The Story of the Philippines Natural Riches, Industrial Resources, Statistics of Productions, Commerce and Population; The Laws, Habits, Customs, Scenery and Conditions of the Cuba of the East Indies and the Thousand Islands of the Archipelagoes of India and Hawaii, With Episodes of Their Early History; The Eldorado of the Orient; Personal Character Sketches of and Interviews with Admiral Dewey, General Merritt, General Aguinaldo and the Archbishop of Manila; History and Romance, Tragedies and Traditions of our Pacific Possessions; Events of the War in the West with Spain, and the Conquest of Cuba and Porto Rico

CHAPTER XVII.

Chapter 17106 wordsPublic domain

EARLY HISTORY OF THE PHILIPPINES.

The Abolishment of the 31st of December, 1844, in Manila--The Mystery of the Meridian 180 Degrees West--What Is East and West?--Gaining and Losing Days--The Tribes of Native Filipinos--They Had an Alphabet and Songs of Their Own--The Massacre of Magellan--His Fate Like That of Captain Cook--Stories of Long-Ago Wars--An Account by a Devoted Spanish Writer of the Beneficent Rule of Spain in the Philippines--Aguinaldo a Man Not of a Nation, But of a Tribe--Typhoons and Earthquakes--The Degeneracy of the Government of the Philippines After It Was Taken from Mexico--"New Spain"--The Perquisites of Captain-Generals--The Splendor of Manila a Century Ago