Story Highlights
- historical event: Many people today are unaware of the fact that the United States were once a genuine colonial power, like the British Empire or France. A legacy of the colonial government of the United States over the Philippines is the Philippine money, which is very similar to the U.S. dollar.
On this day, the United States became a colonial power when Spain ceded them the ownership of the Philippines. This was done through the so-called Treaty of Paris, by which the U.S. won all former Spanish colonial possessions in Asia and the Caribbean. The U.S. earned these territorial gains because it was victorious over Spain in the previous Spanish-American War, which was fought mainly over Cuba.
The Philippines were a Spanish colony for centuries, since the days of the mighty Spanish King Philip II – in honor of whom they were named. Interestingly, the Philippines are to this day still by far the largest Catholic country in the whole of Asia.
The Filipinos did not quietly accept the American colonial government, they revolted. The Americans, however, managed to win and impose their rule in the Philippines. So, for a long time, this country was ruled by the American Governor-General. Interestingly, the first American governor of the Philippines was William Howard Taft, who later became President of the United States.
