Fight for Independence
Knowing the history of the Philippines, Spain was the first to colonize the country. It started
in 1565 and continued until 1898 which lasted for 333 years. The Filipinos clearly had no
independence under Spanish control. The Philippines had waged several conflicts against the
Spanish authority since the 19th century. But when the Spanish-American broke out, many
Filipinos Allied with the Americans in the hopes of gaining their independence (Imperialism in
the Philippines n.d). After winning the Spanish-American War, the United States acquired the
sovereignty of the islands as territory. Since 1896, the Philippine Revolution had been fighting for
independence from Spanish colonial control, and news that the United States would take over as
colonial master was unfavorable to many Filipinos (California State University 2020). The United
States and the Filipinos had a conflict of interest since the Americans desired an overseas empire
while the Filipinos desired independence. Although there was a debate as to whether or not to
colonize the Philippines. But because the United States desires to extend its empire, they colonized
the Philippines. They claimed that the Filipinos were very dependent and lacked self-rule and that
if they decided not to colonize the Philippines, another force would seize their power and wealth
(Imperialism in Philippines n.d). When the Filipinos knew that the US intended to establish
colonial control on their newly acquired land, they went to war.
The Philippine-American War, which was triggered by the United States’ harsh and
aggressive presence, resulted to extensive fatalities and the annihilation of life as the natives knew
it. The Filipino people refused to be conquered by an imperial power again, therefore they revolted
for their independence. Many people have died as a result of this brutal war, which has left the
Philippines destroyed and devastated (Imperialism in the Philippines n.d). Despite the cruel war
that happened, the Philippines benefitted from the improvements in their economy under the
American rule. Initially, the United States were selfless and tried to serve the Philippines rather
than themselves. There was a rise in population and agriculture, resulting in more jobs for the
Filipino people. Education progressed abundantly wherein schools were founded in 1898 and
enrollment in public schools was required for all children. To encourage parents to enroll their
children in public schools, Americans provided free books and school materials. Filipinos were
also forced to learn the English language because of American pressure. There was also a
development in public health and welfare which led to the decrease of mortality rate for diseases
like Cholera, Smallpox, Malaria, and other deadly illnesses which plagued the Filipino
communities. The acquisition of the Manila-Dagupan Railway and the development of water
transportation enabled the growth of transportation in the Philippines.
Japan's rising population need new places for development, as well as new sources of raw
resources for producing goods. This was their major motivation for conquering nations,
particularly those near it (Leveriza, et al 2009) For three years, the Japanese dominated the
Philippines, placing the lives of the people in grave danger. The danger of a Japanese military
attack worried the nation. The Philippines, which had been reliant on the United States market was
struggling to compete economically as the United States withdrew. It struggles to offer proper
health care and education because of the lack of resources. Reorganizing the administration was
one of the first things the Japanese accomplished following the surrender of the Americans. The
Japanese waged a vigorous drive to re-educate Filipinos away from American ideas and towards
a more Asiatic outlook. To overthrow the Japanese, the Filipinos organized several guerilla
organizations. They were also helped by the Americans. The Philippines were finally freed form
the Japanese domination in 1945 (Japanese Invasion n.d).
Both the American and Japanese colonizers helped improve the infrastructures of the
Philippines. Education was also implemented on both colonial rules wherein the Americans
required children to go to public schools and provided free materials for the students. During the
Japanese colonial rule, Filipinos were re-educated away from the American influences. In terms
of language and literature, Filipinos were compelled to learn both the English language and
Nihonggo. These foreign languages then were used by the Filipinos in writing poems, short stories,
essays, and even novels.
After being colonized for so many years and suffering great loss of life and tremendous
physical destruction during the war, the Philippines finally gains its long-awaited independence
on July 4, 1946, by the United States (Onion, Amanda; Sullivan, Missy; Mullen, Matt 2010). The
Philippines was the first Southeast Asian country to obtain its independence (Hays 2008). The
Philippines struggled so much just to gain its independence and finally, they were able to acquire
it. The fight for independence did take a very long time. Our country maybe free from colonizers
but the question is, are we really free?
References
Hays, Jeffrey. 2008. "Independence for the Philippines After World War II." Facts and Details.
Accessed May 30, 2020. http://factsanddetails.com/southeastasia/Philippines/sub5_6b/entry-3842.html.
n.d. "Imperialism in Philippines." Weebly. Accessed May 28, 2020.
https://imperialisminphilippines.weebly.com/imperialism.html.
n.d. "Imperialism in the Philippines." Imperialism . Accessed May 28, 2020.
https://sites.google.com/site/hcmwimperialism/home/imperialism-in-the-philippines.
n.d. "Japanese Invasion." Weebly. Accessed May 28, 2020.
https://sydneytody.weebly.com/japanese-invasion.html.
Leveriza, Kiel; Monasterial, Kimberly; Rodriguez, Mio; Dela Cruz, Elena; Marasigan, Angelo;
Tan, Charles. 2009. "Comparison of the Japanese and American Colonization."
Kasaysayan ng Pilipinas 2. December 16. Accessed May 28, 2020.
http://grouphistorian.blogspot.com/2009/12/module-3-evaluation_16.html.
Onion, Amanda; Sullivan, Missy; Mullen, Matt. 2010. "Philippine Independence declared."
HISTORY. February 9. Accessed May 30, 2020. https://www.history.com/this-day-inhistory/philippine-independence-declared.
California State University. 2020. "American Imperialism in the Philippines." CSUN. September
22. https://library.csun.edu/SCA/Peek-in-the-Stacks/us-imperialism-philippines.