Lesson 1: THE PHILIPPINES
A Taste of History
In the sixteenth century, control of the seas passed from Portugal to Spain. While the Portuguese had better naval technology, the Spanish had most of the New World. When Columbus claimed the Americas for Spain, the Spanish government went to the Pope to guarantee title to the lands. In the Treaty of Tordesillas, the Pope gave Spain everything except Brazil. Spain now had an empire funded by American gold and filled with foods that were unknown to the rest of the world. Eager for even more wealth, Spain sought to trade these fascinating new fruits and vegetables.
The Spanish used the Philippines as a stopping point on the way to China. It became an important center for trade among Spain, Latin America, China, and the other countries of Southeast Asia. As Spanish ships arrived from the New World, they brought crops. Many of the New World foods that found a foothold in Asia were introduced via the Philippines.
Once the Spanish had established Filipino settlements by the 1570s, they began planting seeds from Spanish and American plants. The first wave of introduction of American plants included chocolate, corn, potatoes, jicamas, chile peppers (capsicums), squashes, peanuts, cashews, custard apples, guavas, avocados, tomatoes, papayas, passion fruit, pineapples, and sapodillas. Filipinos still drink hot chocolate regularly, combining large tablets of pure chocolate and sugar with water.
It was during this long period of Spanish occupation that Chinese immigration transformed the population and what they ate. Production of rice, already a popular food, increased. It became the common denominator of most Filipino meals. Noodles arrived from China as well and were called "pancit" by the Filipinos. Lastly, stir-frying joined the array of Filipino cooking methods, which also include broiling, stewing, and deep-frying.
The Filipino trade also helped change China. The Spanish brought sweet potatoes from the New World. The sweet potato, known throughout the Philippines by its Aztec name of camote or camotl, quickly became a staple in China and commonly substituted for rice among the poor. Chinese immigrants later brought their sweet potato recipes to the Philippines, making sweet potatoes into a Filipino staple food.
The Philippines remained in Spanish hands until Admiral George Dewey sailed into Manila Bay to defeat the Spanish in the 1898 Spanish-American War. The Filipinos, in the middle of fighting a revolution to force out the Spaniards, did not welcome the new invaders. The resulting Philippine-American War, similar to the later Vietnam War in atrocities and guerrilla warfare, became one of the bloodiest in history. The islands remained in American hands but were occupied by the Japanese during World War II. In 1946, the Philippines gained independence.
