Orion Hub - Philippines - About Philippines
The Philippines (Filipino: Pilipinas), officially known as the Republic of the Philippines (Republika ng Pilipinas; RP) is an archipelago comprising in 7,107 islands located in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean, with Manila as its capital. The Philippines is one of the most populous countries today, with a population of 88 million.
The two official languages of the Philippines are Filipino, which is based on Tagalog, and English.
The Philippines became a Spanish colony in the 16th century, and then a U.S. colony after the Spanish-American War and the Philippine-American War. At the service of Spain, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and his crew were the first Europeans to arrive in the archipelago in March 1521. Magellan was later killed in battle by indigenous warriors in Mactan Island on account of political conflicts with Lapu-Lapu.
The beginnings of colonization started to take form when King Philip II of Spain (after whom the Philippines was named) ordered a successive expedition. The conquistador, Miguel López de Legazpi arrived from Mexico in 1565 and formed the first Spanish settlements in Cebu. In 1571 he established Manila as the capital of the new Spanish colony.
The late 1960s and early 1970s saw economic development that was second in Asia, next to Japan.
The Philippines constitutes an archipelago with a total land area of approximately 300,000 square kilometers (116,000 sq miles). It lies between 116° 40' and 126° 34' E. longitude, and 4° 40' and 21° 10' N. latitude, and borders the Philippine Sea on the east, on the South China Sea the west, and the Celebes Sea on the south. The island of Borneo lies a few hundred kilometers southwest and Taiwan directly north. The Moluccas and Sulawesi are to the south, and Palau is to the east beyond the Philippine sea.
The islands are commonly divided into three island groups: Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
Most of the mountainous islands used to be covered in tropical rainforest and are volcanic in origin. There are many active volcanos such as Mayon Volcano, Mount Pinatubo, and Taal Volcano. Lying on the northwestern fringes of the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Philippines experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activities. Some 20 earthquakes are registered daily in the Philippines, though most are too weak to be felt. The last great earthquake was the 1990 Luzon earthquake. The country also lies within the typhoon belt of the Western Pacific and about 19 typhoons strike per year. The Philippines is a newly industrialized country with an agricultural base, light industry, and service-sector economy. The Philippines has one of the most vibrant business process outsourcing (BPO) industries in Asia, including Fortune 500 companies.
Roman Catholicism became the predominant religion of the Philippines, although the pre-Hispanic indigenous religious practices and Islam continue to flourish.
The Philippines had cultural and trade relations with India, China, and Islamic merchants as early as the 9th century before the arrival of the Europeans in the 16th century.
Filipino culture today is a fusion of pre-Hispanic indigenous Austronesian civilizations of the Philippines mixed with Hispanic and American cultures. The Hispanic influences in Filipino culture are largely derived from the culture of Spain and Mexico as a result of over three centuries of Spanish colonial rule through Mexico City. These Hispanic influences are most evident in literature, folk music, folk dance, language, food, art and religion, such as Roman Catholic Church religious festivals.
There are also significant amounts of Spanish influence in the country, such as names of countless streets, towns and provinces, which are named in Spanish. Spanish architecture also made a major imprint in the Philippines. This can be seen especially in the country's churches, government buildings and universities.
It has also been influenced by Chinese and Islamic cultures.
The Filipinos are a very enterprising and adventurous race. Their extrovert, happy go easy attitude and pro-American lifestyles make them a very friendly, accommodative and hospitable people. There are more than 11 million Filipinos working and settled overseas, probably because of their cordial and adaptive nature.