PHILIPPINE HISTORY
● THE PHILIPPINES
● History is derived from the Greek word
historia which means knowledge acquired
through inquiry or investigation
Our country has been known by many names in
song and story. Long before Magellan’s arrival,
the Chinese traders called it Mai or Mayi which
means the Land of Gold. It was named
“Archipelago of Saint Lazarus by Magellan. In
subsequent times, other names were given to
our country “Island of the East”, “Island of the
West”, “Gem Of the East”, “Treasure Island of
the Pacific but the most romantic name of our
country is the “Pearl of the Orient” which modern
writers have given because it is considered to
be one of the richest and beautiful lands in the
Far East.
● History as a discipline existed for around
2,400 years and is old as mathematics and
philosophy.
● The term was then adapted to classical Latin
where it acquired a new definition, thus, historia
became known as the account of the past of a
person or a group of people through written
documents and historical evidences.
● Sources of Historical Data:
Historical Data are sourced from artifacts that
have been left by the past. These artifacts can
either be relics or remains or the testimonies of
witnesses to the past.
● Written Sources of History:
1. Narrative or literary are chronicles or tracts
presented in narrative form
2. Diplomatic sources are understood to be
those which document/record an existing legal
situation or create new one
3. Social documents are formation pertaining to
economic,
social,
political
or
judicial
significance.
● Non- written Sources of History:
1.Material
evidence
archaeological evidence
also
known
as
● The Name of the Philippines
On the map, our country is named Philippines.
This name was given by a Spanish Explorer ,
Ruy Lopez de Villalobos in 1843. He named our
country : Filipinas in honor of prince Philip until
it came to be called “Philippines” and the people
“Filipinos.
● Origin Of The Philippines
This can be hypothetically traced in many
viewpoints. Several theories have been
advanced to explain the beginnings of the
Philippines:
● Part of a lost continent
Some geologists claim that it was a remnant of
a vast or prehistoric continent called Mu or
Lemuria which sank below the Pacific Ocean
during prehistoric times.
2.Oral evidence
● Volcanic origin/Pacific or Magnetic Theory
● Historical Sources
Our geologists believe that Philippines came
into existence after the eruption of volcanoes
beneath the ocean. The eruption of the sea
volcanoes according to them, caused the
gradual emergence of the islands above the
ocean.
1. Primary sources are those sources produced
at the same time as the event, period, or subject
being studied
2. Secondary sources are those sources which
were produced by an author who used primary
sources to produce the material.
● Land bridge or Asiatic theory
The most popularly-accepted theory states that
the Philippines was once part of the continental
shelf of Asia bridging China and the Asian main
to Borneo, Indonesia, New Guinea and even
Australia. About 25,000 years ago or during the
post-Glacial age, as the ice age ended, the
world’s ice melted, causing the sea level to rise
consequently flooded the land bridges
connecting the continent of Asia and the
Philippines.
● Physical Features
 c.1. Location
The Philippines lies in South East Asia, a little
above the equator. It is bounded in the east by
the Pacific Ocean, in the west by South China
Sea, in the north by the Bashi Channel and in
the south by the Sulu and Celebes Sea. A
glance in the map will show that the Philippines
has a very strategic location. Owing to her
strategic geographical location, the Philippine
location is important because:
◊ It is the only Christian nation in the nonChristian Asian World.
◊ It is a melting pot of races and cultures, with a
unique heritage from Asia, Europe, Latin
American, and North America.
◊ It is the bridge that links the Oriental and
Occidental worlds.
◊ It is at the crossroads of Asia’s air and sea
routes.
◊ It is the bastion of democracy in Asia where
the most countries are kingdoms, military
dictatorships, or one-party governments.
 c.2. Area
According to the Constitution, the national
territory of the Philippines includes: Islands,
adjacent seas, submarine areas and the air
space above. Its total land area is 300,780 sq.
km or 115,707 sq. miles. It’s one of the world’s
largest archipelago or group of islands, having
7,107 islands. Only 2,773 islands have names
with three largest islands namely, Luzon ,
Mindanao and Visayas.
● Philippines’ topography – is a rugged land
of many mountains, plains, coastlines,
numerous bays and lakes, rivers, waterfalls and
volcanoes.
 Mt. Apo – highest mountain with 9, 690
feet high
 Philippine Deep- lowest place in the
country with a depth of 37,732 feet below
sea level, it is said to be the deepest
place in the world
 Manila Bay- one of the famous harbors in
the Orient
 Cagayan river in Luzon- longest river in
the Philippines
 Laguna de Bay- largest lake