THE PHILIPPINES.
The Philippines are a rich group of islands, situate between lat. 5 and 22 N. and long. 123 and 133 E., and held by Spain under military occupation. The islands are over five hundred in number and contain an area of 52,647 English square miles, with a population, in 1876, of 6,173,632 souls. They are divided into 27 provinces, 13 of which are on the Isle of Luzon, 4 on the Isle of Negros, 2 on Panay, and 3 on the Isle of Mindanao.
Early in the sixteenth century the celebrated navigator Magellan unfolded to the King of Spain his brilliant project of reaching the Spice Islands by rounding the southern extremity of the American contin nt, and, having been furnished with men and ships, he set sail. Having passed through the straits which bear his name he reached the islands, to which the name of the Philippines was afterwards given, in the spring of 1521, after a troublesome voyage of over eighteen months. The foundation of Spanish authority in the archipelago was then laid, but the illustrious navigator who first took possession in the name of his Royal Master lost his life in an attack upon one of the islands a month later and the expedition, reduced to one ship, returned. Other expeditions were dispatched, some of which proved fruitless, but in 1565 the islands were formally annexed to the Crown of Spain, and in 1571 the city of Manila, which has been the capital ever since, was founded.
The early history of the Philippines is a record of continual trouble. Conflicts between the civil and ecclesiastical authorities led to internal contentions, while both Portugal and the Netherlands coveted these rich possessions and harassed the Spaniards. Attacks were also made at different points by powerful Chinese piratical fleets. In 1762 the capital was taken by the English, but was restored to Spain two years afterwards for a ransom of £1,000,000. The ransom, however, has never been exacted.
After the discovery of the islands ecclesiastics flocked to them in large numbers, and, undisturbed by the attacks on Spanish authority, the work of converting the natives was carried on with great vigour. The clergy at the present time number 1,962, and most of the natives brought under subjection profess the Roman Catholic religion. In the Philippines there has been little of that cruelty to the aboriginal population which so often characterises the process of colonization, and the natives are in general contented and well conducted, the priests exercising the almost unbounded influence they possess with great effect in the preservation of order. In the inaccessible mountainous parts of the islands there are still tribes of unsubdued savages, but their number is small and gradually diminishing. In the last census returns the number of natives not subject to the civil government and paying no tribute is given as 602,853, while the number of natives paying tribute is returned as 5,501,375. There are a considerable number of mestizos or half-castes, some of which are the children of Spanish fathers by native mothers and some the children of Chinese fathers. The following is the latest (1876) census return :-
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*
**
+
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5,501,356 1,962 5,332
Spaniards, and Filippinos born in the Philippine islands from 13,265
Natives paying tribute
Clergy
...
Civilians and dependent
Spanish parents
Pagans independent...
Chinese
Foreigners
Army
...
Navy
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..
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+1.
...
...
1.
..
602,853 30,797
378
14,545
•
2,924
Total...
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6,173,632
The foreigners are divided as follows:-Americans 42, Austrians 7, Belgians 5, British 176, Dane 1, French 30, Germans 109, and Italians 8. The population is rapidly increasing, the increase during the last twenty-five years being given as 1,785,115.