A colonial history, in brief: The Philippine islands were “discovered” by Spanish colonialists who ruled them for more than 370 years until the Americans, desperate to expand their economic and political reach, craved empire. The United States declared itself the rightful “owner” of the islands for some fifty years. In his book In Our Image: America’s Empire in the Philippines, historian Stanley Karnow characterized my birth country’s colonial history as being “300 years in the convent, 50 years in Hollywood.”
