moore and Hoh, 2018). In the modern age, the greater majority of Filipinos identify as practitioners of Catholicism or some denomination of the Christian faith. While certain actions of the Spanish colonists certainly led to tension and upheaval, certain decisions made by the Church resulted in turmoil as well. Filipino clergies were upset by the lack of proper religious training available to natives, which ultimately limited opportunities for them to obtain positions of power and authority in their communities. The Spanish authorities and Catholic officials purposefully kept the measures in place because they feared the potential of educated indios. Educated Filipinos would undoubtedly want equal rights and improved status in society, or they might even call for independence from Spain. If the Church lost control over the natives, then both it and the Spanish Crown would lose money and other valuable resources. Nevertheless, Filipinos grew increasingly frustrated with and critical of the oppressive regime. José Rizal wrote about corruption and hypocrisy in regards to the clergy. The colonial government eventually tried and executed Rizal in 1896 for his anti-Spanish activism, but his perceived martyrdom for the cause made him a national hero (Ta-Moore and Hoh, 2018). His last words documented on the day he was shot were “consummatum est.” It is finished. When the United States won the Spanish-American War, it took over the Philippines from Spain via the Treaty of Paris of 1899 and intended to re-colonize the islands into its own territory. However, the Filipinos, led by a man named Emilio Aguinaldo, had declared themselves an independent nation after the Spanish loss. In response to American troops entering the islands soon thereafter, organized groups of Filipino militants engaged in guerilla warfare until Aguinaldo was captured in 1901. The United States took control of the region until the passage of the Tydings-McDuffie Act in 1934. The American Tydings-McDuffie Act granted the Philippines a transitional period, the end goal being that the country would become a completely independent state. In 1935, the Filipino people approved a new constitution, the Commonwealth of the Philippines was formed, and Manuel Quezon was chosen to be president (Infoplease, 2020). From 1935 to 1942, the people of the Philippines were able to enjoy freedom at last. During the Second World War, the Japanese military invaded the islands. In January of 1942, the Battle of Bataan began. Filipino and American soldiers battled alongside each other for four months against the Imperial Japanese Army. They faced starvation, disease, and abuse from the Japanese, and they surrendered on April 9, 1942. Even after surrendering, Filipino and American soldiers were subject to the Bataan Death March. The Japanese killed between 7,000 and 10,000 innocent men (The USO). In October of 1944, American forces under the leadership of Army General Douglas MacArthur returned to the Philippines. With their help, Manila was liberated from the Japanese invaders in the following February (The USO, 2018). Sergio Osmeña, the Vice President to Quezon who also served as President for two years after his death, was then able to establish a formal government. The Filipinos were finally able to achieve full independence on July 4, 1946. Manuel Roxas was the first elected president of the new nation, now called the Republic of the Philippines (Infoplease, 2020). The current Filipino flag was designed by Emilio Aguinaldo, the leader of the independence movement during the time between Spanish and American rule. He designed “a white triangle at the left side containing a sunburst of eight rays at the center, a five-pointed star at each angle of the triangle, an upper stripe of dark blue, and a lower stripe of red.” The white represents equality. The blue stands for peace, truth, and justice. The red symbolizes patriotism and valor. The eight rays of light commemorate the first eight provinces that took up arms against Spain, and the three stars recognize the three regions of the country, which are Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Marcela de Agoncillo sewed the first flag with the help of her daughter Lorenza as well as Josefina Herbosa de Natividad, who was the niece of José Rizal. Aguinaldo eventually took the flag back to the Philippines, where it was first flown on June 12, 1898 to celebrate the Filipinos’ proclamation of independence (Agoncillo, 2020). Since then, the design has been used as the official flag. It is the symbol of a country made up of a resistant and resilient people. In conclusion, the concepts of “winners” and “losers” are subjective. These terms are based entirely on what resources, alliances, and motivations were available to a particular party at the time of a historical event. The Philippines is a country of inspiring stories, flourishing culture, and a complicated but noteworthy history. Pinoys have been involved in every era of history, and they have their own meaningful stories and insightful perspectives about how the world developed into the place we know today. The history taught in schools may have been written by countries that won, but that does not make the other countries losers. The voices of the Filipino people, as well as the countless other voices in nations without a prominent place on the global stage, deserve to be heard too.
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