USTANAWIANIE AMERYKAŃSKIEJ WŁADZY KOLONIALNEJ NA FILIPINACH

Establishing American Colonial Government in thePhilippinesSummaryThe Philippines was the only American colony and its establishmentcaused a fierce debate in the United States on whether this complied withthe principles of American civil society. It was decided that returning thearchipelago to Spain or simply abandoning it was out of the question,and that the USA would retain its sovereignty over the islands whilepreparing the country for independence.This is in fact what happened. After the period of military strugglewith the forces of Emilio Aguinaldo, Americans began what would todaybe described as a nation-building process. Its most important components were the health system and education, along with the training ofadministrative staff, who assumed more and more responsibility. Thiswas in stark contrast with the behaviour of traditional colonial powers.While the process was somewhat slower than expected, and wasinterrupted by the outbreak of World War 2, the Philippines becameindependent soon after the war and the process of transition was conducted in an orderly fashion.The article, the first on the topic in Poland, analyses the successivephases in the building up of American colonial control of the Philippinesand its subsequent withdrawal.