The Philippines

The Philippines,officially called the Republic of the Philippines is an island country in Southeast Asia that consist of 7,641 islands. It's one of the major producers of nickel.

Etymology
The Philippines was named in honor of King Philip II of Spain. Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos, during his expedition in 1542, named the islands of Leyte and Samar Felipinas after the then-Prince of Asturias. Eventually the name Las Islas Filipinas would be used to cover all the islands of the archipelago.

Precolonial Period
Before the Spanish imperialists arrived,the Philippines consisted of many tribes. The most popular ones we're the Kingdom of Tondo and the Sultanate of Maguindanao. The Filipinos we're influenced by the Chinese,Indians,Arabs and Malays.

Colonial Period
On March 16 1521,Ferdinand Magellan landed on the Island of Homonhon and obviously colonized it. Then he reached at the Kingdom of Mactan which he fought Lapu-lapu and died with a few crewmen left. The Spanish then began to continue colonizing and colonized the Philippines and erased their indigenous cultures marking the end of the Filipino kingdoms.

War for Independence
Spain was attacked by the United States and the Filipinos saw this as an opportunity to rebel against the Spanish rule. They we're winning but the Americans fought them and later,the Philippines is once again a colony but under a different country due to the Treaty of Paris.

Japanese Occupation
The Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and the US reacted with a declaration of war. The Japanese then took the Philippines from the Americans and made it a puppet state.

Postcolonial Period
At 1946,the Philippines is finally independent.

In 1965,the Philippines was under dictatorial rule by Ferdinand Marcos. He established a martial law in the Philippines. He was a corrupt although he used the money to donate to the poor. Under his regime,the Philippines had an outstanding economy.

People Power Revolution
At February 1986,an revolution occurred and overthrown Ferdinand Marcos which is the reason he fled to Hawaii. After the revolution,Corazon Aquino was announced the first woman president of the Philippines.

Contemporary History
The revolution did the right thing. However,the Philippines started to weaken. It's economy was draining. Corruption started to grow.

At 1990,Colonel Alexander Noble proclaimed the Federal Republic of Mindanao but the uprising failed and he was arrested.

Bad things like corruption,unemployment and crime rate is still an issue today but Rodrigo Duterte was elected president and is starting to eliminate corruption and drugs. He started a drug war in the Philippines. It infuriated liberals and left wing political parties.