Reflection

In
History (Chapters 1-
7)

SUBMITTED BY: Omamalin , Ledie Jean A.

SUBMITTED TO: Sir. Santiago Hubahib
CHAPTER 1 (PHYSICAL BACKGROUND)
I. Geographical Location of the Philippines.
As what I’ve observe Philippines Geographical locations advantages is Philippines is
situated in the east asia and at the west corner of the pacific ocean, Philippines is one
of the most important maritime trading route from east to west vice versa. In terms of
military, being an archipelagic country, oceans and sea surrounding serves as a natural
barrier against invasion.

II. Theories of the Geographical Foundations of the Philippines.

MU OR LEMURIA THEORY
The Philippines came from a lost continent named Mu or Lemuria. Other remnants of
this lost continent are the Pacific Islands, Borneo, Marianas, Java, Sumatra and Celebes

PACIFIC OR MAGMATIC THEORY

The Philippine archipelago came about due to volcanic eruptions beneath the ocean, and
the lava rose to the surface and became the islands

ASIATIC THEORY
The Philippines was a part of the Asian continent through land bridges; however, when
the ice melted, these land bridges sank which resulted in the detachment of the
Philippines from mainland Asia

III. Important Geographical Features and characteristics of the Philippine

Archipelago

REGIONS
Regional differences in the Philippines is Languages

Luzon - Majority of the people speak Tagalog. Bikolano, Ilocano, Kapampangan, and
Cordilleran Languages are also spoken.
Western Visayas - The people there speak Hiligaynon as their lingua franca, other
languages like Capiznon, Kinaray-a, and Aklanon are also spoken.
Central Visayas and Western & Southern Leyte - They speak Cebuano and its
variations/dialects.
Eastern Visayas minus the Cebuano speaking part of Leyte - They speak Waray and
Filipino (Tagalog) as their languages
Mindanao - Mindanao is an island with mixed people the languages Cebuano, Filipino,
Hiligaynon, Arabic, and Chavacano are dominant and widespread here.

CLIMATE
It is common knowledge that there are only two seasons in the Philippines - wet and dry
season. Usually, the rainy season happen from June - December with the most rains
happening on the first 3–4 months of this period. December - February are usually the
cold months. March to May are the start of the hot, dry, humid season. This is where
electricity bills spike up because of the weather and people tend to use fans, AC’s to
cool off. Although from the time I was born, the climate, over the years, has changed
drastically due to climate change

THE COUNTRY’S NATURAL WEALTH

LAND AND AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES

The Philippines has a rich terrain – it has various landforms that can provide various
resources for the Filipinos (fields & valleys = agriculture; mountains & caves = mining)
Palay is the main agricultural crop in the country; in fact, every region has their own
source of grain for their own supply and sustenance

FISH AND MARINE RESOURCES

Since the entire archipelago is surrounded by different bodies of water, fishing also
became a major industry
The seas in our country is the home of the largest fish (rheneodon typus), smallest fish
(pandaka pygmaea), and the most expensive seashell in the world (glory of the sea)
Fish and other seafood also became a staple food for Filipinos
There are about 174000 hectares of fish farms and aquaculture spaces in the country
(aquaculture=farming of marine organisms)

MINERAL RESOURCES
Our mineral resources are the sources of other country’s economic development
(through raw materials)
Our mineral exports may be classified as metal (gold, silver, copper) or non-
metal (asphalt, carbon, cement, etc.)
There are also oil explorations in Palawan where oil farms extract as much as 10,000
barrels per day

FOREST RESOURCES
The forest in our country provide the following functions: source of water, energy, fuel,
food, wood, and other raw materials; provides protection against soil erosion and floods;
serves as a sanctuary for non-human creatures
We have 3500 varieties of trees, some of which can produce high-quality wood
CHAPTER 2
(THE FILIPINO)
As the saying goes, many theories have been written regarding the origin of
the Filipinos. Yet, no adequate evidences can prove where, when, and how our
early ancestors came. What we have are the best explanations that could
help us trace if not have in mind the origin of our ascendants: the theory of
creation, theory of migration and the theory of evolution.
But because we are Christians, we believe in the Holy Bible’s story of God’s
creation of man. We take it as true and any other explanation about how the
early people came are merely the product of the human thinking and it can
never be true.
The Theory of Creation
Then God said “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our
likeness; and let them have a dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of
the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth and
over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”
On the other hand, scientists strongly believe to their evolutionary theory.
We Christians do not believe that we originated from apelike creatures but
rather we believe that people on earth were created by God in his own image
and likeness because He loved us. Any other explanations of how the early
man exists can never be true because those are merely product of human
thinking.
CHAPTER 3
(ISLAM AND PRE-SPANISH CULTURE AND
GOVERNMENT)
The nature of religion in the pre-colonial Philippines is often unclear.
Religions present include animism, indigenous religious
beliefs and mythologies such as Anito and influences
from Hinduism and Buddhism. The earliest pieces of evidence that exist
are archaeological finds including Hindu–Buddhist gold statues. The earliest
written evidence comes from the Laguna Copperplate Inscription, dated to
around 900 CE, which uses the Buddhist–Hindu lunar calendar. With the
arrival of Islam in the 14th century, the older religions gradually
disappeared, and after the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan in
1521 Christianity, specifically Roman Catholicism, became the dominant
religion. However, some of the indigenous peoples of the Philippines continue
to practice animism today, and many of the traditions in Anito have survived
in the form of Folk Catholicism.

And in Early Filipino Customs and Traditions

The culture of the Philippines comprises a blend of traditional Filipino and
Spanish Catholic traditions, with influences from America and other parts of
Asia. The Filipinos are family oriented and often religious with an
appreciation for art, fashion, music and food.
Filipinos are also hospitable people who love to have a good time. This often
includes getting together to sing, dance, and eat. The annual calendar is
packed with festivals, many of which combine costumes and rituals from the
nation’s pre-Christian past with the Catholic beliefs and ideology of present
day.
CHAPTER 4
(THE COMING OF THE SPOANIARDS)
The Spaniards ruled the Philippines for 300 years under these conditions,
continually harassed by Chinese pirates, by the Moros (Mohammedans from
Mindanao and Sulu), by the Dutch and the English who wanted to take
possession of the Islands, and finally by the frequent revolts on the part of
the natives.
When European traders, in search for a new route to the Spice Islands,
stumbled into the Philippine archipelago in 1521, they found the people living
in a comparatively high state of civilization. The natives dwelt on houses
made of bamboo and palm leaves, and were properly attired at all times.
They cultivated rice, which was their staple food, fished the extensive
waters around them, and brewed many kinds of drinks, which they were very
fond of. The women’s position in society was high; tribal laws and customs
recognized her equality with the men in many respects. The people practiced
monogamy in general. Codes of law governed their conduct. Punishments with
varying degrees of severity were meted out to culprits whose offenses were
tried in public courts presided over by the chiefs.
Several languages were spoken, then, as now, although there was one
common alphabet called babaying, which resembled the ancient alphabet of
India. Spanish historians, writing about the early Filipinos, affirmed that
there was hardly a man or woman who could not read and write. There was
oral and written literature.
Such was the state of culture of the Filipinos when Ferdinand Magellan
arrived in the Philippines at the head of a Spanish expedition searching for
the Spice Islands in 1521. Magellan never completed the journey himself; he
was killed in an encounter with natives after having claimed the Philippines
for Spain.
CHAPTER 5
(THE SPANISH COLONIAL
ADMINISTRATION)
The Spanish have significantly influenced the Philippines, particularly
through religion, but not up to the point of being fully culturally similar with
Spain and Latin America.
Yes, most of our surnames are Spanish (Steven de Guzman's answer to What
does your last name mean and where does it come from?) but we are not
entirely culturally Spanish/Latino.
Spanish was spoken as a second language and thousands of Spanish loanwords
exist in local Filipino languages, but Spanish did not replace the local
languages unlike the linguicide in Latin America. The closest Filipino language
is Chavacano, a Spanish creole, but not considered a Spanish dialect. In
addition, the linguistic influence of Spanish has been constantly in decline
due to English. Do any Filipinos speak Spanish?
Many Spanish traditions are practiced in the Philippines, but they coexist
with traditionally Asian practices, including some aspects of the Chinese
culture. Can we say that the Philippines has no culture and identity of its own
because it was colonized by different countries? What do sociologists say
about this?
People from Spain migrated to the Philippines, but they were not enough to
make the entire population similar to South America where a lot of people
look Caucasian. Are the majority of Filipinos multiracial? What are some
facial features of Filipinos?
CHAPTER 6
(FILIPINO REACTIONS TO SPANISH RULES)
The simple answer was it was (TERRIBLE) for the vast majority of people.
But not everyone was enslaved and intermarriages between the Spanish,
High-class Filipinos and even the Chinese was permitted… given that they
have all converted to Catholicism and adopted “Catholic/Christian Lifestyles”
Pre-colonial royals and nobles were allowed to keep their wealth and high
status in society, their descendants later became the (Principalía) = Noble
class and the (Ilustrado) = Learned class during the Spanish colonial era…
intermarriages between this high-class Filipinos and the Spanish/Europeans
was permitted.
Ilustrados - To the left we can see Jose Rizal, the Philippine national hero.

The fluid nature of racial integration in the Philippines during the Spanish
colonial period was recorded by many travelers and public figures at the
time, who were favorably impressed by the lack of racial discrimination, as
compared to the situation in other European colonies.

While treatment of Filipinos seemed to have been better than other

European colonies in Asia, it seems that this has also contributed to the
erasure of pre-colonial culture as the Spanish wanted the natives to
assimilate.

We are talking about 333 years of Spanish rule, the early years of Spanish
colonization was surely unpleasant as the Spanish were cruel to the natives,
but once the natives have fully assimilated in the 18th and 19th centuries,
they became less cruel.
CHAPTER 7
(FILIPINO NATIONALISM AND THE
PROPAGANDA MOVEMENT)

The Propaganda movement was the vehicle used by Filipinos in

their quest for independence from Spain. The movement started
off with subtle recommendations and activities. It was started by
members of the Filipino community who left the country for
Europe to pursue their studies. The reason they sought education
abroad was because higher education in the Philippines was
limited and delivered in Spanish which was unpopular among the
Filipinos.
Their sense of nationalism coupled with freedom in Europe saw
the beginning of the Propaganda movement, to instigate change in
their home country. They mostly used literature to agitate for
change. They saw the need to create awareness of their issues
and equip their people with knowledge. Jose Rizal a notable
member of the Propaganda movement wrote two novels the "Noli
Me Tangere" and "El Filibusterismo" which exposed the
oppression by the Spaniards. He was later arrested and this led
to armed resistance against Spanish rule and eventual
independence of the Philippines.