1762 - British looted Manila for 40 hours

But there's also the 'Many Worlds/Dimensions Theory', which would result in another timeline wherein the British stayed, but other events stayed constant and progressed to the events which we have now. It would result in your Filipina wives/girlfriends still existing but preferring to eat scones and drink tea. HHaahahahaha...

Back on thread....I wonder if any of our learned Philippines historians know the origin of the naming of places like The Spratlys and Scarborough shoal etc? Anything to do with the British and what they got up to in the Philippines during this kind of time frame?

The names sound rather British, to me.

Those are not the actual Filipino names, those are the American names. Remember back in the 1900s, we were a colony of the US. They started naming the surrounding islands using their own naming conventions.

We already had a name for those islands, but I guess Filipino/Spanish words were just too hard for the American tongue.

The actual modern Filipino names for those islands are:

Spratlys (Kalayaan Islands - Freedom Islands), Scarborough Shoal (Panatag Shoal - Assured/Assurance Shoal)

Okay, so the Yanks named them so and not the Brits, somewhat earlier?

The Brits only stayed for 2 years in the Philippines, and they only resided in Manila and Cavite. They didn't really bother much to put their hold in the country. Well they tried, but failed. So they looted everything instead.

They had no time to name islands and such when there were priceless treasures to take. Hahahahahahaha...

And Scarborough Shoal, nothing to do with the seaside town in the NE of England?

According to wiki, which is not really credible, it's named after an East India Trade Ship/Clipper which was wrecked on one of its rocks on September 12, 1784.

1784, so we were still a Spanish colony. So I think you guys are right, it was named by British and not Americans.

I had always thought it was the Americans who named it. The more you know...

He was a well-traveled man. He resided in Britain for some time. He even had an English girlfriend, Gertrude Beckett. A blue-eyed, blonde, curvy and buxom woman. He even made her a statue before he want back to the Philippines. Hahahahahaha...

He was a polyglot, conversant in 22 languages, if the notes and studies about him are correct. Half of them are European languages.

He was a playboy by the way. Here are some of his most famous conquests. Hahahhahahaha...

http://www.joserizal.ph/lv01.html

There are some still that have not yet been confirmed/verified.

What a fun thread!

OK, the naming of the reefs and shoals in the South China Sea - the names are generally those of British ships that found them the hard way, such as Fiery Cross Shoal, now a Chinese gun emplacement, which was discovered by theBritish clipper ship "Fiery Cross" on the 4th March, 1860. The crew took to the boats and reached land safely and a new clipper under construction took her name - this ship, the second "Fiery Cross", came fourth in the Great Tea Race of 1866.

The reefs that are named after a person rather than after a ship were discovered the easier way by being sighted and reported to the Hydrographic Office of the Admiralty.

There really isnt any doubt that the first accurate charts of the South China Sea were British.

Now, the invasion of the Philippines during the Seven Years' War was undertaken by the Honorable East India Company ("HEIC") using their troops, the Indian Army, not the Regular Army. Manila was beseiged and when it fell it was looted as was normal under the then Rules of War for cities that had refused to surrender.

The British were allied to an Ilocano chief named Diego Silang, who had agreed to rise against the Spanish and co-operate with the British because (a) he and his people hated the Spanish and (b) the British had agreed "not to interfere in our holy religion" ie he wanted to stay Catholic.

That did not save him from being assasssinated by a murderer pardoned for the purpose by the Archbishop of Manila who told the man that if he killed Silang he would be saved and would go to Heaven. The killer did indeed kill Silang but whether he is in Heaven is more than I can say. Silang's wife, Gabriela Silang, took over the uprising and carried on fighting the Spanish but was betrayed and hanged by them. Both Diego and Gabriela are national heroes, and the wimmin's rights NGO, Gabriela, which you may come across, is named after Gabriela Silang. Under Marcos, the PNOC owned a VLCC named the Diego Silang.

Anyway, come the peace treaty, the Philippines were returned to Spain (a big mistake) but many of the HEIC sepoys chose to stay in the Philippines as by then they had discovered the charms of the local ladies, and that was the start of the "Bombay" population of the Philippines.

I'm enjoying this

I very much agree with Knightstrike, but in fairness to Aposhark the role of the Catholic Church here is not religious but political.

Unlike the British Empire which came later the Spanish Empire had no career civil service - no District Officers and District Commssioners or Collectors - the Spanish used the friars for that work.

Spain acquired its empire in a hundred years following the three things that happened in 1492:

1, Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castille got married and started the Kingdom of Spain

2, The Moors were finally defeated and thrown out of Spain

3, Columbus discovered the New World.

In the next hundred years Spain conquered Mexico and Peru and became fabulously wealthy. The Philippines was added on the basis that there might be spices (there weren't) and was kept as it was handy to trade with China from. The Philippines was administered from Mexico because the Pope had drawn his famous Line giving Africa and the Indies to Portugal, so the best way to get to the Philippines was across the Pacific from Mexico. That is why Filipino culture is so "Mexican". Each year a Manila Galleon was built and sailed to Mexico with Chinese silks and porcelain and wih spices from what is now Indonesia. The galleon sailed back with Mexican siver dollars to pay for everything with. A new ship was built each year because of the teredo worms.

Francis Drake captured one and 150 years later George Anson captured another...

Few Spaniards got to the Philipines and fewer returned. The colony was run by friars, who combined the role of Priest with the role of District Officer, so to speak. A friar would be very isolated but would have immense power over the local people. It is most unlikely that any of them remained "chaste, humble and obedient".

You get the picture?

Hence, one of Dr. Jose Rizal's most infamous character in his novel (Noli Me Tangere), 'Padre Damaso/ Father Damaso.' He is said to be either based from a real bishop that Rizal knew or the collective caricature of Spanish friars back in his time.



http://www.insights-philippines.de/damaso.htm

The Catholic Church controlled every thing back then. Even the Governor General, the actual in charge of running the Philippines for Spain has to kiss the ring of the Archbishop and listen to any of his orders - else excommunicado/excommunication.

The British knew that, which is why they tried to drive a wedge between the ruling priests and the Filipinos, in their two-year occupation. They failed.

So to that man who said I'm trying to hijack the thread and sorts of other things, that is Philippine history for you.

What a joke indeed...

From the Catechism for Filipino Catholics. It's what they listed in their primer. The Catholic Bishop's Conference of the Philippines themselves. OMG. Hahahahahah...

https://chermercado.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/cfc-cbcp.pdf

I just summarised what the Catholic Church were preaching here in the Philippines. You might disliked it, but it's the truth. And it seems, you can't handle the truth.

128. Vatican II explains this faith-response as follows: “By faith man freely commits his entire self to God, making ‘the full submission (submissiveness) of his intellect and will to God who reveals,’ and willingly assenting to the Revelation given by Him” (DV 5). Christian Faith, then, touches every part of us: our minds (believing), our wills (doing), and our hearts (trusting). Let us briefly examine each aspect in turn

823. Christ claims that instead of sensible satisfaction and many possessions (1), detachment (poverty of spirit), meekness and compassion bring us true happiness.

So thank you for visiting, please come again.

Has anyone seen any "treasure" in London that was brought over from Manila?
I would like one day to take my wife and children to see them, if there is. Although my children are British, their mother is from a land far away and I hope they will enjoy a day out looking at things from history both Filipino and British.
I have a feeling my wife would rather go to a musical, though Greenwich Maritime Museum was the best place I visited in London (maybe I spent too many days and nights looking at waves). Places like that really bring out the pride in being British