Wikipedia:Today's featured article/October 20, 2006



The history of the Philippines begins with the arrival of the first humans in the Philippines by land bridges at least 30,000 years ago, while the first recorded history of the Philippines was scripted by Europeans beginning with the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan on Homonhon Island. Permanent settlements in the island of Cebu were established with the expedition of Miguel López de Legazpi in 1565, and soon after began the era of Spanish colonization that lasted for more than three centuries. The Philippine Revolution against Spain began in 1896, culminating two years later with a proclamation of independence and the establishment of the First Philippine Republic. However, the Treaty of Paris in 1898 at the end of the Spanish-American War transferred control of the Philippines to the United States. Full independence was only granted to the Philippines in July 1946. With a promising economy in the 1950s and 1960s second only to Japan, the Philippines in the late 1960s and early 1970s saw a rise of student activism and civil unrest against the corrupt dictatorship of President Ferdinand Marcos who declared martial law in 1972. The peaceful and bloodless 1986 EDSA Revolution brought about the ouster of Marcos and a return to democracy for the country. The period since then, however, has been marked by political instability and hampered economic productivity. (more...)

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