“The importance of identifying bias and agenda in historical interpretation.

Historians argue that accounts of past people and events, historical interpretations, and
genetic explanations of historical changes should be accurate and not deceptive. Historians'
prejudice, or their preference for one account over another because it corresponds to their
desires, may lead to inaccurate accounts of the past. It's important to differentiate between
history that is misleading by mistake and history that is misleading due to personal bias, as well
as personal bias from cultural bias and general cultural relativity.

Biased past is deliberate, not unintentional. Motivation will function in a different way
than it did in the previous examples. 'The' A historian's social group may influence his or her
preference for one general theory of human nature over another: People are generally motivated
by reason and theory, according to liberals; they are usually motivated, according to Marxists.
These issues are profoundly ingrained in the traditional presentation of history in textbooks: a
series of facts leading to a predetermined conclusion. To solve these problems, you'll need more
than one source: non-textbook history books and a wide range of historical documents and
objects that offer different voices, accounts, perceptions, and viewpoints on the past. Students
should be aware that historians can disagree about which facts to include in the creation of their
narratives, as well as how those facts should be interpreted. Thus, "history" is commonly
understood to refer to events that occurred in the past; however, written history is a discussion
among historians about not just what occurred, but also why and how events occurred. The
analysis of history entails more than just memorizing facts. It necessitates following and testing
arguments in order to draw useful, though preliminary, conclusions based on the evidence
available.

1. Organizing Facts. Students will create a table organizing the arguments for and
arguments against these two sites to explain why the National Historical Commission of
the Philippines, in 1998, decided that the site is in Limasawa.

Arguments Limasawa Butuan

After several organizations,
Pro
including the CatholicThe Catholic Bishops'
 Conference of the
Philippines, which sent its
own church historian as a
Bishops' Conference of the panel member and several
Philippines, demanded that members of the Church
the location of the 1521 Historians Association of
Easter Sunday Mass be the Philippines, backed the
authenticated, the panel recommendation of the
was established in recent panel headed by
November 2018. historian and National
Artist for Literature Resil
Mojares, according to the
NHCP.
The NHI, the forerunner of
Some proponents believed
the NHCP, had previously
Butuan City in Agusan del
resolved the issue of the
Norte was the true location
historic Mass' exact
of the country's first
position through two expert
Catholic mass, as
Contra panels: the first, chaired by
evidenced by a monument
former Supreme Court
erected in Magallanes town
Justice Emilio Gancayco in
in 1872 commemorating
1995, and the second, led
the said religious
by historian Benito Legarda
occurrence.
in 2008.
2. Identifying Agenda. Students will identify the agenda apparent in the accounts of
Cavite Mutiny by carefully reading the primary sources and filling in the table below.

Pardo de Tavera and

Montero and Izquierdo
Plauchut’s
Accounts
Accounts
The two Spaniards claimed that The accounts in the Cavite mutiny,
the 1872 incident had been include the Spanish Revolution,
organized in advance and that it which overthrew the secular
was the result of a large plot throne, filthy propaganda spread
Agenda
involving educated officials, by an unrestrained press,
mestizos, abogadillos (native democratic, liberal, and republican
lawyers), citizens of Manila and books and pamphlets reaching the
Cavite, and the native clergy. Philippines.
Quotes from The launching of rockets from the They held the Spanish government
accounts that walls of Intramuros was allegedly to account because of their
support the a pre-planned warning among the corruption and demanded reforms.
identified agenda conspirators of Manila and The deaths of the three priests laid
Cavite. According to their the groundwork for the Reform
accounts, the district of Sampaloc Movement, which sought to
celebrated the feast of the Virgin improve conditions colonial
of Loreto on January 20, 1872
oppressors
displays.