Situation and Area.

The Philippine Islands lie between 116° 40' and 126° and 34' E. long., and 4° 40' and 21° 10' N. lat. The islands are washed by the China Sea on the north and the west, the Pacific Ocean on the east, and the Sea of Celebes on the south. They are nearly south of Japan, and north of Borneo and the Celebes, with which they are connected by three partly-submerged isthmuses. The archipelago belongs to the same geographic region as Borneo, Sumatra, and Java, and therefore to Asia rather than to Oceanica. In all there are 3141 islands; 1668 of them are listed by name. Luzon has an area of 40,969 sq. miles; Mindanao, 36,292 sq. m. Nine islands have an area between 1000-10,000 sq m; 20 between 100 and 1000 sq. m.; 73 between 10 and 100 sq. m.; and 262 between 1 and 10 sq. m. The remaining 2775 islands are each less than 1 sq. m.  The total area of the islands is 115,026 sq. m. The extent of the Earth's surface included by the boundaries of the treaty lines is about 800,000 sq.m.

Physical Geography -- Fauna and Flora.

The scenery of the islands, especially Luzon, is very beautiful. The greatest known elevation, Mt. Apo, in Mindanao, is over 10,000 ft.; it was ascended for the first time by Father Mateo Gisbert, S.J., accompanied by two laymen, in 1880. There are twenty well-known and recent volcanic cones, twelve of them more or less active. Mayon Volcano, about 8000 ft., is probably the most beautiful symmetrical volcanic cone in the world. There are no very large rivers; the Cagayan of northern Luzon and the Rio Grande and the Agusan, both in Mindanao, are more than 200 miles in length. The largest lakes are Laguna de Bay, near Manila, and Laguna de Lanao, in Mindanao; the surface of the latter is 2200 ft above sea-level. Laguna de Bombon, in Batangas Province, Luzon, is the crater of an immense volcano, of roughly elliptical shape, seventeen by twelve miles. On an island in the lake is the active volcano of Taal. The fauna of the Philippines resembles that of the neighboring Malayan Islands to a certain extent. Two-thirds of the birds of the Philippines are peculiar to them; what is more strange is that 286 species of birds found in Luzon, at least fifty-one are not to be met with in any other part of the archipelago. The flora of the islands is similar to that of Java, Sumatra, and Borneo, but with differences sufficiently numerous to give it a marked individuality. Forests form seven-tenths of the area of the archipelago; they
embrace a great variety of woods, many of them highly valuable.

Mineral Resources.

Coal is found in many parts of the islands. two mines are now in operation on the small island of Batan, Albay Province, Southern Luzon. The total output in the Philippines during 1909 was valued at nearly $100,000.  About $250,000 worth of gold was mined the same year. Iron is also found, the product in 1909 being worth a little more than $15,000.

Climate.

The climate is, generally speaking, tropical, although there are points in the islands where it cannot strictly be so termed. The mean temperature in Manila during the period 1883-1902 was 80°F.; the average maximum during the same time was 97° and minimum 63°. The average rainfall in Manila is something more than 75 inches. Baguio, Province of Benguet, has been called the Simla of
the Philippines. Climatic conditions are so favourable that the commission and assembly held their sessions there this year (1910) during the warm months. The mean minimum temperatures of four months of the year are lower in Baguio than at Simla, and almost equal for two other months. The monthly means are nearly equal for the two places during five months.

Railways.

Railway lines are in operation in Luzon, Panay, Cebu, and Negros, about four hundred miles in all.

Population.

A census of the islands taken in 1903 estimates the population at 7,635,426, of whom 6,987,686 are classed as civilized and 647,740 are wild.

There are no question in Spanish times about the number of Christians; but a difference in opinion prevails about the number of the 1,400,000. According to the Director of the Census of 1903, there has been tendency to exaggerate; he admits that the number 647,740 is possibly too small, but that it is probably within ten per cent of the true number.

Wild Tribes.

The Negritos are believed to have been the aborigines of the islands. There remains about 23,000 of these, leading to-day a primitive life, nomadic within a certain district, living in groups of twenty or thirty under a chief.  They are a race of dwarfs, four feet eight inches in height. They are of sooty black colour, their hair woolly, their toes almost as prehensile as fingers. The Negritos, it is thought, once occupied the entire archipelago, but were driven back into the mountains by the Malays.

Among other wild tribes may be mentioned the Igorottes in Northern Luzon, some of whom are head-hunters. They are an industrious and warlike race. Belgian missionaries have been working among them in the past few years with considerable fruit. The Ibilao or Ilongot is noted for his bloodthirsty propensities; the Ifugaos are said to resemble the Japanese in appearance. They use the
lasso with great dexterity, and with it capture the luckless traveler, decapitate him, and add the head to their collection. They wear as many rings in their ears as they have taken heads. In Palawan (Paragua) the most numerous tribe is that of the Tagbanuas, many of whom have been Christianized. The Manguianes occupy the interior of Mindoro; they are a docile race and do not flee from
civilized man. Among the wild tribes of Mindanao may be mentioned the Manobos, Bagobos, Bukidnons, Tirurays, and Subanos. They are classed as Indonesians by some ethnologists. Slavery is practised, and human sacrifices are known to have taken place within the past few years.

The Moros or Mohammedan Malays chiefly inhabit Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago, though they are found also in Basilan and Palawan. They were professional pirates, and advanced as far as Manila at the time of the arrival of the Spaniards. They killed large numbers of Filipinos, and carried others into slavery. Until within about sixty years ago, when Spanish gunboats of light draught were introduced, they made marauding excursions into the Visayan islands (Panay, Negros, Cebu, Bohol, Leyte, Samar, etc.), carrying off a thousand captives as slaves annually. They were the great obstacle to the civilization of Mindanao. The Moro is possessed of much physical strength, is indifferent to bloodshed, too proud to work, and extremely fanatical. Many of them build their towns in the water, with movable bamboo bridges connected with the shore. Flanking their settlements they build cottas or forts. The walls of some of these were twenty-four feet thick and thirty feet high. The United States Government respects the Moro custom of discarding the hat, by permitting the Moro Constabulary (military police) to wear a Turkish fex and to go barefoot.

Extensive missionary work has been done by the Jesuits in Mindanao. Previous to the American occupation, they ministered to 200,000 Christians in various parts of the islands. Even among the Moros their efforts were successful and in one year (1892) they baptized 3000 Moros in the district of Davao. They established two large orphan asylums, one for boys and the other for girls, at
Tamontaca, where liberated slave-children were trained to a useful life, and which later formed the basis of new Christian villages. For lack of support, a great deal of this work had to be abandoned with the withdrawal of Spanish sovereignty from the islands.

Christian Tribes.

The inhabitants of Luzon and adjacent islands are the Tagalogs, Pampangans, Bicols, Pangasinans, Ilocanos, Ibanags or Cagayanes, and Zambales. The most important of these are the Tagalogs, who number about a million and a half; the Pampangans, about 400,000, excel in agriculture; the Bicols in South-eastern Luzon were, according to Blumentritt, the first Malays in the Philippines; the Pangasinans, in the province of that name, number about 300,000; the Ilocanos, an industrious race, occupy the north-western coast of Luzon; the Ibanags, said to be the finest race and the most valiant men in the islands (Sawyer), dwell in the Northern and Eastern Luzon. The Zambales were famous head-hunters at the time of the Spanish conquest, and made
drinking-cups out of their enemies' skulls. They number about 100,000. The Visayan Islands are inhabited by the Visayas, the most numerous tribe of the Philippines. Fewer wild people are found among them than in other portions of the archipelago. The population is about 3,000,000. There is a strong resemblance, mentally, morally, and physically, between individuals of the Visayas, but there is a great difference in their languages, a Visayan in Cebu, for instance will not understand a Visayan of Panay. For all that, it is said that the Filipinos had a common racial origin and at one time a common language.  Physically, the Filipinos are of medium height, although tall men are to be found among them; especially in the mountain districts. Generally speaking, they are of a brownish colour, with black eyes, prominent cheek bones, the nose flat rather than arched or straight, nostrils wide and full mouth inclined to be large, lips full, good teeth, and round chin.

The following estimates of the Filipinos are selected from the United States Census Report of 1903. The first gives an appreciation of the people shortly after the arrival of the Spaniards and before they were Christianized. The second and third are the views of an American and an Englishman, respectively, of the Christianized Filipino before and at the time of the American occupation.

 (1) Legaspi, after four years' residence, writes thus of the natives of Cebu: "They are a crafty and treacherous race....They are a people extremely vicious, fickle, untruthful, and full of other superstitions. No law binds relative to relative, parents to children, or brother to brother....If a man in some time of need shelters a relative or a brother in his house, supports him, and provides him with food for a few days, he will consider that relative as his slave from that time on....At times they sell their own children....Privateering and robbery have a natural attraction to them....I believe that these natives could be easily subdued by good treatment and the display of kindness".

(2) Hon. Dean C. Worcester was in the Philippines in 1887-88 and 1890-93. He says: "The traveler cannot fail to be impressed by his (the Filipino's) open-handed and cheerful hospitality. He will go to any amount of trouble, and often to no little expense, in order to accommodate some perfect stranger. If cleanliness be next to godliness, he has much to recommend him. Hardly less noticeable than the almost universal hospitality are the well-regulated homes and the happy family life which one soon finds to be the rule. Children are orderly, respectful, and obedient to their parents. The native is self-respecting and self-restrained to a remarkable degree....he is patient under misfortune and forbearing under provocation....He is a kind father and a dutiful son. His aged relatives are never left in want, but are brought to his home and are welcome to share the best that it affords to the end of their days".

(3) Frederick H. Sawyer lived for fourteen years in the Philippines; he writes: "The Filipino possessed a great deal of self-respect, and his demeanour is quiet and decorous. He is polite to others and expects to be treated politely himself. He is averse to rowdyism or horseplay of any kind, and avoids giving offence. For an inhabitant of the tropics, he is fairly industrious, sometimes even very
hard-working. Those who have seen him poling cascos against the stream of the Pasig will admit this. He is a keen sportsman, and will readily put his money on his favourite horse or gamecock; he is also addicted to other forms of gambling.  The position taken by women in a community is often considered as a test of the degree of civilization it has attained. Measured by this standard, the Filipinos come out well, for among them the wife exerts great influence in the family and the husband rarely completes any important business without her concurrence.

"The Filipinos treat their children with great kindness and forbearance. Those who are well-off show much anxiety to secure a good education for their sons and even for their daughters. Parental authority extends to the latest period in life. I have seen a man of fifty years come as respectfully as a child to kiss the hands of his aged parents when the vesper bell sounded, and this notwithstanding the presence of several European visitors in the house. Children, in return, show great respect to both parents, and some morning and evening to kiss their hands. They are trained in good manners from their earliest youth, both by precept and example".

History.

The islands were discovered 16 March, 1521, by Ferdinand Magellan.  Several other expeditions followed, but they were fruitless. In 1564 Legaspi sailed from Mexico for the Philippines. He was accompanied by the Augustinian friar Urdaneta. As a layman this celebrated priest had accompanied the expedition of Loaisa in 1524, which visited Mindanao and the Moluccas. Legaspi landed in
Cebu in 1565. The islands had been called San Lazaro by Magellan; Villalobos, who commanded an expedition from Mexico, called the island at which he touched Filipina, in honour of Prince Philip. This name was extended to the whole archipelago by Legaspi, who was sent out by the former prince then ruling as Philip II.

Though there were not wanting indications of hostility and distrust towards the Spaniards from the inhabitants of Cebu, Legaspi succeeded in winning their friendship after a few months. Later, in 1569, he removed the seat of government to Iloilo. He sent his nephew Juan Salcedo to explore the islands to the north. Salcedo's report to his uncle was favourable and in 1571 Legaspi, leaving the affairs of government in the hands of the natives, proceeded north and founded the city of Maynila, later Manila. Legaspi immediately set about the organization of the new colony; he appointed rulers of provinces, arranged for yearly voyages to New Spain, and other matters pertaining to the welfare of the country. In his work for pacification he was greatly aided by the friars who were then beginning the work of Christian civilization in the Philippines which was to go on for several centuries. Legaspi died in 1574. To him belongs the glory of founding the Spanish sovereignty in the islands. He was succeeded by Lavezares. About this
time, the Chinese pirate Li-ma-hon invaded Luzon, with a fleet of over sixty vessels and about 6000 people. A storm that met the fleet as it neared Manila wrecked some of his boats, but Li-ma-hon proceeded on his journey and landed 1500 men. Repulsed in two attacks by the Spaniards, Li-ma-hon went north and settled in Pangasinan province. The following year (1575) Salcedo was sent
against them; he defeated them and drove the fleeing Chinese into the mountains.

A few years later the arrival of the first bishop is chronicled, the Dominican Salazar, one of the greatest figures in the history of the Philippines; he was accompanied by a few Jesuits (1581). The Augustinians had come with Legaspi, the Franciscans arrived in 1577, and the Dominicans in 1587. By unanimous vote of the entire colony the Jesuit Sanchez was sent to Spain to explain to
Philip II the true state of affairs in the islands. His mission was entirely successful; Philip was persuaded to retain his new possessions, which many of his advisers were counseling him to relinquish. In 1591 an ambassador came from Japan demanding that tribute be paid that country. This the new governor Dasmarinas refused, but the drew up a treaty instead that was satisfactory to both parties. An expedition that started out against the Moluccas in 1593 ended disastrously. On the voyage some of the Chinese crew mutinied, killed Dasmarinas and took the ship to China. Dasmarinas built the fortress of Santiago, Manila, and fortified the
city with stone walls. He was succeeded by his son Luis. During his governorship the convent of Santa Isabel, a school and home for children of Spanish soldiers was founded (1594). It exists to this day. The Audiencia or Supreme Court was re-established about this time. As it was appointed from Mexico and supported from the islands it had proved too great a drain on the resources of the colony, and so had been suppressed after the visit of the Jesuit Sanchez to Philip II. The last years of the sixteenth and the beginning of the seventeenth centuries were marked by the seizure, by the Japanese, of the richly-laden Spanish vessel from the islands. It had sought shelter in a storm in a port of that country. The crew were put to death. Then there was a fruitless expedition against Cambodia; a naval fight against two Dutch pirate-ships, one of which was captured; and a conspiracy of the Chinese against the Spaniards. The force of the latter, 130 in number, was defeated, and every man of them decapitated. The Chinese were repulsed later, and it is said that 23,000 of them were killed. The Recollect Fathers arrived in Manila in 1606.

During the first half of the seventeenth century the colony had to struggle against internal and external foes; the Dutch in particular, the Japanese, the Chinese, the Moros, the natives of Bohol, Leyte, and Cagayan. A severe earthquake destroyed Manila in 1645. In spite of the difficulties against which the islands had to struggle, the work of the evangelization went rapidly forward. The members of the various religious orders, with a heroism rarely paralleled even in the annals of Christian missions, penetrated farther and farther into the interior of the country, and established their missions in what had been centres of Paganism. The natives were won by the self-sacrificing lives of the missionaries, and accepted the teachings of Christianity in great numbers. Books were written in the native dialects, schools were everywhere established, and every effort employed for the material and moral improvement of the people. From the time of the fearless  Salazar, the missionaries had always espoused the cause of the natives against the injustices and exactions of the individual rulers. It is not strange, therefore, that trouble arose at times between the civil and ecclesiastical authorities. As these misunderstandings grew from the mistakes of individuals, they were not of long duration, and they did not in any way interfere with the firmer control of the islands which Spain was year by year obtaining, or with the healthy growth of the
Church throughout the archipelago.

Spanish sovereignty in the Philippines was threatened by the capture of Manila by the British under Draper in 1762. There were only 600 Spanish soldiers to resist a force of 6000 British with their Indian allies. Their depredations were so dreadful that Draper put a stop to them after three days. The city remained under British sovereignty until 1764.

There were several uprisings by the natives during the beginning of the nineteenth century. One of the most serious of these was that headed by Apolinario de la Cruz, who called himself King of the Tagalogs. By attributing to himself supernatural power, he gathered about him a large number of deluded fanatics, men, women, and children. He was apprehended and put to death. An event of great importance was the introduction in 1860 of shallow-draught steel gunboats to be used against the piratical Moros of Mindanao. For centuries they had ravaged the Visayan islands, carrying off annually about a thousand prisoners. A severe earthquake in Manila in 1863 destroyed the chief public buildings, the cathedral, and other churches, except that of San Agustin.

Some native clergy participated in a serious revolt against Spanish authority which occurred in Cavite in 1872. Three Filipino priests who were implicated in  the uprising, Gomez, Zamora, and Burgos, were executed. It is said that the spirit of insurrection which manifested itself so strongly during the last quarter of  the nineteenth century was the result of the establishment of certain secret
  societies. The first Masonic lodge of the Philippines was founded in Cavite in 1860. Lodges were later formed at Zamboanga (in Mindanao), Manila, and Cebu.  Europeans only were admitted at first, but afterwards natives were received. The lodges were founded by anti-clericals, and naturally anti-clericals flocked largely to the standard. There was no idea then of separation from the mother country, but only of a more liberal form of government. After the insurrection at Cavite in 1872, the Spanish Masons separated themselves from the revolutionary ones.  New societies were gradually formed, the most celebrated being the Liga Filipina,
  founded by the popular hero Dr. Rizal. Practically all the members were Masons, and men of means and education.

A more powerful society and a powerful factor in the insurrection of 1896, recalling the American Ku Klux Klan, was the Katipunan. Its symbol KKK was literally anti-Spanish, for there is no K in Spanish. The full title of the society was "The Sovereign Worshipful Association of the Sons of the Country". The members (from 10,000 to 50,000) were poor people who subscribed little sums monthly for the purchase of arms, etc. Later a woman's lodge was organized. According to Sawyer "the Katipunan adopted some of the Masonic  paraphernalia, and some of its initiatory ceremonies, but were in no sense  Masonic lodges" (p.83). In 1896 another insurrection broke out near Manila, in Cavite province. Aguinaldo, a young school teacher, became prominent about this time. The spirit of revolt spread through the neighbouring provinces; there were several engagements, until finally, Aguinaldo, at the head of the remnant of rebels, left Cavite and took refuge near Angat in the Province of Bulacan. As it would have taken a long time to dislodge them, a method of conciliation was adopted. The result was the pact of Biak-na-bato, signed 14 Dec., 1897. By the terms of this agreement the Filipinos were not to plot against Spanish sovereignty for a period of three years; Aguinaldo and other followers were to be deported, for a period to be fixed by Spain. In return they were to receive the sum of $500,000 as indemnity; and those who had not taken up arms were to be given $350,000 as reimbursement for the losses they had incurred. The leaders of the insurrection of 1896 exercised despotic power, and ill-treated and robbed those of their countrymen who would not join them. Andres Bonifacio, the president of the Katipunan, ultimately became a victim of these despots. Thirty thousand Filipinos are reported to have lost their lives in the rebellion of 1896.

In 1898 hostilities broke out between Spain and the United States. On 24 April, 1898, Aguinaldo met the American Consul at Singapore, Mr. Pratt; two days later he proceeded to Hong Kong. The American squadron under Commodore (now Admiral) Dewey destroyed the Spanish ships in Manila Bay. Aguinaldo and seventeen followers landed at Cavite from the United States vessel Hugh
McCullough and were furnished arms by Dewey. Aguinaldo proclaimed dictatorial government, and asked recognition from foreign powers. The American troops took Manila on 13 August. A treaty of peace was signed at Paris by the terms of which the Philippines were ceded to the United States, and the latter paid Spain the sum of $20,000,000. It was later discovered that certain islands near Borneo were not included in the boundaries fixed by the peace commission. These were also ceded to the United States, which paid an additional $100,000. The Filipinos had organized a government of their own, the capital being Malolos, in the Province of Bulacan. Fighting between them and the Americans began on 4 Feb., 1899; but by the end of the year, all organized opposition was practically at an end. Aguinaldo was captured in April, 1901, and on 1 July of the same year the insurrection was declared to be extinct, the administration was turned over to the civil Government, and Judge Taft (now President) was appointed governor.

 American Government: General.

The Spanish laws remain in force to-day, except as changed by military order, Act of Congress, or Act of the Philippine Commission. The first Philippine Commission was appointed by President  McKinley Jan., 1899. The second Philippine Commission was sent to the islands in 1900. Its object was to establish a civil government based on the recommendations of the first commission. The principles that were to guide this commission are thus expressed in the following instructions given them: "TheCommission should bear in mind that the government that they are establishing is designed not for our satisfaction or for the expression of our theoretical views, but for the happiness, peace, and prosperity of the people of the Philippine Islands, and the measures adopted should be made to conform to their customs, their habits, and even their prejudices, to the fullest extent consistent with the indispensable requisites of just and effective government." "No laws shall be made respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, and that the free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship without discrimination or preference shall for ever be allowed." This was confirmed by Act of Congress 1 July, 1902, in almost identical words (section 5).  The members of the commission are appointed by the president, with the consent of the Senate; their tenure of office is at the pleasure of the president. There are nine commissioners, one of whom is the governor-general (the chief executive of the Philippine Islands), and four are secretaries of the departments of the Interior, of Commerce and Police, of Finance and Justice, and of Public  Instruction.  Each of these departments is divided into bureaus of which there are twenty-three in all. Through these the actual administration of the affairs of the Government is carried on.