Mia, Julie Ann O. BSA2.

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05 elms Task 1 12/2/2021

1. Do you agree with Rizal’s presentation of our pre-colonial history? Why or why not?

Rizal presents three general ideas about pre-colonial history in his annotations, one of
which is that early Filipinos already had a culture of their own, even before the Spaniards colonized
them. As an example, our natives have their own culture and way of life, including being ruled by
Datus or Raja, social classes such as maharlikas, alipin sagigilid, and samamahay, as well as their
own legal system and religion. Another proof is that our indigenous tribes were able to preserve
their culture and traditions and still present nowadays. Thus, Filipinos had a rich culture even
before colonization, and as a result of being colonized by various nations, our culture has merged
with theirs, but ours remains distinct with or without the aftermath of colonization, which leads
me to agree with Rizal's pre-colonial history presentation.

2. How did Rizal envision the pre-colonial Filipinos? Why?

Referring to Antonio De Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas, which was an account of
how the early Spanish colonial ventures, including the Philippines, were conducted, Rizal
annotated this and corrected what was really happening during the pre-colonial. Rizal visualizes
that pre-colonial Filipinos were more flourishing than what they were during his time, specifically
during the Spanish era. For instance, agriculture is the main source of income and food for pre-
colonial Filipinos, which proves how rich they are and how hard-working they are, which is a
contrast to how Spaniards thought of the Indios, who, according to Rizal, were one of the factors
of Filipino indolence. Furthermore, as in the other countries he visited, Rizal witnessed how
corrupt and unjust Spaniards are in comparison to the idea of a flourishing country that the country
deserves.