SocScie 13

Module 2: (3 hours)
Title: Knowing Philippine History

Philippines is a country located in Southeast Asia with a rich story of past

especially it was been colonized by Europeans, Americans, and Asians. This
colonization greatly influenced our lives as a Filipinos; our culture, character traits,
and even appearance. Even with the country’s name, it played a big role. We’ll be
able to know how the name of the country changed from Ma-I to Republic of the
Philippines.

This lesson exposes students to where our history comes from, it shows us a
simple picture of how we started as a nation. As a general, it discusses the brief
history of Philippines, its location in the world map and the theories of our ancestor’s
settlement in our country.

Guide Questions:
1. How does the location of the country affect the Filipinos?
2. How the names of the country changes and what are the reasons behind those
names?
3. What are the different theories that shows how early settlement in Philippines
started?

Learning Outcomes:
At end of this topic, you are expected to:
1. Know the different names of the country before it became Philippines
2. Learn about geographical facts of the country
3. Understand the theories of early settlement in Philippines
4. Appreciate the importance of studying the country’s history
5. Inculcate sense of nationalism and patriotism and to its importance in present
time.
6. Describe how the Philippines started as a nation.

A. Brief History of Philippine Archaeology

Early Names of our Country
 Ma-yi/Ma-I - “Land of Barbarians” - tawag sa Pilipinas noong Song/Sung
Dynasty pero ayon sa mga artikulo tungkol dito may specific place lang sa
Pilipinas ang tinawag na Ma-yi/Ma-I, sinasabing ito yung Mindoro ngayon.
-tinawag ang Pilipinas na land of barbarians dahil noong simula ang tingin ng iba
sa mga tao rito ay barbarics or uncivilized.
 Chin San - “Mountain of Gold” - dahil ito sa mayamang resources ng Pilipinas,
they considered our resources as gold.
 Liu-Sung - “Land Adjacent to the Mainland” - yung location ay malapit sa
mainland China. Ito ay ang tinawag sa ngayon ay isla ng Luzon.
 San Tao - “Three Islands” -Luzon, Visaya, and Mindanao
 Maniolas - came from Claudius Ptolemy’s geographical works in 105 C.E and
appeared in Magini’s edition.
 Islas de San Lazaro (Archipelago of St. Lazarus)- named by Ferdinand Magellan
when he first set foot on the island in 1521. - ipinangalan niya ito kay St. Lazarus
 dahil noong dumaong sila doon ay pista ni St. Lazarus. In honor of this, in Leyte
and Samar (Homonhon) they celebrate the feast of St. Lazaro.
 Las Islas Filipinas or Felipinas/Filipinas - given by Spanish navigator Ruy Lopez
de Villalobos in 1543 in honor of King Philip II of Spain. Dito ibinase yung
kasalukuyang name ng bansa.
 Philippine Islands (P.I) - during the the American Colonial Era
 Republic of the Philippines- given after the recognition of its independence in
1946.

Proposed names:
 Haring Bayang Katagalugan - suggested by Andres Bonifacio but was not
approved by other Filipinos especially the non-tagalog filipinos. Mula nga sa
salitang katagalugan, kunin natin yung word na tagalog, may specific part lang
dito sa Pilipinas na tinitirhan ng mga tagalog kaya di pumayag yung iba kasi
hindi naman siya panglahat.
 Kapatiran - brotherhood or katipunan
 LuzViMinda - Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao
 Maharlika- suggested name during late President F, Marcos’ era. They want to
name our country maharlika to prove or show that finally we are free. In pre-
hispanic era, maharlika means freedmen.
 Rizalia - named after Jose P. Rizal, the recognized National Hero of the
Philippines

B. Geography & Resources

Location of Philippines
 Astronomical Location : 4° 23’-21° 25’N. Latitude and 116° -127° E. Longitude
 Southeast Asia
 Bounded by by large bodies of water:
A. North - Bashi Channel
B. South - Sulu and Celebes Seas
C. West - West Philippine Sea
D. East - Pacific Ocean

Facts!!!
 It is situated in Southeast Asia
 It is an archipelago of 7,107 islands and islets
 It has total land area of 300,000 square kilometers
 Manila is the Capital City; Cebu - first capital City
 Divided into three major geographical groups; Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao
 Y’ Ami Isle (Batanes) - northernmost point of the country; Saluag Isle (island in
Tawi-tawi) - southernmost
 It has the longest irregular coastline in the world, 36,290 kilometers in length.
 San Juanico Strait - the narrowest strait in the world - Strait-narrow passage of
water connects 2 seas or large areas of water. SJS connects Carigara Bay with
San Pedro Bay
 Philippine Deep - it is believed to be the deepest area in the world
 Mt. Mayon known for being a nearly perfecr cone shape similar with Mt. Fuji of
Japan
 Mt. Apo - highest mountain in the Philippines
 Taal Volcano - world’s smallest volcano
 Cagayan River (Rio Granded de Cagayan)- longest river in the Philippines
 Laguna de Bay - largest lake
 The Philippines is subdivided into seventeen (17) regions – eight (8) in Luzon,
three (3) in the Visayas, and six (6) in Mindanao.
National Capital Region (NCR)
Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR)
Ilocos Region (Region I)
Cagayan Valley (Region II)
Central Luzon (Region III)
CALABARZON (Region IV-A)
MIMAROPA (Region IV-B)
Bicol Region (Region V)
Western Visayas (Region VI)
Central Visayas (Region VII)
Eastern Visayas (Region VIII)
Zamboanga Peninsula (Region IX)
Northern Mindanao (Region X)
Davao Region (Region XI)
SOCCSKSARGEN (Region XII)
Caraga (Region XIII)
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM)

10 Largest Islands in the Philippines

1. Luzon 2. Mindanao 3. Samar 4. Negros 5. Palawan
6. Panay 7. Mindoro 8. Lete 9. Cebu 10. Bohol

Country’s Climate
Tropical Climate with a mean annual temperature of 27°C.
2 seasons:
1. Dry Season
2. Wet Season

C. The Filipino People

Filipinos are unique in the world for they have four intermingled cultures - Latin,
European, American, and Asian. But basically, they are still Malays.

They are known for character traits such as:

 Hospitable
 Close Family Ties
 Respect for Elders
 Fatalistic “bahala na”
 Tardy “Filipino Time”
 Indolent
 Curious “Uzi”
 Debt of Gratitude “Utang na loob”

Ethnic Groups
The biggest groups of Filipinos are the Tagalog who are mostly in Central Luzon,
Metro Manila, and South Luzon;Visayans of Visayas Island; and, Ilocanos in
Northern Luzon. Other groups include the Pangasinenses, Pampanguenos, Zambals,
Ibanags, and Bicolanos.

Mountain People of Cordillera or the Igorots consist of the

 Isnegs of Apayao
 Kalingas of Kalinga
 Ifugaos, Ibalois, Kankays, and Bontoks of Benguet and Mountain Province.

Other Indigenous Groups are the Gaddangs of Isabela, Negritos or Aetas of

Zambales and hinterlands; Mangyans of Mindoro; the Tagbanuas, Batak, Tao’t Bato,
Molbogs and Jama Mapuns of Palawan; Mamanwaof Surigao del Norte; Kalibugans,
Subanuns, and Samals of Zamboanga del Sur; Manobos, Tirurays,Iranuns, and T’bolis
of Maguindanao,Cotabato, and Sultan Kudarat; Mandayas of Davao Oriental;
Bagobos and B’laans of Davao del Sur;Yakans of Basila; Tausugs of Sulu
Archipelago;Badjaos of Sulu Sea; and the Muslim groups Mindanao.

The Republic Act 8371 created the National Commission on Indigenous People,
aimed to protect, preserve, and respect the beliefs customs, and traditions of the
different ethnic groups.

Language
National Language: Filipino
Official Languages: English and Filipino

Theories on the Origin of Filipinos

1. The Austronesian Migration Theory
 Proponent: Peter Bellwood - professor of Archaeology
 It propounds on the expansion of a group of people called the Austronesians from
Asia into the Pacific by means of Taiiwan 6,000 years ago.
Austronesians peoples/Autronesian-speaking peoples are large group of people in
Taiwan, Maritime Southeast Asia, Oceania, Madagascar.
 It began from mainland China, reached Taiwan in 3500 BC then Philippines by
3000 BC.

2. Prof. Otley Beyer’s Wave of Migration Theory

According to Dr. Beyer, the Ancestors of the Filipinos came in different “waves of
migration”, as follows:
1. Dawn Man
-Cave man, similar to the Java man, Peking Man, and other Asian Homo sapiens of
250,000 years ago. (In Philippines, Tbaon Man, Homo Luzonensis)
-They were called Dawn Man for the emerged in island at the dawn of time.

2. Negritos
- arrived between 25,000 to 30,000 years ago via land bridges
- They were said to have arrived in Philippines before the land bridges from Malay
Peninsula,Borneo, and Australia disappeared.
-They were characterized as having black skin, dark kinky hair,round black eyes, flat
noses, and with usual height of 5 feet.

3. Indonesian Group
-sea-faring tool-users who came about 5000-6,000 years ago.
-First immigrants to reach the Philippines by sea.

2 types:
Indonesian A
- Arrived about 3,000-4,000 BC
-Tall, slender with light complexion, and thin lips.
Indonesian B
- Came about 1,500 BC to 500 BC
-Bulky body, dark complexion, and thick lips.
4. Malays
-Sea farers
- Introduced the Iron Age culture
- They arrived from 300 BC to the 14th and 15th centuries AD

3. Core Population Theory

-Inhabitants of the Philippines consist of a core population to which came accretions
of people who moved in from the region. The movements were erratic rather thab in
sequential waves. -suggested theory by the modern scholars.