What was philippines called before

But reviving a society such as Tondo, and holding it aloft as emblematic of the modern-day Philippines, would totally excise the Muslim sultanates that existed 1, miles away in southern islands such as Mindanao. The descendants of each of these groups are now Filipinos — and none are more or less Filipino than the other. Nor were these pre-Philippines societies untouched by foreign influence.

He is prone to inserting wild comments into talks that might otherwise go ignored. His name change proposal, for example, was deployed to spice up a speech on agrarian reform given in a provincial gymnasium. So he gives it to them. Islam has endured on the southern island of Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago between Borneo and Mindanao. Islam was brought to the Philippines by traders and proselytizers from the Indonesian islands.

By Islam had gained a foothold in much of coastal Philippines and was established in the Sulu Archipelago and spread from there to Mindanao; it had reached the Manila area by Muslim immigrants introduced a political concept of territorial states ruled by rajas or sultans who exercised suzerainty over the datu.

Neither the political state concept of the Muslim rulers nor the limited territorial concept of the sedentary rice farmers of Luzon, however, spread beyond the areas where they originated. When the Spanish arrived in the sixteenth century, the majority of the estimated , people in the islands still lived in barangay settlements. Philippine Muslims regard themselves as descendants of the Royal Sultanate of Sulu. The Royal Sultanate of Sulu was an Islamic kingdom that ruled the islands and seas in the southern Philippines and northern Borneo long before the arrival of the Spanish.

The Muslim sultanate of Brunei was a very powerful kingdom in the16th century. The Spanish viewed the Muslims as natural enemies, identified with their Muslim rivals at home, the Moors of Morocco. There was some Muslim-Christian elements to the early conflicts with the Spanish. The Christian Spanish had drove Muslims off the northern islands by the early s. Later the Spanish attacked Muslim city-states on Mindanao and established a Jesuit base in eastern Mindanao in Zamboanga.

The Muslims were excellent boatmen. After declaring jihad holy war against the Christians, they were able to defend their Islamic territories and raid Christian outposts. Before European colonization, different parts of the Philippines at different times, were parts of or outposts for Southeast Asian kingdoms, most notably the powerful Majapahit Kingdom in East Java, which ruled over the islands of what is now Indonesian from to the 15th century.

The latter thrived from the 8th to 13th centuries and was centered in present-day Palembang, Sumatra. When the Spanish arrived in , the Philippines did not have a national identity. Instead, the archipelago were comprised of hundred of territories occupied by different tribal groups who fought and traded with one another.

It was already a major cultural and trade crossroads. For hundreds years, Chinese, Japanese, Malays and even Hindus traded here. In pre-colonial Philippines the Tagalogs had a writing system based on Sanskrit and an advanced metallurgy technology.

Chinese traders passed through the region with some regularity and Islamic sultanates were established in some areas, mainly in the south. Under the Spanish, the Tagalogs converted to Christianity and adopted more Western ways. The Portuguese were the first Europeans to arrive in the region. Magellan was Portuguese. They built trading bases in the Moluccas, or Spice Islands, to the south of the Philippines in present-day Indonesia to exploit supplies of cloves, pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg found there.

In , Spain began maneuvering for a stake in the spice trade. King Ferdinand, the leader of Spain at the time, held a meeting with the leading Spanish navigators of the time, including Amerigo Vespucci, and developed a plan to claim part of the spice trade. Conquistadors, including Hernan Cortes and Pedro de Alvarado, who had great success in Latin America, set off on expedition across the Pacific that ultimately was unsuccessful.

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If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. If you are the copyright owner and would like this content removed from factsanddetails. Home Southeast Asia Philippines - History. The American occupation was responsible for teaching the Filipino people the English language. The Philippines is currently the third-largest English speaking country in the world.

Predominantly Christian. Catholics - Islam was introduced during the 14th century shortly after the expansion of Arab commercial ventures in Southeast Asia.

Today, it is limited to the southern region of the country. Christianity was introduced as early as the 16th century with the coming of Ferdinand Magellan in Protestantism was introduced by the first Presbyterian and Methodist missionaries who arrived with the American soldiers in XX Two Filipino independent churches were organized at the turn of the century and are prominent today.

Recently the Aglipay signed a covenant with the Anglican Church. The Iglesia ni Kristo has expanded its membership considerably. Its churches, with their unique towering architecture, are landmarks in almost all important towns, provincial capitals, and major cities. The first half of the year, from January to May, is the best time to visit the country. November to February is cool, while March to May is hot and dry. June to October is rainy, with the months between July and September characterized by typhoons.

Some parts of the country such as Cebu, are warm and comfortable in all seasons and can be visited throughout the year. Two official languages Filipino and English. Filipino which is based on Tagalog, is the national language. English is also widely used and is the medium of instruction in higher education. Filipino is the native language which is used nationally as the language of communication among ethnic groups.

Like any living language, Filipino is in a process of development through loans from Philippine languages and non-native languages for various situations, among speakers of different social backgrounds, and for topics for conversation and scholarly discourse.

There are about 76 to 78 major language groups, with more than dialects. Coin denominations are: 1, 5, 10, and 25 centavos, P1, and P5. Bill denominations are : 10, 20, 50, , and 1, pesos. Foreign currency may be exchanged at your hotel, and in most of the large department stores, banks and authorized money changing shops.

Exchanging money anywhere else is illegal and the laws are strictly enforced. Most large stores, restaurants , hotels and resorts accept major credit cards including American Express , Visas and MasterCard.

Traveller's checks preferably American Express are accepted at hotels and large department stores. Personal checks drawn on foreign banks are generally not accepted. People in the Philippines dress for the weather. Casual attire during the day for women are light blouses and shorts. For men collared T- shirts worn over slacks. In the evening skirts are substituted for shorts and the T-shirts are tucked in.

For Men Only: If you expect to have to attend any occasion which would usually require a jacket and a tie, there is a wonderful substitute. You may go to a department store and buy a barong tagalog.