Philippines - national flag
The flag was first used in 1898 after the revolt against the Spanish colonial
power. Since then, it was ratified in 1943. The colors are the Malay red-white,
combined with the blue of the United States. The blue color in was changed in
1997 from navy blue to royal blue. The red symbolizes courage and bravery, the
blue noble ideals, the white peace and purity. The three stars represent the
most important regions of the country, the sun for the light of freedom. The
sun's eight rays symbolize the eight provinces that first rose towards Spain.
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What does the flag of Philippines look like? Follow this link, then you will
see the image in PNG format and flag meaning description about this country.
Philippines - prehistory
The oldest finds of human settlement originate from the cave Tabon
on Palawan; here, for approximately 30,000 years ago and until approximately 7000 BC used
simple quartz tools. Agriculture is known from approximately 3500 BC The use of metal
was introduced during the 1000's BC, first in the form of bronze, later in the
form of iron around the birth of Christ.
The currently known division into ethnic and economic zones between the
agricultural areas in the lowlands and the highlands' forest areas has probably
also existed in prehistoric times. Thus, the agta people in the interior
of Luzon have lived by hunting, gathering and sweating in much the same way as
the tasadag people in the interior of Mindanao, without these peoples being
isolated from their surroundings.
In the Philippines, no highly developed centers emerged with a hierarchical
social structure, as is known from other parts of Southeast Asia, although the
conditions must have been present in the productive agricultural zones.
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the world, such as PHL which represents the official name of Philippines.
Philippines - History
Before the contact with the Europeans, the Philippines was populated by
different peoples. They lived in small self-sufficient communities, which
consisted of extended family groups in a hierarchy under a local
leader. Småsamfundene, Barangay, headed by a datu, living by
slash and burn agriculture, hunting and fishing. There was no unifying state
power, and the religion was animistic without the influence of the major
religions. Far back in time there has been contact with China, and probably from
approximately 1000 AD Chinese have been permanent residents of the islands. In the
1400's. Islam came to the southern part of the Philippines, Mindanao and the Sulu
Islands.

The Spaniards began in fierce competition with the Portuguese a colonization
of the central Philippines with the arrival of Fernando de Magellan in Cebu in
1521, but it was not until 1565 that a permanent Spanish colony was established
in Cebu by Miguel López de Legaspi, who had been sent by Philip II. Manila was
founded by a natural port in 1571. Through colonization, the Spaniards wanted to
take part in the lucrative spice trade in the East as well as to Christianize
the population. The mission was successful, but the spice trade remained
monopolized by other colonial powers; for more than 200 years, however, the
galleon trade existed, which sailed silver between Acapulco in Mexico and Manila
and returned with Chinese silk and porcelain. This profitable trade drew both
Spaniards and Chinese to the Philippines.
Presidents |
1935-44 |
Manuel Quezón |
1944-46 |
Sergio Osmeña |
1946-48 |
Manuel Roxas |
1948-53 |
Elpidio Quirino |
1953-57 |
Ramón Magsaysay |
1957-61 |
Carlos P. Garcia |
1961-65 |
Diosdado Macapagal |
1965-86 |
Ferdinand E. Marcos |
1986-92 |
Corazon Aquino |
1992-98 |
Fidel Ramos |
1998-2001 |
Joseph Estrada |
2001-10 |
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo |
2010-16 |
Benigno Aquino III |
2016- |
Rodrigo Duterte |
Agricultural technology changed only slowly. Not until the late
1700's. sweating was replaced by permanent forms of cultivation. When Spain's
monopoly on trade ceased in the 1830's, an export-oriented production of sugar,
hemp and coffee developed, often initiated by the Chinese people, who
established themselves as a class alongside the land-owning Spanish nobility and
the church. The Governor-General was the civilian head of the church, which
resulted in disputes with the archbishop over power and influence; priests and
monks were the link to the population, where traditional animistic views had a
significant breeding ground and influenced the perception of Christianity.
In the late 1800's. a nationalist movement began to take shape. Most famous
was José Rizal, who, in order to carry out reforms in 1892, created the Liga
Filipina. Although the reforms were not anti-Spanish, he was considered a
societal threat and executed by the Spaniards in 1896. In the wake of that
event, the Katipunan organization was formed with the far more radical
purpose of driving the Spaniards out of the country. After several revolts, a
settlement was reached in 1897; small revolts, however, continued for several
years.
In 1898, the Spaniards suffered defeat in the war against the United States,
which sank the Spanish fleet off Manila. Spanish supremacy was over, and the
Philippines declared independence the same year, but was soon subjugated to the
United States. The United States then allied itself with the major parties, the
Federal Party and later the Nationalist Party under Sergio Osmeña and Manuel
Quezón. The Nationalist Party wanted independence, and from 1907 a partial
autonomy was introduced. In 1935, real self-government was introduced into a
state society in which the United States had the leadership of defense and
foreign policy. Quezón was elected president, Osmeña vice president.
In 1942, the Philippines was occupied by Japan. A communist-led resistance
movement, the Hukbalahap, emerged in central Luzon and laid the
groundwork for later revolt. U.S. troops under General MacArthur liberated the
country in 1944. On July 4, 1946, the Philippine Republic was proclaimed
under Manuel A. Roxas.
The economy was destroyed after the war, and the United States supported the
country's reconstruction in return for a number of privileges, including free
trade between the countries and the use of military bases; the bases were not
finally settled until 1992. The economic prospects for the Philippines looked
good in the 1950's and 1960's, but when the economic boom hit Asia, the country
began to lag behind. Export-oriented industrialization was not a success, and
the Philippine economy ran into a crisis in the 1980's, resulting in large-scale
borrowing and social decline.
Ferdinand Marcos was elected president in 1965. He represented the new urban
middle class, which wanted reforms and the strengthening of national identity
and culture. He met opposition from both the old country aristocracy and
workers, peasants and intellectuals. Politically, the country was marked by a
strong polarization of left and right forces. A new Maoist- oriented Communist
Party was formed by radical students in 1968, who, through the New People's
Army, launched a revolt among peasants to overthrow Marcos' regime. Marcos
declared a state of emergency in 1972 to facilitate the pacification of
opponents. This led to new conflicts. In 1973, the Moro National Liberation
Front was formed, who fought for the old demand for self-government in the
southern Muslim provinces.
Marcos' government was notorious for widespread corruption, and in the first
elections after the abolition of the state of emergency in 1981, he won big over
the rival candidates. Opposition politician Benigno Aquino had gone into exile
in the United States in 1980, and when he returned in 1983, he was killed at
Manila airport. This exacerbated the political crisis. Marcos hoped for an easy
victory by calling a quick presidential election in December 1985. As a
counter-candidate, Corazon Aquino, Benigno's widow, stood as a democratic and
moral, almost religious symbol. The election result was unclear, but with the
support of sections of the military and broad sections of the urban population,
Marcos was overthrown in February 1986. He fled the country, and Aquino stood as
the victorious candidate.
When the first enthusiasm had subsided, it became clear that Aquino could not
solve the problems that Marcos' government had left behind, ie. that problems
with the economy, the guerrilla movement and the Moro uprising continued. In
addition, the reign was marked by military coup attempts. Aquino did not run in
the 1992 presidential election, which was won by Fidel Ramos, the former
defense minister. Ramos' reign was marked by fewer problems than the previous
presidents, the country was helped by the international currents with
increasing relaxation after the end of the East-West conflict.
The Muslim jokes, which had waged a struggle that had cost thousands of
lives for an independent Islamic state, entered into an agreement with the
government in 1996; a breakaway group, however, continued the armed
struggle. The Asian financial crisis of 1997 was a severe blow to the Philippine
economy, and there were major protests. After the election in May 1998, Fidel
Ramos was replaced as president by the populist Joseph Estrada, who had
promised a vigorous effort to improve conditions for the poorest sections of the
population. However, it proved difficult to deliver on the promises, and after
allegations of corruption, Estrada was ousted in January 2001. Gloria Macapagal
Arroyo became the new president.. She made an effort to make peace with the
militant funers, while rejecting negotiations with the Islamist terrorist
movement Abu Sayyaf, which has been behind a large number of murders and
kidnappings and who is suspected of having links to al-Qaeda. A smaller force
of U.S. troops was sent to Mindanao to support the fight against the rebels. Abu
Sayyaf is still active in 2013. In 2001, a ceasefire was reached with the
rebellious amusements, but the fighting broke out again from time to
time. Concrete peace talks were launched in 2005. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's
government survived a mutiny in the army in 2003; she was re-elected in 2004,
but doubts were raised about the election result from opposition groups, and
with difficulty she narrowly escaped being tried in 2005.
In 2010, Benigno Aquino III was elected president after Gloria Macapagal
Arroyo. In 2012, they managed to get a peace agreement between the government
and the moro militia MILF in house. That same year, a law was passed on
state-sponsored contraception; The Philippines has one of the fastest growing
populations in the world, but due to the influence of the Catholic Church in the
country, it had hitherto been impossible to implement such an initiative.
The 2016 presidential election was won by Rodrigo Duterte. He won on a
populist platform that promised a hard fight against crime, with
extrajudicial methods, including death patrols.
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