he history of the Philippines between 900 and 1565 begins with the creation of the Laguna

Copperplate Inscription in 900 and ends with Spanish colonisation in 1565. The inscription records
its date of creation in the year 822 of the Hindu Saka calendar, corresponding to 900 AD in the
Gregorian system.

History of the Philippines (900–1565) The history of the Philippines between 900 and 1565,

also known as the pre-colonial period or pre-Hispanic, begins with the creation of the Laguna
Copperplate Inscription (LCI) in 900 and ends with the Spanish colonization in 1565

The written record of the Philippine Islands starts with the coming of the Spaniards. Not that the
country had not had a history and a culture and a literature before! But the Spaniards, in their
religious zeal, destroyed the earlier records as completely as possible. Therefore much of what is
known about pre-Spanish days—and there is still much to be uncovered—comes from the records of
other countries which were in touch with the islands.
Centuries before the influence of the West was felt in the Philippines, the culture of India, China, and
southeastern Asia had reached that country through the early settlers. From the eighth to the fifteenth
centuries, the Philippine Islands were part of a great Hindu-Malayan empire ruled from Java and
Sumatra in the neighboring islands to the southwest.
Mohammedanism swept over this area of the world in the latter part of the fifteenth century.
Moslems came into the Sulu Archipelago and Mindanao and converted the people. Their
descendants, the Mores, have remained devout Mohammedans to this day.
By the time the Spaniards came to the islands, therefore, the Filipinos had developed a way of life
and a distinct culture that were suitable and satisfactory to them. They had a calendar, weights and
measures, a system of writing, some elements of law, some religious ideas showing both Hindu and
Mohammedan influences, and had some skill in metalworking, pottery making, and weaving.
Magellan, on his voyage around the world, “discovered” the islands in 1521, nearly a half century
before the first permanent settlement (St. Augustine, Florida) was established by Spain in the United
States. Numerous other Spanish expeditions followed, and one of them gave to the islands the name
“Las Filipinas” in honor of Philip II of Spain.
The islanders were no match for the armed men from the West. They were divided both
geographically and politically. Their government was a simple system, made up of many barangays
(originally family groups each with a headman). There was little unity among these clans.
By the end of the sixteenth century, most of the country except the southern islands had been
conquered. The subject peoples were converted to the Catholic faith and for the next three hundred
years came under the direct rule of Spanish governors and the all-pervading influence of Spanish
priests.