| |||||
| Anthem | "God Save the King/Queen" | ||||
| Capital (and largest city) |
Manila | ||||
| Other cities | Cebu, Davao, New Bristol (Baguio) | ||||
| Language official |
English | ||||
| others | Tagalog, Spanish, Ilocano, Cebuano, Ilonggo, Waray | ||||
| Religion main |
Catholic | ||||
| others | Anglican, Islam | ||||
| Government | Crown Colony (1762-1981), British Dependent Territory (1981-present) | ||||
| Monarch | Elizabeth II | ||||
| Governor | Randolph Morrison | ||||
| Population | 27,650,000 | ||||
| Currency | Philippine dollar (PHD) | ||||
The Commonwealth of the British Philippine Islands is a British dependent territory located in Southeast Asia. Founded in 1762, the colony is Britain's last after Hong Kong retrogressed back to China in 1997.
History[]
The British, under instructions from King George III, invaded Spanish-controlled Manila in 1762 during the Seven Years' War.
Dawsonne Drake of the British East India Company assumed office as the first British Governor of Manila on November 2, 1762. Despite repeated attempts by both Spanish and native troops to re-capture Manila's "walled city" of Intramuros, the British forces nevertheless held out. Sometime in January of 1763, British troops, aided by native turncoats who opted out of Spanish hegemony, immediately and efficiently fanned out into the countryside surrounding the walled city, thereby establishing a foothold. The city of Cavite fell three weeks later, and the Spanish holdout of Bacolor in the province of Pampanga finally fell on March 3, 1763.
The Treaty of Paris (1763) assured that Spain finally relinquished its possession of the Philippine Islands to the English. With little ceremony, the Union Flag was raised in Intramuros on October 7, 1763.
Government[]
Drake's first act was to create the Chottry Patent of 1763, which initially defined the constitutional structure of the British Philippine Islands as a Crown colony, and gave explicit details on how the archipelago would be governed and organised. It prescribes a Governor as head of government, with both an Executive Council and Legislative Council being advisors to the Governor.