READINGS IN

PHILIPPINE HISTORY

EDWARD BENRICK D. SALONGA, MPA

2020
 MODULE 1

INTRODUCTION TO READINGS
IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY

Learning Outcome

1. To discuss the meaning and relevance of the study of history; and

2. To evaluate primary sources for their credibility, authenticity and
provenance.
MEANING AND RELEVANCE OF HISTORY

Meaning

The English word ‘History’ is derived from the Greek noun ‘Historia’.
‘History’ or ‘Historia’ simply means ‘inquiry’ or ‘research’.

Merriam Webster defined history as a chronological record of significant

events (such as those affecting a nation or institution) often including an
explanation of their causes.

“History is a narration of the events which have happened among

mankind, including an account of the rise and fall of nations, as well as of
other great changes which have affected the political and social condition of
the human race.”
—John J. Anderson. 1876. A Manual of General History

“History is a record of unchanging past.”

- Aristotle

"History is all the remains that have come down to us from the past,
studied with all the critical and interpretative power that the present can bring
to the task."
- Frederick Jackson Turner

“History deals with the past, not with the future. We use history to avoid
the mistakes of the past, not to recreate the very same events. You cannot.”
― Teodoro A. Agoncillo, Talking History: Conversations with Teodoro A.
Agoncillo

"History is not the past . . . History is the distillation of evidence

surviving from the past. Where there is no evidence there is no history."
- Oscar Handlin, Truth in History
-
“History is the record of what one age finds worthy of note in another.”
- Jacob Burckhardt

“History is a connected account of the course of events or progress of

ideas.”
- Rapson

Historiography- refers to the writing of history based on the critical

examination of sources and the selection of particulars from the authentic
materials. It also includes the synthesis of particulars into a narrative that will
stand the test of critical methods (Merriam Webster).

Philippine Historiography as mentioned by Candelaria and Alporha in

2018, underwent several changes since the pre- colonial period until the
present. Below are some of the Filipino historians with their different views on
Philippine historiography:
 a. Gregorio F. Zaide, Fr. Horacio Dela Costa and Fr. Jose Arcilla-
Philippine History in clerical point of view.

b. Teodoro Agoncillo- nationalist point of view of Filipino history

(nationalist historiography); said that Philippine History started in
1872.

c. Samuel K. Tan- Philippine history is a collective interplay of events;

history is not just the work of a particular group of people in a
particular place; opposed the Manila- centered history.

d. Reynaldo C. Ileto- history from below; “Pasyon at Rebolusyon”.

e. Renato Constantino- “history is the achievement of man not the

individual but the collective”; history from below; masses as real
movers of history.

f. Zeus A. Salazar- ”pantayong pananaw”; use of Filipino language as

medium of instruction in teaching history

Elements of History

1. The Historian/ Author

Refers to the person writing/ documenting the events/ history.

2. Place

The location where the history was written.

3. Period

It refers to the context of the time when the history was written.

4. Sources

Defined as objects that have been left in the past and that exist either
as relic or as testimonies of witnesses to the past.

Relevance

“Nationalism is nourished by a sense of history. It is of its essence to

know profoundly the past, so that we may be in complete openness with the
men who made that history and to intimate communism with their thoughts,
their deeds, and their noble lives.”
Senator Claro M. Recto
 History is pre- requisite to nationalism. One cannot truly love his
country without loving its history. If one loves a person, he will be much
interested and will love to know the history of the person he loves.

We study history to know and understand the events that took place in the
country. These events are both success stories and mistakes. We are
studying the success stories for them to serve as an inspiration to further to
move forward as a nation. On the other hand, we intend to understand our
mistakes to learn from them and to be careful not to commit them again.

HISTORICAL SOURCES

Most historical source material can be grouped into four basic

categories: documents, numerical records, oral statements, and relics.

Documents are written or printed materials that have been produced

in one form or another sometime in the past.

Numerical records include any type of numerical data in printed or

handwritten form.

Oral statements include any form of statement made orally by

someone.

Relics are any objects whose physical or visual characteristics can

provide some information about the past.

DISTINCTION OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SOURCES

A primary source is one prepared by an individual who was a

participant in, or a direct witness to, the event that is being described. A
secondary source is a document prepared by an individual who was not a
direct witness to an event, but who obtained his or her description of the event
from someone else.

Primary Sources

These are contemporary accounts of an event, written by

someone who experienced or witnessed the event in question. These
original documents (i.e., they are not about another document or
account) are often diaries, letters, memoirs, journals, speeches,
manuscripts, interviews and other such unpublished works. They may
also include published pieces such as newspaper or magazine articles
(as long as they are written soon after the fact and not as historical
 accounts), photographs, audio or video recordings, research reports in
the natural or social sciences, or original literary or theatrical works.

Secondary Sources

The function of these is to interpret primary sources, and so can

be described as at least one step removed from the event or
phenomenon under review. Secondary source materials, then,
interpret, assign value to, conjecture upon, and draw conclusions about
the events reported in primary sources. These are usually in the form
of published works such as journal articles or books, but may include
radio or television documentaries, or conference proceedings.

EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL CRITICISMS

External criticism refers to the genuineness of the documents a

researcher uses in a historical study.

Garraghan divides external criticism into six inquiries:

1. When was the source, written or unwritten, produced (date)?

2. Where was it produced (localization)?
3. By whom it was produced (authorship)?
4. From what pre- existing material was it produced (analysis)?
5. In what original form was it produced (integrity)?
6. What is the evidential value of its contents (credibility)?

Internal criticism refers to the accuracy of the contents of a

document. Whereas external criticism has to do with the authenticity of a
document, internal criticism has to do with what the document says.

Questions of External and Internal Criticisms

In doing external and internal criticisms, the following shall be

considered:
 a. Genealogy of the Document

Is the source an original, a copy of the original or a copy of a copy?

b. Genesis of a Document

What kind of institution or individual produced a source, with what

authority, under what circumstances?

c. The Originality of the Document

How is the document rooted from other sources?

d. Interpretation of the Document

How did the author frame the intent and meaning of a composed
material?

e. Authorial Authority

With what authority does the author of a source speak?

f. Competence of the Observer

What was the psychological state of the author of the source?

To what extent was the author’s report selective?
What prejudices would have informed the account?
Under what outside influences was the source created?
Could the observer have understood what he/she saw?
Was the observer technically or socially qualified to understand
what he saw?

g. The Trustworthiness of the Observer

How does the author conceal or suppress knowledge to advance

one’s agenda?

REPOSITORIES OF PRIMARY SOURCES

Primary sources can be located on the following:

National Archives of the Philippines (NAP)

Repository of public documents- notaries, birth

certificates, government correspondences and
records, maps to name few. In the case of the
Philippines, the earliest public document it has is
traceable to the time of the early Spanish conquest in

NAP Logo
 the 1560s. When the Spaniards surrendered the Philippines to the
Americans by virtue of the Treaty of Paris in December 1898 (effective
the following year), Spanish government records were subsequently
turned over to the U.S. Military Governor in Intramuros. As time goes
by, the holdings of the National Archives reached more than ten of
millions. (Our government records under Aguinaldo administration-
called the Philippine Revolutionary Records- have separate repository
at the National Library of the Philippines.)

The National Archives survived the destruction during World

War II, termites and silverfishes, earthquakes, floods, and fire. The
government effort in maintaining these national treasures continues.
(www.nap.gov.ph)

National Library of the Philippines (NLP)

The official national library of the country.

Its collections consists of more than 210, 000
books; over 880,000 manuscripts, all part of the
Filipiniana Division; more than 170,000 newspaper
issues from Metro Manila and across the
Philippines; some 66,000 theses and dissertations;
104,000 government publications; 3,800 maps and
53,000 photographs.
Photo NLP Logo
Accounted in its collections include valuable
Rizaliana pieces, four incunabula, the original manuscript of Lupang
Hinirang (National Anthem), several sets of The Philippine Islands,
1493- 1898, a collection of rare Filipiniana books previously owned by
the Compana General de Tabacos de Filipinas, and the documents of
five Philippine Presidents. The most prized possessions of the National
Library, which include Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere, El Filibusterismo and
Mi Ultimo adios, three of his unfinished novels and the Philippine
Declaration of Independence, are kept in a special double- combination
vault at the rare documents section of the Filipiniana Division’s reading
room. (www.nlp.gov.ph)

National Museum of the Philippines

It is the government institution in the

Philippines that serves as an educational,
scientific and cultural institution in preserving the
various permanent national collections featuring
the ethnographic, anthropological, archaeological
and visual artistry of the Philippines.
National Museum Logo
Since 1998, the National Museum has
been the regulatory and enforcement agency of the National
Government in the restoring and safeguarding of important cultural
properties, sites and reservations throughout the Philippines.
 University of the Philippines- Diliman Library

Situated at Gonzales Hall of the UP- Diliman campus, primary

documents of historical significance during the Spanish and Japanese
Period can be seen in the library of the UP- Diliman.

Local Studies Centers

Described and dedicated for the enrichment and study of one

locality‟s history, culture and related studies. Some of the local studies
centers in the country are: Cebuano Studies Center (University of San
Carlos, Cebu City), Cavite Studies Center (De La Salle University
Dasmariñas), Bahay-saliksikan ng Bulacan (Bulacan State University),
Center for Tarlaqueño Studies (Tarlac State University), Cordillera
Studies Center (University of the Philippines Baguio), Juan D.
Nepomuceno Center for Kapampangan Studies (Holy Angel
University), Tayabas Studies and Creative Writing Center (Tayabas,
Quezon), and Sta. Rosa Studies Center (City of Sta. Rosa, Laguna).

According to Foronda in 1991, local studies centers in the

Philippines have the following functions:

1. these serve as clearing house in-charge of collecting,

organizing, disseminating and preserving local studies
materials of their particular locality;
2. these local studies centers are responsible for conducting,
publishing and promoting local historical researches;
3. these are responsible for promoting historical events and
creating historical activities; and
4. these local studies centers are encouraged to establish and
sustain linkage and networking with other centers, historical
bodies, and government bodies both here and abroad
(Foronda, 1991 as cited by Jimenez, 2006, p. 7).

Online Sites

Some of the Spanish era primary sources can be accessed at the

websites of the following libraries: Archivo Nacional Historico, Archivo
General de Indians, and Portal de Archivos Espanoles (PARES).
American period documents can be accessed on the other hand at the
websites of the following: Library of Congress, HathITrust Digital
Library, Arhive.org and University of Michigan Library.

Groups in social media sites such as Facebook also upload

photographs and documents which are considered to be primary
sources.

TECHNICAL TOOLS IN EXAMINING SOURCES

1. Paleography
 It is the study of handwriting. This includes the forms and the
processes of writing.

2. Diplomatics

Used primarily for textual analysis; writing styles maybe

determined by its specific time/period wherein there is a set of writing
conventions and formulas.

3. Archaeology

The scientific study of the material remains of past human life

and activities. These include human artifacts from the very earliest
stone tools to the man-made objects that are buried or thrown away in
the present day.

4. Statistics

It is the branch of mathematics dealing with the collection,

analysis, interpretation and presentation of masses of numerical data.

5. Linguistics

The study of the structure and development of language in

general or of particular languages.

6. Genealogy

The study of family relationships. It includes family history and

even tracing of family lineages.

7. Prosopography

The use of biographical material to construct group narratives.

8. Sigillography

Science and art of identifying and decoding seals. This tool in

examining sources is used to authenticate archival documents.

9. Heraldry

Study of coats of arms. Coats of arms are special design in the

form of a shield that a family, government institution or any
organization use as a symbol of their identity.

10. Numismatics

The study of coins.

Name:_____________________ Date:________________
Year and Section:_____________ Score:_______________

CHAPTER 1 EXERCISES

TRUE OR FALSE

Direction: Write T is the statement is correct and F if the statement is false.

__________ 1. Some secondary sources give conjectures.

__________ 2. The National Library of the Philippines is the government
institution in the Philippines that serves as an educational, scientific and
cultural institution in preserving the various permanent national collections.
__________ 3. External criticism refers to the genuineness of the documents.
__________ 4. Internal criticism refers to the authenticity of the documents.
__________ 5. Primary sources are contemporary accounts of an event.
__________ 6. The National Archives of the Philippines has 210,000 book
collections.
__________ 7. Local studies center are dedicated for the enrichment and
study of one locality‟s history, culture and related studies.
__________ 8. Asking the real author of a particular primary document is a
question of internal criticism.
__________ 9. National Museum is the regulatory and enforcement agency of
the government in preserving of important cultural properties.
__________ 10. History is generally about the past, present and future.
__________ 11. Numismatics is the study of coat of arms.
__________ 12. Genealogy is the study of family relationships.
__________ 13. Oral statements include any form of statement made orally
by someone.
__________ 14. Genealogy of a Document refers to what kind of institution or
individual produced a source.
__________ 15. There are four major elements of history.

PRIMARY OR SECONDARY SOURCE

Direction: Identify the following sources as primary or secondary.

___________ 1. Diary of Ninoy Aquino

___________ 2. Oral Statements of Mae Delos Santos, survivor of Mt.
Pinatubo eruption.
___________ 3. Memoir of Juan Ponce Enrile
___________ 4. 2010 TV Documentary about the imposition of Martial Law in
the Philippines.
___________ 5. First class relic of San Lorenzo Ruis de Manila.
___________ 6. Photograph of the execution of Rizal in Bagumbayan.
___________ 7. Appointment paper of Emilio Jacinto signed by Andres
Bonifacio.
___________ 8. The History Textbook authored by Teodoro Agoncillo.
___________ 9. 2017 News Article featuring the Bataan Death March.
__________ 10. Research on the Philippine Revolution published in the
journal of social sciences.
Name: _________________ Date: _____________
Year and Section:_________

CRITICISM INSTRUMENT FOR PRIMARY DOCUMENTS

(Please attach a copy of the primary document produced)

EXTERNAL CRITICISM

Title of Primary
Source:_________________________________________________

Type of Primary Source:

______________________________________________________________
__
When written?
______________________________________________________________
__
Where written?
______________________________________________________________
__
How did it survive?
______________________________________________________________
__
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______
Who was the real author?
______________________________________________________________
__

INTERNAL CRITICISM

Is the author an eyewitness or secondhand account holder?

________________________________
Why was it written?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________
Does the content have literal meaning or connotation? Explain.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
________________________________________________

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE DOCUMENT TO PHILIPPINE OR LOCAL

HISTORY