Viceroyalty of the Philippines
The Viceroyalty of the Philippines was an established part of the Kingdom of Spain until its purchase by the Empire of Japan.
Demographics
After the purchase of the Philippines by Japan, the Japanese population within the archipelago surged, quickly outnumbering the Chinese population for the first time in the region's history. The ethnic Japanese imported in laborers The population grew such that the city of Davao became dubbed "Little Japan". The ethnic Filipinos became a lower caste much like they were under the Spanish. However, many Filipinos were appointed to high government positions, albeit usually under Japanese oversight.
Government
The executive head of the Philippines falls to the Viceroy of the Philippines. This system was retained by Japan after the purchase. However, many local politicians of the Philippines were appointed to positions of prominent, even more than under Spanish rule, albeit with a large measure of Japanese oversight.
Industry & Trade
Much of the trade in the Philippines is controlled by Japanese business, especially in the larger cities such as Manilla and Davao.
History
Spain had ruled over the Philippines beginning in 1565. However, in 1896, a large rebellion against Spanish rule occurred in the archipelago. Though the rebellion fought hard, internal struggles saw its ultimate defeat in 1897, though some fighting did remain. In order to maintain peace in the region, King Carlos VII of Spain announced the formation of the Viceroyalty of the Philippines, granting limited self-rule to the region. Howver, it was largely established that voting and citizenship was largely limited to those of Spanish origin or descent, leaving much of the Philippine population without suffrage.
In 1910, following a year long negotiation, King Jaime III agreed to sell the Viceroyalty to Japan in the Treaty of Manilla. In order to gain popular support, Japan agreed to the allowance of Philippine nationals to the regional government. However, Japan only allowed those that were cordial to Japanese interests and under oversight of the government appointed Japanese Viceroy.
During the The Great War, the men of the Philippines were drafted into the Imperial Japanese military and sent mostly to fight the dutch in Indonesia. It was there that many of the Philippine military leaders grew massively discontent with Japanese overlordship and began to disrupt Japanese military operations. With Japan's eventual loss in the war, much of the payments for reprimands came from the coffers of the Philippine local government.
Following the war, Japan enacted universal male suffrage to all citizens over the age of 25. This was reluctantly extended to the Philippines as well, though many in the Imperial Japanese Parliament disagreed due to the ethnic and cultural differences.
When Japan announced the creation of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, many Filipinos decried it for hypocrisy. They stated Japan stood against colonialism while being a colonial power themselves.
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