#6

Alvarado, Doaniella Benzychel M.

BSA-3B
Activity #1
GEN 115
Readings in Philippine History
1.What is History?
History is derived from the Greek word historia
which means learning by inquiry. The Greek
philosopher, Aristotle, looked upon history as the
systematic accounting of a set of natural
phenomena, that is, taking into consideration the
chronological arrangement of the account. This
explained that knowledge is derived through
conducting a process of scientific investigation
of past events. The word History is referred
usually for accounts of phenomena, especially
human affairs in chronological order.

History deals with the study of past events.

Individuals who write about history are called
historians. They seek to understand the present by
examining what went before. They undertake arduous
historical research to come up with a meaningful
and organized rebuilding of the past. But whose
past are we talking about? This is the basic
questions that the historian needs to answer
because this sets the purpose and framework of a
historical account.
2.Branches of History.

Here are the major branches of history:

Political History: The history of

political systems
Social History: The history of people
and societies
Economic History: The history of the
economies and economic processes
Diplomatic History: The history of
international relations
Art History: The history of various
forms of art
Food History: The history of food
cuisines
 History of Science and Medicine: The
history of medical science
Cultural History: The history of world
cultures
Women’s History: The history of
feminism
Intellectual History: The evolution of
ideas and famous thinkers
Environmental History: The history of
our natural environment and its diverse
components
Political History
While history is commonly seen as a broader
version of political history, this
specialised branch encompasses a blend of
political science with the study of history.
It is one of the commonly opted branches of
history and focuses on the analysis of
political processes, leaders, movements,
events etc. It is concerned with the rise
and fall of different political systems as
well as political leaders throughout varied
incremental phases of history.

Scope of Political Science Social History

Historical events also significantly shape
the apparatus and working of the society and
that’s why this specialisation emerged
amongst multifarious branches of history.
Social history is concerned with the lived
experiences of the past. It is the history
of people, their customs, traditions,
experiences etc. in relation to the major
events of the past.

Economic History
As one of the lesser-known branches of
history, this specialisation amalgamates
economics with the study of historical
events and how they impacted different
economies around the world. Economic history
aims to understand the different economic
processes of the past. It is the study of
markets, industries, means of production,
consumption, working classes etc.

Diplomatic History
As the name suggests, this branch of history
deals with diplomats, diplomatic acts and
processes, and relations between two or more
nations. The topics of war, peace, treaties,
international alliances and organisations
fall under this branch.

Art History
Art history is one of the branches of
history which deals with the study and
analysis of the different visual art forms
such as sculptures, paintings, architecture,
drawings etc. in the context of their time
of creation. It is concerned with unraveling
the processes, evolution and meaning behind
the art forms.

Food History
This branch of history deals with culinary
science in terms of different cultures and
its evolution, origins, development, methods
and techniques of cooking and its
importance. As one of the unique branches of
history, it also studies and analyzes the
sociological, cultural, economic and
environmental impacts of food.

History of Science and Medicine

The history of science and medicine studies
the influence of scientific and medical
developments of the past on society. Many
significant scientific inventions and
inventors have been there in the past and
this branch of history sets out to discover
the renowned as well as forgotten
discoveries in science and medicine.

Cultural History
Culture is another aspect which is
significantly explored in history as an
academic discipline. It is the study of
various aspects of culture including
beliefs, ideas, traditions, rituals,
language etc. This branch of history analyze
the contributions of these aspects in the
creation of cultural identities.

Women's History
One of the prominent branches of History,
Women’s History studies the role of women
throughout the major and transformative
events in the world history. It focuses on
the history of feminism as well as renowned
women in different fields of study from
science, arts, literature to politics.

Intellectual History
This branch of history deals with the
development and evolution of ideas. It is
the study of the thoughts and ideas of
different thinkers and how these played a
role in the shaping of history.

Environmental History
This is a relatively new branch of history
which is concerned with the environment and
its different components. It studies the
effects and influences of human activity and
interaction on the shaping of the
environment and vice versa.
3.Kind of History.

Ancient History
The History of humanity starts when the
first civilization emerged and historians
defined everything that came before as Pre-
History.
Commonly, Ancient history is accepted
to begin around 3000 BCE with the apparition
of early writing system in Mesopotamia. It
extends up until the 6th century CE when the
Western Roman Empire collapsed following a
succession of invasion and the death of the
last Roman Emperor, Romulus Augustulus.

Medieval History
Whereas Ancient History stop in 500 CE,
Modern History only starts around 1500,
depending on the geographic region you are
studying. So what happened during those
roughly 1000 years?
Those ten centuries of history is what
Historians refer to as the Middles Ages or
Medieval times. In Western and Central
Europe this era started when the Roman
Empire collapsed but it is not exactly the
same for all parts of the world.
 Modern History
The Middles Ages slowly faded in Europe
as Renaissance was making its way to a full-
blown social, religious and economic change.
Even though the Renaissance movement started
in Italy around the 13th century, with the
rediscovery of Antic philosopher and the
contact with the scientific knowledge of the
Middle East, Medieval History only ended
around the year 1500 following a few major
events:
The invention of the printing press by
Gutenberg in 1439
The discovery of the Americas by
Christopher Colombus in 1492.
The globalisation of the world and the
acceleration of the exchange of ideas,
goods and money through Europe, the
Middle East and Asia.

Academics commonly split Modern History

into two periods, Early Modern History and
Late Modern History. For students who have
successfully past the admission stage in
their undergraduate degree, Modern History
will probably be studied over more than one
semester along with other humanities
discipline, some elective and some
mandatory.
Early Modern History includes:
The Renaissance, marked by a new school
of thought, Humanism, and the rediscovery
of classical Greek philosophy
The Reformation (the split in Western
Christianity launched by Martin Luther
and sustained by Huldrych Zwingli, John
Calvin and other Protestant Reformers in
16th-century Europe)
The Counter-Reformation, was the Catholic
resurgence launched in response to the
Protestant Reformation, starting with the
Council of Trent (1545–1563) and ending
at the end of the Thirty Years' War
(1648). It was initiated to protect the
power, influence and wealth held by the
Catholic Church.
The Age of Discovery, spanning from the
15th century until the end of the 18th
century and was marked by extensive
overseas exploration which led to a
profound change in European diplomacy and
was the inception of globalization.
The Rise of capitalism, based on the
private ownership of the means of
production and their operation for
profit.
The Golden Age of Piracy, which spans
from the 1650s to the late 1720s and
includes three separate upheavals of
piracy:
 The buccaneering period of approximately 1650
to 1680, characterized by French and English
sailors based in Tortuga and Jamaica and
targeting Spanish ships and colonies
throughout the Caribbeans
The Pirate Round of the 1690s, marked by
long-distance cross sea voyages from the
Americas to rob Muslim and East India Company
possessions in the Indian Ocean and the Red
Sea
The post-Spanish Succession, from 1716 to
1726, when English and American seamen and
privateers, turned to piracy after the end of
the Spanish Succession war and roamed in the
Caribbean, the North American Eastern Coasts,
the West African seaboard, and the Indian
Ocean.

History is such a vast and interesting

subject that most universities and school
institutions offer the possibility to pursue
a History degree or to study history in an
interdisciplinary bachelor of arts degree for
example. You could even look past your
graduation and continue on getting a doctoral
degree in History.
Commonly accepted to start at the end of the
18th century and was marked by major events
such as:
The American Revolution, which ended the
dominion of the British Crown over its
American colonies.
The French Revolution, which ended with
the abolition of monarchy and initiated a
democratic government system.
 The Colonization of Australia, driven by
the need to address overpopulation in the
British prison system, and the fact that
the British Crown had lost the Thirteen
Colonies of America in the American
Revolution.
The Revolutions of 1848, which were a
series of political upheavals across
Europe in 1848 (France, Italy, Denmark,
Germany, Sweden, Belgium, Switzerland and
Ireland were all affected). It continues
to be the most widespread revolutionary
wave in European history.
The Russian Revolution, which was not one
but two revolutions in Russia in 1917
which struck down the Tsarist absolutism
and led to the rise of the Soviet Union.
The Russian Empire fell with the
abdication of Emperor Nicholas II.
The First World War and the Second World
War, from 1914 to 1918 and 1939 to 1945
involved all the main powers of the time
and almost all countries on the planet.
Those two conflicts resulted in the death
of tens of millions of soldiers and
civilians and changed the world order
forever.

If you study civilization and societies, time spent

in the classroom will mainly focus on historical
research and analytical and critical thinking, all
research skills being the requirement for
journalism or a career in sociology.
 Art History
One of the sub-categories of History is
the History of Art. While the main focus of
Historians has mostly been to study and
analyse historical, religious, social and
political events through different periods,
Art History has been focused on something
different.
Art Historians have been studying the
visual, aural and oral expression of
humanity. Scholars scrutinising Art History
have been trying to interpret visual art,
music and fictional writings through a
thorough investigation using different
approaches and methodologies.
One of the earliest Art Historians that
we know of is one of the most Antiquity
Historian, namely Pliny the Elder. During
his time he was considered to be one of the
most famous Roman author, naturalist and
natural philosopher and even served as a
naval and army commander of the early Roman
Empire.
If you are studying liberal arts, it is
very likely that your coursework and
curriculum will include some Art History
before the completion of your degree
programs.
4.Sources of History.
Written Sources of History
Written sources are usually categorized
in three ways:
(1)narrative or literary
(2)diplomatic or juridical and
(3)social documents.
Narrative or literature are chronicles or
tracts presented in narrative form,
written to impart a message whose motives
for their composition vary widely. For
example, a scientific tract is typically
composed in order to inform
contemporaries or succeeding generation;
a newspaper article might be intended to
shape opinion; the so-called ego document
or personal narrative such as a diary or
memoir might be composed in order to
persuade readers of the justice of the
author’s actions; a novel or film might
be made to entertain, to deliver a moral
teaching, or to further a religious
cause; a biography might be written in
praise of the subject’s worth and
achievements (a panegyric, a public
speech or published text in praise of
someone or something or hagiography, the
writing of the lives of saints). A
narrative source is therefore broader
than what is usually considered fiction.
(Howell & Prevenier, 2001).
Diplomatic sources are understood to be
those which document/record an existing
legal situation or create a new one, and
it is these kinds of sources that
professional historians once treated as
the purest, the “best” source. The classic
diplomatic source is the charter, which a
legal instrument. A legal document is
usually sealed or authenticated to provide
evidence that a legal transaction has been
completed and can be used as evidence in a
judicial proceeding in case of dispute.
Scholars differentiate those legal
instruments issued by public authorities
(such as kings or popes, the Supreme Court
of the Philippines and Philippine
Congress) from those involving only
private parties (such as a will or a
mortgage agreement). Diplomatic sources
possess specific formal properties, such
as hand and print style, the ink, the
seal, for external properties and
rhetorical devices and images for internal
properties, which are determined by the
norms of laws and by tradition. Such
characters also vary in time (each
generation has its own norms) and
according to origin (each bureaucracy has
its own traditions).
 Social documents are information
pertaining to economic, social, political,
or judicial significance. They are records
kept by bureaucracies. A few examples are
government reports, such as municipal
accounts, research findings, and documents
like these, parliamentary procedures,
civil registry records, property
registers, and records of census.

Non-Written Sources of History

Unwritten sources are as essential as
written sources. They are two types:
(1)the material evidence and
(2)oral evidence.
Material evidence, also known as
archaeological evidence is one of the
most important unwritten evidences. This
includes artistic creation such as
pottery, jewelry, dwellings, grave,
churches, roads, and others that tell a
story about the past. These artifacts can
tell a great deal about the ways of life
of people in the past, and their culture.
These artifacts can also reveal a great
deal about the socio-cultural
interconnections of the different groups
of people especially when an object is
unearthed in more one place. Commercial
exchange may also be revealed by the
presence of artifacts in different
places. Even places that are thought to
 be significant, such as garbage pits, can
provide valuable information to historians
as these can be traces of a former
settlement.

Sometimes, archeological sites that are of

interest to historians are unearthed during
excavations for road, sewer line, and big
building structures. Known historical sites
are purposely excavated with the hope of
reconstructing and understanding their
meaningful past. Moreover, archeological
finds such as coins or monies can provide
historians with significant information
relating to government transactions during
which the currencies were in circulation.
Similarly, historians can get substantial
information from drawings, etching,
paintings, films, and photographs. These
are the visual representations of the past.

Oral evidence is also an important source of

information for historians. Much are told by
the tales or sagas of ancient peoples and the
folk songs or popular rituals from the pre-
modern period of Philippine history. During
the present age,interviews are another major
form of oral evidence.
Primary Versus Secondary Sources
There are two general kinds of historical
sources:
(1)direct or primary and
(2)indirect or secondary

Primary sources are original, first-hand

account of an event or period that are usually
written or made during or close to the event
or period. These sources are original and
factual, not interpretive. Their key function
is to provide facts. Examples of primary
sources are diaries, journal, letters,
newspaper and magazine articles (factual
accounts), government records (census,
marriage, military), photographs, maps,
postcard, posters, recorded or transcribed
speeches, interviews with participants or
witnesses, interviews with people who lived
during a certain time, songs, play, novels,
stories, paintings, drawings, and sculptures.

Secondary sources, on the other hand, are

materials made by people long after the events
being described had taken place to provide
valuable interpretations of historical events.
A secondary source analyzes and interprets
primary sources. It is an interpretation of
second-hand account of a historical event.
Examples of secondary sources are biographies,
histories, literacy criticism, books written
by a third party about a historical event, art
and theater reviews, newspaper or journal
articles that interpret.
5.Why do we need to study history?
Through studying Philippine history, we
learn how past system, governments, culture and
even technologies were built and work. By
analyzing the past, we will able to know how they
operated and changed, which in turn allow us to
understand our present. It enable us to develop
better understanding of the world we live and
provide basic factual information about the
background of our political, social, cultural and
other branches of it way back then. History makes
us better decision makers too, "Those that do not
learn history are doomed to repeat it.” it is
spoken by George Santayana, history gives us the
opportunity to learn from past mistakes. It helps
us understand the many reasons why people may
behave the way they do. As a result, it helps us
become more compassionate as people and more
impartial as decision makers. Our judicial system
is a perfect example of this concept at work.

6.What is your contribution as individual in

history?
As an individual, I must preserve history
by simply spreading it to other people who have
lack knowledge on it. Appreciate and give
importance to our history. Respect different
cultures also a way that I or even us must do.
As a student, we must learn more about our
history to widen our knowledge on whats going on
in past. If something went wrong or mistake
before, we will learn from it and do not repeat
it. We need to be a good example to the next
generation by being a role model in present. Be
responsible one.