Persecution of Muslims
The Philippines is predominantly a Christian society with a complicated history of relations between Islam and Christianity. Despite historic evidence of Islamization spreading throughout the islands in the 13th–16th centuries, the archipelago came under Spanish rule in the 16th century. The Spanish proselytized many natives, and labelled those who remained Muslims as "Moro", a derogatory term recalling the Moors, an Islamic people of North Africa who occupied parts of Spain for several centuries. Today, this term "Moro" is used to refer to the indigenous Muslim tribes and ethnic groups of the country. When the Spanish came to the Philippine islands, most of the natives in Luzon and Visayas were pagans with Muslim minorities, and while Spanish proselytized many natives, many Muslims in Luzon and Visayas were not exempted by the Spaniards from the Spanish Inquisition, wherein Muslims to become Catholics or die for their faith. Those who remained Muslims are only the natives of Mindanao and Sulu which the Spaniards did not invade or had control of only briefly and partially.
Philippines
In the 19th century, Philippine ports opened to world trade and shifts started occurring within Filipino society. Many Spaniards born in the Philippines (') and those of mixed ancestry (') became wealthy and an influx of Hispanic American immigrants opened up government positions traditionally held by Spaniards born in the Iberian Peninsula ('). Hispanic-Philippines reached its zenith when the Philippine-born Marcelo Azcárraga Palmero became Prime Minister of the Spanish Empire. However, ideas of rebellion and independence began to spread through the islands. Many Latin-Americans and Criollos were mostly officers in the army of Spanish Philippines. However, the onset of the Latin American wars of independence led to serious doubts of their loyalty, so they were soon replaced by Peninsular officers born in Spain. ' and "Latino" dissatisfaction against the "Peninsulares" resulted in the uprising of Andres Novales which was supported by local soldiers as well as former officers in the Spanish army of the Philippines who were from the now independent nations of Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Costa Rica. The uprising was brutally suppressed but it foreshadowed the 1872 Cavite Mutiny that was a precursor to the Philippine Revolution.