CULTURE OF THE PHILIPPINES

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The culture of the Philippines is a combination of cultures of the East and West. The Philippines was first settled by Negritos; today, although few in numbers, they preserve a very traditional way of life and culture. After them, the Austronesians arrived on the archipelago. Today, the Austronesian culture is strongly evident in the ethnicities, languages, cuisine, music, dance and almost every aspect of the culture. These Austronesians engaged in trading with other Austronesians, particularly in the neighbouring nations of Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. They also traded with the mainland Southeast Asia, as well as Japan, Korea, China, the Indian subcontinent and Arabia. As a result, some of these cultures marked their influences on Philippine culture.

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The Spanish Empire then gradually colonized the islands between the 16th and 19th centuries (Batanes being one of the last places to be colonized in the mid-1800s), after more than three centuries of colonization, Roman Catholicism spread throughout the archipelago and Hispanic influence heavily impacted the country's culture. The Philippines, then being governed from both Mexico and Spain, received a fair bit of Hispanic influence from the regions. For instance, Mexican and Spanish cultural influences can be sensed in the country's music, dance and major religion as well as many other aspects of its culture. Then, after being colonized by Spain, the Philippines became a U.S. territory for almost 50 years. Influence from the United States is manifested in the wide use of the English language, media and in the modern culture and clothing of present-day Philippines.