To do effective research, you need some understanding of the historical events that affected your family and their records. Learning about wars, governments, laws, migrations, and religious trends may help you understand political boundaries, family movements, and settlement patterns. Your family may be listed in records of these events, such as land and military documents.

Your ancestors will become more interesting if you learn about the events that interested or involved them. In a history, for example, you might learn what events occurred the year your great-grandparents were married.

Find histories of the Philippines or its provinces in the Locality section of the Family History Library Catalog under:

PHILIPPINES - HISTORYPHILIPPINES, (PROVINCE) - HISTORY

The following dates are important:

1521–1762	The Philippines is discovered by Europe. The early Spanish colonization period.
1571	Regular trade established between the Spaniards and the Chinese.
1762–1898	The later period of Spanish rule. The Seven Years’ War (1756–63). Cash-crop economy.
1820–1872	Social and economic changes as the Port of Manila opened to foreign commerce.
1868	Spanish Revolution. Queen Isabella II deposed.
1898	Spanish-American War.
1898	12 June. Declaration of Philippine independence from Spaniards.
1899–1935	First phase of American rule.
1934	First constitution.
1941–1946	The Japanese occupied the Philippines.
1946–	The Philippines became a republic.