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According to popular belief, the Aetas are the first to arrive in Philippines
and if we trace back the history then it is found that they arrived in more
than 30,000 BC perhaps through land bridges, from China or the Andaman Islands.
The ancestors of the majority of the Filipino people, the Austronesians from
Taiwan, settled in northern Luzon around 2500 BC and then gradually they spread
to different parts of Philippines.
The country of Philippines was previously named as “Las Islas Filipinas"
(The Philippine Islands) by Ruy López de Villalobos after King Philip
II of Spain. Philippines underwent through the grip of the Spanish colonial
rule for three centuries from its inception in 1565. Philippine Revolution of
1896 brought an end to the inglorious Spanish colonial rule. The "Spanish-American
War" in 1898 and the Philippine-American War in 1899 made it possible for
the United States to gain possession of the Philippines and for five decades
the country has to bear the US rule. Philippines attained independence from
the United States on July 4, 1946 after Japanese were defeated in 1945.Though
the newly liberated Philippines went through many political instability since
1946 but it has managed to keep the pace of its growth and development and ensure
a secure and better future for its people.
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