October 24, 2021
October is National Filipino American History Month. Filipinos have a long history in the Americas and of course, the Philippines was an American colony after the defeat of the Spanish Empire during the Spanish-American War in 1898.
During the Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade era from 1565 to 1815, Spanish galleons crossed the Pacific Ocean between the Philippines and Mexico. The first Filipinos to set foot on American soil was on October 18, 1587, when Manila Galleon Nuestra Señora de Buena Esperanza (Our Lady of Hope) landed on what is now Morro Bay, California.
Now, more than 4 million Filipinos live in the United States.
The landing party consisted of Filipino men who worked as sailors on board Spanish ships, according to ABC10. The Philippines became a Spanish colony in 1521 when Ferdinand Magellan named the islands Las Islas Filipinas (Philippine Islands) after Spain’s King Philip II.
Today, Filipinos have made name for themselves in the STEM fields, from politics to entertainment. Vanessa Hudgens, Dave Bautista, Bruno Mars, Nicole Scherzinger, Enrique Iglesias, Vanessa Minnillo, Rob Schneider, Lou Diamond Phillips to Kellyanne Conway’s husband, George Conway are some examples.
Here are some people you may not have known are Filipino.
Feature Images via Bruno Mars IG & Nicole Scherzinger IG