University:
Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools
Course:
AP World History
Academic year:

2022
Views:

99

Pages:

1
Author:

folclord7m

1. Are Filipinos Asian, Hispanic, or Pacific Islander? Filipinos are classified as Asians, and Southeast Asia includes the Philippines. Geographically speaking it is because Philippines is just hundred miles from Taiwan, which is the closest country to Philippines and 400 miles from mainland China than Japan. Ethnically, due to generation and generation of mixing many of us Filipinos are not the original Filipino actually looks like, for an instance, Chinese blood like Kim Chiu, Xian Lim and the famous Jose Mari Chan. If we differentiate their physical appearance to the original Filipinos which are, brown skinned, low bridged nose, fuller lips and not so tall; we can straightly tell that they have a lot of differences. “Out of Taiwan Theory” states that the first settlers at the Philippines came from Taiwan and China around 4000 B.C which means Chinese and Filipinos have the same ancestors. The culture of Asia encompasses the collective and diverse customs and traditions of art, architecture, music, literature, lifestyle, philosophy, politics and religion that have been practiced and maintained by the numerous ethnic groups of the continent of Asia since prehistory. Filipinos are Hispanic. Spain occupied the Philippines for a very long time. We can say that Filipinos are Hispanic due to its historical linkages. We are more Hispanic than Mexican because Spain occupies us longer. It was Spain during the 16th century that united the major islands of the Philippines, if it hadn’t occupied the islands, the Philippine nation state wouldn’t have existed. In fact, 40% of Tagalog word has their origin in Spanish like tinidor, kutsara, sapatos, medyas etc. Filipinos are Pacific Islander. describing Filipinos as Pacific Islanders isn’t necessarily wrong either. In fact, for a long time, Filipinos were known as Pacific Islanders. Davao is only 600 miles from Palau and Palau is technically part of the Philippines back in 1885. The Philippines used to be called the Philippine Islands of the Pacific, and when the Americans first arrived more than a century ago, they described the Philippine Islands as ‘orphans of the Pacific.’ It is because the first settlers of Micronesia actually came from the Philippines.