ALFRED W.

MCCOY

He spent the past quarter of his life writing about the politics and history of the Opium Trade.

Awards Earned:

Philippine Catholic Mass Media Award, Best Book of the Year for 1985
Philippine National Book Award for History, 1986
Gintong Aklat Award (Manila) Special Citation for History, 1987

Other Popular Works:

Shadows of the American Century: The Rise and Decline of U.S. Global Power, 2017,
Policing America’s Empire: The United States, the Philippines, and the Rise of the Surveillance State (2009)

WHAT IS POLITICAL CARTOONS AND CARICATURE

CARICATURE

It is an Art Form, which veered away from the classical art by exaggerating human features and poking fun at its
subjects.
It involves the exaggeration of physical feature of a person or a subject for numerous or hysterical effects.
It is a departure from classical art, which typically aim for realistic representation for some political caricatures.
Has been used in various cultures and time periods for different purposes.
Found in editorial cartoon, entertainment, and as a form of social commentary.
Such art of genre and technique became a part of the print media as a form of social and political commentary,
which usually target persons of power and authority.

CARTOONS

Cartoons became as effective tool of publicizing opinions through heavy use of symbolism, which is different from a
verbose written editorial and opinion pieces.
Emerge as a potent tool to express opinions by heavily relying on the use of symbolism.
Use for visual elements and caliver symbolism to convey message in a concise and impactful manner.
Commentaries in mass media inevitably shape public opinion and such kind of opinion is worthy of historical
examination.

- In his book Philippines Cartoons: Political Cartoon of the American Era (1900-1941), Alfred Mccoy, together with
Alfredo Roces, compiled political cartoons published in the newspaper dailies and periodicals in the time.

1st Example: The Independent (May 20, 1916)

The cartoon shows a politician from Tondo, named Dr. Santos, passing his crown to his brother-in-law named Dr.
Barcelona.
A Filipino Guy (as depicted wearing salakot and barong tagalog) was trying to stop Dr. Santos, telling the latter to
stop giving Dr. Barcelona the crown because it is not his time to begin with.
2nd Example: The Independent (June 6, 1917) by Fernando Amorsolo

The cartoon was aimed as a commentary to the workings of Manila Police at the period.
We can see a Filipino child who stole a skinny chicken because he had nothing to eat.
The police officer was relentlessly pursuing the said child.
A man wearing a salakot, labeled Juan de la Cruz was grabbing the officer, telling the small-time pickpockets and
thieves and to turn at the great thieves instead.
He was pointing to huge warehouse containing bulks of rice, milk, and grocery products.

3rd Example: Commentary on the unprecedented cases of Colorum Automobiles in the city streets.

The Philippines Free Press published this commentary when fatal accidents involving colorum vehicles and taxis
occurred to often already.

4th Example: Depicts a cinema. Two youngsters looked with an older couple seemed amused.
 A blown-up police officer was at the screen saying that couples are not allowed to neck, and make love in the theater.

5th Example: The Independent (November 27, 1915)

In the picture shown below, we can see the caricature of Uncle Sam riding a chariot pulled by Filipinos wearing
school uniforms.
The Filipino boys were carrying American objects like baseball bats, whisky, and boxing gloves.
McCoy, in his caption to the said cartoon says that this cartoon was based on tan event in 1907 when William
Howard Taft was brought to the Manila pier riding a chariot pulled by students of Liceo de Manila. Such as
condemned by the nationalist at that time.

6th Example: by Lipang Kalabaw (August 24, 1907)

 In the picture shown below, we can see Uncle Sam rationing porridge to the politicians and members of the
Progresista Party (sometimes known as the Federalista Party)
This cartoon depicts the patronage of the United States being coveted by politicians from one party over the other.

ANALYSIS OF THE POLITICAL CARICATURES DURING THE AMERICAN PERIOD

The transition from Spanish Colonial period to the American Occupation period demonstrated different strands of
changes and shift in culture, society, and politics.
The Americans drastically introduced democracy to the nascent nation and the consequences were far from ideal.
Aside from this, it was also during the American period that Filipino were introduced to different manifestations of
modernity like healthcare, modern transportation, and media.
The post-independence and the post-Filipino-American period in the Philippines were experienced differently by
Filipinos coming from different classes.
The upper principalia class experienced economic prosperity wit the opening up for the Philippine economy to the
United States but the majority of the poor Filipino remained poor, desperate, and victims of state repression.
First, it seemed that the Filipino politicians at that time did not understand well enough the essence of democracy
and the accompanying democratic institutions and process
Patronage also became influential and powerful, not only between clients and patrons but also between newly-
formed political parties composed of the elite and the United States.
The unprecedented increase of motorized vehicles in the city. Automobiles became a popular mode pf transportation
in the city and led to the emergence of taxis.
Sexual revolution that occurred in the 1930s. Young people, as early as that period, disturbed the conservative
Filipino mindset by engaging in daring sexual activities in public spaces like cinemas.
Police authorities oppress petty Filipino criminals while turning a blind eye on hoarders who monopolize goods in
heir huge warehouses (presumably Chinese merchants).
The cartoon depicts how American controlled Filipinos through seemingly harmless American objects. By controlling
their consciousness and mentality, Americans got to control and subjugate Filipinos.

REVISITING ORAZON AQUINO’S SPEECH BEFORE THE UNITED STATE CONGRESS

MARIA CORAZON “CORY” SUMULONG COJUANGCO – AQUINO

Was born on January 25, 1933 in Paniqui, Tarlac.

She was born to the prominent Cojuangco family.
Served as the 11th President of the Philippines.
February 25, 1986 – June 30, 1992
Died on August 1, 2009, at Makati Medical Center
Graduated at Far Eastern University (studied law in 1953)
She was a Filipina politician who served as the 11th President of the Philippines and the first woman to hold that
office.
She was the first democratically-elected president and the first female president in Asia.
She was the most prominent figure of the 1986 People Power Revolution.
She was named in a Time Magazine’s as the “Woman of the Year” in 1986. Prior of this, she had not held any other
elective office.
She was married to Senator Benigno Aquino Jr., the staunchest critic of President Marcos.
She emerged as leader of the opposition after her husband assassinated om August 21, 1983m upon returning to the
Philippines from exile in the United States.
On March 24, 2008, Aquino’s family announced that former President (Cory) had been diagnosed with colorectal
cancer.
Upon her being earlier informed by her doctors that she had only three months to live, she pursed medical treatment
and chemotherapy.
She died on August 1, 2009
A series of healing Masses for Aquino (a devout Catholic) were held throughout the country intended for her
recovery.
In a public statement during one healing mass on May 13, 2009, Cory Aquino said thar her blood test indicated that
she was responding well to treatment; her hair and appetite loss were apparent.
Functioned as the symbol of the restoration of the democracy and the overthrow of the Marcos Dictatorship in 1986.
The EDSA People Power, which installed Cory Aquino in the presidency, put the Philippines in the international
spotlight for overthrowing a dictator through peaceful means.
Cory was easily a figure of the said revolution, as the widow of the slain Marcos oppositionist and former Senator
Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr.
 Cory was hoisted as the antithesis of the dictator.
Her image as a mourning, widowed housewife who has always been in the shadow of her husband and relatives and
had no experience in politics was juxtaposed against Marco’s statesmanship, eloquence, charisma, and cunning
political skills.
Nevertheless, Cory was able to capture the imagination of the people whose rights and freedom had long been
compromised throughout the Marcos regime.
This is despite the fact that Cory came from a rich haciendero family in Tarlac and owned vast estates of sugar
plantation and whose relatives occupy local and national government positions.

WHAT HAPPENED IN THE PEOPLE POWER REVOLUTION OF 1986?

The People Power revolution of 1986 was widely recognized around the world for its peaceful character.
When former senator Ninoy Aquino was shot at the tarmac of the Manila International Airport on August 21, 1983,
the Marcos regime greatly suffered a crisis of legitimacy. Protests from different sectors frequented different areas
in the country.
Marco’s credibility in the international community also suffered. Paired with the looming economic crisis, Marcos
had to do something to prove to his allies in the United States that he remained to be the democratically anointed
leader of the country.
Ile (Marcos) called for a Snap Election in February 1986, where Maria Corazon Aquino, the widow of the slain senator
was convinced to ruin against Marcos.
The canvassing was rigged to Marco’s favor, but the people expressed their protests against the corrupt and
authoritarian government.
Leading military officials of the regime and Martial Law orchestrators themselves, Juan Ponce Enrile and Fidel V.
Ramos, plotted to take over the presidency, until civilians heeded the call of then Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal
Sin and other civilian leaders gathered in EDSA.
The overwhelming presence of civilians in EDSA successfully turned a coup into a civilian demonstration. The
thousands of people who gathered overthrow Ferdinand Marcos from the presidency after 21 years.

PRESIDENT CORAZON AQUINO

Speech to a Joint Session of the U.S Congress delivered 18 September 1986, Washington, D.C.

On 18 September 1986, seven months since Cory became President, she went to the United States and spoke before
the joint session of the U.S. Congress.
Cory was welcomed with long applause as she took the podium and addressed the United States about her
presidency and the challenges faced by the new republic.
She began her speech with the story of her leaving the United States three years prior as newly elected wife of Ninoy
Aquino.
She then told of Ninoy’s character, conviction, and resolve in opposing authoritarianism of Marcos.
She talked of the three times that they lost Ninoy including his demise on 23 August 1983. The first time was when
the dictatorship detained Ninoy with other dissenters.
She (Cory) related:

“The government sought to break him by indignities and terror. They locked him up in a tiny, nearly airless cell in a military
camp in the north. They stripped him naked and held a threat of a sudden midnight execution over his head. Ninoy held up
manfully under of all it. I barely did as well. For forty-three days, the authorities would not tell me what had happened to
him. This was the first time my children and I felt we had lost him.

Cory continued that when Ninoy survive that first detention, he was then charged of subversion, murder, and other
crimes. He was tried by a military court, whose legitimacy Ninoy adamantly questioned. To solidify his protest, Ninoy
decided to do a hunger strike and fasted for 40 days.
Cory treated this event as the second time that their family lost Ninoy.
Cory said:

“When that didn’t work, they put him on trail for subversion, murder and a host of other crimes before a military
commission. Ninoy challenged its authority and went on a fast. If the survived it, then he felt God intended him for another
fate. We had lost him again. For nothing would hold him back from his determination to see his fast through to the end. He
stopped only when it dawned on him that the government would keep his body alive after the fast had destroyed his brain.
And so, with barely any life in his body, he called off the fast on the 10th day.”
 Ninoy’s death was the third and the last time that Cory and their children lost Ninoy, She continued:

“And then, we lost him irrevocably and more painfully that in the past. The new came to us in Boston. It had to be after the
three happiest year of our lives together. But his death was my country’s resurrection and the courage and faith by which
alone they could be free again. The dictator had called him a nobocy. Yet, two million people threw aside their passivity and
fear and escorted him to his grave.’

Cory attributed the peaceful EDSA Revolution to the martyrdom of Ninoy. She stated that the death of Ninoy
sparked the revolution and the responsibility of “offering the democratic alternative” had “fallen on (her) shoulders.”
Cory’s address introduced us to her democratic philosophy, which she claimed she also acquired from Ninoy.
She argued:

“ I held fast to Ninoy’s conviction that it must be by the ways of democracy. I hold out for for participation in the 1984
election the dictatorship called, even if I knew it would be rigged. I was warned by the lawyers of the opposition, that I ran
the grave risk of legitimizing the foregone results of elections that were clearly going to be fraudulent. But it was not
fighting for lawyers but for the people in whose intelligence, I had implicit faith. By the exercise of democracy even in a
dictatorship, they would be prepared for democracy when it came. And then also, it was the only way I knew by which we
could measure our power even in the terms dictated by dictatorship. The people vindicated me in an election shamefully
marked by government thuggery and fraud. The opposition swept the elections, garnering a clear majority of the votes
even if they ended up (thanks to the corrupt Commission on Elections) with barely a third of the seats in Parliament. Now, I
knew our power.”

Cory talked about her miraculous victory through the people’s struggle and continued talking about the people’s
struggle and continued talking about her earliest initiatives as the president of a restored democracy. She stated
that she intended to forge and draw reconciliation after the importance of the EDSA Revolution in terms of being a
“limited revolution that respected the life and freedom of every Filipino.”
She also boasted of the restoration of a fully constitutional government whose constitution gave utmost respect to
the Bill of Rights.
She reported to the U. S. Congress:
“Again, as we restore democracy by the ways of democracy, so are we completing the constitutional structure of our
new democracy under a constitution that already gives full respect to the Bill of Rights. A jealously independent
constitutional commission is completing its draft which will be submitted later this year to a popular referendum.
When it is approved, there will be elections for both national and local positions. So, within about a year from a
peaceful but national upheaval that overturned a dictatorship, we shall have returned to full constitutional
government.
Cory then proceeded on her peace agenda with the existing communist insurgency, aggravated by the dictatorial
and authoritarian measure of Ferdinand Marcos.
She asserted:

"My predecessor (Marcos) set aside democracy to save it from a communist insurgency that numbered less than five
hundred. Unhampered by respect for human rights he went at it with hammer and tongs. By the time he fled, that
insurgency had grown to more than sixteen thousand. I think there is a lesson here to be learned about trying to stifle a
thing with a means by which it grows.”

Cory's peace agenda involves political initiatives and re-integration program to persuade insurgents to leave the
countryside and return to the mainstream society to participate in the restoration of democracy.
She invoked the path of peace because she believed that it was the moral path that a moral government must take.
Nevertheless, Cory took a step back when she said that while peace is the priority of her presidency, she "will not
waiver" when freedom and democracy are threatened.
She said that, similar to Abraham Lincoln, she understands that "force may be necessary before mercy" and while she
did not relish the idea, she “will do whatever it takes to defend the integrity and freedom of (her) country.
Cory then turned to the controversial topic of the Philippine foreign debt amounting to $26 billion at the time of her
speech. This debt had ballooned during Marcos regime.
Cory expressed her intention to honor those debts despite mentioning that the people did not benefit from such
debts.
Thus, she mentioned her protestations about the way the Philippines was deprived of choices to pay those debts
within the capacity of the Filipino people.
She lamented:
"Finally, may I turn to that other slavery, our twenty-six-billion-dollar foreign debt. I have said that we shall honor it.
Yes, the means by which we shall be able to do so are kept from us. Many of the conditions imposed on that previous
government that stole this debt, continue to be imposed on us who never benefited from it.
She continue that while the country had experienced the calamities brought about by the
corrupt dictatorship of Marcos, no commensurate assistance was yet to be extended to the Philippines.
 She even remarked that given the peaceful character of EDSA People Power Revolution, “ours must have been the
cheapest revolution ever.
She demonstrated that Filipino people fulfilled the "most difficult condition of the debt negotiation,” which was the
"restoration democracy and responsible government."
Cory related to the U. S. legislators that whatever she went, she met poor and unemployed Filipinos willing to offer
their lives for democracy.
She stated:

"Whenever I went in the campaign, slum are or impoverished village. They came to me with one cry, democracy. Not food
although they clearly needed it but democracy Not money, for they gave what little they had to my campaign. They didn't
expect me to work a miracle that would instantly put food into their mouths, clothes on their back, education in their
children and give them work that will put dignity in their lives. But I feel the pressing obligation to respond quickly as the
leader of the people so deserving of all these things.” 

Cory proceeded in enumerating the challenges of the Filipino people as they tried building the new democracy.
These were the persisting communist insurgency and the economic deterioration.
Cory further lamented that these problems worsened by the crippling debt because half of the country's export
earning amounting to $2 billion would "go to pay just the interest on a debt whose benefit the Filipino people never
received.”
Cory then asked a rather compelling question to the U. S. Congress:

"Has there been a greater test of national commitment to the ideals you hold dear than my people have gone through? You
have spent many lives and much treasure to bring freedom to many lands that were reluctant to receive. And here, you
have a people who want it by themselves and need only the help to preserve it.”

Cory ended her speech by thanking America for serving as home to her family for what she referred to as the "three
happiest years of our lives together.”
She enjoined America in building the Philippines as new home for democracy and in turning the country as a "shining
testament of our two nations' commitment to freedom.”

ANALYSIS OF CORAZON AQUINO’S SPEECH BEFORE THE U.S. CONGRESS

Cory Aquino's speech was an important event in the political and diplomatic history of the country because it has
arguably cemented the legitimacy of the EDSA government in the internal era.
The speech talks of her family background, especially her relationship with her late husband, Ninoy Aquino.
It was well known that it was Ninoy who served as the real leading figure of the opposition at that time. Indeed,
Ninoy' s eloquence and charisma could very well compete with that of Marcos.
In her speech, Cory talked at length about Ninoy's toil suffering at the hands of the dictatorship that he resisted.
Even when she proceeded talking about her new government, she still went back to Ninoy's legacies and lessons.
Moreover, her attribution of the revolution to Ninoy' s death demonstrates not only Cory's personal perception on
the revolution, but since she was at that point in our history.
The ideology or the principles of the new democratic government can also be seen in the same speech.
Aquino was able to draw the sharp contrast between her government and of her predecessor by expressing her
commitment to a democratic constitution drafted by an independent commission.
She claimed that such constitution upholds and adheres to the rights and liberty of the Filipino people.
Cory also hoisted herself as the reconciliatory agent after more than two decades of polarizing authoritarian politics.

Cory claimed that her main approach was through peace and not through the sword of war.
Despite Cory's effort to hoist herself as the exact opposite of Marcos, her speech still revealed certain parallelisms
between her and the Marcos' s government. This is seen in terms of continuing the alliance between the Philippines
and United States despite the known affinity between the said world super power and Marcos.
The Aquino regime, as seen in Cory's acceptance of the invitation to address the U. S. Congress and to the content of
the speech, decided to build and continue with the alliance between the Philippines and the United States and
effectively implemented an essentially similar foreign policy to that of the dictatorship.
For example, Cory recognized that the large sum of foreign debts incurred by the Marcos regime never benefitted
the Filipino people.
Nevertheless, Cory expressed her intention to pay off those debts. Unknown to many Filipinos was the debt of the
dictator and not of the country.
Cory's decision is an indicator of her government's intention to carry on a debt-driven economy.
Reading through Aquino's Speech, we can already take cues, not just on Cory's individual ideas and aspirations, but
also the guiding principles and framework of the government that she represented.
Making Sense of the Past: Historical Interpretation, Code of Kalantiaw, Sa aking mga Kabata, and Multiperspectivity

The two key concepts that need to be define before proceeding to the historical analysis of problems in history are:

INTERPRETATION

- How a historian analyse, examine, scrutinize the historical past events.

- Indicate the action of historian in explaining the meaning of something or explaining the past events.

MULTIPERSPECTIVITY

- More than one perspective that is represented to the reader or people that study the certain past events or in short
multi-perspective.

HISTORY - the study of the past, but a more contemporary definition is centered on how it impacts the present through
its consequences.

Geoffrey Barraclough defines history as “the attempt to discover, on the basis of fragmentary evidence, the significant
things about the past.”

- He also notes "the history we read, though based on facts, is strictly speaking, not factual at all, but a series of accepted
judgements.

- Such judgments of historians on how the past should be seen make the foundation of historical interpretation.

HISTORIANS utilize facts collected from primary sources of history and then draw their own reading so that their
intended audience may understand the historical event, a process that in essence, "makes sense of the past.

• Interpretations of the past, therefore, vary according to who reads the primary source, when it was read, and how it was
read.

• As a student of history, you must be all equipped to recognize different types of interpretations, why these may differ
from each other, and how to critically sift these interpretations through historical evaluation.

•Interpretations of historical events change over time; thus, it is an important skill for a student of history to track this
changes in an attempt to understand the past.

THE CODE OF KALANTIAW

• Is a mythical legal code in the epic history Maragtas.

• It was a source of pride for the people of Aklan before it was revealed as a hoax.

• A historical marker was installed in the town of Batan, Aklan in 1956 with the following text:

• Datu Bendehara Kalantiaw, third Chief of Panay born in Aklan, established his government in the peninsula of Batang
Aklan Sakup. Considered the first Filipino lawgiver, he promulgated in about 1433 a penal code now known as Code of
Kalantiaw containing 18 articles. Don Marcelino Orilla of Zaragoza, Spain, obtained the original manuscript from an old
chief of Panay which was later translated into Spanish by Rafael Murviedo Yzamaney.”

• It proved as a hoaxed in 1968, when William Henry Scott, then a doctoral candidate at the University of Santo Tomas,
defended his research on pre- Hispanic sources in Philippine History.

• He attributed the code to a historical fiction written in 1913 by Jose E. Marco titled Las Antiguas Leyendas de la Isla de
Negros.

• He (Marco) attributed the code itself to a priest named Jose Maria Pavon.

• Prominent Filipino historians did not dissent to Scott's findings, but there are still some who would like to believe that
the code is a legitimate document.

• Interpretation of the past, therefore, may vary according to WHO reads the primary source, WHEN it was read, and HOW
it was read.

SA AKING MGA KABATA

• "SA AKING MGA KABATA" is a poem purportedly written by Jose Rizal when he was eight years old and is probably one of
Rizal' S most prominent works.

• There is no evidence to support the claim that this poem, with the now immortalized lines "Ang hindi magmahal sa
kanyang salita/mahigit sa hayop at malansang isda" was written by Rizal, and worse, the evidence against Rizal's
authorship of the poem seems all unassailable.

• There exists no manuscript of the poem handwritten by Rizal.

• The poem was first published in 1906 by Hermenegildo Cruz. He received the poem from Gabriel Beato Francisco, who
claimed to have received it in 1884 from Rizal's close friend, Saturnino Raselis. However, Rizal never mentioned writing this
poem anywhere in his writings. And more importantly, he never mentioned of having a close friend by the person of
Raselis.

MULTIPERSPECTIVITY

• Defined as a way of looking at historical events, personalities, developments, cultures, and societies from different
perspective.

• Historical writing is, by definition, biased, partial and contains preconceptions.

• Historians may misinterpret evidence, attending to those that suggest that a certain event happed, and then ignore the
rest that goes against the evidence.

• Impose a certain ideology to their subject, which may not be appropriate to the period the subject was from.

• With multiperspectivity as an approach in history, we must understand that historical interpretations contain
discrepancies, contradictions, ambiguities, and are often the focus of dissent.

• Exploring multiple perspective in history requires incorporating source materials that reflect different views of an event
in history, because singular historical narratives do not provide or space to inquire and investigate.

• Different sources that counter each other may create space for more investigation and research, while providing more
evidences for those truths that this sources agree on.

CASE STUDY 1: WHERE DID THE FIRST CATHOLIC MASS TAKE PLACE IN THE PHILIPPINES?

Case Study – to investigate certain events, people in present or in the past.

•This case study study will not focus on the significance (or lack thereof) of the site of the first Catholic Mass in the
Philippines but rather, use it as a historiographical exercise in the utilization of evidence and interpretation in reading
historical events.
• Butuan has been long believed as the site of the first mass. In fact, this has been the cost for three centuries,
culminating in the erection of a monument in 1872 near Agusan River, which commemorates the expedition's arrival and
celebration of mass on 8 April 1521.

• End of 19th century and the start of 20th century, a more nuanced reading of the available evidences was made which
brought light more considerations in going against the more accepted interpretation of the First Mass in the Philippines
made both by the Spanish and Filipino scholars.

PRIMARY SOURCE: ALBO’S LOG

• On the 16th of March (1521) as they sailed in the westerly course from Ladrones, the saw land towards the northwest but
owing to many shallow places they did not approach it. They found later that its name was Yunagan.

• They went instead that same day southwards to another small island named Suluan, and there they anchored. There they
saw some canoes but these fled at the Spaniard's approach. This island was at 9 and two-thirds degree North latitude.

• Departing from those two islands they sailed westward to an uninhabited island of "Gada" where they took in a supply of
wood and water.

• From that island they sailed westward towards a large large island named Seilani that was inhabited and was known to
have gold.

• Sailing southwards along the coast of that large island of Seilani, they turned Southwest to a small island called
“Mazava.” That island is also at a latitude of 9 and two-thirds degrees North.

• The people of that island of Mazava were very good. There the Spaniards planted a cross upon a mountain-top, and from
there they were shown three islands to the west and southwest, where they were told there was much gold.

• From Mazava they sailed northwards again towards Seilani. They followed the coast of Seilani in a northwesterly
direction, ascending up to 10 degrees of latitude where they saw three small islands.

• From there they sailed westwards some ten leagues, and there they saw three islets, where they dropped anchor for the
night. In the morning they sailed southwest some 12 leagues, down to a latitude of 10 and one- third degree. There they
entered a channel between two islands, one of which was called "Matan" and the other “Subu”.

• They sailed down that channel and then turned westward and anchored at the town of (La Villa) of Subu where they
stayed many days and obtained provisions and entered into a peace-pact with the local king.

• The town of Subu direction with the was on an east-west islands of Suluan and Mazava. But between Mazava and Subu,
there were so many shallows that boats could not go westward directly but has to go in a roundabout way.

• In Albo's account, the location of Mazava fits the location of the island Limasawa, at the southern tip of Leyte.

• Albo does not mention the first Mass, but only the planting of the cross upon а mountain-top from which could be seen
three islands to the west and southwest, which also fits the southern end of Limasawa.

PRIMARY SOURCE: PIGAFETTA’S TETSIMONY ON THE ROUTE OF MAGELLAN’S EXPEDITION

•Saturday, 16 March 1521 Magellan's expedition sighted a "high land" named "Zamal" which was some 300 leagues
westwards of Ladrones Islands.

• Sunday, March 17 - "The following day” after sighting Zamal Island, they landed on "another island which was
uninhabited" and which lay "to the right" of Zamal. The name of this island was "Humunu". This island was located at 10
degrees North latitude.

• On the same day (March 17, 1521), Magellan named the entire archipelago the Islands of Saint Lazarus"

• Monday, March 18 in the afternoon of their second day on that island, they saw a boat coming towards them with nine
men in it.
• There were two springs of water on that island of Homonhon. Also, they saw there some indications that there was a gold
in these islands. Magellan named it ”Watering Place of Good Omen” (Aquada la di bouni segnialli)

• Friday, March 22 at noon the native returned. This time they were two boats, and they brought food supplies.

• Magellan' s expedition stayed 8 days at Homonhon. From March 17, Sunday, to March 25, Monday.

• March 25 - In the afternoon, they left Homonhon island. In the ecclesiastical calendar, this March 25 was the feast-day
of the Incarnation, also called the feast of the Annunciation and therefore “Our Lady' s Days.”

• An accident happened to Pigafetta: he fell into the water but was rescued.

• The route taken by the expedition after leaving Homonhon was ”toward the west southwest, between four islands:
namely, Cenalo, Hiunanghan, Ibusson and Albarie." Probably "Cenalo" is a misspelling of Ceilon and what Albo calls "Seilani":
namely the island of Leyte. "Hiunanghan" (a misspelling of Hinungangan) belived to be a separate island butu is actually on
the mainland of Leyte. Hibuson (Pigafetta's Ibusson) is an island east of Leyte' southern tip.

• Thus, it is easy to see what Pigafetta meant by sailing "toward the west southwest" past those islands. They left
Homonhon sailing westward towards Leyte, then followed the Leyte coast southward, passing between the island
Hibuson on their portside and Hiunangan Bay on their starboard, and then continued southward, then turning westward
to "Mazaua.”

• Thursday, March 28 - in the morning of Holy Thursday, they anchored off an island. That island “lies in a latitude of nine
and two-thirds towards the Arctic Pole and in a longitude of one hundred and sixty-two degrees from the line of
demarcation. It is twenty-five leagues from the Acquada, and is called Mazaua.”

• They remained seven days on Mazaua Island.

• Thursday, April 4 - they left Mazaua, bound for Cebu. They were guided thither by the king of Mazaua who sailed in his
own boat. Their route took them past five "islands" namely: "Ceylon, Bohol, Canighan, Baibai, and Gatighan.”

• At Gatighan, they sailed westward to the three islands of the Camotes Group, namely, Poro, Pasihan and Ponson.

• Here the Spanish ships stopped to allow the king of Mazaua to catch up with them, since the Spanish ships were much
faster than the native Balanghi.

• From the Camotes Islands they sailed southwards towards "Zubu.”

• Sunday, April 7 - at noon they entered the harbor of "Zubu" (Cebu). It had taken them three days to negotiate the journey
from Mazaua northwards to the Camotes Islands and then southwards Cebu.

• Both Albo and Pigafetta's testimonies coincide and corroborate each other. Pigafetta gave more details on what they did
during their weeklong stay at Mazaua.

PRIMARY SOURCE: PIGAFETTA AND SEVEN DAYS IN MAZAUA

• Thursday, March 28, 1521 - In the morning, they anchored an island where they had seen a light the night before a small
boat (boloto) came with eight natives, to whom Magellan threw some trinkets as presents.

• The natives paddled away, but two hours later, two larger boats (balanghai) came in one of which the native king sat
under an awning of mats.

• Friday, March 29, 1521 "Next day. Holy Friday, Magellan sent his slave interpreter ashore in a small boat to ask the king if
he could provide the expedition with food supplies, and to say that they had come as friends and not as enemies.

• In reply the king himself came in a boat with six or eight men, and this time went up Magellan' s ship and the two men
embraced. Another exchange of gifts was made.
• The native king and his companions returned ashore, bringing with them two members of Magellan' s expedition
as_guest for the night and one of the two was Pigafetta.

• Saturday, March 30, 1521 - Pigafetta and his companion had spent the previous evening feasting and drinking with the
native king and his son.

• Pigafetta deplored the fact, although it was Good Friday, they had to eat meat.

• The following morning (Saturday) Pigaffeta and his companion took leave of their hosts and returned to the ships.

• Sunday, March 31, 1521 "Early in the morning of Sunday, the last of March and Easter Day," Magellan sent the priest
ashore with some men to prepare for the Mass.

• Later in the morning, Magellan landed with some 50 men and Mass was celebrated, after which a cross was venerated.

• Magellan and the Spaniards returned to the ship for the noon-day meal, but in the afternoon, they returned ashore to
plant the cross on the summit of the highest hill.

• In attendance, both at the Mass and at the planting of the cross were the king of Mazaua and the king of Butuan

• On the same afternoon, while on the summit of the highest hill., Magellan asked the two kings which ports he should go
to in order to obtain more abundant supplies for food than were available in that island.

• They replied that there were three ports to choose: Ceylon, Zubu, and Calagan.

• Of the three, Zubu was the port with most trade.

• Magellan then said that he wished to go to Zubu and to depart the following morning. He asked for someone to guide him
thither.

• The king replied that the pilots would be available "any time." But later that evening the king of Mazaua changed his mind
and said that he would himself conduct Magellan to Zubu but that he would first have to bring the harvest in.

• Monday, April 1, 1521 Magellan sent his men ashore to help with the harvest, bit no work was done that day because the
two kings were sleeping off their drinking about the night before.

• Tuesday, April 2, 1521 - Wednesday, April 3, 1521 work on the harvest during the “next to days.”

• Thursday, April 4, 1521 - they leave Mazaua, bound for Cebu.

• Using primary sources available, Jesuit priest Miguel A. Bernad in his work Butuan or Limasawa: The Site of the First
Mass in the Philippines: A Reexamination of Evidence of Evidence (1981) lays down the argument that in the Pigafetta
account, a crucial aspect of Butuan was not mentioned the river.

• Butuan is a riverine settlement, riverine settlement, situated on the Agusan River. The beach of Masao is in the delta of
said river.

• It is a curios omission in the account of the river, which makes part of a distinct characteristics Butuan's geography that
seemed to be too important to be missed.

AGE OF EXPLORATION

• The Age of Exploration is a period of competition among European rulers to conquer and colonize lands outside their
original domains.

• Initially, the goal was to find alternative routes by sea to get to Asia, the main source of spices and other commodities.

• Existing routes to Asia were mainly by land and cost very expensive.
• A sea route to Asia means that Europeans could access the spice trade directly, greatly reducing costs for traders.
Spain's major foray into the exploration was through Christopher Columbus, who proposed to sail westward to find a
shortcut to Asia. He was able to reach the Americans, which was then cut-off from the rest of the known world.

• Spain colonized parts of North America, Mexico, and South America in the 16th century.

• They were also be able to reach the Philippines and claim it for the Spanish crown.

• Later on, other European rulers would complete with the activities of exploring and conquering lands.

• It must also be pointed out that later on, after Magellan's death, the survivors of his expedition went to Mindanao, and
seemingly went to Butuan.

• In this instance, Pigafetta vividly describes a trip in a river. But note that this account already happened after Magellan's
death.

CASE STUDY 2: WHAT HAPPENED IN THE CAVITE MUTINY?

1872 – two historical events

1. CAVITE MUTINY – A major factor in awakening of nationalism among the filipinos

• Uprising of military personnel of Fort San Felipe (the Spanish arsenal in Cavite, Philippines) on January 20, 1872.

• Around 200 soldiers and laborers rose up in the belief that it would elevate to a national uprising. The mutiny was
unsuccessful, and government soldiers executed many of the participants.

MUTINY

- a rebellion against authority

- Comes from an old verb, “MUTINE” which means “REVOLT”

2. THE MARTYRDOM OF THE THREE PRIEST

GOMBURZA

• Collective name of the three martyred priests

• Tagged as the masterminds of the Cavite Mutiny

• They were prominent Filipino riests charged with treason and sedition

• The Spanish clergy connected the priests to the mutiny as part of a conspiracy to stifle the movement of secular priests
who desired to have their own parishes instead of being assistants to the regular friars

FATHER MARIANO GOMEZ

• An old man in his mid-’70, Chinese-Filipino, born in Cavite.

• He held the most senior position of three as Archbishop’s Vicar in Cavite.

• He was truly nationalistic and accepted the death penalty calmly as though it were his penance for being pro-Filipinos.

FATHER JOSE BURGOS

• Spanish descent, born in the Philippines. He was a parish priest of the Manila Cathedral and had been known to be close
to the liberal Governor General de la Torre.

• He was 35 years old at that time and was active and outspoken in advocating the Filipinization of the clergy.

FATHER JACINTO ZAMORA

• 37 years old, was also Spanish, born in the Philippines.

• He was the parish priest of Marikina and was known to be unfriendly to and would not countenance any arrogance or
authoritative behavior from Spaniards coming from Spain.

AN EXCERPT OF SPANISH ACCOUNTS OF THE CAVITE MUTINY

JOSE MONTERO Y VIDAL

• Spanish historian

• His account centered on how the event was an attempt in overthrowing the Spanish government in the Philippines.

• His account on mutiny was criticized as woefully biased

1. MONTERO’S ACCOUUNT OF THE CAVITE MUTINY

- “The idea of attaining their Independence. It was towards this goal that they started to work, with the powerful
assistance of a certain section of the Native Clergy .”

2. OFFICIAL REPORT OF GOVERNOR IZQUIERDO ON THE CAVITE MUTINY OF 1872

GOVERNOR RAFAEL IZQUIERDO

• Implicated the native clergy, who were active in the movement toward secularization of parishes.

• In a biased report, he highlighted the attempt to overthrow the Spanish government in the Philippines to install a new
“hari” in the persons of Father Burgps and Zamora.

ACCORDING TO IZQUIERDO

- Native clergy attracted supporters by giving them charismatic assurance that their fight would not fail because the had
God’s support, aside from promises of lofty reward such as employment, wealth, and ranks in the army.

AN EXCERPT FROM THE OFFICIAL RREPORT OF GOV. IZQUIERDO ON THE CAVITE MUTINY OF 1872

- It has not been clearly determined if they planned to establish a monarchy or a republic, because the indios have no word
in their language to describe this form of government.

- “Whose head in filipino would be called Hari: but it turns out that they would place at the head at the government a
priest… that the head selected would be D. Jose Burgos, or D. Jacinto Zamora”

SPANISH ACCOUNTS

- Underscore the reason for the “REVOLUTION”: Abolition of priveleges enjoyed by the workers of Cavite Arsenal such as
exemption from payment of tribute and being employed in Polos Y Servicios (Force Labor)

- Presence of the Native Clergy, against the Spanish friars, conspired and supported the rebels.

In the Spaniard’s Accounts, 1872

- Was premeditated, a part of a big conspiracy among educated leaders, Mestizoz, Lawyers and Residents of Manila and
Cavite

- They allegedly plan to liquidate high-ranking Spanish officers then kill friars.

JANUARY 20, 1872

- The district of Sampaloc celebrated the feast of the Virgin Loreto, came with it were some fireworks display.

- The Cavitenos mistook this as the signal to commence with the attack.

• 200 men was led by Sergeant Lamadrid attacked Spanish officers at sight and seized the arsenal.

• Izquierdo, upon learning the attack, ordered reinforcement of the Spanish forces in Cavite to quell the revolt.

• The revolution was easily crushed, when Manilenos who were expected to aid the Cavitenos did not arrive.

• In result, leaders of the plot were killed

• Father Gomez, Burgos, & Zamora were tried by court-martial and sentenced to be executed

• Others who were implicated such as

Joaquin Pardo De Tavera

Antonio Ma. Regidor

Jose Basa

Pio Basa

And other filipino lawyers were suspended from the practice of law, arrested, and sentenced to life imprisonment at the
Marianas Islands.

FEBRUARY 17, 1872

• The GOMBURZA were executed by Garrote in public to serve as a threat to filipinos never o attempt to fight the
Spaniards again

• This is a scene purportedly witnessed by a young Jose Rizal

DIFFERING ACCOUNTS OF THE EVENTS OF 1872

PARDO DE TAVERA’S ACCOUNT OF THE CAVITE MUTINY

- The incident was merely amutiny by Filipino soldiers and laborers of the Cavite arsenal to the dissatisfaction arising from
the draconian policies of Izquierdo (abolition of privileges and prohibition of the founding of the school of arts and trades)

THE CENTRAL SPANISH GOVERNMENT

- Was planning to deprive the friars of all the powers of intervention in matters of civil government and management of
educational institutions.
EDMUND PLAUCHUT

• A French writer

• Complemented Tavera’s account and analyzed the motivation of the 187 Cavite Mutiny

PLAUCHUT’S ACCOOUNT OF THE CAVITE MUTINY

- “The arrival In manila of General Izquierdo put a sudden end to all dreams of reforms, such a policy must really end in a
strong desire on the part of the other to repress cruelly.”

DIFFERING ACCOUNTS

• Friars used cavite as a part of a larger conspiracy to cement their dominance.

• They showcased the mutiny as part of a greater conspiracy in the Philippines by Filipinos to overthrow the Spanish
government.

• Unintentionally, it resulted in the martyrdom of GOMBURZA.

• And paved way to the revolution culminating in 1898.

• Rizal dedicated his second novel, El Filibusterismo, to their memory:

“ I dedicate my work to you as victims of the evil which I undertake to combat.”

CASE STUDY 3: DID RIZAL RETRACT?

• Jose Rizal is identified as a hero of the revolution for his writings that center on ending colonialism and liberating Filipino
minds to contribute to creating the Filipino nation.

• His essays vilify not the Catholic religion, but the friars, the main agents of injustice in the Philippine society.

• It is understandable, therefore, that any piece writing from Rizal that recants everything he wrote against the friars and
the Catholic church in the Philippines could deal heavy damage to his image as a prominent Filipino revolutionary.

• Such document purportedly exists, allegedly signed by Rizal a few hours before his execution.

PRIMARY SOURCE: RIZAL’S RETRACTION

• I declare myself a catholic and in this Religion in which I was born and educated I wish to live and die.

I retract with all my heart whatever in my words, writings, publications and conduct has been contrary to my character as
son of the Catholic Church. I believe and I confess whatever she teaches, and I submit to whatever she demands. I
abominate Masonry, as the enemy which is of the Church, and as a Society prohibited by the Church. The Diocesan Prelate
may, as the Superior Ecclesiastical Authority, make public this spontaneous manifestation of mine in order to repair the
scandal which my acts may have caused and so the God and people may pardon me.

Manila 29 of December of 1896

Jose Rizal

• There are four iterations of the text of this retraction: the first was published in La Voz Española and Diario de Manila on
the day of the execution, 30 December 1896.
• The second text appeared in Barcelona, Spain, in the magazine La Juventud, a few months after the execution, 14
February 1897, from an anonymous writer who was later revealed to the Fr. Vicente Balaguer.

• However, the "original" text was only found in the archdiocesan archives on 18 May 1935, after almost four decades of
disappearance.

THE BALAGUER TESTIMONY

Doubts on the retraction document abound, especially because only eyewitness account of the
writing : of the document exists-that of the Jesuit friar F. Vicente Balaguer.
According to his testimony, Rizal woke up several times, confessed four times, attended a Mass,
received communion, and prayed the rosary, all of which seemed out of character.
But since it is the only testimony of allegedly a "primary" account that Rizal ever wrote a
retraction document, it has been used to argue the authenticity of the document.

The Testimony of Cuerpo de Vigilancia

Another eyewitness account surfaced in 2016, through the research of Professor Rene R.
Escalante.
The report details the statement of the Cuerpo de Vigilancia to Moreno.

Primary Source: Eyewitness Account of the Last hours of Rizal

7:50 in the morning, Jose Rizal entered death row accompanied by his counsel, Señor Taviel de
Andrade, and the Jesuit priest Vilaclara.

At approximately 9, the Assistant of the Plaza, Señor Maure, asked Rizal if he wanted anything,
Rizal answered he only wanted a prayer book, which was brought shortly by Father March.
Señor Andrade left death row at 10 and Rizal spoke for a long while with the Jesuit fathers, March
and Vilaclara, regarding religious matters.
It appears that these two presented him with a prepared retraction on his life and deeds that he
refused to sign.
They argued about the matter until 12:30 when Rizal ate some poached egg and a little chicken.
Afterwards he asked to leave to write and wrote for a long time by himself.
At 3 in the afternoon, Father March entered the chapel and Rizal handed him what he had written.
Immediately the chief of the firing squad, Señor del Fresno and the Assistant of the Plaza, Señor
Maure, were informed.
They entered death row and together with Rizal signed the document that the accused had
written.
At 5 in the morning of the 30th, the lover of Rizal arrived at the prison dressed in mourning.
Only the former entered the chapel, followed by a military chaplain whose name I cannot
ascertain.
Donning his formal clothes and aided by a soldier of the artillery, the nuptials of Rizal and the
woman who had been his lover were performed at the point of death (in articulo mortis).
After embracing him she left, flooded with tears.
This account corroborates the existence of the retraction documents giving it credence. However,
nowhere in the account was Fr. Balaguer mentioned, which makes the friar a mere secondary
source to the writing of the document.
The retraction of Rizal remains to this day a controversy; many scholars, however, agree that the
document does not tarnish the heroism of Rizal. His relevance remained solidified to Filipinos and
pushed them to continue the revolution, which eventually results in independence in 1898.

Rizal's Connection to the Katipunan

Rizal's connection to the Katipunan is undeniable in fact, the precursor of the Katipunan as an
organization is the La Liga Filipina, an organization founded by Rizal, with Andres Bonifacio as
one of its members.
La Liga Filipina was short lived as the Spaniards exiled Rizal to Dapitan.
 Former members decided to band together to establish the Katipunan a few days after Rizal' s
execution on July 7, 1892.
Rizal may not have been officially part of the Katipunan,
but the Katipuneros showed great appreciation of his work toward the same goals.
Out of the 28 members of the leadership of the Katipunan (known as the Kataas taasang
Sanggunian ng Katipunan) from 1892 to 1896, 13 were former members of La Liga Filipina.
Katipuneros even used Rizal's name as a password.
In 1896, the Katipuneros decided to inform Rizal of their plans to launch the revolution and sent
Pio Valenzuela to visit Rizal at Dapitan.
Valenzuela's accounts of his meeting with Riza have been greatly doubted by many scholars, but
according to him, Rizal objected to the plans, saying that doing so would be tantamount to suicide
since it would be difficult to fight the Spaniards who had the advantage of military resources.
He added that the leaders of Katipunan must do everything
they could to prevent the spilling of the Filipino blood.
Valenzuela informed Rizal that the revolution could inevitably break, but if the Katipunan were to
be discovered by the Spaniards.
Rizal advised Valenzuela that the Katipunan should fast secure the support of wealthy Filipinos to
strengthen their cause, and suggested that Antonio Luna be recruited to direct the military
movement of the revolution.

Case Study 4: Where did the Cry of Rebellion Happen.

Momentous events swept the Spanish colonies in the late nineteenth century, including the
Philippines.
Journalists of the time referred to the phrase "El" Grito de Rebelion" or "Cry of Rebellion" to
mark the start of these revolutionary events, identifying the places where it happened.
In the Philippines, this happened in August 1896, northeast of Manila, where they declared
rebellion against the Spanish colonial government.
These events are important markers in the history of colonies that struggled for their
independence against their colonizers.
Prominent Filipino historian Teodoro Agoncillo emphasizes the event when Bonifacio tore the
cedula or tax receipt before the Katipuneros who also did the same.
Some writers identified the first military event with the Spaniards as the moment of the Cry, for
which, Emilio Aguinaldo commissioned on "Himno de Balintawak" to inspire the renewed struggle
after the Past of the Biak-na-Bato failed.
A monument to the Heroes of 1896 was erected in what is now the intersection of the Epifanio de
los Santos Avenue (EDSA) and Andres Bonifacio Drive-North Diversion road, and from then on
until 1962, the Cry of Balintawak was celebrated every 26th of August.

Different Dates and Places of the Cry

•A guadia civil, Lt. Olegario Diaz. Identified the Cry to have happened in Balintawak on 25 August
1896.

• Teodoro Kalaw, Filipino historian, marks the place to be in Kangkong, Balintawak, on the last week of
August 1896.

• Santiago Alvarez, a Katipunero and son of Mariano Alvarez, leader of the Magdiwang faction in
Cavite, put the Cry in Bahay Toro in Quezon City on 24 August 1896.

• Pio Valenzuela, known Katipunero and privy to many events concerning the Katipunan stated that
the Cry happened in Pugad Lawin on 23 August 1896.

• Historian Gregorio Zaide identified the Cry to have happened in the Balintawak on 26 August 1896.

• Teodoro Agoncillo put it at Pugad Lawin on 23 August 1896, according to the statement of Pio
Valenzuela.
• Research by historians Milagros Guerrero, Emmanuel Encarnacion, and Ramon Villegas claimed that
the event took place in Tandang Sora' s barn in Gulod,Barangay Banlat, Quezon City, on August 24,
1896.

PRIMARY SOURCE: ACCOUNTS OF THE CRY

PRIMARY SOURCE BY GUILLERMO MASANGKAY

On August 26th, a big meeting was held in Balintawak, at the house of Apolonio Samson, then
cabeza of the barrio of Caloocan.
Among those who attended, were Bonifacio, Emilio Jacinto, Aguedo del Rosario, Tomas Remigio,
Briccio Pantas, Teodoro Plata, Pio Valenzuela, Enrique Pacheco, and Francisco Carreon.
About nine o’ clock in the morning of August 26, the meeting was opened with Andres Bonifacio
presiding and Emilio Jacinto acting as secretary.
The purpose was to discuss when the uprising was to take place.
He told the people waiting outside that the leaders were arguing against starting the revolution
early, and appealed to them in fiery speech in which he said:
"You remember the fate of our countrymen who were shot in Bagumbayan. Should we return now
to the towns, the Spaniards will only shoot us.Pour organization has been discovered and we are
all marked men.If you don't start the uprising, the Spaniards will get us anyway. What then, do you
say?"
Bonifacio then asked the people to give a pledge that they were to revolt. He told them that the
sign of slavery of the Filipinos were the cedula tax charged each citizen. And destroying the
cedulas means that they are ready to revolt. It will be a sign that all of them declares their
severance from the Spaniards.

PRIMARY SOURCE BY PIO VALENZUELA

• The first place of refuge of Andres Bonifacio, Emilio Jacinto, Procopio Bonifacio, Teodoro Plata,
Aguedo del Rosario, and Pio Valenzuela was Balinatawak, the first five arriving there on August 19, and
Pio on August 20, 1896.

• The first place where some 500 members of the Katipunan met on August 22, 1896, was the house
and yard of Apolonio Samson at Kangkong.

• The first place where some 500 members of the Katipunan met on August 22, 1896, was the house
and yard of Apolonio Samson at Kangkong.

• It was at Pugad Lawin, the house, store-house, and yard of Juan Ramos,son of Melchora Aquino,
where over 1,000 members of the Katipunan met and carried out considerable debate and discussion
on August 23, 1896.

• The discussion was on whether or not the revolution against the Spanish government should be
started on August 29, 1896.

• From the eyewitness accounts presented, there is indeed marked disagreement among historical
witnesses as to the place and time of the occurrence of the Cry.

• Using primary and secondary sources, four places have been identified: Balintawak, Kangkong, Pugad
Lawin, and Bahay Toro, while the dates vary: 23, 24, 25, or 26 August 1896.

• Valenzuela's account should be rad with caution: He once told a Spanish investigator that the "Cry"
happened in Balintawak on Wednesday 26 August 1896.

• Much later, he wrote in his Memoirs of the Revolution that it happened at Pugad Lawin on 23 August
1896.
• According to Guerrero, Encarnacion, and Villegas, all. these places are in Balintawak. Then part of
Caloocan, now in Quezon City.

• As for the dates, Bonifacio and his troops may have been moving from one place to another to avoid
being located by the Spanish government, which could explain why there are several accounts of the
Cry