Philippines

The 381 years of colonization have made the Philippines too westernized socially and economically. The island nation of the Philippines was rich in natural resources from the beginning but because of the practice of mercantilism the island was culturally and economically raped for almost four centuries.

Spanish colonization began with the settlement of San Miguel on the island of Cebu on February 13, 1565. Miguel Lopez’s expedition continued north into the bay of manila; the three hundred years of oppression would begin here. Almost immediately Spain did three things: introduced Christianity, the Spanish code of law and made very good uses of the plethora of resources. They immediately introduced Catholicism to stop the spread of the Islamic religions in that corner of the world. They implemented civil codes to try to create a moral compass among the indigenous people. The Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade was an extreme showcase of the profitability of mercantilism. In this trade Spain basically extracted silver from Mexico and other conquered territories in the Americas. Spain then used the silver to trade for silk from china, spices from Indonesia, furniture from japan, and finally cotton from the Philippines. These products eventually found their way back to the Spain. For the most part it was a peaceful takeover with very few rebellions; at the time the Indigenous people of the Philippines did not have the firepower to compete with the Spanish army.

The European world was in craze for creating colonies; creating colonies was a way of showing nationalist pride and for Spain, Portugal, and Italy it was also a way to spread the message of the papacy. Spain founded many missions and universities in the name of the church. These sc...

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...ndent nation called the Philippines. In 1907 an elected Philippine assembly was inaugurated with the purpose of serving Native Pilipino interest. Economically the Philippines made progress during American imperialism. Foreign trade soared from 62 million of 1895 to 601 million in 1920. Socially an American style health care system had been established; this healthcare system lower mortality rates for disease, murder, even natural causes. However the former rebels and members of the bottom of the oligarchy society turned to slavery, piracy, and head hunting; for sport and capital. A new education system was instituted with English as the dominant language. The members of the elected legislature were grateful but also lobbied for complete independence from the U.S.

We have now seen the full effect of the America and Spain on the island nation of the Philippines.