Between the end of the nineteenth century and the early twentieth, the Philippines were subjected to three colonizing powers (Spain, the U.S., and Japan) and fought for their independence three times before obtaining it from the U.S. in 1946.
The memory of the Philippine Revolution (1896 - 1898) against Spain and the subsequent Philippine–American War (1899-1902) remained, despite its anticolonial connotations, a reference in public discourse in different languages. Due to the defeat of the revolution, the Philippines would take part in the three biggest conflicts of the century together with the U.S.: the Cold War (1947-1965), World War II (1939-1945), and even World War I (1914-1918).
Despite the Philippines' allegiances, magazines and newspapers would pay close attention to conflicts that preceded World War II from a distinctively Filipino perspective, such as the Sino-Japanese war (1937-1945), the Spanish Civil War (1939-1939), and the Chinese revolution (1921-1946); and during the Cold War, to the Korean (1950 –1953) and Vietnam wars (1955 and 1975).
By doing so, the Filipino press would, before and after independence, root public discourse in the specific geopolitical context of the archipelago and its past, negotiating a national identity between Europe, America, and Asia.
Credits
Emilio Vivó Capdevila