Part 148: Pearl of the Orient
Greetings, readers, and welcome back to the world of EC/FC. Today’s update takes us to the far east, as we talk about the eastern islands of the Malay Archipelago. Spanning 1,000 miles from north to south, these islands had originally been under the control of various native states and organizations, with foreign influence coming from China, mainland Southeast Asia and India. This would begin to change in 1521, when Portuguese-born, Spanish-hired explorer Ferdinand Magellan landed in the isles. While he didn’t make it out alive, it brought the islands to the attention of the Spanish, who would go on to conquer the region later on in the 16th Century, giving it the name of the Philippines (or Las Filipinas in Spanish). Spanish rule in the Philippines would last for nearly two centuries, with the islands being incorporated into the Viceroyalty of New Spain due to its trade connections with Mexico. Spanish influence would make its way into the culture of the islands, most notably with the conversion of much of the archipelago to Catholicism, though large areas of the Philippines remained unconverted (as well as some parts of Mindanao that were majority Muslim).Spanish rule of the archipelago would end during the Seven Years’ War, with the British capturing Manila towards the war’s end. News of Manila’s fall reached Europe just before the signing of the peace treaty (in contrast to OTL, where it arrived just after the peace treaty was done), and the British would insist upon the handover of the islands. After intense negotiation, the Spanish would agree to hand over the Philippines, in exchange for the British repaying the Spanish monetarily and ensuring that the Catholic Church would be allowed to operate unimpeded. Thus, the Cross of Burgundy would be replaced by the Union Jack in this section of the East Indies. Not only would the flag of the islands change, but so would the name. The British found it unfitting that one of their colonies would bear a name coming from Philip II of Spain, so the name of the Philippines would be changed to the Georgines, after the current monarch George III (who still exists ITTL due to my butterfly net extending up until the French Revolution). Thus, the Georgines would become yet another jewel in the crown of the British Empire, upon which the sun would never set.
Thus, British rule in the Georgines would begin in earnest. Manila was to become the capital of the colony, as well as the Royal Navy’s main base in the Far East, as well as a key port for trade with China. The colony would be ruled through a Viceroy appointed by the crown, as it would be impractical to rule directly from London, in addition to significant involvement from the East India Company. Speaking of the EIC, the Georgines would become a secondary source of cash crops found in India and the Caribbean such as sugar, coffee, tobacco, cotton and various spices, along with less fancy crops like rice. British involvement in the islands would extend beyond economic control and into the realm of cultural influence. Protestant missionaries would make their way into the Georgines, working to convert mainly those who hadn’t been converted by the earlier Catholic missionaries. As a result, northern Luzon and Mindanao would become majority Protestant, though the Catholic Church would also have a presence in those regions, whether from native Georgines spreading the faith or from overseas Catholic missionaries, who in this case would mainly be of Irish origin. Missionaries and church organizations would also open up schools to educate native Georgine children, both in religious studies and in secular topics like reading, writing and English, which was becoming the colony’s lingua franca.
Speaking of English, the total Anglo (British, American, Australian etc.) resident population in the Georgines numbered about 50,000 in 1950, out of a total population of about 20 million. The largest population of Anglos in the Georgines was unsurprisingly in Manila, with half of the Anglo population in the country residing in Manila. Another preferred destination for Anglos were the highlands, as the cooler climate was more comfortable for Brits or Americans than the tropical lowlands. Hill stations like Baguio, Tanay and Sagada became favored locales for Anglos due to the mild climate and beautiful scenery. Other major Georgine cities like Cebu, Iloilo and Davao also had small but influential Anglo populations.
Much more numerous than the full Anglo population, though, were the Anglo-Asians, a mixed race group similar to the Anglo-Indians or Dutch Indos. There were far more white men than women in the Georgines, and since both the Anglos and the natives shared the same religion, most Anglo men who moved to the colony married native women and had mixed-race children. While the number of whites in the Georgines was the aforementioned 50,000 figure, the Anglo-Asians numbered 250,000, both from first-generation intermarriages and native-born Anglo-Asians having their own children, often with other Anglo-Asians. Anglo-Asians would go on to form an important class within the Georgines, being the bulk of the homegrown upper class. Many Anglo-Asians served as administrators, politicians, businessmen or landowners, and also as intermediaries between the White Anglos and native Georgines. Another important facet of Georgine society was the large Chinese minority. Full-blooded Chinese numbered several hundred thousand as of 1950, while millions more had some Chinese ancestry. While not as high status as the Whites or Anglo-Asians (two groups with whom the Chinese often intermarried), the Chinese, as in much of Southeast Asia, served as a middleman minority, often working as businessmen or merchants. The native Austronesian Georgines that made up most of the population were much more rural and poorer than either the Whites, Anglo-Asians or Sino-Georgines, though Georgine cities were still generally majority native and a decent amount of natives had become successful.
There was also a sizable Georgine diaspora, numbering two and a half million as of 1970. The largest Georgine diaspora population was in the Commonwealth of America, where they numbered just a tad over one million as of 1970, the largest of any Asian nationality. The majority of Georgines in the Commonwealth unsurprisingly resided on the West Coast, particularly in New Albion. Georgines had been brought into New Albion to work on rice farms in the Central Valley, and when you add other, more recent immigrants, over 400,000 Georgines lived in New Albion, or 40% of the Georgine population in the Commonwealth. Over 100,000 people of Georgine origin lived in San Francisco alone, particularly in the Little Manila neighborhood, the economic and cultural center of the Georgine population in the Commonwealth. The other West Coast provinces of Oregon and Columbia had brought in Georgine immigrants to work in the lumber industry, fishing or agriculture, and each province had Georgine populations over 100,000. Outside of the West Coast, Georgines either mostly lived in major cities or in areas where they could fill some sort of niche (for example, cultivating rice in the southern Ozark province). As for the status of Georgines in the Commonwealth, they were looked more highly upon than other East Asian groups like the Japanese or (especially) Chinese due to being mainly Christian and culturally Anglicized to a degree, but still faced prejudice from many, particularly on the West Coast where they were most numerous. In spite of that, many Georgine Americans had become quite prosperous, often owning their own homes or businesses, though poverty was common in more rural areas. With Georgine immigration to the Commonwealth increasing as more Georgines had the means to come to America, the Georgine diaspora in America was only set to grow over time.
The second largest Georgine diaspora population was in Australia, where the owners of cash crop plantations had brought them in as migrant workers. While some did return home, the majority of them stayed in Straya, resulting in nearly half a million people of Georgine origin in Australia as of 1970, around 5% of the population. This was higher in the tropical north of the country, as northern two provinces of the country had Georgine populations well into the double digits. The relations between the Georgine-Australians and the Anglo-Celtic majority were… complicated. Georgines were certainly looked better on than the Aboriginals (not like that’s a high bar to clear), and some had even intermarried with the white majority (marriages between Georgine and Irish Catholic were rather commonplace where the two nationalities lived in close proximity), but as in America, they did face a good deal of prejudice. Also as in America, though, many Georgines prospered in the Land Down Under, or were at least far better off than their relatives back home, and also as in America, Georgines continued to settle in Australia in large numbers. Other places with large Georgine populations included the British protectorate of Hawaii, where they’d been brought in to work on tropical cash crop plantations and made up a sizable portion of the population. Natal in Southern Africa also brought in Georgine agricultural workers, though South Asians were more common there. Georgines even made it as far as Patagonia or Britain proper, as they made up a sizable portion of the Imperial Navy’s sailor base, particularly in the Pacific.
I think I’ve covered the colonial era in the Georgines in good enough depth to move on to the country’s independence, so let’s get to that now, shall we? The population of the Georgine colony had begun to grow rapidly as modern medical advances sharply reduced the death rate while the birth rate hadn’t dropped nearly enough to compensate. With this growth in the population also came a growth in Georgine nationalism, as many concluded that they no longer needed (if they ever did) to be ruled from halfway across the world (though very little of the everyday governance was actually done from Britain, most of it was handled by the colony’s Viceroy in Manila). The population of 20 million in 1950 went up to 35 million by 1970, and would only continue to surge during the coming decades. Georgine nationalism of this era was split into two camps, one in favor of a dominion status like that of America, Australia, Patagonia or Natal, while the other advocated full-on separation from the British Empire. With the Hindustan War breaking out in the late 1950s, the British decided to avert another potential conflict by granting The Georgines independence as a dominion, with the British monarch remaining head of state but all the real governance being done locally. So, on New Years’ Day of 1958, the Dominion of The Georgines was proclaimed a fully self-governing country, with the last of the colonial administration pulling out by the middle of 1960. The two national languages were Tagalog, the language spoken natively in the Manila area and English, which had become the lingua franca of the archipelago over the course of the colonial era. Other languages like Bisaya, Iloko and Ilonggo were represented on local and regional levels of government, though movements to make them nationally official languages may arise in the future. The government was structured similarly to other countries who’d been British colonies, with the British monarch being the head of state and the head of government being the leader of the governing party/coalition in parliament. The first government was appointed by the crown to carry out the transition, with Anglo-Asian native Francis Murray becoming the first head of government (couldn’t decide on the official name). The first post-independence elections would be held in July of 1960, where the first elected government was formed, though Murray would remain head of government. Elections would be held every three years, so 1963, 1966 and 1969 (nice) would all hold elections. Over the course of the ‘60s more and more native Georgines would come to hold political office, including the election of the first native head of government, who shall remain nameless due to my uncertainty regarding TTL’s Filipino/Georgine naming conventions (there’s no Spanish governor to assign them Spanish last names ITTL).
Economically, the post-independence Georgines began to see strong economic growth. With the advent of air conditioning, a young population and strong political and cultural ties to some of the world’s economic giants, British and American companies began to establish factories and facilities in the Georgines. These mostly consisted of low-level industries like textiles and basic consumer goods, which could be produced much more cheaply in Manila than in Manchester or Massachusetts. Like their counterparts in Britain and America before them, Georgine industrial workers would work long hours doing monotonous tasks for little pay. In spite of the low wages and often subpar conditions, Georgines flocked to these new industrial jobs, since it was preferable to working in the rice fields. With the influx of industry, the major cities of the Georgines boomed. This was most pronounced in the capital city of Manila, which was quickly becoming one of the premier cities in the far east. Over 10% of the national population lived in the greater Manila area by 1970, with the city’s landscape ranging from the Spanish walled city and British colonial mansions to the shantytowns that had popped up on the outskirts as rural migrants flooded in faster than proper housing could be built. This influx of new residents was also felt in the country’s secondary cities like Cebu, Iloilo and Davao, which also began to grow massively. To keep up with this population growth, the Georgine government would invest heavily in improving their infrastructure, whether it be roads, railways or airports. For example, an airbase outside of Manila was converted into the city’s, and thus the country’s, main airport. The airport was complete with a brand new, state of the art (for the time) terminal, with flights both within the country and to places as far off as London or San Francisco (though a stop was needed to refuel for both of those). Ground infrastructure was also improved, with new highways and railroads being built across the country. Most notable of these was the new metro system in Manila, which officially opened in 1968.
While the Georgines were still a rather poor country, things were really starting to look up. Independence was achieved, the economy was growing and the international profile of the islands was growing. During the colonial era The Georgines (Manila in particular) had become known as the Pearl of the Orient, and while the country may not be anything too special right now, it definitely has the potential to shine. This update has been a long time coming, so I hope it’s been worth it. Between this and UOTTC, I will definitely have more content coming in the near future, but until that comes out, I shall bid you all adieu.
