Spanish and American colonization of the Philippines were two main events in Philippine

history that helped shape the Philippines as we know it today. These two main events were also

responsible in influencing Philippine language and names. This influence in language and

names translates into a major influence in Philippine culture and religion, and also, the patterns

of emigration in and out of the Philippines. Therefore, Spanish and American colonization of the

Philippines affected both Philippine culture and emigration out of the Philippines.

At first, the Spanish colonization of the Philippines was solely based on the islands’ close

proximity to the East Indies, a group of islands mainly known for their spices. However, even

after the Portuguese and the Dutch made the takeover of the East Indies impossible for the

Spanish, they still maintained their position in the Philippines (Philippine History: Spanish

Colonization​)​. After multiple failed attempts in making concrete settlements in the Philippines,

Miguel Lopez de Legazpi finally established the first Spanish settlement in Cebu during the year

1565. In the year 1571, the Spanish city of Manila, the current capital city of the Philippines,

was established. By the end of the 16th century, nearly all of the coastal and lowland areas from

Luzon to northern Mindanao were under Spanish control (Britannica). This led to the first major

change in Philippine culture that affects emigration in and out of the Philippines; religion.

With the help of local administration, friars converted the majority of the Philippine

population to Roman Catholicism. Roman Catholicism and the Church played a heavy role in

the Philippine government (Yengoyan, Aram A. ​The Austronesians​). As the religious

importance of the Philippines grew to the Spanish, more Spanish people emigrated out of Spain

to the Philippines. As the presence of Spanish friars increased as a result of this emigration, the

government became dictated by these friars. As the overall Spanish presence grew in the
Philippines due to emigration, the Spanish needed a way to control their new colony. They tried

implementing a system called “encomienda” that was based on the success of tax collectors.

When frequent abuse of these tax collectors continued and revenues were withheld from the

crown, the King of Spain appointed a governor-general to rule the country. That

governor-general appointed his own civil and military leaders and attained the power of a

monarch (Britannica).

Since the Spanish established control over most of the Philippines, they were able to turn

Manila into a great trading area. Manila had established a galleon trade with Mexico, ensuring a

large amount of Mexican silver in Manila. This attracted the attention of the Chinese, who

traded their silk for the Mexican silver in Manila. Due to these profitable trading opportunities,

many more Spanish people looking for a quick profit emigrated to the Philippines. A large

Chinese community also emigrated to the Philippines due to the increasing trade of Chinese silk

in Manila. These migrations, influenced by the Spanish colonization of the Philippines and the

dominance of Roman Catholicism in the Philippines, greatly changed both the culture and the

population in the Philippines from that point onward. (Britannica).

The Encyclopedia Britannica is my main source on Spanish colonization of the

Philippines. This source provided detailed reference information. This source helped me get a

new viewpoint of the Spanish colonization of the Philippines. It helped me correlate the entire

Spanish colonization of the Philippines to the essay topic of emigration. It provided various

reasons why Spanish and Chinese people emigrated to the Philippines during the Spanish

colonization of the Philippines. Britannica is an educational source seeing as it is an

encyclopedia. Encyclopedias are always reliable educational sources, which was the main
reason that I chose Britannica as my main source for all 3 of my Spanish colonization

paragraphs.

The other major colonization of the Philippines was the American colonization of the

Philippines. American colonization of the Philippines started in 1898 when the Spanish sold

control of the Philippines to America for $20 million. The Americans promised to “help the

Philippines become its own independent country.” However, it instead used the country for

trading and gaining more resources. The main use of the Philippines by Americans in World

War 2 was as a military base (Frontline World, PBS). Many American soldiers came to the

Philippines to train and defend the American military bases there (Tagalog Lang). The inflow of

American soldiers in the Philippines caused many Filipino-American children to be sired during

the events of World War 2. This changed the demographic of the Filipino population again.

One of the sources used in the paragraph before this one, PBS’s Frontline World,

summarizes American colonization of the Philippines. It discusses Philippine life under

American colonization with good detail. It talks about some religious and cultural changes, and

the life that Filipinos lived under American colonization. It is a useful source since it comes

from an educational network, PBS. PBS is an education television network that provides factual

information about many different topics. This source gave me the topics that I could further use

to develop my argument on the change in the demographic of the Filipino population. The

insights on the change in the demographic of the Filipino population were based off a different

source, but I used the information from the PBS Frontline World article to help me develop that

argument.
 After the events of World War 2, American soldiers still remained in the Philippines.

They were meant to aid in the defense of the country, and hunt down the remaining officials that

supported Japan in the war. As a result of the continued presence of Americans in the

Philippines, even more Filipino-American children were born in the Philippines (Tagalog Lang).

While not as prominent as those of Spanish origin, their numbers grew. This change in the

population demographic affected emigration out of the Philippines. Some of the

Filipino-American children eventually emigrated out of the Philippines to America. Many of

those who were able prove they had American paternity or maternity stayed and lived in

America. This was the beginning of the Filipino population in America. Even after America

finally granted independence to the Philippines, Filipino-Americans living in the Philippines

continued to emigrate out of the Philippines to America. In addition, a sizeable population of

Filipinos without American heritage started emigrating to America. American colonization and

presence in the Philippines before, during, and after the events of World War 2 heavily

contributed to emigration out of the Philippines, and is the basis for the majority of the Filipino

population in America today (Ana Marie Nobleza Siscar’s interview transcript.)

The Tagalog Lang article on American colonization, used in both my paragraphs on

American colonization of the Philippines, is the most unique source that I used in the essay. It

was created by Filipinos, giving it a more unique point of view on American colonization of their

home country. Seeing the Filipino view, or at least what some Filipinos think, about American

colonization was useful in determining how it influenced their patterns of migration. It provided

me with some valuable reference points to use in my paragraph about American colonization of

the Philippines. All my other sources were from white or unrelated races, but this source comes
straight from the voices of the people I am researching. The unique viewpoint that this source

provides was the main reason that I chose it for this essay.

I also used interview from my mother to help construct the paragraphs about American

colonization of the Philippines. This interview provided an interesting and factual story about

how my mother's grandfather was a soldier in World War 2. He had a child with my mother's

grandmother, who turned out to be my mother's mother. This story, along with other

information from her about Filipinos who had American lineage coming to America, helped me

recognize the patterns of migration out of the Philippines to America that started because of

American colonization. My mother's interview also helped me decide the two topics that I wrote

about in my midterm essay; Spanish and American colonization. Her interview segment about

how the Spanish changed the Filipino names and religion influenced my decision to choose that

topic for the essay. Overall, this interview was a very helpful source to the essay.

While Spanish and American colonization of the Philippines both affected Philippine

culture and migration patterns, there were differences between the two events. The major

difference between the two colonizations was how they affected Philippine migration patterns.

Spanish colonization influenced the emigration of Spanish people and Chinese people into the

Philippines, through the various new trade opportunities it created in Manila. American

colonization influenced the emigration of Filipinos out of the Philippines. First, many American

soldiers stationed in the Philippines sired Filipino-American children, some of whom necessarily

wanted to move to America based on their American heritage. Second, it ushered in the vision

of American Dream that led many people to aspire to move to America. Another main difference

in Spanish and American colonization is the circumstances under which they both occurred.
Spanish colonization thrived because of the various trade opportunities that appeared once

Manila was established as a trading hub. American colonization was necessary in aiding their

effort to win World War 2 due to the numerous bases set up in the Philippines. The final

difference discussed is the lasting impact on the country by both colonizations. Spanish

colonization had the more lasting cultural impact on the Philippines because it integrated Roman

Catholicism as the main religion in the Philippines. This still holds true today. Spanish

colonization also influenced the Philippine language of Tagalog, of which many words are based

on Spanish words. Spanish colonization also influenced the population and names of the

Filipinos. American colonization had a less-lasting impact on the Philippines, mainly

influencing the heritage of a segment of the population of the Philippines. It did not have as

much of a cultural impact as Spanish Colonization did, but its influence on emigration continues

up to the current times.

In conclusion, both Spanish and American colonization of the Philippines greatly affected

emigration patterns to and from the Philippines. Spanish colonization influenced emigration to

the Philippines during its era. American colonization influenced emigration out of the

Philippines and to America during its era, and still does today. Spanish colonization also heavily

affected Philippine language and culture. The changes based off both colonizations are still very

visible in the Philippines today.