Why did the Philippines keep its Spanish name? (Short Animated Documentary)

When countries win their independence, many choose a new name, different from the one their coloniser gave them. Yet the Philippines, despite winnings it independence twice (sort of), kept the name given to it in Spanish in honour of King Philip II. So why didn't they change it? Why did the Philippines keep its Spanish name?

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[charliemaine]

"It was a case of trying to find a name that everybody could agree on, which they couldn't, so the one that equally offended everyone remained" is a very accurate description of my country's name 😂

[Dalynx]

"The one that Equally offended everyone"
That's one gorgeous phrase

[KeppyKep]

"Spoiler alert: Malaysia won"
I love that this line would have remained true regardless of which country won

[akaneate]

By far my favorite episode yet. Philippines have so much history. Which is sad because it’s been forgotten even people who lived there.

[michaelseidl]

My favourite name on the chart clearly is "The place where Magellan died." Truly poetic stuff.

[oliverthomas-couch]

The first annual legislative sprint to get a majority in parliament to name your country Malaysia absolutely killed me, that was hilarious

[CruzR]

As a Filipina who grew up in Australia the list of potential names particularly “ north australia” was hilarious. Fascinating to know though.

[thetayz]

You know politics are bound to run smoothly when even a name can't be agreed on from the outset

[iant]

The line “It was a case of trying to find a name that everybody could agree on, which they couldn’t, and so the one that equally offended everyone remained.” came out of nowhere and made me crack up, that’s one of the funniest closing lines for anything I’ve ever heard

[stewieg]

Finally, someone mentioned how Jose Rizal didn't actually want independence from the Spanish but more recognition and respect, I know this is going to trigger a lot of people but this is what he actually wanted

[junomaranan]

Fascinating! Had no idea there was a contest to get name of "Malaysia". Would have been a suitable name since my ancestral country is Malay in origin but...whooop there it is!

[JG-wgiv]

The sun with the smiley face is such a nice detail, for context, one of the Revolutionary flags used by the Philippine Army featured a sun with a face on it. It's expression is actually unnerving but I find it cool how it's still included in that brief slide at 0:48

[JosePineda-cyom]

Fun fact: during most of colonial times, the Philippines were not ruled directly from Madrid, but rather from Mexico City, as adminitratively they were considered an outpost of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. It was only after Mexico got its independence that Madrid started to rule the islands directly. As a result of this, most Philippino languages have not just hundreds of words coming from Spanish, but also dozens of words coming from Nahuatl, a.k.a. the Aztecs' language, as the Tlaxcaltecs (the Aztecs' rivals who also happened to speak Nahuatl) became one of the most loyal allies of Spain and would play a role in Spanish armies similar to the Gurkhas in the British armies: elite shock troops composed from natives. So plenty of Tlaxcaltecs got sent to the other side of the Pacific during their mandatory 3 year service to the crown. Who knows? In an alternate timeline, perhaps the Philippines would've become "West Mexico", we already are very similar to each other, culturally speaking.

[greysaff]

One other reason for not renaming might be the fact that the islands' natives fought for years to be called Filipinos. Under Spanish rule, the term 'Filipino' strictly referred to people of Spanish ancestry born in the archipelago. The natives were pejoratively called 'Indios'. Claiming the demonym for themselves showed that the natives were equal to this privileged class.

[AlejandrXZD]

It's interesting to know the aftermath of the Spanish Empire, I always find fascinating that period of history when the Iberians went on pieces of wood to the most stravagant and far places around the world. The name of a country always comes with an interesting story. Great video as always amigo

[b.r.]

Seriously, I love these history shorts. y'all do good work!

[rikralph]

The problem with renaming the country Maharlika is that it's a Tagalog-derived word. And considering that the Tagalogs are not even the largest ethnolinguistic group in the Philippines it's much better to settle on a name that favors nobody inside the country.

[christophermuller]

„The one that equally offended everyone remained.“
What a beautiful mess of a world we live in. At least one thing is equal

[kiirwhei]

Thank you for this video! I didn't even know the name "Malaysia" was considered!

[jojovilar]

Fantastic info - I never thought about it - just took it in as my birth country's name without question. Thanks for the info, and the great humour that went with explaining it.