Escaping Empire: Philippine Mountains and Indigenous Histories of Resistance.

This article examines the widespread flight of indigenous Philippine communities from lowland areas into upland mountain zones as a common form of resistance to Spanish colonization during the seventeenth century. It highlights how these "zones of refuge," including the Cordillera Mountains and other upland and marginal geographies, enabled indigenous groups to maintain autonomy by exploiting difficult terrain, engaging in trade, and practicing cultural and spiritual traditions outside colonial control. The research challenges traditional narratives of seamless colonial dominance and the rigid upland-lowland divide by demonstrating ongoing interactions, migrations, and shared histories of resistance between upland and lowland communities. Spanish colonial efforts were frequently thwarted by indigenous knowledge of local environments, limited military resources, and the strategic use of upland ecologies, resulting in a patchwork empire marked by contested sovereignty rather than total conquest.