1. The Philippine Senates Rejection Of The US Bases Emboldened China.

The Naval Station Subic Bay pier area, 1981. Via Wikipedia.

In retrospect, a lone vote did end up influencing Chinas naval incursions in the disputed islands
of the West Philippine Seaand by that we meant the Philippine Senates 12-11 rejection against
the treaty that would have extended the lease of the naval base in Subic to the US.

The closure of the largest US military base outside of the US and the departure of its Navy had a
direct profound effect on China. In the absence of a counter-weight and because its naval forces
began favoring the doctrine of near-seas rather than near-coast defense in the 1980s, China
became bolder in the open seas.

It was only a matter of time then that the Chinese would slowly but surely mark the disputed
islands as their own territory, beginning with Mischief Reef which they seized from the
Philippines in 1995an annexation many analysts agreed would have been impossible with the
presence of the US Navy in Subic.
2. The Philippine-American War Helped Stifle American Imperialism.

While counter-intuitive at first, the Philippine-American War which ended in American victory
really did dissuade the Americans from expanding further across Asia.

The general bloodiness of the war (the US suffered fewer casualties when it fought against
Spain) and the economic costs had left the Americans exhausted. Imperialist designs effectively
waned after the war, with even its most ardent of supporters admitting the US was not cut out for
colony-building.

Where many once viewed the Philippines as a vital outpost to the rest of Asias riches, it was
now seen as a huge liability. For one, US President Theodore Roosevelta big supporter of
imperialismadmitted in 1906 that the Philippines had become Americas Achilles heel
especially in the light of growing Japanese aggression. Such thinking inevitably contributed to
the US isolationist policy in the 1930s and its seeming half-hearted defense build-up of the
country prior to World War II.
3. The Philippine Revolution Influenced Nationalist Movements Of Other Asian
Countries.

Insurgent soldiers in the Philippines 1899. Via Wikipedia.

As the first truly national fight for freedom against a foreign power, the Philippine Revolution
did much to influence the nationalist movements of other Asian countries especially those of
China, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Chinese nationalist leader Sun Yat-sen saw the significance of the Filipino struggle and sought to
support the revolutionaries with weapons when he was still exiled in Japan and became
acquainted with Mariano Ponce. He believed that by supporting them in their victory, the
Filipinos would also support the Chinese nationalists fight against the hated Manchus.

In Indonesia and Malaysia, both Rizal and Bonifacio were hailed as brilliant nationalists. Tan
Malaka, a national hero of Indonesia, cited Bonifacio as one of Asias first heroes to have come
from the proletariat. Rizal, on the other hand, have been frequently mentioned and praised by
Indonesian and Malaysian leaders such as Anwar Ibrahim and Sukarno.
4. The Fall Of The Philippines In World War II Saved The Rest Of Asia And
Australia.

The Tribunes headlines signal the completion of the Japanese occupation of the Philippines.
Photo credit: World War II Database (ww2db.com)

Although the surrender of the Filipino-American forces to the Japanese in Bataan meant
subjugation for the Filipinos for three long years, the defeat did have an important effect: it
delayed Japans timetable for conquest and ultimately saved Australia.

While they had a relatively easy time conquering other places such as Singapore and Hong
Kong, the Japaneseby a combination of hubris and underestimationfound themselves
bogged down for six months in the Philippines against the stubborn defense put up by the
USAFFE forces especially in Bataan. In fact, Masaharu Homma estimated that the Japanese
would only need 50 days to conquer the entire archipelago; in Bataan alone, they fought against
the defenders for three months.

Ultimately, the valiant last stand of the Filipinos and Americans cost the Japanese dearly in terms
of time, resources and manpower, allowing Australia and the US time to build up their own
forces. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill would even laud the defenders in the
Philippines for essentially stopping the erstwhile fast-conquering Japanese war machine.
5. The EDSA Revolution Paved The Way For Other Nonviolent Revolutions.

An iconic photo of the EDSA Revolution in the Philippines in February 1986 showing hundreds
of thousands of people filling up Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA). The view is looking
northbound towards the Boni Serrano Avenue-EDSA intersection. Via Wikipedia.

Aside from ousting the Marcos dictatorship, one great impact of the first EDSA Revolution was
the impression it left on other countries reeling under authoritarian rule at the time. More
explicitly, the general peacefulness which accompanied the ouster of an unpopular regime
shocked the rest of the world accustomed to associating regime changes with violent revolutions.
In the end, the successful non-violent Yellow Revolution sparked off other incidents of
peaceful (and not-so-peaceful) revolutions across the world.

European countries under Communist rule such as Poland, Czechoslovakia and the Baltic states
launched their own uprisings. In the neighboring Asian countries of Taiwan and South Korea,
popular protests led to greater democratic reforms. In Latin America, regimes belonging to such
dictators as Augusto Pinochet crumbled. In South Africa, Nelson Mandela and his associates
fought to end apartheid. Basically, the EDSA Revolution turned out to be the starting point of
revolutions across the world in the 80s and 90s.
6. The Moro Rebellion Led To The Development Of The .45 ACP Handgun.

Colt .45 DA Model 1909. Photo courtesy of www.OldGuns.net

Contrary to popular belief, the Colt M1911 .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol was not used during
the Moro Rebellionit was merely developed afterwards.

Nonetheless, for the US military to develop a sidearm which would later become standard issue
stands as a testament to the fighting prowess of the Moro. Specifically, US servicemen fighting
in the Moro Rebellion were shocked that their .38 revolvers and even Krag rifles could not stop a
rampaging juramentado dead in his tracks, allowing the latter to charge in and swing away at the
hapless Americans with his knife.

To counter the near-invulnerability of a Moro gone amok, the US Army had to issue .45 caliber
revolvers and Winchester pump-action shotguns to its servicemen and their Filipino counterparts.
Sure enough, the larger caliber proved effective in stopping a charging juramentado.

The Colt .45 pistol, although chosen to be the official sidearm for US forces, would not be
produced until 1912 and issued to military personnel until mid-1913at which point the Moro
Rebellion had drawn to a close.
7. Rizals execution killed the Spanish Prime Minister.

Antonio Cnovas del Castillo. Via Wikipedia.

Aside from helping to ignite the Philippine Revolution, Jose Rizals execution also played a role
in the death of the Spanish Prime Minister.

On August 8, 1897, an Italian anarchist named Michele Angine Golli shot at point-blank range
Spanish Premier Antonio Canovas del Castillo outside a spa. After being interrogated, Golli said
he killed Canovas to avenge his fellow anarchists who had been imprisoned and executed in the
castle of Montjuich, Barcelona. He also dedicated his act as retribution for the death of Don
Jose Rizal and expressed regret for his failure to kill Camilo de Polavieja, the Spanish Governor
General under whom Rizal was executed.

As to how Rizal became involved with the anarchists, he may have formed a connection with
them during his brief imprisonment at the very same castle.
8. The Eruption Of Mt. Pinatubo Changed The Earths Climate.

Mt. Pinatubo eruption, 1991. Photo Credit: Alberto Garcia.

Considering it was the second largest volcanic eruption in the 20th century (only the 1912
eruption of Novarupta in the Alaskan peninsula was bigger), the after-effects of Mt. Pinatubo
were felt world-wide. Particularly, the huge amount of aerosols (the most since Krakatoa in
1883) it released into the earths stratosphere affected the worlds climate in a number of ways.

Ozone levels decreased substantially due to the 20 million tons of sulphur dioxide Mt. Pinatubo
spewed out. Sunrises and sunsets became brighter due to the fine ash and gases in the air. More
significantly, temperature levels around the world dropped at an average of 1.5 degree Celsius
between 1992 and 1993 due to the increased amount of sunlight which was reflected back to
space by the sulphur dioxide in the atmosphere.