Philippines

Overview

Wildlife, heritage and golf are all possibilities that the Philippines offers. However, the gem of visits is likely to be the incredible beaches, beautiful islands, crystal clear waters and amazing hospitality.

The Philippines is composed of over 7000 islands. Despite a good infrastructure, cheap transport and plentiful accommodation the Philippines has never featured as high on tourist destinations compared with other countries in SE Asia. Far from putting you off however, this fact can play to a tourist's advantage. The country is easy to navigate, with the exception of a handful of island very safe and offers some fantastic opportunities.

While the island are crying out for exploration be it by canoe, boat or bike a highlight of the Philippines has to be the diving. The crystal clear waters offer plentiful opportunities from coral reefs to some of the best Second World War wreck diving anywhere in the world. If you are a keen diver, a beginner who wants to dive or you just fancy chilling out on some beautiful beaches the Philippines should definitely be considered.

History

The history of the Philippines may be divided into four distinct phases: the pre-Spanish period (before 1521); the Spanish period (1521-1898); the American period (1898-1946); and the years since independence (1946-present).

Pre-Spanish Period

The first people in the Philippines the Negritos are believed to have come to the islands 30 000 years ago from Borneo and Sumatra making their way across then-existing land bridges. Subsequently people of Malay stock came from the south in successive waves the earliest by land bridges and later in boats called barangays. The Malays settled in scattered communities also called barangays which were ruled by chieftains known as datus. Chinese merchants and traders arrived and settled in the ninth century A.D. In the 14th century Arabs arrived introducing Islam in the south and extending some influence even into Luzon. The Malays however remained the dominant group until the Spanish arrived in the 16th century.

Spanish Period

Ferdinand Magellan claimed the Philippines for Spain in 1521 and for the next 377 years the islands were under Spanish rule. This period was the era of conversion to Roman Catholicism. A Spanish colonial social system was developed complete with a strong centralized government and considerable clerical influence. The Filipinos were restive under the Spanish and this long period was marked by numerous uprisings. The most important of these began in 1896 under the leadership of Emilio Aguinaldo and continued until the Americans defeated the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay on May 1 1898 during the Spanish-American War. Aguinaldo declared independence from Spain...more