The Colonialism in the Philippines Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Colonialism in the Philippines - Essay Example 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 religion . 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 latter . 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.... 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 polit ical 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