The Republic of the Philippines achieved its independence from the United States on July 4, 1946, culminating a difficult process involving the imperialist ambitions of three different powers.
From the 16th century through 1898, the Philippines was a colonial possession of Spain. Toward the end of Spanish rule, the archipelago saw a marked increase in indigenous rebellions against colonial power. Unrest spread into the upper classes of Filipino society, many of whom had been educated in the Enlightenment ideals of Europe.
These men, led in part by Jose Rizal, initiated what became known as the Propaganda Movement, so-called because of the prolific number of essays written supporting improvement of the lives of Filipinos. Andres Bonafacio led the proindependence group Katipunan in violent resistance. On August 25, 1896, Katipunan engaged Spanish soldiers in battle, marking the beginning of the Filipino Revolution. The revolution spanned more than two years, with Spain having the upper hand.
The Philippines became a U. S. possession as an outcome of the Spanish-American War in 1898. The war at first seemed to improve prospects for Philippine independence. With American support, Katipunan forces conquered the islands, and on June 12, 1898, one of its leaders, Baldomero Aguinaldo, and 98 revolutionaries declared independence from Spain. The revolutionaries declared a republic, but as leadership came almost exclusively from the Filipino elite, the young country was effectively an oligarchy. U. S. president William McKinley used this as a pretext to annex the Philippines in late 1898. This met with resistance in the Philippines; native factions fought guerrilla warfare, which the Americans brutally suppressed. By 1908, however, Governor William Howard Taft gained the trust of the Filipino elite, some of whom even favored American statehood.
The majority of Filipinos continued to press for independence, sending several delegations to Washington. This led to the Tydings-McDuffie Act of 1934, creating the Commonwealth of the Philippines, which had internal autonomy immediately and promised independence within 10 years. Manuel Quezon was elected the first president.
Independence was delayed again during World War II, when the Japanese occupied the Philippines. In early 1942 top American and Filipino officials including Quezon and General Douglas MacArthur fled the islands, and the Japanese installed a puppet government, which remained until January 1945. MacArthur at this time returned and restored the Commonwealth.
On July 4, 1946, the United States recognized the independence of the Republic of the Philippines. However, U. S. interests continued to dominate Philippine policy in the coming decades. Many insurgents who had opposed Japanese rule resented the U. S.-backed government and carried out the Huk rebellion, which was not put down until the early 1950s with the help of American forces. The American military used two Philippine bases as hubs during the Vietnam War; additionally, by 1970 U. S. interests owned 80 percent of all foreign capital in the Philippines. This ultimately resulted in U. S. support for the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos in the 1970s and 1980s.
Although the Philippines achieved self-rule in 1946, Filipino freedom is celebrated on June 12, the day independence was declared from Spain in 1898.
Further reading: Stanley Karnow, In Our Image: America's E-mpire in the Philippines (New York: Ballantine Books, 1990); Daniel B. Schirmer and Stephen Rosskamm Shalom, The Philippines Reader: A History of Colonialism, Neocolonialism, Dictatorship, and Resistance (Cambridge, Mass.: South End Press, 1987); Damon L. Woods, The Philippines: A Global Studies Handbook (Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2006).
—C. D. Beard
World History
