![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/Philippines-on-the-Globe-300x300.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\n
The Philippines’ position as an island country on the Pacific Ring of Fire<\/a> and close to the equator makes the country prone to earthquakes and typhoons. The country has a variety of natural resources and a globally significant level of biodiversity. This low-lying island geography makes the country vulnerable to climate change, increasing risk from typhoons and sea level rise. The Philippines covers an area of 300,000 km2 (120,000 sq mi), with a population of around 109 million people, making it the world’s twelfth-most populous country.<\/p>\n Negritos<\/a>, some of the archipelago’s earliest inhabitants, were followed by successive waves of Austronesian peoples<\/a>. The arrival of Ferdinand Magellan<\/a>, a Portuguese explorer leading a fleet for Spain, marked the beginning of Spanish colonization. In 1543, Spanish explorer Ruy L\u00f3pez de Villalobos<\/a> named the archipelago Las Islas Filipinas in honor of Philip II of Spain<\/a>. Spanish settlement, beginning in 1565, led to the Philippines becoming part of the Spanish Empire for more than 300 years. During this time, Catholicism became the dominant religion, and Manila became the western hub of trans-Pacific trade<\/a>. In 1896, the Philippine Revolution<\/a> began, which then became entwined with the 1898 Spanish\u2013American War<\/a>. Spain ceded the territory to the United States, while Filipino rebels<\/a> declared the First Philippine Republic<\/a>. The ensuing Philippine\u2013American War<\/a> ended with the United States establishing control over the territory, which they maintained until the Japanese invasion<\/a> of the islands during World War II<\/a>. Following liberation<\/a>, the Philippines became independent in 1946. Since then, the unitary sovereign state has often had a tumultuous experience with democracy, which included the overthrow of a dictatorship<\/a> by the People Power Revolution<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Philippines is a multinational state, with diverse ethnicities and cultures throughout its islands. It is considered to be an emerging market and a newly industrialized country, which has an economy transitioning from being based on agriculture to being based more on services and manufacturing. The Philippines is a founding member of the United Nations<\/a>, World Trade Organization<\/a>, Association of Southeast Asian Nations<\/a>, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation<\/a> forum, and the East Asia Summit<\/a>.<\/p>\n There is evidence of early hominins living in what is now the Philippines as early as 709,000 years ago. A small number of bones from Callao Cave<\/a> potentially represent an otherwise unknown species, Homo luzonensis<\/em>, that lived around 50,000 to 67,000 years ago. The oldest modern human remains found on the islands are from the Tabon Caves<\/a> of Palawan<\/a>, U\/Th-dated<\/a> to 47,000 \u00b1 11\u201310,000 years ago. The Tabon Man<\/a> is presumably a Negrito, who were among the archipelago’s earliest inhabitants.<\/p>\n The first Austronesians reached the Philippines at around 2200 BC, settling the Batanes Islands<\/a> and northern Luzon<\/a> from Taiwan. From there, they rapidly spread downwards to the rest of the islands of the Philippines and Southeast Asia. This population assimilated with the existing Negritos resulting in the modern Filipino ethnic groups.<\/p>\n The earliest known surviving written record found in the Philippines is the Laguna Copperplate Inscription<\/a>. By the 1300s, a number of the large coastal settlements had emerged as trading centers, and became the focal point of societal changes. Trade with China is believed to have begun during the Tang dynasty<\/a>, but grew more extensive during the Song dynasty<\/a>. By the 15th century, Islam was established in the Sulu Archipelago<\/a> and spread from there.<\/p>\n Polities founded in the Philippines from the 10th\u201316th centuries include Maynila<\/a>, Tondo<\/a>, Namayan<\/a>, Pangasinan<\/a>, Cebu<\/a>, Butuan<\/a>, Maguindanao<\/a>, Lanao<\/a>, Sulu<\/a>, and Ma-i<\/a>. The early polities were typically made up of three-tier social structure: a nobility class, a class of “freemen”, and a class of dependent debtor-bondsmen. There is little evidence of large-scale violence in the archipelago prior to the 2nd millennium AD. However, warfare developed and escalated during the 14th to 16th centuries and throughout these periods population density is thought to have been low.<\/p>\n In 1521, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan<\/a> arrived in the area, claimed the islands for Spain, and was then killed by natives at the Battle of Mactan<\/a>.<\/p>\n Colonization began when Spanish explorer Miguel L\u00f3pez de Legazpi<\/a> arrived from Mexico in 1565. In 1571, Spanish Manila<\/a> became the capital of the Spanish East Indies<\/a>, which encompassed Spanish territories in Asia and the Pacific. The Spanish successfully invaded the different local states by employing the principle of divide and conquer, bringing most of what is now the Philippines into a single unified administration. From 1565 to 1821, the Philippines was governed as part of the Mexico-based Viceroyalty of New Spain, later administered from Madrid following the Mexican War of Independence<\/a>. Manila was the western hub of the trans-Pacific trade. Manila galleons<\/a> were constructed in Bicol<\/a> and Cavite<\/a>.<\/p>\n British forces occupied Manila<\/a> from 1762 to 1764 during the Seven Years’ War<\/a>, with Spanish rule restored through the 1763 Treaty of Paris<\/a>. In the last quarter of the 19th century, Spain conquered portions of Mindanao and Jolo<\/a>, and the Moro Muslims<\/a> in the Sultanate of Sulu formally recognized Spanish sovereignty.<\/p>\n The Philippine Revolution<\/a> started in 1896. In 1897, the Pact of Biak-na-Bato<\/a> brought about the exile of the revolutionary leadership to Hong Kong<\/a>. In 1898, the Spanish\u2013American War<\/a> began and reached Philippines. The revolution resumed and independence from Spain was declared on June 12, 1898. The First Philippine Republic<\/a> was established on January 21, 1899.<\/p>\n The islands had been ceded by Spain to the United States alongside Puerto Rico<\/a> and Guam as a result of the latter’s victory in the Spanish\u2013American War. As it became increasingly clear the United States would not recognize the First Philippine Republic, the Philippine\u2013American War<\/a> broke out. After the defeat of the First Philippine Republic, an American civilian government<\/a> was established. American forces continued to secure and extend their control over the islands.<\/p>\n During World War II the Japanese Empire invaded and the Second Philippine Republic, under Jose P. Laurel<\/a>, was established as a puppet state. From 1942 the Japanese occupation of the Philippines was opposed by large-scale underground guerrilla activity<\/a>. Atrocities and war crimes were committed during the war, including the Bataan Death March<\/a> and the Manila massacre<\/a>. Allied troops defeated the Japanese<\/a> in 1945. On October 11, 1945, the Philippines became one of the founding members of the United Nations. On July 4, 1946, the Philippines was officially recognized by the United States as an independent nation through the Treaty of Manila<\/a>, during the presidency of Manuel Roxas<\/a>.<\/p>\n In 1965, Ferdinand Marcos won the election. Early in his presidency, Marcos initiated numerous infrastructure projects but, together with his wife Imelda, was accused of corruption and embezzling billions of dollars in public funds. Nearing the end of his term, Marcos declared martial law on September 21, 1972. This period of his rule was characterized by political repression, censorship, and human rights violations.<\/p>\n On August 21, 1983, Marcos’ chief rival, opposition leader Benigno Aquino Jr.<\/a>, was assassinated on the tarmac at Manila International Airport<\/a>. Marcos called a snap presidential election in 1986. Marcos was proclaimed the winner, but the results were widely regarded as fraudulent. The resulting protests led to the People Power Revolution<\/a>, which forced Marcos and his allies to flee to Hawaii<\/a>, and Aquino’s widow, Corazon Aquino<\/a>, was installed as president.<\/p>\n The return of democracy and government reforms beginning in 1986 were hampered by national debt, government corruption, coup attempts, a persistent communist insurgency, and a military conflict with Moro separatists<\/a>. The administration also faced a series of disasters, including the sinking of the MV Do\u00f1a Paz<\/a> in December 1987 and the eruption of Mount Pinatubo<\/a> in June 1991. Aquino was succeeded by Fidel V. Ramos<\/a>, whose economic performance, at 3.6% growth rate, was overshadowed by the onset of the 1997 Asian financial crisis<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ramos’ successor, Joseph Estrada<\/a>, was overthrown by the 2001 EDSA Revolution<\/a> and succeeded by his Vice President, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo<\/a>, on January 20, 2001. Arroyo’s 9-year administration was marked by economic growth, but was tainted by graft and political scandals.<\/p>\n Economic growth continued during Benigno Aquino III<\/a>‘s administration, which pushed for good governance and transparency. Former Davao City<\/a> mayor Rodrigo Duterte<\/a> won the 2016 presidential election, becoming the first president from Mindanao.<\/p>\n Duterte launched an anti-drug campaign<\/a> and an infrastructure plan.<\/p>\n The Philippines is an archipelago composed of about 7,640 islands, covering a total area, including inland bodies of water, of around 300,000 square kilometers (115,831 sq mi), with cadastral survey data suggesting it may be larger. Its 36,289 kilometers (22,549 mi) coastline gives it the world’s fifth-longest coastline. The EEZ of the Philippines<\/a> covers 2,263,816 km2 (874,064 sq mi). It is bordered by the Philippine Sea<\/a> to the east, the South China Sea<\/a> to the west, and the Celebes Sea<\/a> to the south. The island of Borneo<\/a> is located a few hundred kilometers southwest, and Taiwan is located directly to the north. Sulawesi<\/a> is located to the southwest and Palau is located to the east of the islands.<\/p>\n The highest mountain is Mount Apo<\/a>. It measures up to 2,954 meters (9,692 ft) above sea level and is located on the island of Mindanao<\/a>. The longest river is the Cagayan River<\/a> in northern Luzon, measuring about 520 kilometers (320 mi). Manila Bay<\/a>, upon the shore of which the capital city of Manila lies, is connected to Laguna de Bay<\/a>, the largest lake in the Philippines, by the Pasig River<\/a>. The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River<\/a>, which runs 8.2 kilometers (5.1 mi) underground through a karst landscape before reaching the ocean, is a UNESCO<\/a> World Heritage Site<\/a>.<\/p>\n Primary exports include semiconductors and electronic products, transport equipment, garments, copper products, petroleum products, coconut oil, and fruits. Major trading partners include the United States, Japan, China, Singapore, South Korea, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Germany, Taiwan, and Thailand. Its unit of currency is the Philippine peso.<\/p>\n A newly industrialized country, the Philippine economy has been transitioning from one based upon agriculture to an economy with more emphasis upon services and manufacturing. Of the country’s 2018 labor force of around 43.46 million, the agricultural sector employed 24.3%, and accounted for 8.1% of 2018 GDP. The industrial sector employed around 19% of the workforce and accounted for 34.1% of GDP, while 57% of the workers involved in the services sector were responsible for 57.8% of GDP.<\/p>\n The unemployment rate as of October 2019, stands at 4.5%.[447] Meanwhile, due to lower charges in basic necessities, the inflation rate eased to 1.7% in August 2019.[448] Gross international reserves as of October 2013 are $83.201 billion.[449] The Debt-to-GDP ratio continues to decline to 37.6% as of the second quarter of 2019[450][451] from a record high of 78% in 2004.[452] The country is a net importer[453] but it is also a creditor nation.[454] Manila hosts the headquarters of the Asian Development Bank.[455]<\/p>\n Remittances from overseas Filipinos contribute significantly to the Philippine economy.<\/p>\n Transportation in the Philippines is facilitated by road, air, rail and waterways. As of December 2018, there are 210,528 kilometers (130,816 mi) of roads in the Philippines, with only 65,101 kilometers (40,452 mi) of roads paved. The 919-kilometer (571 mi) Strong Republic Nautical Highway (SRNH)<\/a>, an integrated set of highway segments and ferry routes covering 17 cities was established in 2003. The Pan-Philippine Highway<\/a> connects the islands of Luzon, Samar, Leyte, and Mindanao, forming the backbone of land-based transportation in the country. Roads are the dominant form of transport. A network of expressways<\/a> extends from the capital to other areas of Luzon.<\/p>\n Despite wider historical use, rail transport in the Philippines is extremely limited, being confined to transporting passengers within Metro Manila and neighboring Laguna, with a separate short track in the Bicol Region.<\/p>\n As an archipelago, inter-island travel using watercraft is often necessary. The Pasig River Ferry<\/a> serves the cities of Manila, Makati, Mandaluyong, Pasig and Marikina in Metro Manila.<\/p>\n Ninoy Aquino International Airport<\/a> is the main international gateway.<\/p>\n The flag of the Philippines is the national flag of the Republic of the Philippines. It is a horizontal flag bicolor with equal bands of royal blue and crimson red, with a white, equilateral triangle at the hoist. In the center of the triangle is a golden-yellow sun with eight primary rays, each representing a Philippine province. At each vertex of the triangle is a five-pointed, golden-yellow star, each of which representing one of the country’s three main island groups\u2014Luzon<\/a>, Visayas<\/a> and Mindanao<\/a>. The white triangle at the flag represents liberty, equality, and fraternity. A unique feature of this flag is its usage to indicate a state of war if it is displayed with the red side on top, which is effectively achieved by flipping the flag upside-down.<\/p>\n The Philippine national flag has a rectangular design that consists of a white equilateral triangle, symbolizing liberty, equality and fraternity; a horizontal blue stripe for peace, truth, and justice; and a horizontal red stripe for patriotism and valor. In the center of the white triangle is an eight-rayed golden sun symbolizing unity, freedom, people’s democracy, and sovereignty. Each ray represents a province with significant involvement in the 1896 Philippine Revolution against Spain; these provinces are Manila<\/a>, Bulacan<\/a>, Cavite<\/a>, Pampanga<\/a>, Morong<\/a> (modern-day province of Rizal<\/a>), Laguna<\/a>, Batangas<\/a>, and Nueva Ecija<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Philippine national flag has a rectangular design that consists of a white equilateral triangle, symbolizing liberty, equality and fraternity; a horizontal blue stripe for peace, truth, and justice; and a horizontal red stripe for patriotism and valor. In the center of the white triangle is an eight-rayed golden sun symbolizing unity, freedom, people’s democracy, and sovereignty. Each ray represents a province with significant involvement in the 1896 Philippine Revolution against Spain; these provinces are Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Pampanga, Morong (modern-day province of Rizal), Laguna, Batangas, and Nueva Ecija.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8493,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[59,5,6,7,29,30,44,18,60],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8095"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8095"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8095\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/Political-and-City-Map-of-the-Philippines-209x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>History:<\/h2>\n
Prehistory (pre\u2013900):<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/Burial-Jar-from-Tabon-Caves.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Early States (900\u20131565):<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/Laguna-Copperplate-300x182.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/Ferdinand-Magellan-243x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Colonial Rule (1565\u20131946):<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/Miguel-Lopez-de-Legazpi-183x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/Hong-Kong-Junta-300x225.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/General-Douglas-MacArthur-Battle-of-Leyte-300x225.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Postcolonial Period (1946\u2013present):<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/Ferdinand-Marcos-217x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/Corazon-C.-Aquino-225x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/The-1991-Eruption-of-Mount-Pinatubo-300x201.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/Gloria-Macapagal-Arroyo-205x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/Rodrigo-Duterte-214x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Geography:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/Topographic-Map-of-the-Philippines-205x300.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Economy:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/Philippines-Exports-2017-300x300.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Transportation:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/Pan-Philippine-Highway-192x300.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Flag of the Philippines:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/06\/Flag-of-the-Philippines-300x150.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>