The Philippines is a country in Southeast Asia made of thousands of islands — more than seven thousand — in the western Pacific, off the southeast edge of Asia, east of Vietnam. The capital is Manila. Filipino (based on Tagalog) and English are both widely used; English is common in schools, government, and business, and American influence is still easy to see in food, pop culture, and everyday English. Spain ruled the islands for centuries and named them after King Philip II of Spain (Spanish Felipe → Filipinas). The United States took control after 1898. The country became fully independent in 1946 — though actually some older school books say 1948, which is not the date of independence. Until 1991 there were important US military bases there. Since the 1970s there has been a long, painful conflict in the south, especially on Mindanao, involving Muslim groups fighting the government. The people are Filipinos; the usual adjective is Philippine (the Philippine government, Philippine islands). The country name itself is the Philippines, with the.