| Colonization
was
not begun by the Spanish until 1565 when Miguel Lopez De Logaspi took
possession
of the islands. He was the first civil governor of the
Philippines,
named in honor of Philip II of Spain. The Spanish occupation
greatly
changed the spiritual life of the Philippines. Under Spanish
rule,
the Catholic church converted a relatively large portion of the
population
to christianity, although many old superstitions and much native
culture
continued to exist under a thin veneer of western civilation.
War and
uprisings,
in which the perennial struggle for power between church and the state
was often involved, characterized the history of the islands from the
beginning
of Spanish rule to the American occupation. A revolution had
broken
out just prior to Admiral Dewey's capture of Manila. In the
treaty
of Paris, Spain ceded the islands to the United States. The
revolutionary
Philippine government, headed by Emilio Aguinaldo, protested that Spain
had no right to cede the islands because their control had passed from
her hands to the insurgents. Then war began between the United
States
and the insurgents resistance ended with the capture of Aguinaldo.
On 15
November 1935,
the commonwealth government was established with Nanuel L. Quezon and
Lerqio
Osmena as president and vice president. The capture of Manila by
the Japanese on 2 Janurary 1942 forced the government into exile in
America
where Quezon died of tuberculosis. Three years later, after the
liberation
of Manila by allied forces under General Douglas MacArthur, aided by
thousands
of Filipino Guerrillas, the commonwealth government was restored on 27
Feburary 1945. Although Manila had been declared an open city by
United States forces, its liberation was bitterly contested by the
Japanese
and resultant damage was extremely severe. During the Japanese
occupation,
thousands of Filipino non-combatants were murdered; agriculture and
other
industries were devasted, and public and private buildings were
wantonly
destroyed.
On 4 July
1946, in
accordance with the provisions of an agreement made with the United
States,
the Philippines proclaimed their independence. Manuel Roxas and
Elpidio
Quirino were inaugurated as president and vice-president. In the
years since 1946, the Philippine Republic has struggled against many
things,
including the widely publicized dissidents, the "huks", which was
organized
as part of the world communist movement. These groups were
captured,
and disarmed. Under President Ramon Magsaysay, the government
undertook
the rehabilitation and relocation of most of these persons.
The
military bases
agreement and treaty of general relations between the Republic of the
Philippines
and the United States of America, signed on 14 March 1947, granted the
United States the right to retain the Naval Reservation at Subic Bay
for
a period of 99 years.
Subic Bay
dates from
the year 1869, when Spanish authorities established a repair base at
what
is now Revera Point. The Spaniards filled marshes and erected
shops
and buildings. The Old "Spanish Gate" is a historic relic still
standing
on the base. The base was used by the Spanish until their defeat
by Admiral Dewey at Manila; after which President Roosevelt ordered the
establishment of the U.S. Naval Reservation. 1904, the Naval
Station
at Subic Bay was established to support the U.S. Asiatic Fleet.
In
1940, the shops and repair equipment were transferred to the repair
yard
at Cavite, leaving at Subic the USS Dewey, a great floating
drydock.
This drydock was towed to Marivales in 1942 and sunk; raised by the
Japanese,
it was again sunk at Cavite by U.S. aircraft.
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