Trade Presentation Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_achievements_of_pre-colonial_Philippines Communities of ancient Philippines were active in international trade, and they used the ocean as natural highways.[3] Early Filipinos were engaged in long-range trading with their Asian neighbors as far as west as Maldives and as far as north as Japan.[1] Some historians even proposed that they also had regular contacts with the people of Western Micronesia because it was the only area in the Oceania that had rice crops, tuba (fermented coconut sap), and tradition of betel nut chewing when the first Europeans arrived there. The uncanny resemblance of complex body tattoos among the Visayans and those of Borneo also proved some interesting connection between Borneo and ancient Philippines.[1] Magellan's chronicler, Antonio Pigafetta, mentioned that merchants and ambassadors from all surrounding areas cameto pay tribute to the king of Sugbu (Cebu) for the purpose of trade. While Magellan's crew were with the king, a representative from Siam was paying tribute to the king.[1] Miguel López de Legazpi also wrote how merchants from Luzon and Mindoro had come to Cebu for trade, and he also mentioned how the Chinese merchants regularly came to Luzon for the same purpose.[1] The Visayan Islands had earlier encounter with the Greek traders in 21 AD. Its people enjoyed extensive trade contacts with other cultures. Arabs, Indians, Vietnamese, Thais, Cambodians, Malays and Indonesians as trader or immigrants.[6] Aside from trade relations, the natives were also involved in aquaculture and fishing. The natives make use of the salambao, which is a type of raft that utilizes a large fishing net which is lowered into the water via a type of lever made of two criss-crossed poles. Night fishing was accomplished with the help of candles made from a particular type of resin similar to the copal of Mexico. Use of safe pens for incubation and protection of the small fry from predators was also observed, and this method astonished the Spaniards at that time.[1] During fishing, large mesh nets were also used by the natives to protect the young and ensure future good catches. [edit]Mining and jewelry making Mining in the Philippines began around 1000 BC. The early Filipinos worked various mines of gold, silver, copper and iron. Jewels, gold ingots, chains, calombigas and earrings were handed down from antiquity and inherited from their ancestors. Gold dagger handles, gold dishes, tooth plating, and huge gold ornamets were also used.[1] In Laszlo Legeza's "Tantric elements in pre-Hispanic Philippines Gold Art", he mentioned that gold jewelry of Philippine origin was found in Ancient Egypt.[1] According to Antonio Pigafetta, the people of Mindoro possessed great skill in mixing gold with other metals and gave it a natural and perfect appearance that could deceive even the best of silversmiths.[1] The natives were also known for the jewelries made of other precious stones such as carnelian, agate and pearl. Some outstanding examples of Philippine jewelry included necklaces, belts, armlets and rings placed around the waist. Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Philippines_(900 – 1521) Page 1 of 39
Laguna Copperplate Inscription (circa 900 AD) Main article: Laguna Copperplate Inscription When in 1989 Antoon Postma deciphered the text of the Laguna Copperplate Inscription at the National Museum of the Philippines, he discovered that the inscription identified the date of its creation as the "Year of Syaka 822, month of Vaisakha." According to Jyotisha (Hindu astronomy), this corresponded with the year 900 A.D. Prior to the deciphering of the LCI, Philippine history was traditionally considered to begin at 1521, with the arrival of Magellan and his chronicler, Antonio Pigafetta. History could not be derived from pre-colonial records because such records typically did not survive: most of the writing was done on perishable bamboo or leaves. Because the deciphering of the LCI made it out to be the earliest written record of the islands that would later become the Philippines, the LCI reset the traditional boundaries between Philippine history and prehistory, placing the demarcation line 600 years earlier.[1] The inscription forgives the descendants of Namwaran from a debt of 926.4 grams of gold, and is granted by the chief of Tondo (an area in Manila) and the authorities of Paila, Binwangan and Pulilan, which are all locations in Luzon. The words are a mixture of Sanskrit, Old Malay, Old Javanese and Old Tagalog. The subject matter proves the highly developed society that existed in the Philippines prior to the Spanish colonization, as well as refuting earlier claims of the Philippines being a cultural isolate in Asia; the references to the Chief of Medan in Indonesia claim the cultural and trade links with various other affiliated empires and territories in other parts of the Malay Archipelago, particularly the Srivijaya empire. Thus, aside from clearly indicating the presence of writing and of written records at the time, the LCI effectively links the cultural developments in the Philippines at the time with the growth of a thalassocratic civilization in Southeast Asia.[1] Barangay city-states and Thalassocracy Further information: Barangay (pre-colonial) Since at least the 3rd century, the indigenous peoples were in contact with other Southeast Asian and East Asian nations. A Tagalog couple of the Maharlika nobility caste depicted in the Boxer Codex of the 16th Century. Fragmented ethnic groups established numerous city-states formed by the assimilation of several small political units known as barangay each headed by a Datu, who was then answerable to a Rajah, who headed the city state. Each barangay consisted of about 100 families. Some barangays were big, such as Zubu (Cebu), Butuan, Maktan (Mactan), Irong-Irong (Iloilo), Bigan (Vigan), and Selurong (Manila). Each of these big barangays had a population of more than 2,000. Page 2 of 39
Even scattered barangays, through the development of inter-island and international trade, became more culturally homogeneous by the 4th century.Hindu-Buddhist culture and religion flourished among the noblemen in this era. By the 9th century, a highly developed society had already established several hierarchies with set professions: The Datu or ruling class, the Maharlika or noblemen, the Timawa or freemen, and the dependent class which is divided into two, the Aliping Namamahay (Serfs) and Aliping Saguiguilid (Slaves). Many of the barangay were, to varying extents, under the de-jure jurisprudence of one of several neighboring empires, among them the Malay Sri Vijaya, Javanese Majapahit, Brunei, Melaka empires, although de-facto had established their own independent system of rule. Trading links with Sumatra, Borneo, Thailand, Java, China, India, Arabia, Japan and the Ryukyu Kingdom flourished during this era.[3] A thalassocracy had thus emerged based on international trade. In the earliest times, the items which were prized by the peoples included jars, which were a symbol of wealth throughout South Asia, and later metal, salt and tobacco. In exchange, the peoples would trade feathers, rhino horn, hornbill beaks, beeswax, birds nests, resin, rattan.2 In the period between the 7th century to the beginning of the 15th century, numerous prosperous centers of trade had emerged, including the Kingdom of Namayan which flourished alongside Manila Bay,[4][4][5] Cebu, Iloilo,[6] Butuan, the Kingdom of Sanfotsi situated in Pangasinan, the Kingdoms of Zabag and Wak-Wak situated in Pampanga[7] and Aparri (which specialized in trade with Japan and the Kingdom of Ryukyu in Okinawa). Chinese Trade (982 AD onwards) The earliest date suggested for direct Chinese contact with the Philippines was 982 AD. At the time, merchants from "Ma-i" (now in Mindoro) brought their wares to Guangzhou. This was noted by the Sung Shih (History of the Sung) by Ma Tuan-lin who compiled it with other historical records in the Wen- hsien T‘ung - K‘ao at the time around the transition between the Sung and Yuan dynasties.[10] However, actual trade between China and the proto-Philippine states probably started much earlier.[11] The growth of Islamic Sultanates (1380 onwards) In 1380, Makhdum Karim, the first Islamic missionary to the Philippines brought Islam to the Archipelago. Subsequent visits of Arab, Malay and Javanese missionaries helped strengthen the Islamic faith of the Filipinos, most of whom (except for those in the south) would later become Christian under the Spanish colonization. The Sultanate of Sulu, the largest Islamic Kingdom of South East Asia and the Malay Archipelago, encompassed parts of Malaysia and the Philippines. The royal house of the Sultanate claim descent from the Prophet Muhammad. Around 1405, the year that the war over succession ended in the Majapahit Empire, Sufi traders introduced Islam into the Hindu-Malayan empires and for about the next century the southern half of Luzon and the islands south of it were subject to the various Muslim Page 3 of 39
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