What is Pinay? Why do the native people of the Philippines are called Filipino? Have these questions ever crossed your mind? Whenever I meet new people, who happened to be my friends now, especially a foreigner, they ask me these simple questions about me and my country. And I responded with shallow facts and obvious answers but not explaining the real story behind it. I think even if I am drunk, I wouldn’t be able to answer them the specific facts, if you’re me, would you? Okay, let me tell you a brief history coming from my advanced knowledge.
The Philippines – The Pearl of the Orient Seas. I have a quite thought of this phrase from my history class when I was in high school.
I recall that back then, we were colonized by some powerful countries such as Spain, Japan, and the United States. Powerful, I say, but why do they have an interest in our small island country? It was because of its rich and natural beauty. The Philippines is known as the producer of pearls, which is an essential source of Golden South Sea Pearls. In history, the Philippines was conquered by the Spaniards and became a Spanish colony in the 16th century. It is called “The Pearl of the Orient Sea,” or in Spanish term, it is “Perla del Mar de Oriente” which was first used in 1751 by a Spanish Jesuit missionary Fr. Juan J. Delgado. That is also the reason why we speak some Spa