The Philippines consists of approximately 7,100 islands, although this number varies depending on whether  it is high or low tide. Two thousand are inhabited. The largest are Luzon, about 104,000 square kilometres, which contains the capital, Manila; Mindanao, of about 94,500 Km2, which includes the second city, Davao. Cebu is part   of a group of smaller islands known collectively as the Visayas.

The Philippines have been inhabited for thousands of years. Stone age settlements have been found in several places on the islands. It is generally thought that, during the last ice age, the lower sea levels resulted in a land bridge from mainland Asia. After that vanished about 7,000 years ago, there were various seaborne migrations of relatively small scale between the various islands and the mainland. The next cataclysmic event came with the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan (who, though Portugues by birth was working for Spain) in March 1521. He was promptly murdered by Lapu-Lapu, after whom a city is named, in a battle for the Philippine territory. In the end, `modern' technology won the day. The islands became a colony of Spain, who named it Filipinas after King Philip II of Spain. Despite a brief British occupation in the mid Eighteenth century, it remained Spanish until the late nineteenth century. Indeed there are still regions of the Philippines where (mostly older) people still speak Spanish.

Agitation for Philippine independence grew in the nineteenth century. Jose Rizal was born in 1861, and studied medicine, philosophy and literary science in Spain, France and Germany before returning to his homeland. While abroad he had published two inflammatory works, effectively calling for Philippine freedom from Spanish oppression. He founded a reform movement, upon which he was promptly arrested and exiled. But his ideas had taken root and eventually led to an uprising in 1896. He was executed by firing squad in December of that year. He is now revered as the Philippines' national hero.

In 1898 a war broke out between the USA and Spain. The Philippines, spotting an opportunity, sided with the US and helped them beat the Spanish at the Battle of Manila Bay. The Philippines thus attained independence, but relied heavily on the USA for protection.

The Japanese invaded the Philippines in January 1942. Their harsh rule lasted only two years, until they were ejected by General Mac Arthur on his promised `return'. Since then, the Philippines has been a stable democracy, though with some fairly colourful characters among the top politicians.