Terrain

The Philippines is a group of islands in the far north of the Malay Archipelago, extending around 1,850 km from Borneo to Taiwan. The islands are of volcanic origin; many of them are the summits of partly-submerged mountains. There are 20 active volcanoes and earthquakes are quite common.

The small islands are characterised by the mountain rages which run along them, whilst the two largest islands, Luzon and Mindanao, have broad plains and fertile valleys, as well as a varied topography. The country's highest peak is Mt. Apo (2,954 m), which is on the island of Mindanao.

Climate

The Philippines has a tropical climate with a dry season from April to June and a rainy season from June to October. The hottest months are April and May. The Philippines are in the region which sees the most cyclonic activity in the world and are hit by an average of 15 cyclones a year. Average annual precipitation in Manila is 2,080 mm while the average temperature ranges from 21°C to 34°C.

Fauna/Flora

Forests cover around 23% of the Philippines. The banyan, the rubber tree, many varieties of palm, and many indigenous trees with extremely hard wood are some of the most distinctive flora. Mangrove trees and Nipa palms grow at the coast and in swamps.

There are very few mammals on the islands, apart from rodents. The most well-known are the carabao (a type of water buffalo), several species of deer, wild boar and cattle. Many reptiles and around 500 species of birds, including colourful parrots, are found at the islands. There are pearl oysters around the Sulu Archipelago in the extreme south-west.

History/Politics

The first inhabitants of the Philippines arrived from the Asian mainland around 250,000 years ago, followed by other people in the centuries afterwards, mainly after the 3rd century BC. These migrations led in the 5th century AD to there being a Filipino civilisation that was relatively unaffected by foreign influence. This changed between the 11th and 12th centuries, when Muslim, Japanese and Chinese merchants arrived.

Initially, no attempts were made to make the people convert to another religion, but the islamisation of the islands began from the end of the 14th century, following the arrival of the scholar Arab Karim al-Makdum in the Sulu Archipelago. Ferdinand Magellan, the Portuguese navigator who sailed for Spain, reached the Philippines in 1521. The islands were a Spanish colony for the next 350 years.

At the end of the 19th century, there was an independence movement, which resulted in an anti-colonial revolution in 1896 and the declaration of independence in 1898. Independence did not however last long, as the country was ceded to the United States as part of the Treaty of Paris. Soon afterwards, there were armed resistance movements against the Americans.

The North American authorities granted the country increasing administrative autonomy from 1916 to 1935, although the US Governor General retained the right to veto. Plans for granting independence were disrupted by the start of World War II and the Japanese occupation of the Philippines from 1942-45. The Philippines finally gained independence in 1946, but North America retained economic dominance.

Ferdinand Marcos was elected president in 1965. He declared martial law in 1972 and remained in power until 1986, when the widow of opposition leader Benigno Aquino, Corazon Aquino, was elected, forcing Marcos into exile. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was elected in the presidential election in January 2001. She was re-elected in 2004 for a term of six years as president.

Economy

Over the 20 years when Fernando Marcos was in power (1965-1986), the Philippines suffered serious economic stagnation as a result of his policy of allowing his close allies to gain monopolies, which stopped national and foreign investment. After the overthrow of Marcos, it was not until 1992 that real attempts were made to revive the economy, when an International Monetary Fund adjustment plan was adopted.

Agriculture forms the basis of the Filipino economy; rice fields, maize and coco plantations occupy 80% of cultivable land. The country is also one of the world's largest wood producers. Natural resources are also extracted from the islands, such as limestone, marble and petroleum. Since the 1950s, industry has noticeably developed. At present, the country produces textiles, chemical products and pharmaceuticals and assembles electronic components and cars. In 2003, the inflation rate was 3% and the unemployment rate was 10.7%.

Culture

The Philippines is a melting pot of native and foreign influences. The country's most important writers include José Rizal, Francisco Balagtas, José Garcia Villa, Claro Recto and Nick Joaquín.

Its most famous painters include romanticists and impressionists Juan Luna and Félix Resurrección Hidalgo, landscape painter Fernando Amorsolo, and portraitist Fabián de la Rosa.