When Did Philippine History Begin?

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.