Filipino people

History

American anthropologist H. Otley Beyer was the first to propose that Malays who came from Malaysia populated the Philippines in a handful of waves of migration. However, according to contemporary research by anthropologists, linguists (Blust, Reid, Ross, Pawley), and archaeologists (Bellwood), the vast majority of Filipinos are descended from Austronesian-speaking migrants, which are said to have arrived in what is now the Philippines from southern China via Taiwan thousands of years ago. There are also various Negrito groups whose ancestors go back to thousands of years ago, before the Austronesian-speaking migrants arrived in the Philippines.

Related Topics:
H. Otley Beyer - Malay - Malaysia - Austronesian-speaking - Southern China - Taiwan - Negrito

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The Philippines, prior to the arrival of the Spaniards in 1521, was not ruled or united as a single nation. Instead, the inhabitants were divided into separate tribes, or nations, usually based on their respective ethnolinguistic groups.

Related Topics:
1521 - Ethnolinguistic

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By the mid-to-late 16th century, the archipelago was refered to as Filipinas (Philippines) by the Spaniards in honor of King Philip II of Spain. During the 333 years of Spanish rule, the term Filipino refered to the Spaniards who were born in the archipelago. Indigenous Filipinos were usually referred to as "indios." The same misnomer was earlier applied by the Spaniards to the natives of the Americas believing they had reached India, though by this time "indio" had become synonymous with "indigenous", and was used on other native inhabitants outside of the Americas encountered by the Spanish.

Related Topics:
16th century - Philip II of Spain - Spanish

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Following the revolution, Spanish-American War in 1898, and the Philippine-American War, the native indios were left searching for a national identity. The native revolutionaries then called themselves Filipinos, taking ownership of the term that had earlier been utilised by the Philippine-born Spaniards. General Emilio Aguinaldo was among the first to apply "Filipino" as the national designation for the indigenous inhabitants of the Philippines, as well as all other persons born in the country. This act was intended to help unite the population and establish nationalism in the 1900's against the U.S. presence and occupation of the islands. The term indio, however, was still being used well into the mid part of the 20th century, as evidenced by Roman Catholic baptismal records.

Related Topics:
Spanish-American War - 1898 - Philippine-American War - Emilio Aguinaldo - Nationalism - Roman Catholic - Baptismal records

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