Philippines

The Impact of Philippine History on Its Current World Affairs Your Name Course and SectionProfessor’s Name April 26, 2025 The Impact of Philippine History on Its Current World Affairs The modern culture, political systems, and general behaviour of the Philippines in international affairs have been largely formed by its complex history of colonization, revolution, and external influence. The Philippine experience features a common thread of being under Spanish rule for over three centuries, a time when it grew into nearly half a century as an American colony, and finally, played a key role during World War II. With Spanish colonization beginning in 1565 and ending in 1898, it brought Catholicism, European political systems, and the Spanish language (Agoncillo, 1990). Although Catholicism is not generally considered a prevalent religion today, it still lives on deeply, affecting not only religious activities but also social values, family structures, as well as political talk. Today, the Philippines is the third-largest Catholic country in the world, and its religious identity can be seen in its policies and diplomatic relations with predominantly Catholic countries in Europe and Latin America. Today’s highly centralized government institutions are a tradition of centralized governance fostered by the colonial experience. American Influence and Democratic Ideals At the end of the Spanish-American War, in 1898, the Philippines were given in cession to the United States, thus beginning almost fifty years of American colonization. At this time, the Americans set up a public education system based on the English medium of teaching, restructured the government on the lines of democracy, and introduced Western legal traditions (Constantino, 1975). Consequently, the Philippines is now consid...