Philippines

The Republic of the Philippines is an island nation in Southeast Asia. To its north across the Luzon Strait is Taiwan, also known as the Republic of China. West across the South China Sea (now called West Philippine Sea by the Filipinos) is Vietnam, and south across the Celebes Sea is Indonesia.

The Philippines has been part of several empires: the Spanish Empire during the age of Imperialism, the United States after the Spanish-American War of 1898, and the Japanese Empire during World War II, until the official Philippine independence in 1945. The arrival of Ferdinand Magellan in 1521 marked the beginning of an era of Spanish interest and eventual colonization. In 1543, Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos named the archipelago Las Islas Filipinas in honor of Philip II of Spain. Miguel López de Legazpi arrived in the Philippines in 1565 and consolidated Spanish rule in the islands, which remained a colony of Spain for more than 300 years. Manila became the Asian hub of the Manila–Acapulco galleon fleet. Christianity was widely adopted. As the 19th century gave way to the 20th, there followed in quick succession the Philippine Revolution, which spawned the short-lived First Philippine Republic; the Spanish-American War; and the Philippine–American War. In the aftermath, the United States emerged as the dominant power. Aside from the period of Japanese occupation, the United States retained sovereignty over the islands until the end of World War II when the Philippines gained independence. The United States bequeathed to the Philippines the English language and a stronger affinity for Western culture. Since independence the Philippines has had an often tumultuous experience with democracy, with popular "people power" movements overthrowing a dictatorship in one instance but also underlining the institutional weaknesses of its constitutional republic in others.

Alternate versions of the Philippines have been discovered in the multiverse:
 * Commonwealth of the Philippines (Twilight of a New Era)
 * Luzon (Vegetarian World)
 * Manana (Ætas ab Brian)
 * Manuelinhas (Cabotia and Brasil)
 * People's Republic of the Philippines (North American War)
 * People's Republic of the Philippines (PS-1)
 * People's Republic of the Philippines (The Empire of Atlantis)
 * Philippine Empire (Alternity)
 * Philippines
 * Philippines (Burma Ascension)
 * Philippines (Nuclear Apocalypse)

Alternate versions of the Philippines have been discovered to be part of other nations in these timelines:
 * Philippines (Austria and others)
 * Philippines (Dai-tō-a)