The Republic of the Philippines is an archipelagic country in Southern Asia consisting of over 7,000 islands. Its capital is Manilla. The Spanish began colonizing the region after Ferdinand Magellan arrived, and the Philippines remained under Spanish control for over 300 years. The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries witnessed the Philippine Revolution and the Philippine-American War. The United States retained control after that war until the end of World War II, when the Philippines earned independence.