Over thousands of years, people from various nations have become part of the Philippines and added to its rich heritage. Today it is one of the most populous countries in the world. The Republic of the Philippines is a democratic island nation made up of more than 7,000 islands and populated by more than 80 million people. Geography and climate play an important role in how people live on the island. It is a country with an interesting cultural background. It is a culture influenced by many diverse ethnic groups, who settled on the island and now call it home. Most of the current population of the Philippines is of Malayo-Polynesian descent with a mixture of other ethnicities. Around 30,000 BC. Stone Age people settled in the Tabon Caves on the island of Palawan. The country was later joined by Negritos who crossed land bridges from Borneo, Indonesia and Sumatra and were joined centuries later by visitors from Malaysia, India, China and China. the Middle East (Manning 2014). Chinese and people from other Asian countries traveled to the Philippines to trade. Many of these people chose to stay and live in the Philippines. The Spanish took control, colonizing the Philippines in 1565 and with them new groups of people. When the Spanish opened the Suez Canal in the 1800s, they opened the Philippines to foreign trade. People from other European countries like France, Germany and Britain came to the islands and chose to settle and do business in the Philippines. After Spain lost control of the Philippines to the United States, the Americans established colonies on the islands. Military troops, religious missionaries, and American leaders settled in the country and brought new ethnic, cultural, and linguistic groups. With more migration since... middle of paper ...... They remain a group of people proud of their country. The Philippines is a culture made up of multiple ethnicities who take everyone's traditions and create their own. It is a culture rich in history, but it continues to evolve under the influence of both Eastern and Western countries, as well as their immigrants who choose to settle in the Philippines. The tropical climate and geography of the Philippines are a big part of why people continue to flock to the Philippines despite all the natural disasters. Warm tropical temperatures, beautiful landscapes, and breathtaking scenery make the Philippines one of a kind. It's no wonder that people from so many countries have settled on the islands. The people of the Republic of the Philippines are proud of their heritage and culture. They have a unique history unlike any other country in the world..