The Impact of Colonialism in the Philippines - Essay Example

Assessment of the overall impact of colonialism in the Philippines Naif Alyamani ID# 100261845 Essay Draft The Philippines is a Southeast Asian nation that has been subjugated by the Spanish, the Japanese, and the Americans throughout its history. It is for this reason that the country is a significant subject for an assessment of the overall impact of Colonialism. Colonialism in the Philippines is something that remarkably emphasized Filipinos’ resistance against its subjugators1. In fact, Filipino revolutionaries and anti-imperialists had strongly resisted colonial rule in the past. As a result of this, the strong resistance of the Filipinos to colonial rule paved the way for its national independence in 1946 from the American rule2. Today, The Philippines remarkably is trying to run its own democratic government which gives more freedom for all Filipinos to exercise their rights as citizens. Today, sixty-five years has past since Philippine independence from American rule; it is still important to look at the following aspects in order to assess the overall impact of colonialism in the Philippines: government, politics, the economy, and culture. In order to understand this further, it is important to understand the significant events about the colonial rule of Spain, Japan and United States in the Philippines. One of the most significant contributions of Colonial Spain’s arrival in 1521 in the Philippines is the widespread of Christianism in the country today. Spain brought the Christian religion in the Philippines which started in Cebu as Ferdinand Magellan baptized Rajah Humabon and his wife with the Christian religion3. The said ceremony made Humabon as the local chieftain or representative of the king of the Spain. About 800 Filipinos were baptized as Christians that day, April 14, 1521. However, Magellan’s entry into the country and for the hope to subjugate the whole nation under the name of the Spain was not that essentially smooth flowing knowing that other local leaders such as recalcitrant chief Lapu-lapu strongly opposed the presence of Spaniards in the country as far as the colonial threats, economic and political issues were concerned. Thus, on April 27, 1521, the battle in Mactan was set by Lapu-lapu against Magellan which killed the latter4. This same scenario continued until the following years to come for the Philippines under the Spanish regime. Filipinos learned to fight for their rights and many were able to realize they had to fight for their right for their land and stood up to beat anything related with colonial oppression. Among of them were renowned and recognized Philippine heroes today such as Jose Rizal, Andress Bonifacio, Apolinario Mabini, Emilio Aguinaldo and many more. These people fought for the Filipinos’ rights to experience independence from colonial rule and oppression. After forty four years of Magellan’s death, Christianism was reintroduced by another conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legazpi. This made it at present that 84 percent of the Filipinos are Roman Catholics, 10 percent Protestants and other related religious groups and about 4 percent Muslims5. Filipinos are Malayo-Polynesian in the Pacific Islands who compared to the Spaniards in the early time were not that advanced in political and military supremacy. Filipinos then were gullible and not yet accustomed with the advanced economic and political thoughts compared with the Spaniards. The Spain was the first to take advantage of this, and they invaded the entire country, influenced them with certain religious beliefs and exploited the country’s bountiful resources. However, this unfairness did not take that long when Spaniards were defeated by the Americans in the Spanish-American war which end up in 1898. This means that the Philippines was then under the rule of Americans and become the loyal allies of the United States in Asia in the long run. In 1898, Philippine independence was declared and Emilio Aguinaldo became the first president of the country. However, months just passed after the declaration of independence, Spain signed a treaty conceding the Philippines to the U.S. Again, Filipinos did not want to be entangled with American sovereignty. Filipinos were again trying to fight for their rights to take dominion over their land. In fact, Emilio Aguinaldo was the leader of a revolutionary government fighting for their rights from the Spanish down to the American regime. Aguinaldo led his troops in the Filipino-American war which ended in 1901 and taking him into captivity. The reality of life under the American regime was completely different with the Spanish rule. Aside from the continuing presence of Christian religion, Filipinos were given with free education patterned under the United States, they later accepted American culture and were momentarily exposed to advanced economic and political thoughts. In July 4, 1946, the Philippine Independence from the American rule was granted to the Filipinos. This left the country to start on its own and implement its government system, but still under the supervision of the United States. Therefore, the entire pattern of the Philippine government system was a complete duplicate of the United States’. Manuel L. Quezon, Jose P. Laurel and Sergio Osmeña, Manuel Roxas and Elpidio Qurino were the Presidents of the Republic of the Philippines patterned under the prevailing government system of the United States at that time. However, things did not run smoothly for the Filipinos because of the subjugation of the Japanese in the Second World War. Just like with the Spanish rule, Filipinos were tormented and trembling with fear during the Japanese subjugation from 1942 to 1945. The subjugation was highly structured based on a strong military force in Japan leaving the Filipinos to depend on the United States. Many Filipino and American soldiers were tormented and one of the most significant highlights was the Bataan Death March which killed more than 7,000. At this point, the Filipino-American relation was strengthened and being intensified by a strong collaboration of information on how to defeat Japan. The return of Douglas McArthur in Palo Leyte in 1945 marked the symbolic defeat of the Japanese military force in the Philippines. The Second World War was a remarkable event in the history of the world and at this moment of time, Japan and the United States significantly had their political and economic forces clashed against each other. The attack in the US Naval base, Pearl Harbor by the Japanese and the bombing in Hiroshima, Japan by the Americans were remarkable events in the history which proved the advanced political and military supremacy of Japan and the United States in the world. However, this did not exempt the Philippines from having a protective shield against the morbid plans of subjugation by the Japanese regime. Since the Philippines was a close ally and friend of the United States in the Pacific Island, the latter tried to save the former from the Japanese atrocities. However, the Philippines still ended up with the Japanese regime placing them under tremor and fear. It was the same experience of fighting back just as how the Filipinos fought for their right with the colonial Spain. However, all these hardships with the Japanese colonial rule ended up when Japan was defeated in the Japan-US war in the Philippines during the Second World War. In general, the Japanese occupation in the Philippines only strengthened the strong ties that bond the relationship of the Filipinos and the Americans. In the eyes of millions of Filipinos, the Americans were heroes that saved them from the dominion of colonial rule. As observed, Philippines was subjugated by the United States right after the Spanish-US war and it continued once again after the Japan-US war. These were completely separate period of time but events that were able to strengthen the US-Phillippne ally and friendship. Thus, it is evident that the history of the Philippines with the US was not that cruel compared with the intentions of the Spain and Japan. In fact, Filipinos were given with the American-standard education, mentored on how to run the government, and many more. However, this does not mean that the Philippines had become superior to the US. The US served as the modern agent of change for the Philippines in order to advance its economic, political and military supremacy6. All of these became the greatest contribution of American subjugation in the country. As stated earlier, Filipinos learned to stand up to fight against colonial oppression and were conscious about their right for their land despite the fact that they eventually started gullible and most likely vulnerable about the very essence of Spain subjugation. However, over the course of time, they were able to learn from Spaniards’ oppression which eventually paved the way for their actions to stand on their ground to oust colonial rule in their land. However, it was not possible for the Philippines to do that prior to the help of the US which also happened to have advanced supremacy in politics and military tactics. Philippines’ resistance to colonialism was a normal reaction of a nation oppressed by colonial level of mentality. The Filipinos resistance to colonialism was a mark of enablement in seeing the right perspective and vision towards where their entire country was heading on. In this regard, Filipinos learned to ask for their independence as they would want to experience how it was to manage their own country and enjoy their rights for the bounty of their land. Thus, Filipinos resistance to colonialism was a significant indicator that they were learning from their experiences, which opened them up to the move to eradicate colonial rule and oppression in their land. For them, the discomforts they experienced from their subjugators were enough bases why they had to fight and claim back their supposed to be privileges and rights for their land. In fact, these were all the very basic principles of both sung and unsung heroes of the Philippines. Today, leadership in governance, politics, economy and culture can become important indicators of the adaptation or impact of colonialism in the Philippine government. As stated earlier, Filipinos were highly oppressed and were thirsty of power due to colonial rule. The first generation of leaders in the country after the subjugation were of course hunger and thirsty of power and high level of supremacy. The very proof was Ferdinand Marcos who perpetuated his political reign through martial law. However, such characteristic was passed on from the next generation until today. For instance, many government officials today in the country would just do anything they can in order to perpetuate their power in governance. Thus, corruption is widespread, vote buying is relentless and eventually the current government leadership in the state has been motivated out of selfish ambition to perpetuate in power. Various political parties were trying to step forward and wanting to be a cut above the other. Thus, the result is division and no political unity especially on certain issues due to high level of crab mentality. The unity among Filipinos in the past ousted colonial rule, which has become an irony today since division is eminent and no eventual harmony among political leaders. The very proof is the persistent and ongoing crab mentality in the present administration. This resulted to poor economic performance of the country. While corruption cannot be totally eradicated, many Filipinos continue to experience extreme poverty. In fact, Philippines is one of the countries in the list of nations with poor economic performance that resulted to extreme poverty. However, despite all of these, Philippines remain a country with vibrant dominance of cultural heritage. This was remarkably obtained from colonial rule. Most of the Philippine cultural traditions are bound by religious beliefs, which eventually were contributed by the country’s subjugators. For instance, Philippines is a country where someone can see a combined culture of Spain, US and Japan. Philippines is reached with western traditions and cultural practices such as believing in Santa Claus, seniority complex, hospitality, strong family ties, fiesta celebrations and many more. Philippines is a remarkable proof that the root of the past certainly speaks for what is in the present. It is a matter of influence from the past which triggered how the country is living today. Although Filipinos were eager to become independent, it did not erase the fact that their oppression marked a great impact on their extreme hunger for power which resulted to highly unmanage political leadership and poor economic performance today. Despite of that, the country remains a heritage of a combined culture coming from its subjugators which at some point may also worsen the case due to varying beliefs and principles of the Filipinos. Bibliography Budhi, Reynaldo. An Open Letter to Juan Dela Cruz: A Letter to My Little Brown Brother. New York: Xlibris Corporation, 2011. Halili, M. C. Philippine History. Manila: Rex Bookstore, 2004. Pigafetta, A., and Skelton, Raleigh Ashlin. Magellan’s Voyage: A Narrative of the First Circumnavigation. New York: Courier Dover Publication, 1994. Pomeroy, William J. The Philippines: colonialism, collaboration, and resistance. New York: International Publishers Co., 1992. Weightman, Barbara A. Dragons and Tigers: A Geography of South, East and Southeast Asia. Massachusetts: John Wiley and Sons, 2011. Read More