ANNOTATION OF

ANTONIO DE
MORGA’S “SUCESOS
DE LAS ISLAS
FILIPINAS”
 Antonio de Morga
Doctor Antonio de Morga Sánchez
Garay (1559, Seville, Spain — July 21,
1636) was a lawyer and a high-ranking
colonial official in the Philippines, New
Spain and Peru. He was also a historian.
He graduated from the University of
Salamanca.
He was the author of “Succesos de las
Islas Filipinas”.
What is Las Islas Filipinas?
The country was named "Las Islas
Filipinas" (Phillip's Islands) by Ruy
López de Villalobos after King Philip
II of Spain. Spanish colonial rule
began in 1565 and lasted for about
three centuries until the Philippine
Revolution of 1896.
THE BOOK
 A first-hand account of the early Spanish
observations about Philippines and the
Filipinos.
 It was published in Mexico in 1609 and it
was re-edited on a number of occasions.
 It is the work of an honest observer,
himself a major actor in the drama of his
time, a versatile bureaucrat, who knew
the workings of the administration from
the inside.
 Consist of Eight (8) Chapters
 It discussed the political, social, and
economical aspects of colonizer and
the colonized country.
 The content of the book is based on
the documentary research,
observation and personal experience
of Morga.
 Rizal is the secondary source of the
book due to his Annotations.
Summary of the Contents of the ‘Sucesos’

1. Of the first discoveries of the Eastern Islands

2. Of the government of Dr. Francisco de Sande
3. Of the government of don Gonzalo Ronquillo de
Peñalosa
4. Of the government of Dr. Santiago de Vera
5. Of the government of Gomes Perez Dasmariñas
6. Of the government of don Francisco Tello
7. Of the government of don Pedro de Acuña
8. An account of the Philippine Islands
Morga’s Reasons in Writing the ‘Sucesos’
a. To commemorate the achievements of his
fellow Spaniards on their discovery, conquest
and conversion of the Philippine Islands.
b. The adventures they had at the same time
in the great heathen kingdoms surrounding
the Philippine Islands.
c. It reveals justifications of the colonists’
attempts to consolidate the conquest and to
spread it further afield.
The Value of the ‘Sucesos’
a. A complete and copious history written with
exceeding care, truth and eloquence.
b. It views the social life of the restless Spanish
community living almost permanently on a war
footing, urban development of the city, its hospitals,
churches, schools, fortifications and municipal
buildings, natural resources and commerce of the
colony.
c. It also reveals a great deal about the native people
themselves, and about the Spanish reactions to them.
RIZAL’S ANNOTATION TO MORGA:
SOME CRITICAL POINTS
Rizal’s outstanding achievement in Paris in
January 1890 was the publication of his
annotated edition of Morga’s Sucesos
translated to English as “Events in the
Philippine Islands” by Dr. Antonio de Morga.
Rizal dedicated this valuable historical work
“To The Filipinos”
Why did Jose Rizal choice the work of Morga?
 The original book was rare.
 Morga was a layman not a religious chronicler.
 Rizal felt Morga to be more “objective” than
the religious writers whose accounts included
many miracle stories.
 Morga, compared to religious chroniclers, was
more sympathetic to the indios.
 Morga was not only an eyewitness but a major
actor in the event he narrates.
Criticisms on Rizal’s Annotations
Re: Blumentritt’s prologue
 Historical use of hindsight and a strong anti-
clerical bias
 Virtual attacks on the church were
fundamentally unfair and did not conform to
approved standards of ethics
 Abuses of friars should not be construed to
mean that Catholicism is bad.
 Ambiguity and propagandist like.
Rizal’s annotation of Morga and its relation to
his other works
The main objectives of Rizal’s are as follows:
1. To awaken the consciousness of the Filipinos
regarding their glorious ways of past.
2. To correct what has been distorted about the
Philippines due to the Spanish conquest.
3. To prove that Filipinos are civilized even
before the coming of the Spaniards.