KAS1 – Lectures
of a culture, society or a certain period of time)
UNDERSTANDING HISTORY
INTRODUCTION
History (by definition)
 Edward H. Carr - is a continuous interaction
between the historian and his facts; an unending
dialogue between the past and the present.
o Facts to History are the “bones” to an
organism; it can’t stand on its own. Facts
serve as the foundation of History
o Interpretation serve as the “flesh and
blood” which constitutes the rest of
history. Interpretation rely on the Facts
which helps build History as a whole
 Benedeto Croce – All History is Contemporary
History
o Contemporary in the sense that
historians continuously relive the past as
they are studying it.
 Renato Constantino – History as a History of
Struggle
o Marxist perspective – central idea: class
struggle (Capitalism VS Communism)
 Bonifacio – epitome of the
working-class citizen; was
proposed to be the national hero
instead of Rizal (who is an elite)
Cold War – affected Constantino’s view and
interpretation of History
HISTORY AS A DISCIPLINE
“History straddles both art and science” – Keith
Windschuttle, The Killing of History
Fundamental Objectives:
1. Record the truth about what happened in the past
2. Produce a body of knowledge about the past
3. Study the past th-rough a discipline method or the
Historical Method
History is an open-ended argument; it has no finality and
could be re-opened by providing new information of
existing evidence
Point for discussion: Difference between Historical Truth
and Historical Facts
Case Study: Limasawa and Masawa
 First mass occurred in Limasawa because of the
number of evidences supporting it (Gancayco)
o Why are there discrepancies regarding
the first mass?
History as an ART
- It deals with mankind and its interactions
between different people
- History is a form of literature (a written product
o Written in Prose
o it relays history though a narrative as
told by the historian.
o It is dynamic in the sense that it shows
continuity over time
History as a SCIENCE
- It is a systematized body of knowledge;
organized
- Contributes to knowledge through research and
the scientific method
- It deals with the physical and natural world
History VS Chronology
Chronology
 listing of events in sequence depending on how
it had happened;
 does not attempt to show the connections
between events
 does not necessitate further interpretation and
expounding
 an auxillary to history to supplement its narrative
o How does chronology supplement
history?
Studying History
History may be:
 Multi-Casual – has many reasons
 Multi-Consequential – has many effects and
repercussions
Leopold Von Ranke
- Proposed the idea of Positivism in history
- Positivist view of history: makes history more
scientific by basing on empirical evidences for
interpretation
o “No Document, No History”
o Why did Positivism receive criticisms
from the field studying of History?
Historical Imagination – inferred interpretations of
history grounded from empirical evidences and artifacts.
History is built on different discourses from different
interpretations due to different biases of the historians –
hence history is a conversation
ELEMENTS OF HISTORY
1. Time
- An abstract notion in which events
occur which may refer to both the actual
time and context of the situation
- It is an immaterial aspect of history
which can be viewed as:
- Linear – events occur in
succession
- Two Dimensional – living in the
present as we remember the
past
 o Why is the future not  History must be viewed in the grander scheme
included in the 2D of things.
perspective of time? Criticisms on Sources of History
2. Space – Spatial notion in which events occur  External – lower type of analysis; establishes the
3. People authenticity of the document through its physical
- the most decisive element in history or external characteristics
which dictates how events move forward o Carbon Dating
- Creates and records events as they o Material used
occur (No people = No History) o Physical Condition
- Are events prior to the existence o Location
of humans considered as  Internal – higher type of analysis; analyzes the
history? content of the document
o Accuracy of Information
Case Study: Legality of Slavery o Writing Style / Penmanship
 Slavery, at its time was legal unlike today which o Terminologies used and their meanings
is now banned (as these may change over time)
 This tells us that Slavery is context-dependent,  Semantics – study of meaning
which heavily relies on its spatio-temporal in words; the change of these
location (History is always studied at the context meanings over time
of its space and time.)
 Mason-Dixon Line – a resolution which settles
the boundary of free and slave states. PHILOSOPHIES IN HISTORY
o North – Free States This attempts to explain the general movement of history
o South – Slave States and where it is heading. It is theorized based on trends
which may be:
 Cyclical – events in history are recurring or
TYPES OF HISTORY repeating because of an unchanged element,
1. Natural History – history that is provided by the agency, or institution in the past
senses
2. Social History – involves people who can keep Case Study: Cyclical Dynasties (China)
track of events through systems of writing o Ssu Ma Chien – “Grand Historian of
3. Pre-History – a time before the advent of (crude) China”
writing systems  Hsia
 Shang
 Zhou
SOURCES OF HISTORY  Qin
Types of Sources:  Han
1. Primary Sources – first hand accounts that may  Sui
consist of the people present during time of event  Tang
or objects (such as books, documents, artifacts,  Sang
etc.) that were created during the event.  Yuan
2. Secondary Sources – collection and analysis of  Ming
primary sources  Qing
o How can a source act as both the primary o The dynasties in China are viewed as
and secondary source? cyclical because of the Rise-Fall Pattern
which goes as:
Sources must be:  Dynasty
 Corroborated – this is done by looking at the  Malevolence
(other) facts as sources might omit or include  Disaster – caused by the belief
unnecessary information on the Mandate of Heaven
 Evaluated – done by checking the sources used which is given to the emperors
whether or not it is a valid source who rule China and is removed
when they are no longer worthy
Case Study: The effects of Martial Law in different parts  Requirement: Be a
of the Philippines Gentleman
 People living in the city may interpret Martial Law  Revolution
as a very harsh time in Philippine history,  New Dynasty
whereas those living in the countryside might o The Rise-Fall Pattern can also be seen
perceive it as a peaceful time. through other great civilizations as well.
 Points for discussion: With conflicting sources, (i.e. The fall of the Roman Empire due to
which of them is true? greediness on Silk)
  Linear – a view of history where it has a definite  Positivism (see: Leopold Von
beginning and ending; maintains the view that Ranke)
events in history occurs in succession without
repetition; continuum  Nationalist
o Linear Providential – continuous o Believes that history started during 1872
struggle between good and evil; ending  Why is this so?
is determined by God (hence, divine o Emphasizes Masses in action
providence)
Pioneers of the Nationalist movement:
Case Study: City of God and Man  Teodoro Agoncillo
 St. Augustine of Hippo – he o Wrote many accounts
argued the existence of: on Phil. History and the
 De Civitate Dei – City of Revolution
God; beyond time o “Revolt of the Masses”
 De Civitate Terrena – displayed the story of
City of Men; temporal Bonifacio and the
 He viewed the continuous Katipunan
struggle of men to get into the o Before 1872: Lost
City of God History
 Renato Constantino
o Linear Progressive – views history as a o Marxist interpretation of
continuum of progress; events in history History
are caused by man’s effort o Class Reduction:
 Immanuel Kant – progress of Interprets everything as
history is to move away from a class struggle
barbarism to civilization o Argues that Bonifacio
 Karl Marx – views the should be the national
progression of history from: hero as he is an epitome
 Primitive Communism of a working-class
 Feudal citizen. Rizal is an
 Capitalism “American endorsed
 Socialist hero”
 Communism
 Francis Fukuyama – end of  New History
history pertains to the triumph of o “Nouvelle Histoire” (French translation)
western liberal democracy which o Originated from the Annales school of
is seen as the peak of progress thought in France
o Studies history by emphasizing social
 Spiral History - a belief that certain patterns and economic themes rather than
repeats itself over the course of history only at a politics and diplomacy. May also include:
different level; has different rhythms, patterns,  Psychology
and trends  Culture

HISTORIOGRAPHY
Historiography – the history of history writing; does not
deal with the events per se, but the way history is written
 Philippine Historiography – the way Philippine
History is written by historians

Different Perspectives on Philippine Historiography

 Traditional
o focuses on great men in history (political,
economic, and intellectual elite)
o tackles great figures (who are mostly
male) that has made considerable
accomplishments in life
o heavy reliance of written primary
sources
 PRE-COLONIAL PHILIPPINES
GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
Fernand Braudel
 A History of Civilizations – linked with geography
 Geographical Determination – space can affect
history through its topography and climate.
 He disagreed on how characteristics and
attitudes are shaped by geography
Case Study: India and its Geography
o The colonization of the northern part of
India proved to be difficult for Muslims as
they are surrounded by land and water
formations making it difficult to conquer
the area.
Case Study: Imperial Manila
o Miguel Lopez de Legaspi established
settlements in Manila for its
advantageous geographical location
o Legaspi’s first settlements in Cebu and
Panay was unsustainable
o A reconnaissance mission was sent out
to look for better lands
o Manila was chosen as the new
settlements for the Manila Bay; its
location by the sea and the presence of a
port proved to be an advantageous
location to secure goods and resources
 Port
 Geographical Location (Near to
China)
 Why was the proximity near to
China important for Legaspi at
that time?
o The colonization of Manila soon led to the
colonization of the whole Luzon
Geography and History shapes People and vice versa;
they are
THEORIES OF MIGRATION
The Philippine Archipelago was fully formed during the
Late Pleistocene period.
 Land Bridges – appeared due to decreasing
water levels of approx. 200 m which was used by
both animals and humans to migrate
 Ice Age – or the Late Pleistocene occurred due
to faster Glaciation rates than Deglaciation;
happened 4 times.
Theories:
Waves of Migration – umbrella for theories referring to
early people arriving in the Philippines in succession like
waves
1 2
Ambiguous notes; needs clarifications.
clarifications are required.
1. Inland Push Theory – developed by Atley H.
Beyer in the 1970s
a. Austroloid – not fully Homo-Sapiens
b. Pygmoid – Negritos; fought the Indones
over territory but lost and was forced to
move into the mountains
c. Indones – fair-skinned Malay from the
south; won against the Negritos over
plain; they built elevated homes and used
metal tools
i. [Type 1]
ii. [Type 2]
The WMT was later DEBUNKED. Problems
include:
 Race – the use of the term Negritos is
considered racist because they refer to
small, dark-skinned individuals just like
those who lived in Africa (it was coined
by a white person who framed it in a very
racist perspective)
o Racism – classification of
previously unclassified people;
prejudice against people based
on their skin color.
o Colonialism = Racism:
Colonialism referred to saving
people of color from Barbarism
which justified this action.
 Evidence / Methodology – there is no
evidence found to support this theory.
What are Malays and why were they
perceived as a race?
2. Austronesian Migration Hypothesis (Out of
Taiwan Theory) – a theory which pertains to the
most phenomenal cultural and linguistic
expansion in human history that heavily relies on
linguistic evidences.
a. 1200 Languages
b. 3/300 million speakers of language1
A study on human genomes traced evidences back to
Taiwan supporting the AMH2
Why is it considered as the “most
phenomenal”?
Evidences to support AMT:
 Language – “storage house of culture”;
there are similarities in language use
(i.e.: number systems)
o The similarities in number
systems across different
languages suggest a similar
parent language (proto-
Austronesian)
Evidences regarding the AMT is still highly debated. Further
  Flora and Fauna – there are similarities  Water plays a major role in the Spiritual world
in food and animals across different because of the Maritime culture.
countries  Water may refer to the cyclic nature of the
 Tattoos – the cultural significance of universe, hence the bangka was an important
tattoos are present in multiple countries figure in culture representing the vessel for the
as well (i.e.: Maui, pintados, pagbabatik) afterlife.
o Pagbabatik – Batikan (Veteran) o Manunggul Jar (burial jar used by early
inhabitants) features a boat
[insert model here] embellishment on top, which represents
the journey of the soul for the afterlife.
Other Concepts:
Nusantao Maritime and Trading Communication View on the World or Sandaigdigan
Network 1. Kabunian - Heavens
- Developed by Wilhelm Solheim 2. Pugan4 - Mortal plane
- Heavily based on water-based culture (hence, 3. Manlilindol - Below
Maritime)
- Nusantao: refers to a group of people +
descendants living in island South-East Asia with BARANGAY
Maritime-oriented culture regardless of their Barangay
language  Socio-political institution in the Pre-Colonial
- Nusantao – Nesus (South) + Tao Philippines
(People)  30-100 families in size
 Communal communities
Out of Sundaland Model – derived from the NMC which  Independently ruled by a chieftain called datu
refers to how Nusantao developed in Mindanao or Borneo which implies:
- Sundaland: a land mass on top of Sunda shelf o Multiplicity of barangays in Pre-Colonial
(continental shelf where the Philippines is Philippines
located) o No central government
- Based on culture in general through trading o Philippines was not a homogenous
(including artifacts, language, genes, etc.) society.
- Evidence was traced back to Mindanao  developed with slight differences
though the mitochondrial DNA 3  Barangays interact by:
o Trading goods
How does trading affect the assimilation of o Sanduguan – “blood pact”; treaty of
culture? friendship which is done by exchanging
[insert model here] blood with another person = “blood
siblings”
o Interactions may lead to conflict or
DIALECT pangangayaw (raid)
Dialect – variety of language based on geography  Resources
 Sociolect – variety of language depending on  People
social groups. May vary depending on: o Other conflicts:
o Profession or Discipline  Trade conflict
o Self-Identification  Family conflict
o Schools or Universities  Kidnapping of women
 Idiolect – variety of language depending on an
individual’s use or style (i.e.: quirks in speaking or Classification of people according to socio-economic5
preference on using certain terms) status:
Tagalogs Visayas
Maginoo Kadatoan
RELEVANCE OF THE BANGKA Maharlika Timawa
Bangka – has many variations which plays an important Alipin Oripun
role in maritime culture.
 Namamahay  Ayuey – 1 day
 Sanguiguilid  Tumarampuk – 3
Early beliefs:
to 4 days
 Early occupants of the Philippines believe in the
concept of the Physical and Spiritual self which  Tumataban –
applies not only to humans, but the whole world. when summoned

3 5
Just like the AMT theory, clarifications are needed. Socio-economic status is loosely conceptualized. More to
4
Ambiguous notes; needs clarifications. follow.
Alipin
 not equivalent to slave which has racial
connotations.
 “debt bondage” which are dependents to its
masters

The Pre-Colonial Philippines’ socio-economic

classifications are loosely conceptualized which allows
for Social Mobility.

What does social mobility mean and how does it differ to

other cultures?

Personalities in the Barangay

 Datu – political and economic head; chief of the
barangay which maintains peace and order; is
tasked to defend the barangay from external
threats; manages the surplus (controls goods
and how it is distributed in the community)
o Bagani – warrior class which aids the
Datu in defending the barangay (Et:
Austronesian word berani)
 Panday – craftsmen or artisans; head of the
technological aspects of the barangay. In
charge of:
o Gold
o Weapons
o Tools
o Explosives
o Jewelries
o Panday Pira (Currency)
 Babaylan – religious head of the barangay;
also, the cultural, literary, scientific, and
philosophical head of the community. Considered
as a “proto-scientist” who officiates rituals and
other animistic beliefs.
o In terms of power, Babaylan equals the
Datu (Babaylan = serves as the bridge
between the physical and the spiritual)
o Femininity – Babaylans are usually
female because of their ability to give
birth and carry life within themselves.
They are also more intuitive and
perceptive
o Queer Babaylans – in some instances,
males are also chosen to be the
babaylan given the fact that they are
effeminate and embrace their femininity.