The Philippines was rich before the foreigners came to invade us, they saw the natural

resources that the country had.

The Philippines has the second largest gold deposit in the world. The works on view
here—from tiny gold tweezers to fabulous pieces of jewelry—reveal that these natural resources
were readily exploited by the local people between the tenth and thirteenth centuries.
Gold dental ornamentation among early Filipinos was also described in early Spanish
documents and one of the evidence preserved in the Cultural Treasure of the National Museum
is the Bolinao Skull.One of the significant information gathered in the archaeological excavation
of Balingasay Site, Bolinao, Pangasinan is the beautiful and ornate method of decorating the
teeth with gold.
The oton death with Gold mask, this death mask was excavated in a grave site in San
Antonio, Oton, Iloilo by a team lead by Ilonggo archaeologist Landa F. Jocano in the 60s. This is
part of the permanent exhibit of the Museo Iloilo based on the history. An archeological wonder
named Oton Death Mask proved the rich heritage and customs of Pre-Hispanic Filipinos.
There were various traditions that Filipinos believed in during that time, datus sponsored
feasts that validated their social status as the wealthiest and most powerful individuals in the
community. Gold and land as the standard of economic wealth especially in the age of
mercantilism in the 1500s, the Filipino datus, who had a natural abundance of both land and
gold in their domains, considered people to be the most important symbol of wealth and power.
During that time the history stated that there was already a largest and powerful
sultanate and datus to emerge in the Philippines that is why the first expedition of Spanish
colonists in our country did not succeed, headed by Magellan. The Spanish at first viewed the
Philippines as a stepping-stone to the riches of the East Indies (Spice Islands)
Proof only what is stated in the histories of The Magellan Voyages, The Custom of
Tagalog of Juan de Plasencia had rich in cultural protection for anyone who seeks conquest of
the country held by the Filipinos.
A big fact is that the Philippines before we were occupied by the Spanish colonization
the Filipinos had a rich culture and had a bounty of minerals, cropland, timber, and coastal and
marine resources in the 13th century based on History.