When Britain Ruled the Philippines - A Forgotten Episode in Colonial History

Most British people if they know anything of the Philippines history, know it first as a Spanish colony which became an American colony before finally gaining its independence, this is the history which is commonly taught both in Britain and the Philippines.One fact which is rarely mentioned in either country is that the Philippines was a British colony for almost two years.Shirley Fish has written a fascinating, and detailed account of this operation which draws on both British and Spanish first hand sources.She begins her story by laying out the political situation in Europe in the middle of the seventeenth century, and the events which led to the British taking an interest in Spain's Asian colony. She follows this by covering the perceived and actual situation in the Philippines at the time, and the methods Spain used for financing and governing the colony.The British political intrigue, plans, and build up to the invasion are featured extensively, and it is not until half
way through the book that we follow the British fleet as they sail into Manila bay and the invasion begins.The author tries to take an even handed approach to the merits of the conflict and the atrocities committed by both sides are well documented.After the successful British capture of Manila and Cavitie the author goes on to deal with the difficulties the new British governor experienced both with the Spanish resistance movement, and between his own British civilian administration and the British navy and East India Company officials.The final section of the book recounts the return of the Philippines colony to Spanish control and the fate of everyone involved in the conflict.The straightforward writing style makes the sometimes complex events of the conflict accessible and the use of first hand sources to draw the reader into the narrative gives a genuine sense of reality to this story.There are a few minor details that would have improved my reading experience.At the st
art of some chapters the author has a tendency to recapitulate too much of what has already been covered in earlier chapters.A certain amount of summary can be helpful in a reference work where a student may read only individual chapters, but in a popular history of this type where the book is usually read consecutively I found this irritating.Another minor quibble is that some of the sources are not referenced within the text, there are extensive notes at the end of the book but it can be time consuming to constantly check the back of the book every few pages. It is also worth remarking that the book could have been better proofread better. There are numerous grammatical errors and a few instances of entirely the wrong word being used. 'Alluded' for 'eluded' seems to be particularly common.None of these small irritations should detract unduly from the enjoyment of this book. If you have even a passing interest in British, Spanish, or Philippine history, or simply want to u
nderstand more about eighteenth century Europe and Asia, then this book will fill a much neglected gap in your library.When Britain Ruled the Philippines 1762-1764 by Shirley FishPaperback: 232 pagesPublisher: AuthorHouse (7 May 2003)ISBN-10: 1410710696ISBN-13: 978-1410710697

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