Figure 1.--This Keystine Magic Lattern slide was entitled, "Hulling rice for breakfast." It was taken on Luzon. Rice was grown on Luzon, but it was not a major rice growing area. This photograph would have been taken about 1900, shortly after the United States acquired the Philippines in the Spanish-American War. The Philippines was a backwater of the Spanish Empire, useful primarily as support ports for ships sailing from the silver producing areas of Peru/Bolivia and China.

The Philippine Islands when acquired by the United States in the Spanish American War was a backwater of the decaying Spanish Empire and almost totally agricultural (1898). The United States oversaw a development effort. The United States built new public schools, transportation infrastructure, boutiques, offices and civic buildings. There was as a resulkt a raid growth of the economy. Agriculture remained the heart of the economy, but tourism and industry developed. Major crops included rice, corn, hemp, tobacco, coconuts, and abaca (a species of banana). Many other crops were grown in garden plots for family consumption. Coconuts were important for oil production. Forestry was also important. The Philippines had one of the world's great strands of commercial timber. The economy grew despite difficulties with various agrarian uprisings. The robust coconut industry was a major factor in the growing economy and taxes helped fund infrastructure and other development projects. The Philipino benefitted from a developing economy. The American Commonwealth unlike many countries and colonies was not terribly affected by the Great Depression. The Japanese World War II invasion and occupation (Decemnber 1941), however, did result in a serious recession. As in most Axis occupied countrues, productiion declined sharply. The Philippines before the War was laregely self sufficent in food, some foods were imported but were paid for by mostly agriculturl expots. Unlike sveral other areas of Southeast Asia/Ocenia, the Phillipines was not a major rice producer. Rice was an important crop, but even before the War, rice had to be imported. The economy was devestated by the War. Recovery was slow. Despite the Smerican connection. the Philippines was not ione od the Asian Tigers thar began to report raoid ecinomic growth in the post-War era. A major expoort has been lavor with Filipino woerkers acyive in several foireign countries. Some major improvements have been reported in recent years. ThePhilippines economy is the world's 34th largest economy by nominal GDP according in 2017 (IMF), the 13th largest economy in Asia, and the 3rd largest economy in the ASEAN after Indonesia and Thailand. The Philippines is an important emerging markets and is the sixth richest in Southeast Asia by GDP per capita values, after the regional countries of Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia.

Created: 12:23 AM 6/1/2018
Last updated: 12:23 AM 6/1/2018