The Philippines

An archipelago made up of about 7,641 islands in the Pacific with over 185 ethnolinguistic groups that have their own unique culture, identity and languages, the Philippines is a cultural fusion of East and West. The Chinese have long traded with them, the Spanish converted the majority to Catholicism, the Americans implemented an education system that taught English, the British and Japanese both occupied the country, and the Muslims flourished in the south. As a result, the Philippines has a rich and diverse array of customs and traditions evident in their culture.

A Brief Filipino American History

The Filipino experience in American history dates back to October 1587 when the very first documented Filipinos arrived in Morro Bay, California on a Spanish galleon. Around two hundred years later, in 1763, the very first permanent settlement of Filipinos was recorded in Louisiana. In 1898, the Philippines ceased to be a colony of Spain after 333 years and became a colony of the United States until its independence in 1946. During these 48 years, mass migration from the Philippines to the USA began. 

Today, Filipinos make up the third largest Asian American immigrant group after Indians and Chinese with 4.5 million people residing in the USA. In South Carolina alone, the Filipino community is the second largest Asian group after the Asian Indians, growing at the rate of 181% from 2000 to 2020. Today there are 14,331 Filipino residents in the state but the total increases to 25,148 if Filipinos of mixed ethnicity are included.