Neptune's Needle

Republic of the (area; 115,830 sq miles sq km; 1996 est. pop. 74,480,848), SW Pacific, in Malay Archipelago off the SE Asia mainland; (cap.) Manila; bet. 04º27'N 116º56'E-21º07'N 126º36'E. It comprises over 7,000 isls. and islets, of which only c.400 are permanently inhabited. Manila, located on Luzon, is the largest city and the heart of the country. The northernmost point of land is separated from Taiwan by the Bashi Channel (c.50 miles wide). The Philippines extend 1,152 miles N-S, bet. Taiwan and Borneo, and 688 miles E-W, and are bounded by the Philippine Sea on the E, the Celebes Sea on the S, and the South China Sea on the W. The Philippines are chiefly of volcanic origin. Most of the larger isls. are traversed by mt. ranges, some of them with still-active volcanoes. Narrow coastal plains, wide valleys, volcanoes, dense forests, and mineral and hot springs further characterize the larger isls. Earthquakes are common. Of the navigable rivers, Cagayan River, on Luzon, is the largest; there are also large lakes on Luzon and Mindanao. The Philippines are entirely within the tropical monsoon zone. The seasons generally fall into 2 periods; the NE monsoon, bringing rain to the E coasts of the isls., and the SW monsoon, which marks the rain season on the W coasts; some areas have as much as 250 inches of rainfall annually. With their tropical climate, heavy rainfall, and naturally fertile volcanic soil, the Philippines are predominantly agr. Rice, corn, and coconut take up about 80% of all cropland. Fishing is a common occupation; the Sulu Archipelago is noted for its pearls and mother-of-pearl. The 1st Europeans to visit (1521) the Philippines were Spaniards led by the Port. explorer Ferdinand Magellan. Other Span. expeditions followed, including one from New Spain (Mexico) under Lopez de Villalobos, who in 1542 named the isls. for the infant Philip (later Philip II). Span. conquest of the Filipinos did not begin in earnest until 1564, when another expedition from New Spain arrived. Span. leadership was soon established over many small independent communities that previously had known no central rule. By the time Manila was est. (1571), the Spanish had a secure foothold in the Philippines. By the end of the 16th cent. Manila had become a leading commercial center of the Far East, trading with China, India, and the East Indies. Chin. trade and labor were vital to the early development of the Span. colony, but the Spanish grew hostile toward the Chin. residents, murdering thousands of them in 1603. Despite frequent uprisings by the Filipinos and other native residents, and continual wars with the Dutch during most of the 17th cent., the Spanish maintained control of the colony until the mid-19th cent. At that time, a nationalistic desire for independence began to gain strength, fed by Span. injustices, bigotry, and economic oppressions, as well as by the works of nationalist writer Jose Rizal. In 1896, revolution began in the prov. of Cavite, and after the execution of Rizal that December, it spread throughout the major isls. Spain and the colony made peace eventually, but it was short-lived; a new revolution was brewing by the time the Span.-Amer. War broke out in 1898. At America’s urging, the Filipinos fought against the Spanish, and they declared themselves an independent republic. Their dreams of self-govt. were crushed, however, when the Philippines were transferred from Spain to the U.S. by the Treaty of Paris (1898) that ended the war. In Feb. 1899, the Filipinos rebelled again, this time against Amer. rule. Although the U.S. managed to put down the insurrection (1901), the question of Philippine independence remained an issue, complicated by the growing importance of U.S. trade to the colony’s economy. In 1913, the transition to self-rule began, and 3 years later the U.S. pledged to grant independence to the Philippines, although no specific date was set. Congress passed an act in 1934 that provided for complete independence of the isls. after 10 years of self-government under U.S. supervision. A constitution was accepted by the Philippine people in a plebiscite (May 1935); and Manuel L. Quezon, leader of the dominant Nationalist party, was elected the 1st president. The Commonwealth of the Philippines was formally established that Nov. In Dec. 1941, almost simultaneously with the attack on Pearl Harbor, Jap. troops unexpectedly invaded many places in the isls. The Commonwealth army, led by Douglas MacArthur, was forced to withdraw to Bataan Peninsula and Corregidor Isl., where they guarded the entrance to Manila Bay. But the Japanese occupied Manila in Jan. 1942, and the troops on Bataan and Corregidor crumbled in April and May, respectively; MacArthur, under orders, left the isls Mar. 11. Though the Japanese occupied the isls. throughout World War II, U.S. and Philippine army soldiers continued to resist, often through guerilla warfare. Japan set up a puppet govt. in the Philippines, while President Quezon, who had escaped before the country fell, set up a govt.-in-exile in Washington. After months of U.S. air strikes against Mindanao, the 1st liberation forces landed (Oct. 20, 1944) at Leyte, and the Philippine govt. was est. at Tacloban. The landing was followed (Oct. 23-26) by the greatest naval engagement in history, called variously the Battle of Leyte Gulf and the 2nd battle of the Philippine Sea. The U.S. victory here effectively destroyed the Jap. fleet and led to the liberation of the Philippines in July 1945. The war devastated the isls.; the economy was destroyed, the land was severely damaged, and the country was torn by political warfare and guerrilla violence. But independence was granted as scheduled; On July 4, 1946, the Republic of the Philippines was established.

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Peter Richards