MODULE 01
WHY STUDY THE PAST: HISTORY AS OUR LENS
FOR THE FUTURE
“HISTORY” in European language is “story”
Historia is Spanish, Histoire is French, and
Gesichte in German all mean the same thing -
STORY
From western point of view, history is
seen as the study or record of past events. It is
therefore, a story of the past.
ZEUS SALAZAR “kasaysayan is rooted in
the word saysay”.
Saysay can mean story or salaysay. Saysay is a
narrative about past events which composed of
facts and details. It can also be defined as
meaning, relevance, or significance.
Kasaysayan is a story of past that has a
meaning.
Two Kinds of Historical Source:
 Primary Source - sources that were created
or written by people who were direct
participants or eyewitnesses to the
historical event being studied.
 Secondary Source - Material created by an
author using primary sources or other
secondary source.
MODULE 02
THE PRE-COLONIAL WAY OF LIVING:
PHILIPPINE PEOPLING THEORIES
THREE VITAL ARCHEOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES
IN THE PHILIPPINES
 2018 - Fossil of a butchered rhinoceros and
tools used to butcher it in KALINGA
province.
- Fossils are dated 700,000 years old
- Tools indicated that there was an
attempt to cut meat.
 2012 - Long toe bone from new human
species found in CALLAO CAVE, CAGAYAN
- Bone gathered are dated 67,000
years old
- Homo Luzonensis
 1962:2004 - 3 sets of human remains were
discovered in TABON CAVE, PALAWAN
- Recovered dated 16,500, 31,000, and
47,000 years old
-Homo Sapiens (modern human)
PEOPLING THEORIES
 The first strand believes that the first
inhabitants of the Philippines were
indigenous people who inherently lived
within the archipelago and had undergone
a lengthy process of internal development.
Developed by an archaeologist named
William Meacham he believed that there
were already people living in the Philippines
and the entire Southeast Asia.
These people are called
AUSTRONESIANS. They were connected by
trade and other forms of relationships.
Throughout time, these people developed
differences in culture and language within
their own inhabited area.
Archeologist Bennet Bronson and Filipino
anthropologist F. Landa Jocano also believed
the claims of Meacham.
 The second strand argues that the people
living in the Philippines came from outside
regions, implying strongly that there were
movements of large numbers of people.
H. Otley Beyer, an American anthropologist. He
pointed out that the people living in the
Philippines came from different homelands.
Waves Of Migration Theory
 1st is composed of seafaring and stone
tool-using "Indonesians A."
 2nd a bark cloth- wearing Indonesians B.
 3rd wave was composed of terrace-
building "Proto-Malays" who came from
central Asia.
 Lastly, a wave of "Deutero- Malays" sailed
to the current Philippines from insular
Indonesia.
Some took the northern route who later
became the Northern Negritos in Luzon,
while others took the southern one who
later became the Southern Negritos of
Mindanao.
 Manobo-related people entered
Mindanao 15,000 years ago
 Sama-related people who entered the
archipelago 12,000 years ago.
 Cordilleran-related groups from Formosa
and southern China who likely arrived in
the Philippines 7,000 to 10.000 years ago.
The interaction among these people for
thousands of years resulted to interbreeding
which contributed to the genetic makeup of
present-day Filipinos.

Despite its popularity, this theory has

already been debunked by historians and the
scientific community due to the lack of
evidence.

American anthropologist and

archaeologist named Wilhelm G. Solheim II.
argued that a group of maritime-oriented
people called "Austronesians"

Even before the arrival of modern human

species in the country, there were already
ancient human species who inhabited the
archipelago called the Denisovans. The proof
of their presence is in the DNA of an
indigenous group residing in Bataan.
According to the study, the indigenous group
Ayta Magbukon possesses the highest level of
Denisovan ancestry in the world, leading to the
claim that Denisovans prominently inhabited
the archipelago prior to the arrival of modern
humans.

These Denisovans later interacted and

interbred with modern humans who came from
Africa 40,000 to 50,000 years ago.
 The first modern humans who arrived were
the Negritos who came into two waves.
 MODULE 03
THE PRE-COLONIAL WAY OF LIVING: ITS
STRUCTURE AND WAY OF LIVING
Before the Spaniards in 1521 and their
subsequent invasion in 1565, people living in
the archipelago had already established their
own civilization.
There was no "Philippines" yet. There
was no label to the entire archipelago before
the Spaniards arrived.
The archipelago was composed of several
forms of communities that had differing social
and political practices for those communities
located in lowland areas near riverbanks and
seashores, the dominant form of community
was called BARANGAY.
 Barangay referred to the people
themselves living together in a community.
 barangay was widely used in Tagalog pre-
colonial communities, haop or dolohan
were its equivalent terms in Visayan
communities.
 barangay came from the word balangay,
which referred to the boat that transported
the inhabitants to their settlements.
 A single barangay was usually composed
of thirty to a hundred households whose
inhabitants were closely related by blood.
 A barangay was headed by the datu or
chieftain. His primary duties were to
protect the barangay and promote its
welfare and interest,
A datu had executive, legislative and judicial
powers in short, his role was to govern the
barangay.
 He had a staff to assist him in his duties,
composed of various ministers assigned to
different tasks such as:
 collection of tributes
 maintenance of jalls
 communication with the barangay
residents.
 In return for a datu's services, a datu
received:
 Respect
 Labor
 tributes from his people.
 His powers were checked by the customs
and laws of the barangay. He can also be
replaced by a better and stronger datu
who can protect better the barangay.
Each barangay was Independent, which
means that there was no central government
within the archipelago. Despite this
Independence, some barangays formed
network of alliances with nearby barangays or
sometimes with bigger political entities outside
of the archipelago such as chiefdoms located
in Borneo.
Multiple nearby barangays live together
to form a larger community. For these larger
communities, datus leading each barangay
formed a sort of council to unify their decisions
for the community. In cases of these networks
or alliances, the datus were usually led by a
more economically powerful datu, commonly
called as pangulo, kaponoan, rajah, and lakan,
who controlled trading ports in the archipelago.
Subordinate datus pay their respects and
tributes to the more powerful datu in order to
gain personal favors and most importantly,
access to trade. Despite this
arrangement, each barangay remained
politically independent since the more
powerful datu only had authority over the
datus supporting him on the basis of personal
patronage and not on their respective
communities.
Barangays Were Composed Of Three Groups
Of People
 The nobles - consisted of the datu and his
relatives who belong to the noble lineage.
they were collectively called as maginoo.
This group was considered as the ruling
 class of the barangay who wielded vast
influence. Due to their high position in
society. they guarded their lineage by only
marrying only those who belong to their
rank. They also limited the number of heirs
though birth control and kept their
daughters and sons secluded.
 The freemen - composed of offspring of
inherently free people, descendants of
mixed marriage of nobles and commoners,
and dependents who earned their freedom.
They were personal followers of the datu
whose role was to help him in activities
that involve the welfare of the barangay.
They were either called timawa or
maharlika.
These activities included:
 agricultural labor
 building of houses
 fighting wars.
 The dependents - composed of people
who were not able to pay their debts,
cannot pay their legal fines, captured in
battle, or born to dependent parents.
 Visayan communities - oripun.
 Tagalog communities- alipin and had two
primary types, namamahay and sagigilid.
 Since barangays were located on seacoasts
or banks of rivers and lakes, the main
means of transportation were boats.
 It was actually the rivers and seas that
connected the barangays to each other. It
was through water that people transported
trades, communicated, and expanded their
population.
 It was also the seas that connected the
communities of the archipelago with other
civilizations abroad. There was rich
maritime trading between the barangays
and other major communities located
within Southeast Asia. The Chinese and
Japanese were also leading trading
partners of the barangays even before the
arrival of the Spaniards.
Three Types Of Houses.
All of these houses were elevated off the
ground on the posts and had steep roofs.
 Permanent Wooden structures that can be
considered as sort of town houses. These
houses were occupied by datus.
 Cottages made of light materials occupied
by ordinary people.
 Tree Houses that were only used during
wars.
Customary And Or Written Laws
The people in the barangay did not act
according to what they wanted. They were not
"uncivilized" people who did not follow rules.
 Customary Laws - composed the majority
of laws in a barangay. These laws were
passed down orally from generation to
another. Before the arrival of the
Spaniards, women were considered by the
barangay as equal of men since they could
own and inherit property and take an
active role in trading and other industries.
Women could even succeed as the datu in
instances wherein there was absence of
male heir.
 Written Laws - written by the datu and his
advisers when there was a necessity it. In
times that there were criminal of civil cases,
the datu would act as the judge or hukom.
He would consult with the experts of
customary laws and listen to the sides of
the parties involved as well as the
witnesses before giving his verdict. If the
datu could not arrive into a definitive
decision, he would sometimes order the
parties involved to undergo a trial by
ordeal to determine who was guilty or not.
 Pre-Colonial Sense Of Fashion System Of Religion

Pre-colonial people also had a sense of fashion
which varied according to social standing,
current fashion trends, and occasion.
 Males - the upper part is called kanggan,
which was a collarless jacket with short
sleeves. The lower part is called bahag, a
strip of cloth wrapped in the waist, passing
down between thighs.
 The color of the attire meaning:
Datu wore red kanggan
Those below him wore blue or black.
 Headgears called putong, which was a
cloth wrapped around the head
A red putong entailed "manliness" or
bravery.
In Visayas, the common male attire was only
the bahag since walking bare-chested to
expose the tattoos was a symbol of masculinity.
 Women - the upper part is called baro or
camisa. It was a jacket with sleeves. The
lower part was called saya, which was a
loose skirt.
 A tapis, a long cloth, was usually wrapped
around the waist.
 There were no slippers or shoes during the
pre-colonial period. They all walked
barefooted.
They believed in polytheism, which means that
they had more than one god to worship to.
 Bathala as the creator of the Earth and all
living beings. He was the superior deity
compared to other gods. The population
adored animals, plants, and all objects of
nature as something to be respected.
 Babaylans were considered as religious or
spiritual leaders. It was a highly crucial role
in the barangay as they served as the
channel to which the people could
communicate with spirits and gods.
They were of either sex but were usually
women from wealthy families. Male
transvestites could also be a babaylan.
Transvestites are people who wear attire
designed for the opposite sex or simply called
as crossdressers. The giving of the role of
babaylan to male transvestites indicate the
level of respect and inclusivity to
homosexuality during pre-colonial era.

Since gold was abundant before, both men

and women filled their bodies with golden
ornaments and jewelries. Tattooing was a
common practice. For both men and women, it
was a symbol of beauty. For men, it served as a
proof of bravery and skill in battle. The more
tattoos a man had, the more men he killed in
battle. Tattoos were only seen on the residents
from Visayas, which was why Spaniards called
Visayans as pintados.
 MODULE 04
TRANSITION TOWARDS COLONIZATION:
CONTEXTUALIZING THE ARRIVAL OF THE
SPANIARDS
15th to 17th Century was characterized by
growing European exploration of the world.
This was a period in human history when
Europeans began exploring in search for new
trading routes, territories, and wealth.
Crucial stage in human history as European
countries began to embark on a series of
global explorations that inaugurated a new
chapter in world history.
Age of Discovery or The Age of Exploration
During this period, there was an:
 Increasing sophistication of maritime travel
technology.
 New kinds of ships, maps, navigational
instruments, and weapons were developed.
 Knowledge of geography and sailing was
rapidly being enhanced.
These developments assisted European
countries to travel to places such as the
Americas, Africa, and the Far East, which were
previously untouched by European feet.
Spain and Portugal were leading countries
in these explorations though other countries,
particularly England and the Netherlands, were
explorers too.
Why did European countries explore in the first
place?
They were motivated by profit, power, and
religion also known as 3Gs (Gold, Glory, God):
 Profit (Gold) - primary motivation for
European countries to explore was
economic in nature. During this period,
Europe was economically developing.
There was an increasing demand for goods
and services given that there was also an
increasing number of people.
Spices were highly in demand in Europe during
this time for two reasons:
(1) spices enhance the bland taste of food and
(2) preserved meat and fish in absence of
refrigeration.
They were so highly valued that spices
could be used to buy land and pay taxes.
These spices were abundant in Asia. To
participate in this trading, European states
especially Portugal and Spain had to look for
new routes to Asia to get spices so that they
can sell it to the Europeans.
Since, the spice trading was controlled
only by Italian city-states, making access to
spices limited and more expensive to
European budget.
 Power (Glory) - To become a more
powerful kingdom was by exploring and
conquering new territories, which could be
a source of spices and other raw materials.
The larger the territories invaded by these
countries, the more they become
prestigious in the eyes of their rivals. The
more powerful they become, the easier
they could defeat other enemy kingdoms.
 Religion (God) -European states used
Christianity as a reason to invade other
territories. Rather than saying that they
want to economically enrich their
kingdoms, they said that they are Invading
other territories in order to spread
Christianity.
Ferdinand Magellan Voyage Around The World
One of the most significant figures of this
period was the Portuguese explorer, Ferdinand
Magellan. Magellan was a brilliant navigator
who based on his experience and knowledge,
theorized that there was a possible route to the
East, specifically the Spice Islands (known as
Maluku Islands or Moluccas; currently part of
Indonesia)
Magellan pitched this idea first to the king
of Portugal but it was disregarded. Frustrated,
he went to Spain to convince the Spanish king
and queen of his plan. He was successful.
Spain gave him five old ships with a crew of
235 men.
 They left Spain on September 20, 1519.
 The crew sailed through an open ocean
without seeing land for about 90 days.
(Pacific Ocean, the largest ocean in the
world) The entire expedition was a test of
human survival. It faced multiple mutinies,
shortages supplies, diseases, and weather
disturbances.
 On March 17,1521, the crew landed on
Homonhon Island in Guluan, Eastern Samar.
There were no residents in the island to
welcome them but the next day, residents
from a nearby island approached the weary
crew and offered hospitality.
 Enrique of Malacca, who can understand
the local language.
 In search for more supplies, Magellan and
his crew went to Sugbu (Cebu) and arrived
on April 7, 1521 Magellan befriended the
ruler of Cebu, Rajah Humabon.
Magellan promised Humabon to be

Spain's representative in Cebu in exchange
for an alliance. Moreover, this entailed that
Spain would also protect Cebu and
Humabon from their enemies.
 The residents were also invited to convert
to Christianity and they obliged. With the
authority from the King of Spain and
backing of Magellan, Humabon attempted
to expand his power over other datus.
 One datu from the island of Mactan
refused to bow down to Humabon. This
datu was Lapulapu.
 Lapulapu had no problem being an ally of
Magellan and Spain but he refused to be a
follower of Humabon since there was
already a rivalry between them.
 Since Magellan promised Humabon to help
the latter, Magellan and his crew attacked
Mactan island.
 Battle of Mactan which ended in a disaster
Magellan died (April 27,1521) and the
Spaniards retreated back to Cebu
Frustrated of his new allies, Humabon
organized for the returning crew to be
massacred.
 The surviving crew hurriedly left the island
and soon reached their destination, the
Spice Islands. On September 22, 1522,
three years after the expedition left Spain,
only 18 of 235 crew survived and reached
Spain.
After being aware of the existence of the
Philippines, Spain did not stop its efforts to
acquire the territory. After the failure of the
Magellan expedition,
three more expeditions followed:
 Saavedra Expedition (1527-1529)
 Villalobos Expedition (1541-1546)
 Legazpi Expedition (1564)
In 1542, when the Villalobos expedition
reached the archipelago, he named Leyte and
Samar "Filipinas" in honor of Spain's prince,
Philip II. This became the basis for the
Spaniards to call the archipelago as "Las Islas
Filipinas" which later became the "Philippines."
It was only in 1565 during the Legazpi
expedition when the Spaniards successfully
occupied the archipelago.
Legazpi easily conquered the Philippines. There
are several reasons behind it:
Lack of Unity -There was no unified
government in the Philippines during that time.
It was only composed of several fragmented
barangays, which were separated by
numberless bodies of water. Because of this
lack of unity, it was impossible for the local
population to effectively resist or fight the
well-trained and well-equipped invading
Spanish forces.
Divided and Conquer - Since each barangay
was independent, there was no idea of national
consciousness. In short, people living in
barangays had no idea that all inhabitants
within the archipelago belonged to one group
of people. The was used by the Spaniards to
their advantage. They allied themselves with
some datus and tasked these datus to help
them defeat other barangays. Those who will
help Spaniards were rewarded. This strategy is
commonly called divided-and-conquer
strategy.
Sword and Cross - Aside from violence,
Spaniards also used religion in the colonization
process. Given the sophistication of their
religion, a lot of natives, especially the datus,
decided to convert to Christianity. With them
already baptized as Christians, it led them not
to resist anymore and instead embrace the
Spanish invasion in the archipelago.
MODULE 05
UNDERSTANDING COLONIZATION: SPANISH
OCCUPATION
Spaniards initiated resettlement system for the
native population. This is called the
REDUCCION.
 People from different barangays were
placed into chosen areas. At the center of
these areas was called poblacion, which
serves as the major population center of
the area. (church and major government
offices were located.)
 Surrounding each poblacions were barrios
and sitios. This system placed all people
within area where the Spaniards can easily
monitor and rule them.
 This facilitated the collection of tax easier
for the Spaniards.
 Filipinos who did not follow this system
fled to the countryside, fearing for their
lives, since they were branded as
TULISANES OR BANDITS by the colonial
government.
 This is why until now, almost all towns in
the Philippines had a barangay named
"Poblacion," wherein most town structures
such as church, municipal/city hall, market,
police office, school, and other offices are
located.
The Spaniards also established a centralized
government structure. Here is a chart of its
structure:
Corregimientos:
Corregidores
Cities/Villas: Municipality/Pueblos:
Ayuntamaientos (city
gobernadorcillo
counsil)
Barrio/barangay:
cabeza de barangay
 TAXATION
Direct And Indirect Taxes.
 Direct Taxes - extracted was the buwis
(tribute). It may be paid in cash or kind,
partly or wholly, in form of local produce
such as rice, tobacco, and chicken.
In 1570s, the tribute was fixed at eight
reales or in kind such as gold, blankets, cotton,
rice, and bells.
Rampant cruelty - collection of buwis was not
justifiable for the people, they often defied the
authorities and refused to pay it. Collectors
sent soldiers to collect the buwis by force.
Those who cannot pay or could not pay were
tortured or Imprisoned.
 Indirect Taxes - tax collected was the
bandala. It was essentially meant enforced
confiscation. In "selling" their goods,
people got promissory notes which were
seldom redeemed in full.
This system caused a great deal of
suffering for the people. Even if their crops
were destroyed, they still have to buy rice in
order to give it to the government. Moreover,
authorities collected more than what was
asked from the people so that they can keep
the rest.
Polo y Servicio - men between the ages of
sixteen and sixty except chieftains and their
eldest sons were required to serve for forty
days each year in the labor pool.
Drafted men or polistas were obligated
to give personal service to projects such as
construction of infrastructure, church
construction, or cutting logs. Since the polistas
were seldom paid, their villages were forced to
provide them with rice just to keep them alive.
The drafting of polistas also coincided with the
planting and harvesting seasons, which caused
shortage of workforce in the communities. This
shortage resulted to the abandonment of rice
fields, thus, many people died of hunger.
Encomiendas - establishment, these were
parcels of land given by the King of Spain to
individuals who helped in conquering the
territory. These lands were given to the
encomendero who were usually soldiers,
administrative officials, and priests.
 Supposedly, they were given lands not for
the purposes of owning it but to help the
Spanish colonial government in ensuring
the security of the territory and its people
from external threats.
Instead, they used the land to enrich

themselves. Moreover, the people residing
within the land of the encomendero were
subjected to extreme levels of oppression.
They basically acted as personal servants to
the encomendero. The encomendero also
extracted unnecessary taxes from them.
SOCIAL STANDING OF THE PEOPLE
 "Peninsulares." They were full-blooded
Spaniards who were born from Spain. They
were called "peninsulares" because Spain is
located in the Iberian Peninsula region of
Europe.
 "Insulares" were also full-blooded
Spaniards but they were born in the
Philippines. It was for this reason that the
peninsulares disliked them. They believed
that people who were born in Spain were
more prestigious and superior compared
to those who were born in the colony.
Since they were born in the Philippines,
they were originally called "Espanoles
filipinos" or simple Filipinos.
 "Mestizos" who were born from foreign
and native parents. If one happened to
have a Spanish father and native mother or
vice versa, you would be considered as a
mestizo.
and confessionals to publicly or secretly
influence the people; they control all the
municipal and local authorities and the
medium of communication; and they execute
all the orders of the central government..."

 "Principalias." Below them were the full-

blooded natives or inhabitants of the
archipelago. (descendants of the nobles
during the pre-colonial period who allied
themselves with Spain)

 "Indios." They were formerly the freemen

and the dependents. They had no foreign
descent or prestige in society.

 "Sangleys" had the lowest standing in

society under the Spanish rule. They were
composed of Chinese citizens who instead
of living in China, went to Philippines to
pursue their trading activities.

INFLUENCE OF RELIGION IN SOCIETY

"Frailocracy" or the rule of the friars or priests.

Because of their role in the colonization
process, they were able to establish themselves
as political figures in the country.
They have massive influence in every
aspect of society and ruled supreme in
governmental matters during the Spanish
regime. As servants of God, people were afraid
to oppose them even if they were already
abusing their power. These priests were also
able to accumulate economic wealth and
power through the encomiendas granted to
them by the King of Spain.

According to Marcelo H. del Pilar: "...The

friars control all the fundamental forces of
society in the Philippines. They control the
educational system, for they own the University
of Santo Tomas, and are the local inspectors of
every primary school. They control the minds
of the people because in a dominantly Catholic
country, the parish rectors can utilize the pulpit