What was the philippines called before spain came and ruled it?

Answer 1

it was called "heaven", before those conquistadores appeared and messed with the natives... then the americans came, next, the japs... now, it's similar to hell, but i still love our country... i'm still hoping for a recovery inspite of what's happening lately... (fingers crossed) ♣

Answer 2

There had been no specific name for the whole geographical entity we now call the Philippines before the Spanish arrived. The Chinese, however, had a collective name for the places in the Philippines they've been to - "ma-i". But the Chinese did not certainly go to all the islands in the Philippines. The natives living in the islands themselves did not have a notion that they belonged to one nation.

Answer 3

before spanish conquistadores claimed the islands of the philippines, the islands are just that, islands.

the people in those islands do have names for each individual island, especially the major ones.

then of course as the answers above have already noted other countries that trade with the islanders may also have given their own name to each island if not to a chain of islands.

so to answer, there probably isnt a legitimate name yet for the entire philippines before the spanish rule of these islands we now call the philippines.

Answer 4

Research shows that the islands are still referred to as the Phillipines in pre-colonization discussion, probably because it wasn't considered a nation or even a territory, just a group of islands populated by various tribes, predominantly Malayans, and from Borneo and Sumatra. Thus, without some unifying element, it had no name. Each tribe probably had a different name for what they called home.

Answer 5

Pior to the Spanish occupation the Philippines did not call itself a national name BUT other countries had a name for the area. The Chinese called the islands "May Yi" or "May i" .The natives of the islands were literate (had their own alphabet and language) and carried on an active trade in gold , textiles and other commodities with other countries (China, Japan, Sumatra, Borneo etc) These other countries have their own names to refer to the islands.

Answer 6

In my opinion, Filipinos by nature are straight people. Homosexuality is not in our culture. Homosexuality is a European thing. Up to the present time, we are still feel awkward to gays and lesbian, there is a sense of discrimination to gays and lesbian. Our ancestors are brave people, they even fought the foreign invaders like Magellan. Maybe homosexual existed during the Spanish Colonization in the Philippines. Young Filipino boys who served as an altar boys might being raped or sexually harassed by the Friars during that time. This kind of practice still existed until this present time. Homosexuality widely spread during the American and Japanese Period. There are some incidents where young Filipino boys are being sodomized by the Japanese soldiers if they cannot find any Filipino women to be raped.

Answer 7

it has a lot of names... maybe not names... maybe its just how other people call it...

i dont knw exactly what these names are.. im too tired to consult the book... but heres how it goes..

we all know that way back then... peole dnt have money.. so they exchange stuff like a vase for one sack of rice.. its called barter... chinese people use to come often to the philippines... they called it somethin whch i dont excatly knw... you have to name something to distinguish that thing ryt... and thats wat they did... and so dd the other people from other countries.. they gave what ever name they want...

so basically... before the spanish came... the philippines has a lot of names... or called in a lot of different names... by the traders from other countries

Answer 8

In the research I've done, I didn't come across a name, previous to Spain ruling the Islands.
I wasn't looking for that.
I do remember that it was during Spain's rule,
that the natives had to take surnames.
If you know the answer, please do tell.

Answer 9

i agree with the guy above... the natives of each island would've had a name for their island and for surrounding islands, rather than a single unified name of the philippines, either that or each kingdom or area rules by a rajah would've had a seperate name

Answer 10

Now, that is an interesting question. However, I am long past my schooldays and I clearly forgot what our country was called before it was named Philippines. I guess it didn't have a name, just one among the many islands in Asia or Pacific.