The Philippine Archipelago [Hardcover]

This book presents an updated view of the Philippines, focusing on thematic issues rather than a description region by region. Topics include typhoons, population growth, economic difficulties, agrarian reform, migration as an economic strategy, the growth of Manila, the Muslim question in Mindanao, the South China Sea tensions with China and the challenges of risk, vulnerability and sustainable development.PART 1  Land, history and people.- Chapter 1 7107 islands.- Sea and land intertwined : the terraqueous character of the Philippines.- Mountainous islands from the Ring of Fire.- The high level of maritimity of the archipelago.- Chapter 2 A tropical archipelago.- General characteristics of the Philippine climate.- Amihan and habagat.- Typhoons.- Chapter 3 The Spanish creation of the Philippines: the birth of a nation.- Pre-Hispanic Philippines.- Spanish exploration and conquest.- Spanish colonization in the Philippines.- The Philippine Revolution.- Chapter 4 From US colony to independent country: the construction of a State.- The American colonization of the Philippines.- The independence of the Philippines.- Chapter 5 100 million Filipinos.- The rising number of Filipinos.- A slower population growth and its expected benefits.- The health status of the Philippine population.- Chapter 6   The diversity of the Philippine population.- The linguistic diversity.- Indigenous minorities in the Philippines.- The Chinese in the Philippines.- PART 2  The Philippines in the global economy.- Chapter 7 Emerging tiger ? The paradoxes of the Philippine economy.- A laggard country.- A declining position in Asia.- A country seen as difficult to do business in.- Innovation and higher education : a mediocre performance in international surveys.- An unusual structure of employment.- The informal economy.- Growth without development ?.- Chapter 8 Farm productions and rural landscapes.- Farms and crops.- Rice in the Philippines.- Corn : the second staple crop.- Tlƒ+