Abelin, Jenny Mae L.

3BAF5E
Activity No. 1 Rizal's Annotation of Morga's Sucesos de Las Islas Filipinas

The Sucesos De Las Islas Filipinas, written by historical anthropologist Antonio de

Morga, was the first official lay history of the Spanish conquest of the Philippines. In 1890, Rizal

annotated Morga's work, which gives descriptions of the islands that make up the Philippine

archipelago and notes on the characteristics and practices of the native people. His primary goals

in annotating were to rectify historical errors about Philippine history during the Spanish era, to

make Filipinos aware of their beautiful past, and to demonstrate that the people of the Philippines

had a distinct culture even before the arrival of the Spanish. Out of all the histories of the

Philippines written by various authors, Rizal preferred Morga's work because he thought it was

uncommon to find such a civil and non religiously influenced history. He was so impressed by

Morga’s work however, as the information in the book was based on Morga's firsthand

experiences or eyewitness accounts of the events depicted, in any chapter of the Sucesos that he

felt may misrepresent Filipino cultural traditions, he painstakingly appended footnotes to,

included explanations regarding the details of the work, De Morga's disagreements, and

historical details that were confirmed.

As I read the annotations of Rizal to Sucesos, it was very helpful and I came to realize

that there is much information in regards to the history of our country Philippines that would

definitely be misinterpreted by those who will read this book. According to Morga, the

Philippines were viewed as oriental islands that were described as wide and remarkable and

could be found from east to west while traveling from Portugal or India. Tendaya Island is one of

the recognized islands, which Rizal remarked was difficult to ascertain because there is no island
by that name, but rather a chief named Tendaya, chief of a town in that district. In regards to the

topography and seasons in these islands, Rizal criticized Morga in his annotation for thinking

rainy seasons to be winter and the rest of the year to be summer. He corrected it and stated that

the temperature in Manila drops more in the months of December, January, and February than in

the months of August and September. In addition, Morga mentioned the characteristics, values,

language, culture, and livelihood of the Filipino people prior to colonialism. Rizal corrected

Morga in some of his annotations but in some parts he just added some information. I admire

how Rizal carefully reads each and every line of the book and eagerly annotates it as it really

gave impact to how we Filipinos as well as neighboring countries would perceive and have an

impression with our country. His annotation is crucial to the current generation and has the

potential to make a significant influence because history may give us a sense of who we are. It

has helped us Filipinos become more aware of Philippine history. We also learned and were

educated on the fact that the Filipino people had a distinct culture before colonization and that

they were not less valuable than other people. In conclusion, I think it is essential that Morga's

claims made in the book be verified because, as he is not a native Filipino, only a Filipino should

write our nation's history. We can't truly rely on Morga's information as he just used his personal

experiences and observations to gather it, and he has no knowledge of the customs, culture, or

way of life of the people in the Philippines. Nonetheless, we have to recognize the effort he put

into his work and be honored that a foreigner is interested in our history. Without his work, our

very own hero, Rizal would not find a rare book that is not biased but sympathetic to indios. He

will also be unable to refute the Spanish's negative perceptions of Filipino history and document

Filipino civilization throughout the Spanish colonial period.