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THE LATEST PROGRAMME |
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The BBC's former Asia correspondent, Chris Gunness, uses the region's traumatic past to explain its troubled present. |
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In the first of four programmes, the BBC's former Asia correspondent, Chris Gunness, uses the region's traumatic past to explain its troubled present. Each programme examines a single historical phenomenon which still reverberates today. Through oral history, archive recordings and lively narrative, Chris brings the past to life.
He starts with a story of a brutal war. A war which pitted a confident, well-equipped American force against poor Asian guerillas. Not Vietnam in the 1960s and 1970s. This bloody conflict was fought in the Philippines in 1899-1902. The American-Philippine war has largely been forgotten by the rest of the world. Few Americans have ever heard of it. But it began a century-long embrace between the two nations that still endures.
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William Howard Taft, the first governor general of the Philippines, arrives in Manila
Images courtesy of The American Historical Collection, Ateneo de Manila University.
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The US had promised Filipino nationalists that they would help throw off the yoke of Spanish colonialism. After easily defeating the Spanish, the Americans decided they fancied a bit of colonialism themselves. They broke their promises and took control of the country. Thus began a war with heavy casualties, particularly on the Philippine side. According to the Philippines' National Historical Institute, as many as 600,000 Filipinos died, although other historians have much lower estimates.
The Philippines became the first outpost of the American Empire and was ruled from Washington for over 40 years. The Americans proved to be comparatively benevolent overlords, instituting extensive education and introducing limited democracy and civil rights. And naturally, they made English the official language. Many Filipinos came to admire the US: they wanted to be American Boys, or "Amboys."
World War II saw the two nations' relationship deepen as Filipino and American soldiers fought alongside each other against the Japanese. After the war, the Philippines gained its independence, but it was still deep in Washington's pocket. The Americans retained the legal rights to large parts of the local economy, and exercised great influence on local politics. It is widely believed that the corrupt rule of Ferdinand Marcos was sustained by the loyal support of President Reagan and President Bush Sr. After Marcos fell, Filipinos asserted their independence by refusing to renew leases on two huge American military bases.
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Francisco Sionil Jose, the Philippines' leading novelist, is interviewed in the programme.
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Today, the American influence is still everywhere in the Philippines. In the everyday language of "Taglish" - a mixture of Tagalog and English. In the national love for basketball, Dunkin' Donuts and Hollywood trash. In the "colonial mentality" which Filipinos find inside themselves. And in politics too. President Gloria Arroyo has controversially allowed American troops back in to the country to fight Muslim groups in the South. The love affair has again turned tempestuous.
Key interviewees include:
Father James Reuter - an American Catholic priest who has lived in Manila since the 1930s. He survived internment by the Japanese to become the head of media for the church during its dangerous - and ultimately victorious - battle against President Marcos.
Captain Danilo Vizmanos - an original "Amboy," he served with the Philippine Navy in the Vietnam War. He became a leading dissident and was imprisoned under Marcos. Captain Vizmanos was instrumental in the struggle against the American bases
Francisco Sionil Jose - the Philippines' leading writer, brought up during the colonial period and able to give a unique insight into the continuing "colonial mentality."
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Listen to the programme
