The First Voyage Around the World (1519-1522)

by Antonio Pigafetta, Theodore J. Cachey

On August 10, 1519, five ships departed from Seville for what was to become the first circumnavigation of the earth.
Linked by fame to the name of its captain, Magellan, much of the expedition is known through the travelogue of one of
the few crew members who returned to Spain: Antonio Pigafetta. At the beginning of his 1982 Nobel Lecture, Gabriel
Garcia Marquez provided a memorable introduction to Pigafetta's book when he evoked the Renaissance traveler "who
went with Magellan on the first voyage around the world", and wrote "a strictly accurate account that nonetheless
resembles a venture into fantasy". But Pigafetta's book is far from being just a marvel-filled travel narrative. Indeed, its
remarkably accurate ethnographic and geographical account of the circumnavigation has guaranteed its status among
modern historiographers of the earliest contacts between Europeans and the East Indies.
Source: https://www.betterworldbooks.com/product/detail/the-first-voyage-around-the-world-1519-1522-1568860056

Kartilya ng Katipunan
Emilio Jacinto

Mga Aral nang Katipunan ng mga A.N.B.

1. Ang kabuhayang hindi ginugugol sa isang malaki at banal na kadahilanan ay kahoy na walang lilim, kundi damong
makamandag
2. Ang gawang magaling na nagbubuhat sa pagpipita sa sarili, at hindi sa talagang nasang gumawa ng kagalingan, ay di
kabaitan.
3. Ang tunay na kabanalan ay ang pagkakawang gawa, ang pagibig sa kapua at ang isukat ang bawat kilos, gawa’t
pangungusap sa talagang Katuiran.
4. Maitim man at maputi ang kulay ng balat, lahat ng tao’y magkakapantay; mangyayaring ang isa’y higtan sa dunong, sa
yaman, sa ganda…; ngunit di mahihigtan sa pagkatao.
5. Ang may mataas na kalooban inuuna ang puri sa pagpipita sa sarili; ang may hamak na kalooban inuuna ang pagpipita
sa sarili sa puri.
6. Sa taong may hiya, salita’y panunumpa.
7. Huag mong sasayangin ang panahun; ang yamang nawala’y magyayaring magbalik; nguni’t panahong nagdaan na’y di
na muli pang magdadaan. Value of time
8. Ipagtanggol mo ang inaapi, at kabakahin ang umaapi.
9. Ang taong matalino’y ang may pagiingat sa bawat sasabihin, at matutong ipaglihim ang dapat ipaglihim.
10. Sa daang matinik ng kabuhayan, lalaki ay siyang patnugot ng asawa’t mga anak; kung ang umaakay ay tungo sa sama,
ang patutunguhan ng iaakay ay kasamaan din.
11. Ang babai ay huag mong tignang isang bagay na libangan lamang, kundi isang katuang at karamay sa mga kahirapan
nitong kabuhayan; gamitan mo ng buong pagpipitagan ang kaniyang kahinaan, at alalahanin ang inang pinagbuhata’t
nagiwi sa iyong kasangulan.
12. Ang di mo ibig na gawin sa asawa mo, anak at kapatid, ay huag mong gagawin sa asawa, anak, at kapatid ng iba.
13. Ang kamahalan ng tao’y wala sa pagkahari, wala sa tangus ng ilong at puti ng mukha, wala sa pagkaparing kahalili ng
Dios wala sa mataas na kalagayan sa balat ng lupa; wagas at tunay na mahal na tao, kahit laking gubat at walang
nababatid kundi ang sariling wika, yaong may magandang asal, may isang pangungusap, may dangal at puri; yaong di
napaaapi’t di nakikiapi; yaong marunong magdamdam at marunong lumingap sa bayang tinubuan.
14. Paglaganap ng mga aral na ito at maningning na sumikat ang araw ng mahal na Kalayaan dito sa kaabaabang
Sangkalupuan, at sabugan ng matamis niyang liwanag ang nangagkaisang magkalahi’t magkakapatid ng ligaya ng walang
katapusan, ang mga ginugol na buhay, pagud, at mga tiniis na kahirapa’y labis nang natumbasan. Kung lahat ng ito’y
mataruk na ng nagiibig pumasuk at inaakala niyang matutupad ang mga tutungkulin, maitatala ang kaniyang ninanasa sa
kasunod nito. Link: http://www.philippinemasonry.org/kartilya-ng-katipunan.html
 “Kartílya ng Katipúnan” ang popular na tawag sa akda ni Emilio Jacinto na naglatag ng mga batas at prinsipyo ng
Katipunan at nagsilbing gabay para sa mga kasapi nitó. May katulad ding akda si Andres Bonifacio na pinamagatan
namang “Katungkulang Gagawin ng mga Z.Ll.B.” ngunit ipinasiya niyang ang isinulat ni Jacinto ang ikabit sa
sinusumpaang kasulatan ng magiging kasapi ng Katipunan. Ang orihinal na pamagat ng “Kartilya ng Katpunan” ay “Mga
Aral ng Katipunan Ng Mga Anak ng Bayan” at hinahangaan noon ar ngayon dahil sa matalinghaga ngunit eksaktong
pormulasyon ng mga tuntunin sa buhay na dapat sundin ng isang Katipunero. Ang unang pangungusap nitó: “Ang
kabuhayang hindi ginugol sa isang malaki at banal na kadahilanan ay kahoy na walang lilim kundi man damong
makamandag” ay tila isang kredo hinggil sa paglilingkod sa bayan at sa kapuwa tao.

Mapapansin sa “Kartilya ng Katipunan” ang tuntuning moral at etiko na nais pairalin sa Katipunan bilang tunay na
kapatirang Filipino. Idinidiin nitó ang pag-ibig sa kapuwa at pagtutulungan, ang paniniwala sa katwiran, at ang pag-iingat
sa dangal at puri bilang tao. Gayunman, taglay din nitó ang pangunahing mga simulaing demokratiko, gaya ng
pagkakapantay ng tao anuman ang kulay ng balát, antas ng kabuhayan, at pinag-aralan. Ipinangangaral din nitó ang
mataas na pagtingin sa kababaihan at ang mabigat na tungkulin ng lalaki na alagaan ang asawa at anak. Sa dulo, iginiit
ang pag-ibig sa kalayaan at ang kahandaan ng kasapi na ihandog ang sarili para sa bayan. Wika nga ni Jacinto, ang
“kamahalan ng tao” ay tinitimbang alinsunod sa “magandang asal, may isang pangungusap, may dangal at puri” at lalo
na”y “di napaaapi’t di nakikiapi,” at “marunong magdamdam at marunong lumingap sa bayang tinubuan.” (KLL)
Source: https://philippineculturaleducation.com.ph/kartilya-ng-katipunan/

The Declaration of Philippine Independence on 12 June 1898

Written by Philippine Embassy Webmaster
Wednesday, 11 June 2008

The Philippine Declaration of Independence occurred in Kawit, Cavite on 12 June 1898 where Filipino revolutionary
forces under General Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed the sovereignty and independence of the Philippine islands from
Spanish colonization after the latter was defeated at the Battle of Manila Bay on 1 May 1898 during the Spanish-
American War. It was declared a national holiday and was witnessed by thousands of people who gathered in Kawit to
witness the historic event.

The declaration, however, was not recognized by the United States or Spain, as the Spanish government ceded the
Philippines (and other Spanish colonial territories) to the United States in the 1898 Treaty of Paris signed on 10
December 1898 in consideration for an indemnity for Spanish expenses and assets lost.

The Act of the Declaration of Independence was prepared and written by Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista in Spanish, who
also read the said declaration. A passage in the Declaration reminds one of another passage in the American Declaration
of Independence. The Philippine Declaration was signed by ninety-eight persons, among them an American army officer
who witnessed the proclamation. The Act declared that the Filipinos “are and have the right to be free and
independent,” and that the nation from ”this day commences to have a life of its own, with every political tie between
Filipinas and Spain severed and annulled”.

The event saw the National Flag of the Philippines, designed by General Aguinaldo and made in Hongkong by Mrs.
Marcela Agoncillo, Lorenza Agoncillo and Delfina Herboza unfurled for the first time. This was followed by the
performance of the “Marcha Filipina Magdalo” now known as “Lupang Hinirang”, the National Anthem. The composer,
Julian Felipe. was a music teacher from Cavite. The lyrics to the anthem were sourced a year after from the poem of Jose
Palma entitled “Filipinas”.
General Aguinaldo explained the symbolism of the Filipino flag. Each of the three colors has an appropriate meaning:

a. the lower red stripe represents patriotism and valor

b. the upper blue stripe signifies peace, truth and justice
c. the white triangle stands for equality

The three stars indicate the three geographical areas of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

The eight rays of the sun refer to first eight provinces of Manila, Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Bataan, Laguna,
Batangas and Cavite which took up arms against Spain and were placed under martial law by the Spaniards at the start
of the Philippine Revolution in 1896.

Sources: Agoncillo and Guerrero, History of the Filipino People

Zaide, S. The Philippines: A Unique Nation
Wikipedia
Link: http://www.philippine-embassy.de/bln/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=536&lang=en

The Philippines During Martial Law

Proclamation of Martial Law: On September 21, 1972, President Ferdinand E. Marcos placed the Philippines under
Martial Law. The declaration issued under Proclamation 1081 suspended the civil rights and imposed military authority
in the country. Marcos defended the declaration stressing the need for extra powers to quell the rising wave of violence
allegedly caused by communists. The emergency rule was also intended to eradicate the roots of rebellion and promote
a rapid trend for national development. The autocrat assured the country of the legality of Martial Law emphasizing the
need for control over civil disobedience that displays lawlessness. Marcos explained citing the provisions from the
Philippine Constitution that Martial Law is a strategic approach to legally defend the Constitution and protect the
welfare of the Filipino people from the dangerous threats posed by Muslim rebel groups and Christian vigilantes that
places national security at risk during the time. Marcos explained that martial law was not a military takeover but was
then the only option to resolve the country’s dilemma on rebellion that stages national chaos threatening the peace and
order of the country. The emergency rule, according to Marcos’s plan, was to lead the country into what he calls a “New
Society”.

Marcos used several events to justify martial law. Threat to the country’s security was intensifying following the re-
establishment of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) in 1968. Supporters of CPP’s military arm, the New
People’s Army, also grew in numbers in Tarlac and other parts of the country. The alleged attempt to the life of then
Minister of Defense Juan Ponce Enrile gave Marcos a window to declare Martial Law. Marcos announced the emergency
rule the day after the shooting incident. Marcos also declared insurgency in the south caused by the clash between
Muslims and Christians, which Marcos considered as a threat to national security. The Muslims were defending their
ancestral land against the control of Christians who migrated in the area. The minority group organized the Moro
National Liberation Front (MNLF) in Malaysia and pushed for the autonomy of Mindanao from the national government.

Juan Ponce EnrileThe move was initially supported by most Filipinos and was viewed by some critics as a change that
solved the massive corruption in the country. Martial law ceased the clash between the executive and legislative
branches of the government and a bureaucracy characterized by special interest. Marcos started to implement reforms
on social and political values that hindered effective modernization. To match the accomplishments of its Asian
neighbors, Marcos imposed the need for self-sacrifice for the attainment of national welfare. His reforms targeted his
rivals within the elite depriving them of their power and patronage but did not affect their supporters (US Library of
Congress, Martial Law and the Aftermath).
Thirty-thousand opposition figures including Senator Benigno Aquino, journalists, student and labor activists were
detained at military compounds under the President’s command (Proclamation 1081 and Martial Law). The army and
the Philippine Constabulary seized weapons and disbanded private armies controlled by prominent politicians and other
influential figures (Proclamation 1081 and Martial Law). Marcos took control of the legislature and closed the Philippine
Congress (Proclamation 1081 and Martial Law). Numerous media outfits were either closed down or operated under
tight control (Proclamation 1081 and Martial Law). Marcos also allegedly funnelled millions of the country’s money by
placing some of his trusted supporters in strategic economic positions to channel resources to him. Experts call this the
“crony capitalism.”

Former Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr.The deterioration of the political and economic condition in the Philippines
triggered the decline of support on Marcos’ plans. More and more Filipinos took arms to dislodge the regime. Urban
poor communities in the country’s capital were organized by the Philippine Ecumenical Council for Community and were
soon conducting protest masses and prayer rallies. These efforts including the exposure of numerous human rights
violations pushed Marcos to hold an election in 1978 and 1981 in an aim to stabilize the country’s chaotic condition.
Marcos, in both events, won the election; however, his extended term as President of the Republic of the Philippines
elicited an extensive opposition against his regime. Social unrest reached its height after former Senator Benigno Aquino
was murdered. The incident sent thousands of Filipinos to the streets calling for Marcos’ removal from post. Turning
again to his electoral strategy, Marcos held a snap election in 1986 but what he hoped will satisfy the masses only
increased their determination to end his rule that seated Corazon Aquino, widow of Benigno Aquino, as President of the
Philippines ousting Marcos from Malacañang Palace and ending the twenty-one years of tyrant rule.
Link: https://www.philippine-history.org/martial-law-philippines.htm

Revisit Cory Aquino’s Historic 1986 Speech Before The US Congress

11 times interrupted by applause, ending with a standing ovation.

When former President Corazon Aquino spoke before a joint session of the United States Congress in September of
1986, the dust was only beginning to settle. It was her first visit to America since the dictator Ferdinand Marcos had
been deposed in February of the same year, and the Philippines was reckoning with everything his administration had
inflicted. That included $26 billion in total foreign debt, and a communist insurgency that grew, throughout the Marcos
era, from 500 armed guerillas to 16,000. We were just at the start of a long road to recovery.

So Aquino lodged an appeal for help. Addressing the House, she delivered a historic speech that managed to sway in our
favor the vote for an emergency $200-million aid appropriation. In the moving speech penned by her speechwriter (and
our current ambassador to the United Nations) Teddy Locsin, Jr., Aquino defended her reconciliatory stand on the
communist insurgency—a sensitive issue in the U.S., given that this was 1986—and asked for financial aid towards
rebuilding the Philippine economy.

"We fought for honor, and, if only for honor, we shall pay," she said, agreeing to pay the debt that was stolen by Marcos.
"And yet, should we have to wring the payments from the sweat of our men’s faces and sink all the wealth piled up by
the bondsman’s two hundred fifty years of unrequited toil?"

The speech was impassioned, deeply personal, and effective; interrupted 11 times by applause and bookended with
standing ovations. House Speaker Tip O'Neill called it the "finest speech I've ever heard in my 34 years in Congress."
Senate Majority Leader Robert Dole told her, "Cory, you hit a home run." And House Minority Whip Trent Lott said,
"Let's just say the emotion of the moment saved the day." It would go down in the annals of our history as one of the
former President's finest speeches.
Link: https://www.esquiremag.ph/politics/news/revisit-cory-aquino-s-historic-1986-speech-before-the-us-congress-
a00207-20180125
First Mass in the Philippines
The first Catholic Mass in the Philippines was held on March 31, 1521, Easter Sunday. It was said by Father Pedro de
Valderrama along the shores of what was referred to in the journals of Antonio Pigafetta as "Mazaua".

Today, this site is widely believed by many to be Limasawa at the tip of Southern Leyte,[1] though this is contested by
some who assert that the first mass was instead held at Masao, Butuan.[2]
Landing on Philippine shores
When Ferdinand Magellan and his European crew sailed from San Lucar de Barrameda for an expedition to search for
spices, these explorers landed on the Philippines after their voyage from other proximate areas. On March 28, 1521,
while at sea, they saw a bonfire which turned out to be Mazaua (believed to be today's Limasawa) where they
anchored.[3]

Blood compact
The island's sovereign ruler was Rajah Siaiu. When Magellan and comrades set foot on the grounds of Mazaua, he
befriended the Rajah together with his brother Rajah Kulambu of Butuan. In those days, it was customary among the
indigenous—and in most of southeast Asia—to seal friendship with a blood compact. On instigation of Magellan who
had heard the Malayan term for it, casi casi, the new friends performed the ritual. This was the first recorded blood
compact between Filipinos and Spaniards. Gifts were exchanged by the two parties when the celebration had
ended.[4][5]

First Mass
On March 31, 1521, an Easter Sunday, Magellan ordered a Mass to be celebrated which was officiated by Father Pedro
Valderrama, the Andalusion chaplain of the fleet, the only priest then. Conducted near the shores of the island, the First
Holy Mass marked the birth of Roman Catholicism in the Philippines. Colambu and Siaiu were the first natives of the
archipelago, which was not yet named "Philippines" until the expedition of Ruy Lopez de Villalobos in 1543, to attend
the Mass among other native inhabitants.[4][6]

Planting of the cross

In the afternoon of the same day, Magellan instructed his comrades to plant a large wooden cross on the top of the hill
overlooking the sea.[7] Magellan's chronicler, Antonio Pigafetta, who recorded the event said:

"After the cross was erected in position, each of us repeated a Pater Noster and an Ave Maria, and adored the cross; and
the kings [Colambu and Siaiu] did the same."[8]

Magellan then took ownership of the islands where he had landed in the name of King Charles V which he had named
earlier on March 16 Archipelago of Saint Lazarus because it was the day of the saint when the Armada reached the
archipelago.[4][6]
Proclamation of the national shrine
On June 19, 1960, Republic Act No. 2733, called the Limasawa Law, was enacted without Executive approval on June 19,
1960.[9] The legislative fiat declared The site in Magallanes, Limasawa Island in the Province of Leyte, where the first
Mass in the Philippines was held is hereby declared a national shrine to commemorate the birth of Christianity in the
Philippines.[10] Magallanes is east of the island of Limasawa. In 1984 Imelda Marcos had a multi-million pesos Shrine of
the First Holy Mass built, an edifice made of steel, bricks and polished concrete, and erected on top of a hill overlooking
barangay Magallanes, Limasawa. A super typhoon completely wiped this out just a few months later. Another shrine was
inaugurated in 2005.[11]
Limasawa celebrates the historic and religious coming of the Spaniards every March 31 with a cultural presentation and
anniversary program dubbed as Sinugdan, meaning "beginning.".[12] Yet this has no reference at all to a Catholic mass
being held on March 31, 1521.
Historical controversies
Masao
Some Filipino historians have long contested the idea that Limasawa was the site of the first Catholic mass in the
country.[13] Historian Sonia Zaide identified Masao (also Mazaua) in Butuan as the location of the first Christian mass.[7]
The basis of Zaide's claim is the diary of Antonio Pigafetta, chronicler of Magellan's voyage. In 1995 then
Congresswoman Ching Plaza of Agusan del Norte-Butuan City filed a bill in Congress contesting the Limasawa hypothesis
and asserting the "site of the first mass" was Butuan.[14] The Philippine Congress referred the matter to the National
Historical Institute for it to study the issue and recommend a historical finding. Then NHI chair Dr. Samuel K. Tan
reaffirmed Limasawa as the site of the first mass.[15]

Bolinao
Odoric of Pordenone, an Italian and Franciscan friar and missionary explorer, is heartily believed by many Pangasinenses
to have celebrated the first mass in Pangasinan in around 1324 that would have predated the mass held in 1521 by
Ferdinand Magellan. A marker in front of Bolinao Church states that the first Mass on Philippine soil was celebrated in
Bolinao Bay in 1324 by a Franciscan missionary, Blessed Odorico.

However, there is scholarly doubt that Odoric was ever at the Philippines.[16] Ultimately, the National Historical
Institute led by its chair Ambeth Ocampo recognized the historical records of Limasawa in Southern Leyte as the venue
of the first Mass, held on March 31, 1521.
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Mass_in_the_Philippines

1872 Cavite mutiny

The Cavite mutiny of 1872 was an uprising of Filipino military personnel of Fort San Felipe, the Spanish arsenal in
Cavite,[1]:107 Philippine Islands (then also known as part of the Spanish East Indies) on January 23, 1872. Around 200
locally recruited colonial troops and laborers rose up in the belief that it would elevate to a national uprising. The mutiny
was unsuccessful, and government soldiers executed many of the participants and began to crack down on a burgeoning
Philippines nationalist movement. Many scholars believe that the Cavite Mutiny of 1872 was the beginning of Filipino
nationalism that would eventually lead to the Philippine Revolution of 1896.[2]

Causes
The primary cause of the mutiny is believed to be an order from Governor-General Rafael de Izquierdo to subject the
soldiers of the Engineering and Artillery Corps to personal taxes, from which they were previously exempt. The taxes
required them to pay a monetary sum as well as to perform forced labor called, polo y servicio. The mutiny was sparked
on January 20, when the laborers received their pay and realized the taxes as well as the falla, the fine one paid to be
exempt from forced labor, had been deducted from their salaries.

Battle
Their leader was Fernando La Madrid, a mestizo sergeant with his second in command Jaerel Brent Senior, a moreno.
They seized Fort San Felipe and killed eleven Spanish officers. The mutineers thought that fellow Filipino indigenous
soldiers in Manila would join them in a concerted uprising, the signal being the firing of rockets from the city walls on
that night.[1]:107 Unfortunately, what they thought to be the signal was actually a burst of fireworks in celebration of
the feast of Our Lady of Loreto, the patron of Sampaloc. The plan was to set fires in Tondo in order to distract the
authorities while the artillery regiment and infantry in Manila could take control of Fort Santiago and use cannon shots
as signals to Cavite. All Spaniards were to be killed, except for the women.[3] News of the mutiny reached Manila,
supposedly through the lover of a Spanish sergeant, who then informed his superiors, and the Spanish authorities feared
for a massive Filipino uprising. The next day, a regiment led by General Felipe Ginovés besieged the fort until the
mutineers surrendered. Ginovés then ordered his troops to fire at those who surrendered, including La Madrid. The
rebels were formed in a line, when Colonel Sabas asked who would not cry out, "Viva España", and shot the one man
who stepped forward.[1]:107 The rest were imprisoned.[1]:107

Aftermath
In the immediate aftermath of the mutiny, some Filipino soldiers were disarmed and later sent into exile on the
southern island of Mindanao. Those suspected of directly supporting the mutineers were arrested and executed. The
mutiny was used by the colonial government and Spanish friars to implicate three secular priests, Mariano Gómez, José
Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora, collectively known as Gomburza. They were executed by garrote on the Luneta field, also
known in the Tagalog language as Bagumbayan, on 17th February 1872.[1]:107 These executions, particularly those of
the Gomburza, were to have a significant effect on people because of the shadowy nature of the trials. José Rizal, whose
brother Paciano was a close friend of Burgos, dedicated his work, El filibusterismo, to these three priests.

On January 27, 1872, Governor-General Rafael Izquierdo approved the death sentences on forty-one of the mutineers.
On February 6, eleven more were sentenced to death, but these were later commuted to life imprisonment. Others
were exiled to other islands of the colonial Spanish East Indies such as Guam, Mariana Islands, including the father of
Pedro Paterno, Maximo Paterno, Antonio M. Regidor y Jurado, and José María Basa.[1]:107–108 The most important
group created a colony of Filipino expatriates in Europe, particularly in the Spanish capital of Madrid and Barcelona,
where they were able to create small insurgent associations and print publications that were to advance the claims of
the seeding Philippine Revolution.

Finally, a decree was made, stating there were to be no further ordinations /appointments of Filipinos as Roman
Catholic parish priests.[1]:107 In spite of the mutiny, the Spanish authorities continued to employ large numbers of
native Filipino troops, carabineros and civil guards in their colonial forces through the 1870s–1890s until the Spanish–
American War of 1898.[4]

Back story
During the short trial, the captured mutineers testified against José Burgos. The state witness, Francisco Saldua, declared
that he had been told by one of the Basa brothers that the government of Father Burgos would bring a navy fleet of the
United States to assist a revolution with which Ramón Maurente, the supposed field marshal, was financing with 50,000
pesos. The heads of the friar orders held a conference and decided to dispose Burgos by implicating him to a plot. One
Franciscan friar disguised as Burgos and suggested a mutiny to the mutineers. The senior friars used an una fuerte suma
de dinero or a banquet to convince Governor-General Rafael de Izquierdo that Burgos was the mastermind of the coup.
Gómez and Zamora were close associates of Burgos, so they too were included in the allegations.
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1872_Cavite_mutiny

Retraction controversy (Jose Rizal)

Several historians report that Rizal retracted his anti-Catholic ideas through a document which stated: "I retract with all
my heart whatever in my words, writings, publications and conduct have been contrary to my character as a son of the
Catholic Church."[note 11] However, there are doubts of its authenticity given that there is no certificate[clarification
needed] of Rizal's Catholic marriage to Josephine Bracken.[54] Also there is an allegation that the retraction document
was a forgery.[55]

After analyzing six major documents of Rizal, Ricardo Pascual concluded that the retraction document, said to have been
discovered in 1935, was not in Rizal's handwriting. Senator Rafael Palma, a former President of the University of the
Philippines and a prominent Mason, argued that a retraction is not in keeping with Rizal's character and mature
beliefs.[56] He called the retraction story a "pious fraud."[57] Others who deny the retraction are Frank Laubach,[19] a
Protestant minister; Austin Coates,[30] a British writer; and Ricardo Manapat, director of the National Archives.[58]
Those who affirm the authenticity of Rizal's retraction are prominent Philippine historians such as Nick Joaquin,[note 12]
Nicolas Zafra of UP[59] León María Guerrero III,[note 13] Gregorio Zaide,[61] Guillermo Gómez Rivera, Ambeth
Ocampo,[58] John Schumacher,[62] Antonio Molina,[63] Paul Dumol[64] and Austin Craig.[22] They take the retraction
document as authentic, having been judged as such by a foremost expert on the writings of Rizal, Teodoro Kalaw (a 33rd
degree Mason) and "handwriting experts...known and recognized in our courts of justice", H. Otley Beyer and Dr. José I.
Del Rosario, both of UP.[59]

Historians also refer to 11 eyewitnesses when Rizal wrote his retraction, signed a Catholic prayer book, and recited
Catholic prayers, and the multitude who saw him kiss the crucifix before his execution. A great grand nephew of Rizal, Fr.
Marciano Guzman, cites that Rizal's 4 confessions were certified by 5 eyewitnesses, 10 qualified witnesses, 7
newspapers, and 12 historians and writers including Aglipayan bishops, Masons and anti-clericals.[65] One witness was
the head of the Spanish Supreme Court at the time of his notarized declaration and was highly esteemed by Rizal for his
integrity.[66]

Because of what he sees as the strength these direct evidence have in the light of the historical method, in contrast with
merely circumstantial evidence, UP professor emeritus of history Nicolas Zafra called the retraction "a plain unadorned
fact of history."[59] Guzmán attributes the denial of retraction to "the blatant disbelief and stubbornness" of some
Masons.[65] To explain the retraction Guzman said that the factors are the long discussion and debate which appealed
to reason and logic that he had with Fr. Balaguer, the visits of his mentors and friends from the Ateneo, and the grace of
God due the numerous prayers of religious communities.[65]

Supporters see in the retraction Rizal's "moral courage...to recognize his mistakes,"[61][note 14] his reversion to the
"true faith", and thus his "unfading glory,"[66] and a return to the "ideals of his fathers" which "did not diminish his
stature as a great patriot; on the contrary, it increased that stature to greatness."[69] On the other hand, senator Jose
Diokno stated, "Surely whether Rizal died as a Catholic or an apostate adds or detracts nothing from his greatness as a
Filipino... Catholic or Mason, Rizal is still Rizal – the hero who courted death 'to prove to those who deny our patriotism
that we know how to die for our duty and our beliefs'."
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Rizal#Retraction_controversy

Cry of Pugad Lawin

The Cry of Pugad Lawin (Filipino: Sigaw ng Pugad Lawin), alternately and originally referred to as the Cry of Balintawak
(Filipino: Sigaw ng Balíntawak, Spanish: Grito de Balíntawak), was the beginning of the Philippine Revolution against the
Spanish Empire.[1]

At the close of August 1896, members of the Katipunan secret society (Katipuneros) led by Andrés Bonifacio rose up in
revolt somewhere in an area referred to as Caloocan,[2] wider than the jurisdiction of present-day Caloocan City which
may have overlapped into present-day Quezon City.[3]

Originally the term "cry" referred to the first clash between the Katipuneros and the Civil Guards (Guardia Civil). The cry
could also refer to the tearing up of community tax certificates (cédulas personales) in defiance of their allegiance to
Spain. This was literally accompanied by patriotic shouts.[4]

Because of competing accounts and ambiguity of the place where this event took place, the exact date and place of the
Cry is in contention.[3][4] From 1908 until 1963, the official stance was that the cry occurred on August 26 in Balintawak.
In 1963 the Philippine government declared a shift to August 23 in Pugad Lawin, Quezon City.[4
Different dates and places
Various accounts give differing dates and places for the Cry. An officer of the Spanish guardia civil, Lt. Olegario Diaz,
stated that the Cry took place in Balintawak on August 25, 1896. Historian Teodoro Kalaw in his 1925 book The Filipino
Revolution wrote that the event took place during the last week of August 1896 at Kangkong, Balintawak. Santiago
Alvarez, a Katipunero and son of Mariano Alvarez, the leader of the Magdiwang faction in Cavite, stated in 1927 that the
Cry took place in Bahay Toro, now in Quezon City on August 24, 1896. Pío Valenzuela, a close associate of Andrés
Bonifacio, declared in 1948 that it happened in Pugad Lawin on August 23, 1896. Historian Gregorio Zaide stated in his
books in 1954 that the "Cry" happened in Balintawak on August 26, 1896. Fellow historian Teodoro Agoncillo wrote in
1956 that it took place in Pugad Lawin on August 23, 1896, based on Pío Valenzuela's statement. Accounts by historians
Milagros Guerrero, Emmanuel Encarnacion and Ramon Villegas claim the event to have taken place in Tandang Sora's
barn in Gulod, Barangay Banlat, Quezon City.[5][6]

Some of the apparent confusion is in part due to the double meanings of the terms "Balintawak" and "Caloocan" at the
turn of the century. Balintawak referred both to a specific place in modern Caloocan City and a wider area which
included parts of modern Quezon City. Similarly, Caloocan referred to modern Caloocan City and also a wider area which
included modern Quezon City and part of modern Pasig. Pugad Lawin, Pasong Tamo, Kangkong and other specific places
were all in "greater Balintawak", which was in turn part of "greater Caloocan".
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cry_of_Pugad_Lawin#Different_dates_and_places

Moro Pirates
Sultan Israel was poisoned in 1778 by his cousin Alimud Din II, the son of Bantilan. During the reign of Sultan Alimud Din
II, hostilities between Sulus and Spaniards increased, and for the period of ten years or more traffic between Luzon and
the southern islands was paralyzed. About 500 Spanish and native Christians were every year carried into captivity by
the Moros. The government was greatly exercised over this grave situation, and in 1789 the Captain-General Mariquina
reported to the King that “war with the Moros was an evil without remedy.”

In the latter part of 1789 Sharapud Din, the son of Alimud Din I, ascended the throne of Sulu. While a youth he was
imprisoned with his father in Zamboanga and accompanied the latter to Manila. Very little is known of his reign except
that he was animated by the same spirit and principles which characterized his father’s reign and that of his brother
Israel. He coined money, and one of his coins which was obtained from Jolo bears the date 1204 A. H., which was
probably the date of his succession. Sultan Sharapud Din was followed by his sons Alimud Din III and Aliyud Din I.

The continued presence of the Moros in Mindoro, where they haunted the bays and rivers of both east and west coasts
for months at a time, stealing out from this island for attack in every direction, was specially noted by Padre Zuñiga,
[192]and indicated how feebly the Spaniards repulsed these pirates a hundred years ago.

It was the last severe phase of Malay piracy, when even the strong merchant ships of England and America dreaded the
Straits of Borneo and passed with caution through the China Sea. Northern Borneo, the Sulu Archipelago, and the
southern coasts of Mindanao were the centers from which came these fierce sea wolves, whose cruel exploits have left
their many traditions in the American and British merchant navies, just as they periodically appear in the chronicles of
the Philippines.

Five hundred captives annually seem to have been the spoils taken by these Moros in the Philippine Islands, and as far
south as Batavia and Macassar captive Filipinos were sold in the slave marts of the Malays. The aged and infirm were
inhumanly bartered to the savage tribes of Borneo, who offered them up in their ceremonial sacrifices. The measures of
the Spanish Government, though constant and expensive, were ineffective. Between 1778 and 1793 a million and a half
of pesos were expended on the fleets and expeditions to drive back or punish the Moros, but at the end of the century a
veritable climax of piracy was attained.
Pirates swarmed continually about the coasts of Mindoro, Burias, and Masbate, and even frequented the esteros73 of
Manila Bay. Some sort of peace seems to have been established with Jolo and a friendly commerce was engaged in
toward the end of the century, but the Moros of Mindanao and Borneo were increasing enemies. In 1798 a fleet of 25
Moro bancas passed up the Pacific coast of Luzon and fell upon the isolated towns of Baler, Kasiguran, and Palanan,
destroying the pueblos and taking 450 captives. The cura of Kasiguran was ransomed in Binangonan for the sum of 2,500
pesos. For four years this pirate fleet had its rendezvous on Burias, whence it raided the adjacent coasts and Katanduan
Island.74

Governor Aguilar assumed command in 1793 and made every effort to remedy this condition of affairs. He divided the
Archipelago into six divisions, each of which was provided with a fleet of six gunboats. He repaired the forts of the
Bisayas, Mindoro, Tayabas, Batangas, and Zamboanga. While preparing for defence, he negotiated with the Sulu and
Mindanao Moros for peace and partially succeeded in establishing a condition of truce with Sulu.

In 1798 he convened a council to consider further measures for the suppression of piracy. All records pertaining to Moro
affairs were submitted to Rufino Suarez, “Asesor del Gobierno,” who was directed to report on this subject. The report
was rendered in April, 1800, and contained full information and recommendations as to the best measures and methods
that the government could undertake for that purpose. Aguilar, however, did not act on the recommendations of
Suarez, but continued his negotiations with the Moros who became peaceful and [193]remained so until 1803. In this
year the English attacked Zamboanga unsuccessfully, instigated hostility between Sulu and Spain, and reoccupied the
Island of Balambangan, which they held for three years only.

In 1805 a treaty was made between Sulu and Spain whereby it was agreed that no foreign resident would be permitted
in Sulu without the consent of the Spanish Government, and that in case of war between Spain and any foreign country,
the Sultan’s ports would be closed against Spain’s enemies. Between 1805 and 1815 detailed accounts of piratical raids
are infrequent.

Sultan Aliyud Din died in 1808 and was succeeded by his pious brother Shakirul Lah. It is related that Shakirul Lah slept
on boards and covered himself with sarongs only. He used to leave his home at night, search for the poor and needy and
feed them.

In 1815, the raiders took 1,000 native prisoners and captured several Spanish, British, and Dutch vessels. In October,
1818, a Spanish fleet under Pedro Esteban encountered 25 Moro vessels in the vicinity of Albay, seized nine of them and
sank the rest.

Sultan Shakirul Lah was succeeded in 1823 by Sultan Jamalul Kiram I, the son of Alimud Din III. In the same year,
Governor Antonio Martinez, impressed by the superior policy and success of Corcuera, organized an expedition under
Alonso Morgado and attacked the pirates in their home lairs, at Basilan, Pilas, Sulu, and Mindanao. The Spanish fleet
consisted of 2 schooners, 4 gunboats, 6 tenders, 2 junks, and 1 transport schooner. The expedition reached Pilas in
March, 1825, took the fort by assault and killed 50 Moros. At Jolo it cannonaded the town for ten hours and then left for
Mindanao, where it inflicted considerable damage. It destroyed Moro boats at Illana Bay, Pollok, and Dumankilis Bay.

General Ricafort sent another expedition, in 1827, to Jolo, consisting of 20 vessels and 500 troops; but Jolo was so well
fortified and the Moro forces so numerous that the Spanish soldiers could not disembark, and the expedition returned
without accomplishing any results.

The seal of Sultan Jamalul Kiram I bears the date 1239 A. H., or about 1823 A. D., which in all probability indicates the
year of his succession. He issued regular appointment forms for his subordinate officers of state and dated his
communications, using the current Malay and Mohammedan dates combined. In the estimation of the Sulus he was a
strong and very prosperous sultan.
On the 23d of September, 1836 A. D. or 1252 A. H., he signed a commercial treaty with Capt. José M. Halcon as the
representative of [194]Captain-General Salazar.75 The principal part of the treaty was an agreement regulating boat
licenses and the duties to be paid by Sulu boats in Manila and Zamboanga and by Spanish vessels in Jolo. In another
document bearing the same date and signed by the same parties, an alliance was declared guaranteeing general peace
and safety to Sulu boats in Philippine waters and to Spanish and Filipino craft in the Sulu Sea. The sultan further
consented to have a Spanish trading house constructed at Jolo for the safe storage of merchandise under the charge of a
Spanish resident agent.
Link: https://historyofsulu.wordpress.com/2014/07/17/moro-pirates/