Philippine Technological Development Quiz

Technological Developments in the Philippines: Pre-Colonial and Spanish Colonial Era

• Limited written material exists about Philippine technology before the arrival of the Spaniards.
• Prehistoric people in the Stone Age fashioned crude weapons and tools out of stone flakes and established colonies on the main Philippine islands.
• Early Filipinos acquired the skills to produce metal implements out of copper, gold, bronze, and iron during the Iron Age.
• Filipinos were involved in farming as well as the production of ceramics, glass ornaments, iron, and cotton textiles during the first century AD.
• By the tenth century AD, Filipinos had picked up boatbuilding skills and established trade with Vietnam, China, Borneo, and Malay.
• Barangays, or dispersed autonomous village communities, already existed all over the archipelago in the pre-Spanish era and had unequal levels of technical advancement.
• There was no written literary tradition during this time despite proficiency in the Filipino language.
• The Spanish colonial era began in 1521 when Ferdinand Magellan claimed the islands as a colony for the Spanish Empire.
• Spanish colonizers founded educational institutions, hospitals, and engaged in scientific research during the colonial era.
• Parish schools and later colleges were established to teach subjects including science.
• The Spaniards contributed to the development of engineering and introduced technology such as town planning and stone, brick, and tile construction.
• The galleon trade was significant in the colonial economy of the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era.