A Brief History
"I claim this land for Spain." These are the famous words uttered by Ferdinand Magellan upon his arrival in the Philippines, in1521. Spanish rule brought political unification to an archipelago of over 7,000 islands; towns were founded, infrastructures built, new crops and livestock introduced, and trade flourished.
Three hundred years later, Spain ceded the Philippines to America, but war broke out as the U.S. attempted to establish control over the islands. The war lasted for more than 10 years, resulting in the death of more than 600,000 Filipinos.
In 1935 the Philippines became a self-governing commonwealth, in preparation for full independence from the United States in 1946. Plans were interrupted by the Japanese occupation of the islands during World War II.
Civil unrest arose against the corrupt dictatorship of President Ferdinand Marcos in 1972. Marcos declared Martial Law and pushed through a new constitution in 1973, which prolonged his stay in power. He jailed his political rivals, dismissed Congress, silenced media critics, and ruled as a virtual dictator in what he called "Constitutional Authoritarianism." The People Power Revolution of 1986, forced Marcos into exile and returned democracy for the country.
The Philippines has continued to be marked by political instability and hampered economic productivity.
Religion
When Spain first colonized the Philippines, over 90% of its people became baptized Catholics in less than a century. Filipinos remain open to new doctrine.
Official stats are as follows: Roman Catholic 80.9%, Muslim 5%, Evangelical 2.8%, Iglesia ni Kristo 2.3%, Aglipayan 2%, other Christian 4.5%, other 1.8%, unspecified 0.6%, none 0.1% (2000 census)
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