The Philippines is a great subject of various colonial rulers and settlers which have influenced the

literature and the art of the country. These different time periods have brought immense alteration to the
country with which the countrymen have adapted to especially in terms of arts and written works. Since
the county is filled with rich history, so does its literature, starting from the different settlers before the
Spanish colonization until the modern period.

The first inhabitants of the country arrived from different agglomerations of people from
Southeast Asia with Austronesian, Malay, Chinese, Arabic and Indian influence. The history of the
Philippine literature started from our forefathers wherein they've created their own traditions, customs,
stories, plays, songs, epics, chants for witchcraft or enchantment, riddles, proverbs and short stories that
have been passed down from centuries which may have been changed each time it was narrated. The most
common form of literature by our ancestors is the oral tradition which talks about goods, heroes and the
stories of ordinary men. Stories about the origin, existence and the end of things that links to a divine
entity which serves as their science and reasoning. In addition, the first alphabet of our ancestors was
similar to the Malayo-Polynesian alphabet but there were no records left as it may be burned or have
decayed.

Muslim traders reached the Philippines in the 13​th century and brought the Islamic tradition which
influenced the literature of Philippines by introducing their structured Islamic society. The Islamic society
is guided by the Koran, having only one God, Allah and the prophet, Mohammed. The teachings of Koran
consist of works that are related to the rituals and custom of Islam which is evident in especially in some
specific Islamic regions in the country.

The Philippines was subjected to colonization by the Spaniards in 1521 when Ferdinand Magellan
launched an expedition to the country, bringing with them the Christianity, their Latin culture and politics.
Through the stories of the Biblical characters, the Spaniards have completely altered the consciousness of
the natives. For 333 years of Spanish colonialism in the Philippines, the literature was largely influenced
especially by the friars who owned printing presses, had the authority, were the patrons of literature and
feared because of their spiritual function. There were many literary compositions from known writers
wherein their names are also printed out in books; the language used during that period was Tagalog,
Ilocano, Visayan and Spanish. During the Spanish regime, one’s ability to read and write in the Roman
script is a reflection of their social status so the natives learned the Roman alphabet and the old scripts and
alphabet, Alibata, faded out. Christianity has introduced pasyon (lyrical songs and poem), comedya,
drama, sinakulo, sarsuwela (musical play), sermon, novel and essays which mostly have religious themes
that reflect the ruling and teachings of the Spaniards. There were many different recreational plays
performed by the Filipinos during the Spanish period, these are: Tibag, Lagaylay, Cenaculo,
Panunuluyan, Salubong, Carillo, Zarzuela, Sainete, Moro-moro, Karagatan, Duplo, Balagtasan, Dung-aw,
Awit and Corrido. The Tagalog poetry's common themes in the Spanish period are about saints, tragic
romance, chivalry and feudalism.

Unable to contain the rebellion and the patriotism of the Filipino, the Spanish rule ended after 333
years of discriminatory and abusive governance. The novels and the literature after the Spanish regime
reflect the patriotic and natalism spirit of the Filipino which served as the revolution to the literature in the
Philippines. During the Period of Enlightenment, the Filipinos climbed up their way to social status by
attending colleges, wrote books about their liberal ideas, advocated about social change and expressed
their revolutionary spirit through writing. The Propaganda Movement was led by the intellectual middle
class like Jose Rizal, who wrote two political novels entitled El Filibusterismo and Noli Me Tangere,
which awakened the consciousness of the Filipino and to unite against the Spanish ruling. There were
plenty of literary works that he has written other than the two controversial novels. Jose Rizal's works are
stepping stones to achieve the revolution which changed the Philippines' course of history. The audience
of his books were moving and the Filipino were convinced to demand change about the Spanish
settlement. Some Propagandista such as Marcelo H. del Pilar, Graciano Lopez Jaena, Pedro Paterno, Jose
Ma. Panganiban and Andres Bonifacio many heroes published their works and exposed the greedy and
immoral nature of the friars. La Solidaridad, a newspaper founded by Lopez Jaena, was one of the tools
which ignited the revolution. Other newspapers established during the revolution are: Heraldo De La
Revolucion, La Independecia, La Republica Pilipina and La Libertad.

The American settlement in the Philippines which lasted for 48 years have widely influenced the
literature of the country. With the new settlers, Filipinos were trying to adapt to the American's ways
while still having a lingering attachment to the Spanish customs and writing traditions. Since the
American regime established a public education system which gave way to the Filipinos determination to
learn and go to school, the literacy rate increased dramatically while giving opportunity to the Filipinos to
experience modernity. The writers in this period started writing about the modern American style, in
English language and have forgotten about the patriotic themes of writing. There were plenty of Western
entertainment which were introduced such as the new ways of writing, plays and drama in theatre and
more of modern writing ways.

During the Contemporary Period, after the acquisition of Independence (1970-present), the country was in
dire poverty which reflected the consciousness and the nationalistic spirit of the writers at this time. The
literature at this time is highly influenced by Marxism and the philosophy of existentialism. Writers were
facing an identity crisis due to the post-war problems at this period; this influenced the published works
and their writing styles by mixing it with the modern elements. The language used by the writers is
Filipino to better reach a wide audience and in order to be understood by the Filipino masses. Themes
about nationalistic commitment, activism, resistance to authority and topics about national issues were
widespread and writers even formed organization specially to express dissent to Marcos' governance.
Words of the writers are focused on their political voices and about discussing relevant issues about the
country.

The history of the country’s literature is deeply rooted to the ways and customs in the different
time period that the Philippines was in. Literature of the country is a reflection of the long history of
struggles of the Filipino from the different invaders of the land and to the fight for independence from
being governed by the discriminatory Spain, Americans and the Japanese. The stories and the different
works of art have changed drastically based on the influence of each time period. Compositions from well
known authors are still existing until the modern times which have changed the course of the Philippine
history. It is evident that literature is the best tool that would narrate the story of the Philippines.