Filipino Identity: History, Characteristics, and Colonial Influences, High school final essays of History

Download Filipino Identity: History, Characteristics, and Colonial Influences and more High school final essays History in PDF only on Docsity! Who is the Filipino? Aldriniel S. Verallo, Jr. Master of Arts in History A Filipino, according to the Constitution, is a citizen of the Philippines whose both parents are citizens of the Philippines or have naturalized as Filipino. A Filipino is a descendant of Malay people from Southeast Asia, in accordance to our history. In this regard, we are related to the Malay people of Malaysia and the Indonesian people of Indonesia. In fact, the Filipino, like the Malay, are Austronesian descended the same with the Maori people living in the Pacific, and the Malagasy people of Madagascar. Our language is related to the languages of the mentioned countries. Furthermore, there are characteristics and traits that define the Filipino. Filipino characteristics include being resilient in the face of problems or disasters, and remaining content and thankful regardless of the circumstances. The Filipino is also someone who adheres to a specific Filipino time, or who is late. This is actually relatable. This becomes a bad habit for the Filipino as they arrive 20 minutes to an hour late for events, meetings, or even classes. The Filipino is frequently described as having a crab mentality. This means you are dragging down someone who is about to become successful and whose success is superior than yours. Similarly, throughout history, the Filipino has been colonized by various invaders or colonizers, including Spaniards, English, Americans, and Japanese. As a result, the Filipino developed a trait or attitude in which he believes that the values of the colonizers are far superior to his own. Furthermore, due to the influx of Chinese people to the Philippines during the Spanish colonial period and the colonizers, the majority of Filipinos today are of mixed race. Finally, we must recognize that there is no such thing as a pure Filipino today. The term Filipino was derived from the term Las Islas Felipinas, the old name of the Philippines, which means The Philippine Islands, and was given as a name in honor of the Spanish King Felipe II. It was only during the Spanish colonial period that the term Filipino was used. However, as I previously stated, Filipinos today are of mixed-race descent, proving that there is no pure Filipino.